Unfortunately, many people get disappointed when you tell them things are going well. They kind of want this to be the end of the world as we know it. And when you say, Hey, as a result of what weve been pushing for and doing, weve made some progress, they dont want to hear that.

Now, Mr. Yourdon, youre not in that category, but there are some folks who have books to sell, that wont sell very well if we say were making progress, and so they dont want to make progress. O.K., . . .

-- Cherri (sams@brigadoon.com), May 31, 1999

Answers

Cherri,

I pray we're making good progress! (Even though the lawyers hold the keys to the corporate Y2K gag orders).

I get disappointed when we discover "not everyone is telling the truth." That's why many of us keep digging for Y2K info nuggets. And finding them.

Personally, I don't "want this to be the end of the world as we know it." And I don't think it will be. But there will be changes and disruptions in unknown and unexpected ways. Even our "happy" Y2K czar Koskinen, and our Senators admit that.

I would certainly like it to be "the beginning" of the world as we would like it to be... more peaceful, co-operative and prosperous for all. Time, and next year, will tell.

How do you think the global Y2K situation will impact us domestically and locally, Cherri?

Diane

-- Diane J. Squire (sacredspaces@yahoo.com), May 31, 1999.

Cherri,

So, you say, many people get disappointed when you tell them things are going well. Really? Many people do? That's not *my* experience. I have found that many people, in fact most people, love it when you tell then things are going well. Who are *you* talking to?

As far as the book sellers, are they selling books because they have made up a phony problem to frighted people? Or is there a real problem that they just found is worth writing about? Kind of like the chicken and the egg story. Which do you think came first, Cherri, the chicken or the egg?

-- Gordon (gpconnolly@aol.com), May 31, 1999.

So? This is old news, Cherri. Most people's "positions" on this forum started hardening late last year. Some didn't listen to good news. Some didn't listen to bad news. What did they have in common? They didn't listen. Their positions were as fixed as the vision of a horse with blinders. That's why Mr. Yourdon bowed out. Very few people are going to change their minds no matter what facts are presented, either bad or good news.

And I can understand why. It's sometimes hard to trust the "facts". I work in an IT dept for a large company. I've worked on a number of large projects and am currently still working on a Y2K remediation project (a mission-critical mainframe replacement system). I know how statuses and facts are distorted on many projects, including my own. Project statuses (which turn into "facts" by the time they reach our CEO) are slanted toward good news. No one wants to panic the clients unnecessarily when we fall behind (many times because we're pretty sure that we can still make our deadline). So why would I assume that other IT organizations are any different? Slanting toward the good news is a "time-honored" tradition, not just in IT depts, but in manufactuing, sales, and marketing depts and even our very own government.....(hope you note my sarcasm). So the question becomes "Can we catch up before we get caught?". But everyone outside the project thinks everything is just honky-dory.

Even when the status is reported correctly by the project team, the message can be garbled by the time it reaches the CEO. The "This project is a crock of shit" message becomes a watered down "This project is a wholesome nutrient that promotes growth and vitality" message.

That's not to say that those slanted messages don't pay off. Many times, we DO catch up and we DO make our deadlines...and without the swarming anthill of finger pointing that late projects inevitably create. But in this case, slanted statuses and slanted political views keep us from knowing the truth about Y2K progress (or from knowing at least some of the "truths").

So....what are the "facts". Darned if I know......geez, maybe taking a set position (either polly or doomer) and sticking to it isn't so bad after all? Less stressful....less trouble..less thinking....more sleep.

-- seagreen (seagreen@seagreen.com), May 31, 1999.

The end? Hardly. A new beginning? Absolutely. Has anyone seen Yellowstone National Park, since the fires? It's a work in progress and a piece of heaven on earth! The arguements are getting weak around here, Cherri.

-- Will continue (farming@home.com), May 31, 1999.

You keep spelling forum wrong. This is about the 10th time.

-- a;lsk (a;sjdlf@;alsjkdf.la;sdjf), May 31, 1999.

Don't you people realize you've been had??? Ed Yourdon has bailed off the Y2K radar screen because if things don't get bad, he'll be long forgotten by the end of the year. Sheeple have short memories.

Why put all that work into something and then bail out. He's dumb like a fox and took all our money with him. I wonder who the sheeple REALLY are???

Been had big time.

-- Sucka (Beenhad@yourdonsite.com), May 31, 1999.

