The Water Cooler

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12:44 AM

Nice edits, @Dukeling! That's a great start. I'm not sure I'd reopen in it's current form though as it's still feels a bit unclear in what the problem is. I'll drop a link to this post in our chat room to see if there's community support for reopening or if someone else can build upon what you started. The edits definitely bring this much closer to what we're looking for in a Workplace SE question. Thanks for editing. — jmort253 ♦ 12 secs ago

This user made some nice edits to an unclear post. Please take a look, and if you think it's ready or see how more edits may help, toss a reopen vote on the post or build upon these edits.

-1

Q: How to moderate excessive competition in a workplace?

Some of my coworkers are putting in 10+ hours daily (in addition to a +2 hours commute), and make sarcastic remarks when suggested to leave the office 'early' (especially if the boss is present in the room) and routinely sending work-related emails all through the weekend. Should I try to send e...

BVR

1:44 AM

@jmort253, I am planning to post below question. Before posting I would like to take community opinion about the question.

Is It good idea to write earlier Client dev lead for guidelines on the new role who wasn't happy with my performance while I was working with him?

I am working for a consulting firm. I am employed at the client's location as a consultant. I don’t have any reporting manager from my employer's side. I am directly reporting to the client manager.
I have recently been promoted to a developer lead role from a senior developer role. Since this role is a bit new to me, it is very important to go in the right direction.

jmort253

2:25 AM

@BVR Did you have an opportunity to asks questions in an exit interview or when you found out that your role had ended? What was the feedback you received?

BVR

2:49 AM

@jmort253 , No. The feedback directly given to my employer and he takes decision based on feedback.

It has happened 1.5 years back

jmort253

@BVR Did you ask the employer what the feedback was?

BVR

Yes. I got the feedback.

jmort253

Honestly, if it was a year and a half ago, that guy or gal may have forgotten about you.

oh, well in that case, what's the purpose of writing a letter?

BVR

The main intention is I have promoted his role right now

And as per me he is very good and successful dev lead

In my experience I have never seen such kind of lead earlier. As per me he is the role model for dev lead role

jmort253

It's a tough one to answer. Me personally, I'm not the type to dig up people from my past I haven't spoken to in ages, and it may seem kinda awkward.

BVR

2:54 AM

As I said above at current work place I don't have any mentor or some one to seek guidance

jmort253

But if you kept in contact and you have his/her contact information and departed on friendly terms, then it may be okay, but it still feels a little awkward.

Now that might just be me, others may have a different take on that.

I'd prefer to get my information from people who freely volunteer it.

Joel, for instance, or Jeff Atwood.

BVR

Is it worth to post this question on WPSE?

jmort253

They maintain blogs precisely to give people a leg up in their careers.

BVR

Who are Joel or Jeff Atwood?

jmort253

Whoa, you haven't lived until you've read Jeff Atwood or Joel Spolsky's blog.

Joel is the CEO of Stack Exchange and Jeff was the CTO.

blog.codinghorror.com/…

I warn you, Jeff's a little rough around the edges in some of his articles, but they're a good read. :)

See, this is what's tough... people like feeling important, and if you were to ask your former manager for advice, he might think it's kinda cool and be willing to help.... but then, if it's something you do often or have done before, and he's moved on and you haven't spoken in 1.5 years, it might feel a little awkward.

Tough to gauge.

Depends on the situation and the people.

But, I will say there is plenty of good solicited information out there on the Internet from people who have shared their knowledge.... so it might be best to do that instead...

joelonsoftware.com/articles/FindingGreatDevelopers.html

Oh, and I don't think I've read that codinghorror article... I might have to dig into that tonight...

BVR

3:06 AM

Thanks Jmort

jmort253

You're welcome!

Secret

3:34 AM

Can I ask a culture-specific question on WPSE?

jmort253

4:02 AM

@Secret I'd think of it like this... if you have a real workplace problem you're facing that has a cultural component or that involves cultural issues, go ahead and ask.

My suggestion is to try to steer clear of speculative questions though.

They can work, but it's a lot tougher to word them to get answers in Q&A format.

Hope this helps!

Secret

@jmort253 Thanks!

jmort253

You're welcome. Good luck!

Also, check out workplace.stackexchange.com/help/how-to-ask

It has some good tips to help askers formulate questions that will yield good answers, @Secret.

5 hours later…

Stack Exchange

8:39 AM

Q: Minor layout issue: incorrect font (size?)

I came upon this question for which editing was disabled. The edit keyword at the bottom shows a different font (size?) which I think is not intended:

bug

2 hours later…

gnat

10:18 AM

Q: Are questions about ergonomy, health issues of long work with computer allowed on Stack Overflow?

Are questions about ergonomic health issues with computer work allowed on Stack Overflow? If not, then where can such questions can be asked? I think issues like vision disabilities, sedentary working style, right position on desk, etc. are important issues for programmers.

discussion feature-request stackoverflow site-recommendation

^^^ would be helpful for someone to respond with authoritative guidance on whether and if yes, how this can be asked about at Workplace

...unless we want this to stay as an answer there:

A: Are questions about ergonomy, health issues of long work with computer allowed on Stack Overflow?

I think The Workplace is the best option in the SE network of sites.

3 hours later…

Stack Exchange

1:42 PM

Q: Does an answer have to adress the question directly?

I have been criticised for posting answers that don't adress the question itself but the intent behind it or are somehow related. I understand that I shouldn't be noisy but I find in some situations it provides additional information (like in the answer linked above). Or should it just be a comme...

discussion

1 hour later…

user55340

2:50 PM

A: Are questions about ergonomy, health issues of long work with computer allowed on Stack Overflow?

I think The Workplace is the best option in the SE network of sites.

user55340

If this isn't correct, someone might want to head over to MS[OE] and correct the poster about the scope of the workplace.

Chad

4:51 PM

Q: Is Ergonomics On-Topic?

Early in the private beta we had this discussion "Are workspace-ergonomics questions on-topic?" There was no real resolution at that time besides ask the question and we will see how they fly. Is ergonomics on topic? We have had a few questions lately: What is the most comprehensive way to ma...

discussion on-topic-definition

3 hours later…

gnat

8:01 PM

Q: How do you handle co-workers that want to conversate with you in the bathroom?

I find that when I am in the bathroom I want to get in and out. I don't mind a simple "Hi" or "How's it going?" when I wash my hands but some co-workers step over this line. I have had managers talk to me while in a stall and other coworkers having a "normal" conversation with me while I am in ...

professionalism

^^^ I guess the correct answer is to tell them flush the toilet?

3 hours later…

NotThatGuy

11:21 PM

I guess a question about some generic guidelines for finding the Joel Score of any given company would be a bit too programmer-specific to be appropriate, or would it be fine?

(Without actually asking them, that is, as I'd like to show a bit of research effort)

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