My latest brilliant idea for keeping my sanity.

[Jae]

Warik,

I have been there and know what you are talking about. In my Systems Analysis II class there was this lowlife that when the class was divided into 6 teams of four people each, he demanded to be the team leader. We had eight weeks to complete OUR assignment and three weeks went by and he never told us what OUR assignment was going to be. He later abandoned us with three weeks left, ZERO work done, NOT ONE FUCKING CLUE TO WHAT THE PROJECT WAS ABOUT for another team that was one person short. I complained to our professor and told him that henceforth I refused to partake ANY "team" type projects. I did the project entirely myself and just let the other two people hang on and get an A for my effort. The funny thing was the asshole only got a C from the other team, but was forever burned and buried in other classes.

 

[Warik]

Jae,

I just finished the project with help from one of my other group members. The only difference between your experience and my experience is that this guy isn't going to get away with it. In the mandatory "Group Leader Group Activity Report," I gave the guy a 0% contribution. I've also removed his name from the program credits, the disk, hell, even the damn yellow envelope I put everything in. I don't want him to fail the class since he did his individual work and did alright on the tests, but I'll be damned if he gets an A in the class at my expense.

He who wanders into my crosshairs would be better off spitting in the face of evil.

-Warik

 

[Sassy69]

Funny thing about this, Warik, is that it doesnt' get much better in real life. There's always the slacker in every "team environment". Learn from this so that when you hit it in real life and there's more on the line than just a grade, you can manage it. That's the sign of a "leader".

And you might want to consider getting out from behind the computer screen a little more often - did you know that long-term exposure to low-level power makes your dick shrink?

j/k..!

 

[Warik]

It does get better in real life, because I will amass a great deal of money and retire in my 40s so that I don't have to associate with humans anymore.

I'm not worried about long term exposure to low level power... if anything it will be a relief because I might actually be able to buy pants that fit.

-Warik

 

[May1010]

i gave the guy a 0% contribution. I've also removed his name from the program credits, the disk, hell, even the damn yellow envelope I put everything in ...

Warik -

You're such an asshole. As you get older, I hope you'll learn how to get a long with people better.




May1010

 

[Warik]

You're such an asshole. As you get older, I hope you'll learn how to get a long with people better.

After reading this, I realized that you were right. I have put this person's name on the program credits, disk, and the yellow envelope. I gave him a 30% contribution. I even wrote a recommendation in my confidential group activity report to the teacher for him to get extra credit.

Lol.

Maybe you didn't understand my post... he gave me his part of the program with THREE days remaining till the due date (I assigned it to him over a month and a half ago). His portion of the program did not work, and he failed to fix it before he left the country. If you were to go line-by-line through every line of every one of the project's program files, you would not find a SINGLE line of code belonging to him. I'm an asshole for giving him a 0% contribution?

Wtf do you want me to do? Bend over so he can get a free A? (Don't answer that.)

-Warik

 

[May1010]

Warik -

You assigned him his part of the program over a month and a half ago and he turned it in to you with just three days remaining until the due date. His programming did not work and he did not fix it prior to leaving the country? (These are the facts as I understand them.)

It appears that you were the group leader or project manager for this group project. As the manager, you should have had discussions with him over the course of the project to assess his progress. You should have asked him to show you his work in progress.

He worked on the project and turned in what I will assume was a good faith effort to produce working code. As the project manager, it is your responsibility to ensure that everything progresses according to plan. Leaving the country is not like going to the beach for the week-end. I'm sure he did his best (regardless of your opinion) to complete his assigned task so as not to let the group down.

From my perspective, you were a poor project manager. However, you stepped up to bat and fixed the problems with the code (by replacing the code). For that, you get an "atta boy."

But, you have no right to exclude this person from receiving credit. He tried. He failed. For that, you want to deprive him of receiving credit for this assignment.

You're behaving like an ass.

 

[Warik]

My discussions with him over the weeks consisted of me asking him how everything was going and him telling me: "Alright... just trying to fix some stupid bugs."