Cherri,

I've said this a bunch of times here. I don't have Ed's book, or Rick Cowles' video, or any other "hard" source of information on Y2K. I'm one of those that has the WWW, and can find all the info on Y2K that I want, for free. Speaking of free, did you know that Ed's book was available for quite a while, on his web site, for free? Do you know that you can post your opinion here, for the whole WWW to see, for free? I'm really tired of this bullshit headline. I started another thread where I called Ed a hero, and I stand by it. He brought his book to those in this country that don't have a computer, still a majority, I'm sorry to say. What's the price of the book? Is it worth it, if the shit does hit the fan? What is the price of being "prepared?"... <:)=

I'm sorry, I do get pissed off at people that swear on this forum, but I really am tired of this crap. Welcome to America.

-- Sysman (y2kboard@yahoo.com), June 01, 1999.

I am going to clarify what I posted above. It was part of Oral Transcript of Hour One of Senate Y2k Hearings in which Ed testified.

http://greenspun.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg.tcl?msg_id=000tQF

What I had posted above is something that Senator Bennett said. ****

Senator Bennett: GAO is now beginning to say kinder things about the Defense Department than they did before, and the Defense Departments saying, Theyre just catching up to what we have been doing.

And that again reflects the problem that the media have, as to where we are.

The difficult problem with this challenge is that it IS a moving target. Ive had the experience of having my old speeches quoted back to me, and saying, How can you say this is where we are, when six months ago you said. . .

And I said, Because six months ago that was true, and what Im saying now is true.

Unfortunately, many people get disappointed when you tell them things are going well. They kind of want this to be the end of the world as we know it. And when you say, Hey, as a result of what weve been pushing for and doing, weve made some progress, they dont want to hear that. *****(Now I insert this from the introductions of the meeting;

Bennett: We will go forward then, with our first panel. And our witnesses are: Ed Yourdon, a noted software engineer,co-author of two best-selling books with respect to Y2k, Timebomb 2000, and The Complete Y2k Home Preparation Guide, )***

Now, Mr. Yourdon, youre not in that category, but there are some folks who have books to sell, that wont sell very well if we say were making progress, and so they dont want to make progress. O.K., . . .

Christian: May I make a comment, Senator Bennett?

Bennett: Yeah.

Christian: I dont think theres anyone on this panel today that wants the world to end. Were not propagating that type of press ourselves.

********

Lastly, Senator Bennett and I sent out a letter to a series of federal agencies today, regarding what I consider to be a pernicious problem, that happens oftentimes during times of crisis, and that is the scam artists, who are out there operating and will take any crisis to turn and make a buck. So, weve written to the attorney general and the consumer ---all these various agencies, do you have that list? (Question to a staffer) If you do--of the ones we sent it to, Ill provide it.

Were looking into allegations where people are preying on the vulnerable and utilizing the Y2k problem as a means of getting information from people, including credit card information, making quick bucks off this. The agencies weve sent it to are--weve sent it to the Department of Justice, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Federal Trade Commission, the Office of the Controller of the Currency and the Securities Exchange Commission, Thrift Supervision and Credit Union Administrations as well.

snip

If you havent initiated the call, dont give anybody the kind of personal information, credit card information, and particularly be suspicious if someone calls you, and the telemarketing approach, and how theyre going to help you deal with the Y2k issue. Its sick individuals who would take advantage of the vulnerable in this kind of situation, so we hope with the letter weve generated we will have these respective agencies pay attention to some, or all of this.

-- Cherri (sams@brigadoon.com), June 01, 1999.

Its sick individuals who would take advantage of the vulnerable in this kind of situation, so we hope with the letter weve generated we will have these respective agencies pay attention to some, or all of this.

-- Cherri (sams@brigadoon.com), June 01, 1999.

This is a valid consern. Your heart is in the right place.

Some seniors could be drawn into scams easily. Good Call

-- Brian (imager@home.com), June 01, 1999.

Sorry, Brian, I don't agree that it was a good call. What you've just agreed with Cherri on is that Y2K is a hoax, and that Ed was chief among the hoaxters, which is her(?) line of baloney on this thread.

People, cut me a break. Seniors (and I'm one of them) have had to fight off hucksters who want their social security checks for years. The unsolicited phone call is but one of the tricks. A long time ago I adopted a simple program. I do not even talk to people who call me to sell me something. If I want something, I will research it and order it. That comes with the territory.

Now, Cherri has begun several threads within the past few days that do absolutely nothing except impunge the reputation of Ed Yourdan. This is nothing except taking cheap shots at someone who won't shoot back, since Ed withdrew from Y2K. Yes, Cherri, cheap. If you don't have the balls to make comments like those and insinuations of this scurrilous nature directly to someone's face, you are cheap. You've proven that over and over by continuing to add nothing to this forum except attacks on Ed.

Get a life, Cherri. Preferably somewhere else.

-- I'm (ticked@off.net), June 01, 1999.