I elected to let it go without comment (on that site anyway); my daddy taught me manners and politeness.  I just figured a few of you would find him and his strange assumptions about me amusing. So, as the new SharePoint admin at my job, I’m desperately trying to bone up on installation/setup/configuration/security and general best practices for administrating such a monstrosity. To that end, I downloaded a couple of books off Amazon. One, in particular, was quite short, but touted itself as “Everything you need to know about SharePoint.” Sadly, it was just a long list of all of SharePoints features followed by a brief description of each. So I left a review to that effect, explaining who might and who wouldn’t get benefit from the book. I thought I was doing a public service.

Then of course the self-righteous keyboard warriors had to rise up.

St*ph*n T*l*r says:

I am 74, have launched and operated 14 little businesses and my next project will require nation-wide collaboration. I have spent the last week in a mild panic trying to decide if I should subscribe to Office 360 (There are at least one zillion ways to collaborate online). My question is: how do SkyDrive and SharePoint actually work in real life. Jerks like D. Snider “Blogger / Podcaster / Tech Geek” (is there some place where I can spit) have made this week’s inquiry miserable. It seems that nobody who truly understands the technology understands the kinds of questions a guy like me is asking (a real entrepreneur who walks the talk — not some putz blogging from his mother’s basement). After hours and hours of teeth-gritting non-discovery, I came across your two ebooks on SkyDrive and SharePoint — 113 and 70 pages respectively. (Thanks, Robert, for not padding your books with a lot of b.s. and charging nine bucks.) When I finish reading them, have Office 365 to work with, and a little more perspective, I’ll write a review and let you know what an ordinary person needs to know in order to succeed in a collaborative environment

First off, for those of you who don’t know, it’s my basement, not my mother’s.  Second, I was merely expressing an [admittedly sarcastic] opinion that I had wasted [billable] time and money on an ebook that was touted as “Everything you need to know…” when in reality it was a 70-page brochure that practically plagiarized the SharePoint product website (which I had already read).  Third, you even admitted you haven’t read the book yourself, so obviously this review is a rebuke of my snarky wit and has nothing to do with my opinion of the book.

What is this guy so angry about?  His Microsoft channel partner should have been able to easily answer his questions about whether these products can help him.  Did they, in fear of receiving similar abuse, not return his calls?  Are the people who truly “understand the technology” unwilling to do free SharePoint consulting for him?  I know I wouldn’t want to do it if he paid me.  Do you think he just doesn’t like putzes with blogs?

P.S. — Me:  95% helpful ratings on reviews;  St*ph*n: 62% helpful ratings on reviews.  It’s not like I express my dislike for a product without reason.