+1 Very well said.
Especially #2 - I remember even before there was a Remote Central, using a Crestron learner and pulling discreet power codes off of a Sony receiver remote for every Sony device. Allot of trial and error but it was worth it.
TB
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--- In Crestron@..., Nathan Hesson <nhesson@...> wrote:
I've seen some threads getting rather testy lately and I thought I would
post some helpful hints to help others avoid feeling internet wrath.
1. Do NOT post with questions or requests for help on tests. The tests mean
something. They are an indication of your skills. They are supposed to be a
measurable baseline that we ALL get judged upon. If a person gets a
certification and is undeserving of it, it tarnishes the reputation of the
certification that the rest of us have. Your certification does not just
apply to programming ability, it also has underlying implications that you
can search for information (see item 2), understand protocols, build your
own modules and IR drivers, etc...
2. Be more resourceful. There is a wealth of knowledge to be had. Search
engines do a lovely job trying help you find that information. If you're
looking for an IR driver, do the following BEFORE posting a "Does anyone
have this?"
a. Look in the Crestron DB
b. Try drivers for other models of similar devices. Chances are, the
codes are similar.
c. Search the files here (hint, your browsers search feature works
really well for this).
d. Search remote central. Even if you have to download pronto software
and grab hex codes and then dump them into DEAL, you should be doing this
before asking if anyone has a driver.
e. Look at other companies IR databases. There's a tool out there
somewhere that can convert AMX drivers to Crestron (Vert?). Look at RTI.
You can pull hex codes out of their IR database and put them into DEAL. Go
through every available resource you know.
Similarly, the same effort should go into finding ethernet and serial
protocols. There are a TON of modules here and if you spend more than 30
minutes with any search engine, you'll probably get close to what you're
looking for. Try multiple search engines, they don't always pull the same
results. Try different search terms, get creative. Other options available
include picking up the phone and calling support to find that information.
Remember, when members of the group post responses for peoples questions,
they are actively taking time out of their days to offer assistance. Don't
waste that time if you can do some searching on your own. As a bonus,
you'll be a better programmer for honing your search skills more.
3. Start your own archive for this groups content. I can't recommend this
enough. Gmail works really well, the storage is free and you have a better
(IMHO) search engine than the one that yahoo uses for the groups. Create a
new account and change your email preferences for the group so you get each
message as a single email. If you already have gmail, just use an incoming
filter to put everything in a label and skip your inbox. Sure, you'll need
to use the web interface to find information older than your archives start
date, but it's better than nothing.
4. Remember that tone is a tricky thing when reading and writing messages.
Do NOT post in all caps. It is the internet equivalent of shouting (how I
wish the caps lock key were never invented). If someone prefaces their post
with, "Don't take this the wrong way" or "Not to be rude" chances are, they
know what they are saying is going to be difficult to swallow. It doesn't
mean that they are instantly a jerk for saying what they did. It's the
internet, thick skin required.
My $0.02
-Nathan
