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> The Register has been unable to determine the specific technical problem that upended the email migration. But in a comment posted to Hacker News, software en

> The Register has been unable to determine the specific technical problem that upended the email migration. But in a comment posted to Hacker News, software engineer Bernd Verst suggested that people who really understand how to deal with Notes data are few and far between. This is a first. Do journalists make it a habit of using random HN comments as an authoritative source?

test_epsilon 5y ago
As far as I can see the comment is being used as an authoritative source for the opinion of the person who posted the comment, and nothing more. Journalists have long had a habit of printing opinions of random bystanders, self-proclaimed (and possibly actual) experts, and even people with particular opinions that will push the angle that the journalist hopes for. This particular case seems pretty harmless and probably correct although it doesn't actually say anything about whether IBM is lacking in Notes experts or has anything to do with the problem (it could be in a different layer of the stack).
- mbreese 5y ago
  This is a pretty bad quote to include though. The original comment (which they at least linked to) doesn't actually say anything about IBM specifically. Rather, it references generic Notes knowledge at Google. I'm not sure it's okay to publish a comment someone left on HN using their full name (the user account doesn't currently include a full name). I'd hope they at least contacted the user before including their comment (but I'm not holding my breath).
  - test_epsilon 5y ago
    > This is a pretty bad quote to include though. The original comment (which they at least linked to) doesn't actually say anything about IBM specifically. Rather, it references generic Notes knowledge at Google. That's why I say it doesn't necessarily relate to the situation at IBM. As I said, journalists like quoting people to push an agenda or lend legitimacy to a story even if they are not experts or on the complete periphery of the story. It's nothing new though, and very tame as far as journalistic honesty goes -- it is not incorrect to say that there is some email problem at IBM, that IBM has been known to use Notes for email, and that there are not many Notes experts around. > I'm not sure it's okay to publish a comment someone left on HN using their full name (the user account doesn't currently include a full name). I'd hope they at least contacted the user before including their comment (but I'm not holding my breath). I'm not sure what you mean by okay, but journalists have been quoting people's public utterings and public writings for as long as there have been journalists. Including taking selective parts out of context to push their agenda. If it's a verbatim quote even out of context I consider that to be well clear of the bar for journalistic integrity. And really, anything you say in public will be used against you. And it will be linked with your person if you don't cover your tracks carefully. We all know this. No journalist is going to contact us before taking something from a comment we write here!
MattGaiser 5y ago
They frequently quote Reddit, so why not?
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
j4kp07 5y ago
They are not journalists. They are overpaid bloggers.
noir_lord 5y ago
I've been quoted in the press for comments I made on reddit. https://www.ibtimes.com/hackers-warn-about-future-threats-how-guard-against-next-heartbleed-1573074 https://www.ibtimes.com/hackers-warn-about-future-threats-ho... > “We can write good software, but it costs a fortune and business priorities often mean good enough is good enough,” Reddit user “noir_lord” wrote.
shp0ngle 5y ago
The Register is kind of low-brow tabloid-style tech journalism. They still do their own stories and commentaries instead of just reposting random online blogspam (like Forbes), but they also are not the highest of journalistic integrity.

test_epsilon 5y ago

As far as I can see the comment is being used as an authoritative source for the opinion of the person who posted the comment, and nothing more. Journalists have long had a habit of printing opinions of random bystanders, self-proclaimed (and possibly actual) experts, and even people with particular opinions that will push the angle that the journalist hopes for. This particular case seems pretty harmless and probably correct although it doesn't actually say anything about whether IBM is lacking in Notes experts or has anything to do with the problem (it could be in a different layer of the stack).

mbreese 5y ago
This is a pretty bad quote to include though. The original comment (which they at least linked to) doesn't actually say anything about IBM specifically. Rather, it references generic Notes knowledge at Google. I'm not sure it's okay to publish a comment someone left on HN using their full name (the user account doesn't currently include a full name). I'd hope they at least contacted the user before including their comment (but I'm not holding my breath).
- test_epsilon 5y ago
  > This is a pretty bad quote to include though. The original comment (which they at least linked to) doesn't actually say anything about IBM specifically. Rather, it references generic Notes knowledge at Google. That's why I say it doesn't necessarily relate to the situation at IBM. As I said, journalists like quoting people to push an agenda or lend legitimacy to a story even if they are not experts or on the complete periphery of the story. It's nothing new though, and very tame as far as journalistic honesty goes -- it is not incorrect to say that there is some email problem at IBM, that IBM has been known to use Notes for email, and that there are not many Notes experts around. > I'm not sure it's okay to publish a comment someone left on HN using their full name (the user account doesn't currently include a full name). I'd hope they at least contacted the user before including their comment (but I'm not holding my breath). I'm not sure what you mean by okay, but journalists have been quoting people's public utterings and public writings for as long as there have been journalists. Including taking selective parts out of context to push their agenda. If it's a verbatim quote even out of context I consider that to be well clear of the bar for journalistic integrity. And really, anything you say in public will be used against you. And it will be linked with your person if you don't cover your tracks carefully. We all know this. No journalist is going to contact us before taking something from a comment we write here!

MattGaiser 5y ago

They frequently quote Reddit, so why not?

deleted 5y ago

[deleted]

j4kp07 5y ago

They are not journalists. They are overpaid bloggers.

noir_lord 5y ago

I've been quoted in the press for comments I made on reddit. https://www.ibtimes.com/hackers-warn-about-future-threats-how-guard-against-next-heartbleed-1573074 https://www.ibtimes.com/hackers-warn-about-future-threats-ho... > “We can write good software, but it costs a fortune and business priorities often mean good enough is good enough,” Reddit user “noir_lord” wrote.

shp0ngle 5y ago

The Register is kind of low-brow tabloid-style tech journalism. They still do their own stories and commentaries instead of just reposting random online blogspam (like Forbes), but they also are not the highest of journalistic integrity.