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Because nobody has ever had problems w/ expensive domestic contractors. * rolls eyes * This story is meant to scare us away from offshoring but if I'm to be c

by jadence 17y ago

Because nobody has ever had problems w/ expensive domestic contractors. * rolls eyes * This story is meant to scare us away from offshoring but if I'm to be convinced I'd need to see some stats and studies that show wide-scale differences in code quality. Until then this story is just an anecdote and we all know how much those are worth.

qeorge 17y ago
The primary difference (IMHO) is that no one wants to pay overseas contractors anything reasonable, so its a self-fulfilling prophecy. As the submission's title says, "you get what you pay for." In my experience, this is the case no matter where the contractor is based.
ams6110 17y ago
Could just as easily be a disgruntled employee too. Have all devs commit work to an SCCS, and keep offline backups. Pretty much protects you from this scenario.
wgj 17y ago
> this story is just an anecdote All Daily WTFs are anecdotes, designed to appeal to IT engineers and programmers, and usually portraying business owners and managers (and the other programmer) in an unfavorable light. It's a formula. Totally useless for any insight about how to start or run a business.
- metra 17y ago
  But very useful for laughs. I doubt anyone on HN is really basing hiring decisions off of this one anecdote. Lighten up people, it's a funny story.
  - wgj 17y ago
    Didn't mean to sound that heavy. The daily wtf is in my rss; I read them all. (That's why I know the formula so well.)
- blasdel 17y ago
  All DailyWTFs submissions get mangled and rewritten by Alex before being posted, often to the point of having nothing left from the original. At least Atwood drops a few big <blockquote>s in before inserting his inept analysis. He's a hack. He has a thing for turning factual accounts into shitty urban legends.
DarkShikari 17y ago
I'd need to see some stats and studies that show wide-scale differences in code quality. There's a good reason why offshore contractors have code of generally lower quality. Here's what a Chinese friend has told me about the employment situation for coders in China. The good programmers usually get good jobs at local firms--most of which don't do outsourcing. The outsourcing positions are primarily taken by the lower-quality programmers. Thus, when you outsource to China, you're often effectively self-selecting the worst programmers to work on your project. This leads to stereotypes that Chinese programmers are incompetent idiots, when in fact the reality is just that bad Chinese programmers are incompetent idiots, no different than bad Western programmers. Obviously I have no statistics on this, but I'm inclined to at least somewhat trust the word of someone who has lived there and had experience with the industry. It's also a better explanation than "Chinese are bad programmers" or some equally racist answer.
tedunangst 17y ago
You can take a domestic contractor to court if they sabotage the project after you fire them.

by jadence 17y ago

qeorge 17y ago

The primary difference (IMHO) is that no one wants to pay overseas contractors anything reasonable, so its a self-fulfilling prophecy. As the submission's title says, "you get what you pay for." In my experience, this is the case no matter where the contractor is based.

ams6110 17y ago

Could just as easily be a disgruntled employee too. Have all devs commit work to an SCCS, and keep offline backups. Pretty much protects you from this scenario.

wgj 17y ago

> this story is just an anecdote All Daily WTFs are anecdotes, designed to appeal to IT engineers and programmers, and usually portraying business owners and managers (and the other programmer) in an unfavorable light. It's a formula. Totally useless for any insight about how to start or run a business.

metra 17y ago
But very useful for laughs. I doubt anyone on HN is really basing hiring decisions off of this one anecdote. Lighten up people, it's a funny story.
- wgj 17y ago
  Didn't mean to sound that heavy. The daily wtf is in my rss; I read them all. (That's why I know the formula so well.)
blasdel 17y ago
All DailyWTFs submissions get mangled and rewritten by Alex before being posted, often to the point of having nothing left from the original. At least Atwood drops a few big <blockquote>s in before inserting his inept analysis. He's a hack. He has a thing for turning factual accounts into shitty urban legends.

DarkShikari 17y ago

I'd need to see some stats and studies that show wide-scale differences in code quality. There's a good reason why offshore contractors have code of generally lower quality. Here's what a Chinese friend has told me about the employment situation for coders in China. The good programmers usually get good jobs at local firms--most of which don't do outsourcing. The outsourcing positions are primarily taken by the lower-quality programmers. Thus, when you outsource to China, you're often effectively self-selecting the worst programmers to work on your project. This leads to stereotypes that Chinese programmers are incompetent idiots, when in fact the reality is just that bad Chinese programmers are incompetent idiots, no different than bad Western programmers. Obviously I have no statistics on this, but I'm inclined to at least somewhat trust the word of someone who has lived there and had experience with the industry. It's also a better explanation than "Chinese are bad programmers" or some equally racist answer.

tedunangst 17y ago

You can take a domestic contractor to court if they sabotage the project after you fire them.