[thelist] real men code by hand...

Ben Henick persist1 at io.com
Sat Mar 16 20:12:01 CST 2002


On Sat, 16 Mar 2002, Richard Bennett wrote:

> Hi,
> If you want to make a professional impression, you have to use the right
> tools for the job.
> Customers should be able to see that you can afford top-notch software like
> Dreamweaver or Flash, and that you have achieved the correct certification,
> which proves you are a real web-developer.

This statement operates under the fallacy that utilization of the software
results in a better product without regard to the skill of its user...

There are no certifications and in fact there is no quantitative way for
any one of us to prove (outside of revenues and account lists) that any
one of us (or any one group of us) is better in qualitative terms than a
competitor.

The substance is in measurements - how effective are the sites we build?

The rest is just window-dressing.  In six years of doing this work as a
volunteer, subcontractor, employee, and contractor, I've had one client
who might've cared about the names of the tools I use.

> Using these tools is also proof for your customers that their website is
> coded to the highest standards, and hasn't been messed around with by people
> who can't afford real web-development-software, and think that they know
> everything better.

In terms of prospects who are looking for fluff, sure.

A "real" Web developer knows his or her tools, and knows how to use them
to do the job right the first time.  Those tools include HTML, CSS,
JavaScript, and in many cases SQL, SWF, Illustrator/Freehand, and
PHP/VBS/Perl/Python.

If THOSE tools are understood and used properly, the intermediary software
used to implement them doesn't really make a difference.

> Your best bet is to stick with well-known companies, then you can put their
> logos on your website, which always makes a good impression.

Horseshit.

Rely on a generator to build your scripts and markup... at your peril.


--
Ben Henick
Web Author At-Large              Managing Editor
http://www.io.com/persist1/      http://www.digital-web.com/
persist1 at io.com                  bmh at digital-web.com
--
"Are you pondering what I'm pondering, Pinky?"
"I think so, Brain, but... (snort) no, no, it's too stupid."
"We will disguise ourselves as a cow."
"Oh!" (giggles) "That was it exactly!"




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