[plug] [OT link] Interesting caveats at the start of this article...

[Leon Brooks]

Yes, the article is centred on Microsoft and probably needs to be read on its 
own merits for that, but more importantly I thought some of the preamble 
deserves being committed to memory for use in discussions here and elsewhere.

    http://www.hevanet.com/peace/microsoft.htm

  * Computer professionals are sometimes not computer users.

    Often those who know a lot about computers are not especially heavy
    users of their own computers. They may not have encountered some of
    the problems that are mentioned in this article. Often people who
    only use their computers for email, web browsing, and word processing
    wipe their hard disks clean and re-install everything every few
    months. This avoids some of the problems.

    Some of the problems mentioned below are most serious for companies
    that have thousands of employees who use numerous special
    applications.

  * The seriousness of an objection is not proportional to its intensity.

    Sometimes there have been people who have complained very strongly
    about something written here. When strong objections have been
    evaluated, they have sometimes been found to be small in comparison
    to the intensity of their expression.

  * There are people whose self-esteem is strongly tied to their
    knowledge of computers.

    When they discover something that they don't know they sometimes
    have a negative reaction that sounds like a serious objection.

  * Consider conflict of interest.

    Consider whether the advice of a technically knowledgeable person is
    influenced by conflict of interest. For, example, if someone has
    spent many years taking expensive courses in administering Microsoft
    software, he or she may be very reluctant to say, or see, anything
    negative. This is particularly true if the person has a spouse and
    children and mortgage, and no other good way of earning money.

  * Consider each issue separately and carefully.

    It's necessary to evaluate each issue carefully. If someone raises
    an objection that is discovered to be valid, that does not
    necessarily mean that other issues are without merit.

Cheers; Leon