Re: [chiPHPug-discuss] PHPTEK Conference questions

[Jason R. <ja...@ho...>]

Hey Roderick!

   This is Jason, I do remember you coming to the meetings and the 
flurry of emails with coding questions.

   My short answer is that if, over the last year, you have not mastered 
some of the PHP language and associated programming environments then 
you might not get as much tangible value out of the conference (other 
than hearing me speak of course ;-) ).

   You will likely get value learning what things are possible, 
networking, and possibly picking up a lot of specific technical pointers 
that you wouldn't get easily otherwise.


   Regarding the fact that some of our meetings get pretty heavy 
technically, I think you are right that we should probably set aside 
some time every other meeting to cover intro and basics.  Most of the 
group are old hands at PHP and we care about pushing the envelope but we 
should, as a group, try a bit more to help newbs get up to speed.

   Maybe a beginner hack-camp at one of the meetings..?..

   Regarding your tone in correspondence, I think we had a little 
tension a while back over just that topic.  I would say that you are 
getting enough push back from multiple sources to indicate that your 
tone isn't always received the right way.  I would suggest trying 
something new in the way that you email the groups.

   One tactic that they teach sales people and customer reps is to 
compose an email, save it as a draft, go do some other task, come back 
and re-read it, and then send it.   That may help..

   Hmm.. reply to long winded email with long winded email.. Ah well.. 
good luck and hope to see you around!

-jason


Roderick Thomas wrote:
> Hey everybody,
> 
> I'm sure some of you remember me.  Around this time last year I was  
> constantly requesting help with scripting issues and I attend several  
> meeting on Wednesdays and Saturdays.
> 
> I'm considering attending the upcoming conference, but I'm concerned that  
> I may not receive any real benefits from doing so.  And the fact that the  
> cost is expensive for my budget doesn't help matters.  I really appreciate  
> all of the help that I've gotten from you folks, but I've often felt like  
> my questions have been annoying.  And most times when I receive helpful  
> scripts in response to my question, I don't know how they should be  
> structured with the rest of my script.  Please don't take this the wrong  
> way, but I've actually gotten headaches at some of the UserGroup meetings  
> as a result of the discussions being so far out of my conceptual grasp.  
> But it's not just you.  I've gotten booted from online UserGroups for  
> creating so much tension by asking questions that greatly annoyed many of  
> the other members.  And I've done the same thing with this group also.   
> Thank goodness you guys were kind enough to let me stay on the list  
> anyway. I have a true passion for dynamic scripting, but my quest has been  
> extremely frustrating.
> 
> So please, be brutally honest...
> Do you think it's a good idea for me to attend the conference? Below is a  
> message that I sent to PHPTEK--asking the same question.
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> I'm hardly a programmer, at all.  However, I'm fascinated with PHP and all  
> that dynamic scripting entails.  I have developed a web-based application  
> that stores and displays contact information for my department's  
> affiliated agencies.  While my application is very basic and poorly built  
> as compared to the big scheme of PHP, my department and close friends  
> think the world of it (I'm the most technical person they interact with on  
> a personal level).
> 
> I would desperately like to enhance my programming skills and make better  
> use of PHP, but it's been my experience that PHP user groups discussions  
> have been over my head.  And when more advanced programmers take time to  
> talk with me, they tend to spend more time criticizing my structure than  
> sharing coding pointers with me.  It seems that the more I ask for  
> clarification, the more I annoy my mentors.  I don't like irritating them  
> by asking questions that they consider redundant, but I also find it  
> frustrating to sit through lengthy talks that I'm unable to connect with.   
> I would hate to have that sort of an experience at a conference that I've  
> paid over $1,000 to attend.
> 
> Your conference is very expensive for my budget.  However, I think it  
> could be well worth the sacrifice if it helps to improve my programming  
> skills.  Will the conference provide a comfortable environment for novice  
> programmers?  Am I at a good place to benefit from the Add-On Tutorial  
> sessions?
> 
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