Going back to the beginning

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RobertGonzalez
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Going back to the beginning

Post by RobertGonzalez »

Does anyone (that has been around here for a while) ever go back and read through some of your first posts that you made here? I just got done doing that and was freaking amazed at how new I was to PHP! Some of the things I asked then now seem so elementary (my dear Watson). So I was just wondering if anyone else ever goes back and looks at the questions they once asked when new to the boards?

DISCLAIMER: This question excludes Feyd, who by the very nature of him being the end-all, be-all source of intelligence and logic to code and programming as a whole, never asked a single question as a poster in need of help. :)
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feyd
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Re: Going back to the beginning

Post by feyd »

Everah wrote:DISCLAIMER: This question excludes Feyd, who by the very nature of him being the end-all, be-all source of intelligence and logic to code and programming as a whole, never asked a single question as a poster in need of help. :)
phooey.

Although I haven't gone back to read early posts really, I do remember some. I'd have to say I've grown a bit since then. Percentage-wise, probably no where near many others here, but at least it's growth, eh?
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RobertGonzalez
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Post by RobertGonzalez »

Hey, growth is growth. And I'm sorry if I offended you. It's just that I read some of your earlier posts and, given the fact that you were new to the board, even then, your responses and apparent knowledge of every possible situation people were asking about blew me away.
Flamie
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Post by Flamie »

Hehe, I did that a few days ago.
I actually tried to register to just discuss PHP stuff and realised my email was already registerd, and saw I had made an account 2 years ago and asking such stupid questions that would come so naturally to me right now.
But heh, we all gotta start somewhere right? And I think these forums are a really cool place, I came here two years ago looking for some guidance and help, and here I am 2 years later returning the favor by trying to help as many people as I can :)
alex.barylski
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Re: Going back to the beginning

Post by alex.barylski »

Everah wrote:Does anyone (that has been around here for a while) ever go back and read through some of your first posts that you made here? I just got done doing that and was freaking amazed at how new I was to PHP! Some of the things I asked then now seem so elementary (my dear Watson). So I was just wondering if anyone else ever goes back and looks at the questions they once asked when new to the boards?

DISCLAIMER: This question excludes Feyd, who by the very nature of him being the end-all, be-all source of intelligence and logic to code and programming as a whole, never asked a single question as a poster in need of help. :)
I did just that the other day...

Although I've been a member here for a while I only started posting a while back (no more than year I'm guessing) yet my thing says member since 2004... :?

I can't say I had much of a nostalgia feeling as most of my posts are within the last couple onths I would think...9 maybe 10 months...

I did reflect on my posts made at Code Project though as I've been a active member there for a much longer time...

In which case yes...it's weird to see old questions...

For me it was weird, cause I always ask strange questions...either because I don't ask properly or I have a odd interest at the time...

One in particular that stuck out was an argument I got into with another member in regards to assembly language and optimizing calendar functions...

The argument I made (at the time) seemed logical from what I understood of the subject...but I was later proven very wrong by an old time veteran...who thankfully just let it go... :P

That faithful day I learned a very important lesson...actually two...

1) Only argue if you unconditionally can prove your right otherwise post in question form, which is a smart way of posting as you can never be wrong...

2) Only argue about things that are:
- Concept, theory or asbtract so no one person is the clear winner
- So overly complicated no one even understands, except a limited few...so if you are wrong...at least you only get one or two people correcting you and NOT the entire community...

Anyways...yes...everyday I learn something new...not always technical in nature...sometimes physchological...

For instance...I believe it was Roja who convinced me of the importance of web accessability or why CSS was better for layout over TABLES...

It was on a local BBS many moons ago that someone convinced me of why I should extensively (or at all) comment my code...

Different kinds of learning I guess...I don't know your background...but if you were new to programming or PHP when you first came here...it's probably pretty natural to ask trivial basic questions like...

Why doesn't my script compile or whatever...some issue caused by a missing semi-colon, etc...

In which case, you would use a community slightly different than someone who had previous experience programming...at least until you caught up with the basics...

Even still...advanced developers can ask sometimes trivial questions...

For instance, I once asked (not here, but another forum) how you derive classes in PHP and received about 40 relies explaining the basics of OOP :P

I was really only looking for use "extends" keyword as I was already an accomplished OOP developer...but I guess thats my bad for being so lazy as to ask such a trivial question...

I personally try and further myself in one way or another every day, programming and beyond...I'm a learner...thats what I love to do...but that really affects my performance as a developer...especially freelancing when I don't have someone breatheing down my neck pushin deadlines, etc...

I'll spend a few hours programming then flip open Google to find a solution, which leads to another solution to another problem, which domino's into about 30 other articles...and completely takes me off track...and wastes 3-4 hours which could have spent making money...but instead...just made me smarter...

All the smarts in the world won't do you a damn bit of good if you can't pay your bills...

So...I guess I'm slowly learning to be a more efficient developer...disciplining myself to stay focused at the problem at hand...for longer periods of time...

I'm all for learning...as long as it's something I'm interested in :)

Cheers :)
alex.barylski
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Post by alex.barylski »

Flamie wrote:Hehe, I did that a few days ago.
I actually tried to register to just discuss PHP stuff and realised my email was already registerd, and saw I had made an account 2 years ago and asking such stupid questions that would come so naturally to me right now.
But heh, we all gotta start somewhere right? And I think these forums are a really cool place, I came here two years ago looking for some guidance and help, and here I am 2 years later returning the favor by trying to help as many people as I can :)
I actually tried to register to just discuss PHP stuff and realised my email was already registerd, and saw I had made an account 2 years ago
I'm guessing thats what I did when I signed up...cause I don't remember being a member since 2004 :)
I came here two years ago looking for some guidance and help, and here I am 2 years later returning the favor by trying to help as many people as I can
Hows that Lion King song go???

It's the circle of life.....da da da da...do do blaaah!!! :P

Cheers :)
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Maugrim_The_Reaper
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Post by Maugrim_The_Reaper »

Even still...advanced developers can ask sometimes trivial questions...
I remember being confused about how to track a PHP scripts errors by line... For some odd reason I completely missed debug_backtrace(). feyd replies in one liner fashion I think. One of my more sheepish moments on Devnetwork...:)
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