Re: Making the Association aims more clear -- proposal

[MJ Ray]

John Darrington? wrote:
> On Mon, Sep 03, 2007 at 11:15:25PM +0100, MJ Ray wrote:
>       professional a. engaged in a profession; engaged in a game for
>       money; - n. paid player.  (Collins English Dictionary 1985)
> [:snip:]
> I prefer the OED definition:
>  d. That has or displays the skill, knowledge, experience, standards,
>  or expertise of a professional; competent, efficient.

The above CED definition is the entire thing, but that looks like only
one small part of the OED definition.  What's the rest of it?  I
suspect it's stuff about special training and doing it for the money.

[The OED seems to be a subscription service online and (despite being
from near Oxford) I don't have it in the house.]

> But you are right, that in recent years, the word "professional" has 
> become blurred and misused.  This is similar to the situation with the
> word "hacker".  GNU refuses to recognise the more recent meaning of
> "hacker" and continues to use it in its undefiled meaning.  

If we're going back to original meanings, professional means one of
the professions, such as law, medicine, education and religion.
Again, not really what we want to convey, is it?  Some people are
already irritated that we watch out for the legalities.

>      Why not put other words in there to suggest the paid work aspect?
>      Such as "to assist and encourage members in their paid work as Free
>      Software authors."
>      
> I would like to see something in the charter which emphases not only
> the paid aspect, but also the competent, efficient aspect.  For this
> reason, I'm somewhat hesitant to embrace your notion of "artisanal". I
> live in a part of the world where "artisans" (eg: plumbers,
> electricians, builders etc.) conjure thoughts such as:
>    * Never turns up on time, if at all; 
>    * Always looking for excuses why the work can't be done; 
>    * One ends up with a shoddy job which could have been done better oneself.

Where did you get that idea of "artisan" from?  I'd call most
plumbers, electricians and builders tradesmen, rather than artisans or
master craftsmen. I'd be very happy to find an artisan electrician,
just like I'm happy when I find an artisan baker instead of the
slop-premade-bread-mix-in-the-tin type.  Artisans are the expert
workers.

Here in England, we have the Guild of Master Craftsmen, which often
indicates a decent (if slightly more expensive) standard of service.
Sadly, sometimes it is possible to hold guild membership for a short
term while being totally sloppy, but only for a short while.
http://www.guildmc.com/
Craftsman has a better reputation that professional, IMO.

Professional may imply competent, but really does *not* imply
efficient, especially for most people who have had a run-in with
solicitor-caused disputes.  They often charge by the hour and by the
letter, so sometimes have an interest in dragging things out.

Is there another way to include the competent, efficient aspect?

Regards,
-- 
MJ Ray - see/vidu http://mjr.towers.org.uk/email.html
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