Posts Tagged ‘name’

This question gets asked a LOT on our meta, on meta.se, and it gets asked even more frequently in our chat by new users once they really learn our scope. Here’s some examples, just for fun:

• We need to formalize a site title/name, does Database Administrators still ring true?
• “Database Administrators” needs to die
• Migrations to DBA appear arbitrary, and include questions that are outside the regular DBA’s job description
• Migration of [data-warehouse] and [database-design] questions from SO to Database Administrators?
• Doesn’t this question belong on Stack Overflow?

And by rights, the title of “DBA” (database administrator) is not one that should be bestowed upon me. My pedigree is web-programmer, but I’ve been described by friends as a renaissance man, since I can do the entire field of web programming, from server configuration to database setup and configuration to web programming. It’s true that I know how to best utilize JSON or XML, that I know what binary transfers look like, I can decode compressed streams on the fly for debugging, and I’ve been playing with this stuff since before Apache had a version 1.0 (ok, that’s hyperbole, but I was there long before the 2.0 debut). But it’s also true that I can’t be as specialized as the three dbas that sit across the hall from me during the day.  So I make up for that by keeping my ears open, and sharp, and paying attention to what they do.

And therein likes the crux. more »