It is not as easy to show a "work in progress" when it comes to a programming project. A "work in progress" is like notes for an essay that hasn't even reached its first draft.

I'm sure it was a good faith effort, but it didn't work. That's like a game development company releasing a game early to meet a deadline when the game isn't complete. (Example: FunCom scheduling the release of their massively multiplayer online role playing game "Anarchy Online" for June 26 even though the game is still in BETA as we speak.) What am I going to do with nonfunctional code?

My opinion is just like yours - he did his best. Unfortunately, his best was: "Here you go - it doesn't work, though. "

From my perspective, I was an excellent project manager, for if I had done only precisely what I had originally stated I'd do in the original proposal, we'd have a C or worse on this project. Tomorrow is the presentation, and I expect nothing less than a 90%.

I have no right to exclude him from receiving credit? Ok, think of this....

Let's say that the programming teacher gives an individual homework assignment. I sit there and work on it and "do my best," but on the date it's due, I turn it in and it doesn't work. Can you guess what my grade will be?

In my Programming II class, the teacher explicitly stated: "If your code doesn't compile, it's an automatic 0."

My Programming III teacher has an item on his grading criteria sheet for individual homework assignment that says: "Hopeless, nonfunctional program. -90 points"

I'd be giving him credit for doing nothing. It's not fair to me, nor is it fair to my other group members who actually did what they were supposed to do. It would be like me telling another group member: "yea man I know you did this part of the program even though I didn't ask you to because you saw that we needed to have it done, but I'm going to give this dude the same credit you got because it's not fair that he gets no credit for not doing anything."

Please... I'm behaving like someone who hates irresponsibility.

-Warik

 

[May1010]

I'm sure it was a good faith effort, but it didn't work. That's like a game development company releasing a game early to meet a deadline when the game isn't complete.

No, Warik, it'n like that at all. Going to college is a learning environment. Sometimes you fail.

As the project manager, you're given the authority to determine each person's participation %? I find that ridiculous.

You write that you do not hate irresponsibly. Well, just by using the term "hate" within this context is irresponsible. You're biased and should therefore not be in a position to make a determination of another person's grade.

I suggest you discuss the teacher with either the professor or an academic dean.

 

[Warik]

No, Warik, it'n like that at all. Going to college is a learning environment. Sometimes you fail.

Grades are not determined on what you learn or how hard you try - they are determined on your output in the class. Your effort is shown through your output. If what you are saying were true, then I feel pretty dumb for not going to my Calc II teacher two semesters ago and saying: "Well I really TRIED hard on the final... can I get an A instead of that B+ you gave me?"

As the project manager, you're given the authority to determine each person's participation %? I find that ridiculous.

Tell that to the teacher, then. His exact words on the last day of class were: "Send me a confidential e-mail with what % of the work all of the members did and specifics as to what they did." Dude, not a single line of code in our program is from this guy. 0%... simple math.

You write that you do not hate irresponsibly. Well, just by using the term "hate" within this context is irresponsible. You're biased and should therefore not be in a position to make a determination of another person's grade.

Actually I wrote that I DO hate irresponsibility, but that is irrelevant. Fortunately, in my case, I can solve this by using simple math and ignoring my bias. "Guy has 0 lines of functional code contributed to the program, therefore, he did 0% of the work." If his code DID work, he would have contributed over 30%. Unfortunately, it didn't work.

I suggest you discuss the teacher with either the professor or an academic dean.

Discuss the teacher with the professor? Uhh the teacher is the professor. What do you mean?

Honestly I didn't want to do this to the guy. I even wrote a good two paragraphs in my e-mail about how I don't want the guy to fail the class or anything cause of the project, but shit, a month and a half is plenty of time and I don't think it's fair for someone to receive the same credit as my other group members and myself for not contributing any functional code.

I may portray myself as a sadistic human-hater on here, but I do feel really bad about this stuff even though the sadistic human-hating thoughts are still in my head.

You speak as though he did most of the work and I just wanted to take credit for everything... jeez.

-Warik