RE: External ID draft

["Miller, Robert (GXS)" <Robert.Miller@gxs.ge.com>]

Magicians, et al,

All this talk of magic leads me think back on my developer days.  In our
close knit team, we had informal titles to parallel the official titles:

  magician - Programmer (any level)
    Both technology and the implementation of technology are magical.  Only
a magician can make it work. Really skilled at performing magic

  wizard   - Analyst (any level)
    Technology is magical.  Its implementation is striaghtforward for one
who understands technology.  But since programmers don't understand
technology, the wizard reduces technology into the realm of magical formulas
and spells so the programmer can get his work accomplished

  sage     - Team Leader (or Manager who came up through the programmer
ranks)   
    Knows that there is nothing magical about anything.  But also knows well
enough to leave the wizards and magicians to their quaint devices, lest no
productive work ever get done.  Keeps upper management unaware of how
products are really developed, lest they all get fired.

Cheers,
       Bob