rocknbil - 5:59 pm on May 31, 2010 (gmt 0)

what is wrong with this world anyhow?

Don't get me wrong. I love the Internet. It's changed my life, mostly for the better.

But it has taken a lot away from humanity. Anonymity allows the darkest underside to show, the worst example of which is expressed by kids on the Internet. Most of them perceive the Internet as a "pretend place" and it's all "not real." These aren't real people, these are avatars, video game characters, not real people at all.

Out of the mouths of babes . . . this reveals how many people see us. There's always some sucker out there a) stupid enough to believe me, or b) hungry enough to let me use them. It's different when it's the neighbor down the street, but someone on the Internet is a means to an end, it's not real, I want what I want, what you want is irrelevant.

The second problem I see is that the Internet has trained us to believe everything is free. It's not stealing, if it's on the Internet, it's free. And you, your work? It's free too.

There are even "Internet gurus" selling ebooks detailing on how to work us, how to screw us out of a decent living, to meet their ends. I can see their signature pitches in many of the RFP's, and just when I think I've heard it all, here's a new one.

My personal favorites are

"Should be an easy job for someone who knows what they are doing." (So it should only cost me $5.)

"This is a simple job, bid accordingly." (So you don't need me then. Oh but you're someone important who doesn't have the time to deal with it, got it.)

"There's much more work in the future if you can do an excellent job within my budget." (a whole fifty bucks, and there's never more work.)

"When responding, your proposal must contain the word 'orange.' Proposals not containing this word will be rejected." (When responding to my proposal, your reply must contain the words "I've made the deposit into your account" or you'll never see a line of code . . . this bit of 'wisdom' is from one of the guru's ebooks and is supposed to be a lame way of proving the provider actually read the RFP. Like a Captcha, but far more idiotic.)

"The last provider flaked out on me, so I will NOT be paying a cent until I see the project completed to my satisfaction." (I wonder why they flaked, if you look hard enough, you will probably find them in Sunnyvale Psychiatric Ward . . . after working with you.)

The list goes on . . . I've seen them all . . . while it used to make me a bit annoyed, it's just . . . pathetic. I feel sorry for them, and even sorrier for the bright eyed newbies who bite their hooks.

But there are always good things, good people, good ways to make it work. You just have to filter out the white noise.