[Info-vax] Architecture questions.

[Rob]

On 2024-01-11 3:41 p.m., nhmall wrote:
> On 2024-01-11 2:20 p.m., Rob wrote:
>> I am not a professional who has ever had any real experience with VMS 
>> or DEC systems, I'm just very enthusiastic. I'm also not trying to 
>> light up my brain with the sensation of how "Valuable" the object 
>> itself is, causing me to blindly hoard what is otherwise comedically 
>> outdated hardware. The "specialness" I see here comes from the care 
>> and attention put into the design of these things, and just how 
>> accessible everything is at such a low level. I keep being surprised 
>> at how far I can get on my own with just whatever documentation made 
>> it into online archives and I do not credit my own skill for this. I 
>> am choosing to interpret my lack of incumbrance as a sign of respect 
>> from people I will likely never meet. I haven't even got it to boot an 
>> operating system yet!
>>
>> Part of it is I feel as though I have been presented with a challenge 
>> i am now stubbornly committed to, part of it is I've been presented 
>> with an excellent learning experience I wouldn't otherwise be 
>> privileged enough to engage with, but if I'm being honest a lot of it 
>> is "trying on clothes that are too big for me". This stuff is *The 
>> Real Deal*. Maybe part of it is I'm tired of everything being such 
>> untrustworthy, busted crap all the time.
> 
> I hope you get somewhere.  It doesn't sound like you have 4 other 
> project deadlines, or a boss breathing down your neck to get it done, so 
> you can take your time and enjoy the hobby at your own pace.
> 
> The people here don't tend to withhold information or knowledge that 
> they have, from what I've seen, but sometimes you can run into a 
> situation where very few have the information or knowledge being sought 
> in 2024. That's a challenge that will probably only get worse as time 
> passes.
> 
> Things look more promising on the OS side these day, with the x86_64 
> activity. People are starting to remember what they knew previously, as 
> well as gaining interesting new knowledge.
> 

Heh, yeah, you're right. Part of people having "four other projects" is 
that at least two of those projects probably should have four people on 
them to begin with. People who aren't going to be hired because they 
cost money. Or maybe the neck-breather just doesn't understand any of 
the projects to begin with.

You've also touched on several things I've been running into a lot.

I come from an electronics background in Canada (rip), so "withholding 
of information" is nothing new. More of a general gripe on this topic, 
but also, forum-goers deciding that "Just Google It!!" was an acceptable 
response, not realizing that, hey, maybe that's harmful to the 
information ecosystem because now googling it shows up all the forum 
posts telling people to google it! Great! Awesome!

The lack of knowledgable people is also something I lament, because as 
I've mentioned, I've been pretty isolated and a result of that is being 
unable to learn from past generations. Documentation is great and all 
but it rarely provides the same context as being next to someone, being 
shown on a living, active system not only what to do but also what to 
expect in reaction to what you've done, in terms of a system's 
behaviour. Or maybe there's some trick to make things work better that 
was never in the original documentation. Or for that matter, learning 
from Experienced Adults how to create or even actually function inside 
the structure of a larger organization working towards a technical 
development goal! There is a serious lack of that kind of 
knowledge/experience out here in the dirt, in "Small Business" land.

context of my attitudes: my last job was for a government subcontractor. 
I shouldn't need to elaborate. Not here.

-Rob