Re: looking for a server

[Paul Mather <paul%gromit.dlib.vt.edu@localhost>]

On 4 Apr 2008, at 12:13 AM, Miles Nordin wrote:
> > > > > > "pm" == Paul Mather <paul%gromit.dlib.vt.edu@localhost> writes:
>
>    pm> I was just supplying a data (counter-)point to your statement
>    pm> that CD burning did not work fine.
>
>    pm> (BTW, did you notice that my original statement was in the
>    pm> past tense: hardly appropriate for offering current advice,
>    pm> don't you think?)
>
> No, I don't think.

<rimshot/>

Well, you seem to be doing my thinking for me, or at least not letting  
me hold my own thoughts outside of the scenario you concocted. :-)

> Dave: My alpha systems run just fine.
>
> Miles: They do not.
>
> Paul: I had an alpha, and it ran fine.
>
> And the tense has nothing to do with it: it's completely natural to
> give advice by citing past experience.

How many times do I tell you I was not giving advice.  I was  
correcting your erroneous statement: that CD burning is broken on  
NetBSD/alpha.  It may well be broken for some subset of NetBSD/alpha  
(such as on IDE), but it is flat out wrong and (to use the word du  
jour) "deceptive" to say it is out and out broken.  It is not, or at  
least it was not for some class of Alpha machines.

And the tense is relevant or else I wouldn't have chosen it.  I don't  
know personally if CD burning still works on the DEC 3000/300 using  
the most recent version of NetBSD.  That's why I qualified my  
statement.  I'm only willing to stand by what I write, not what people  
imagine I mean to write.

> Here's the problem.
>
> 1. I know CD burning is broken.

...for IDE(?).

> 2. You and I both know CD burning problems are indicative of IDE
>   problems overall, and maybe even worse problems with interrupt
>   priority levels or PCI bus configuration or who knows what, so CD
>   burning problems DO matter to the original poster.

...if he is interested in using IDE.  (There was no indication of this  
from the OP.)

> 3. Although you may not have direct experience with IDE CD burners in
>   alphas, you do know that I am probably right, and you know that
>   your past experience is irrelevant because IDE and SCSI always
>   differ tremendously especially on noti386 and also because (2).

My past experience is irrelevant because you deem it to be.  If he  
uses an all-SCSI setup, it's most likely not.  (I used an all-SCSI  
setup on my DEC 3000/300 and continue to do so on the AlphaServer  
1000A I maintain.)

> 4. Your data- or counter-point was an attempt to convince others that
>   (3) is untrue, and in our followon bickering you tried to cloud
>   men's minds with respect to (2).

My data point is in response to your sweeping statement in (1).  To  
simply say "CD burning is broken" on NetBSD/alpha is flat out wrong  
and misleading because it only applies to some setups.  You are  
engaging in the same deception of which you accuse me.

To be honest, the only "men's minds" being clouded is mine, because  
you appear to be claiming to know what I was thinking more than I do  
myself. :-)

> Trying to convince others to believe something which you do not
> yourself believe is deceptive.  This can sometimes can be fun and
> okay, but in this case it threatens to waste many months of someone's
> time.  That's why I'm ``pedantically'' complaining.  I want
> cheerleading to be more honest.

What is dishonest about saying CD burning worked fine on a DEC  
3000/300 in response to a statement claiming "CD burning is broken?"   
Sure, cheerleading should be more honest, but criticism has a duty to  
be accurate, too; something I think is absent from a bald statement  
like "CD burning is broken."  If you actually think about it, saying  
"CD burning is broken" also "threatens to waste many months of  
someone's time" more so than saying "CD burning worked fine on my DEC  
3000/300"...

I don't know about you, but I wouldn't assume that what works or  
doesn't work across one particular hardware setup will work or fail  
across all.  It never really occurred to me that the OP would blithely  
assume this, but would actually do some detailed research (or at least  
follow-up questioning) about a specific model he intended to buy.  The  
fact that he asked for advice in the first place indicates a wont for  
doing pre-acquisition research to some degree.  But I suppose there  
are people out there who take specific facts and assume they apply  
universally.

Should the OP steer clear of all Alphas because the Miata is prone to  
problems with heat death? >;-)

Cheers,

Paul.

e-mail: paul%gromit.dlib.vt.edu@localhost

"Without music to decorate it, time is just a bunch of boring production
 deadlines or dates by which bills must be paid."
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