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Recommendsrcmnd.app
The Founder's DilemmasTheir words
Wasserman has finally put it all together in a great book called The Founder's Dilemmas, which I highly recommend if you're starting a company.
Joel Spolsky
Software developer and writer; co-founder of Fog Creek Software and Stack Overflow, and author of the Joel on Software blog since 2000.
Joel Spolsky did not write this page. ppll compiled it from their own words, each linked to the source. Is this you? · Report a mistake
What they believe
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An interviewer who cannot decide on a candidate should say No Hire.
Never say “Maybe, I can’t tell.” If you can’t tell, that means No Hire.
joelonsoftware.comSaid 25 Oct 2006This on korrents
The bold line is korrents’ wording; the quote is theirs. These one: what they wrote before what they said aloud, one per source, newest first.
Feed
As its own page →Hiding
27 March 2012
25 January 2010
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Recommendsrcmnd.app
Rocket Surgery Made EasyTheir words
The sequel, Rocket Surgery Made Easy, is a terrific, short, concise, fun guide to running simple "hallway" usability tests to improve the usability of your software and websites. Highly recommended.
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Likedrcmnd.app
Don't Make Me ThinkTheir words
Steve Krug has written a follow up to his usability classic Don't Make Me Think.
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Recommendsrcmnd.app
NewsBlurTheir words
If you want to know when I publish something new, I recommend getting an RSS reader like NewsBlur and subscribing to my RSS feed.
25 October 2006
From one piece The Guerrilla Guide to Interviewing (version 3.0) 5 beliefs · joelonsoftware.com
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korrents.com
When a candidate describes a team project, the interviewer should look for signs that they took a leadership role.Their words
If the project was a team project, look for signs that they took a leadership role.
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Their words
Sadly, despite the fact that I think that all good programmers should be able to handle recursion and pointers, and that this is an excellent way to tell if someone is a good programmer, the truth is that these days, programming languages have almost completely made that specific art unnecessary.
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Their words
So: don’t listen to recruiters; don’t ask around about the person before you interview them; and never, ever talk to the other interviewers about the candidate until you’ve both made your decisions independently.
+ 2 more
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Their words
With these questions knowing the answer just means you heard that brain teaser before. So as an interviewer, you don’t get any information about “smart/get things done” by figuring out if they happen to make a particular mental leap.
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Their words
Never say “Maybe, I can’t tell.” If you can’t tell, that means No Hire.
12 October 2006
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Lovedrcmnd.app
No Silver BulletTheir words
It's probably because we read No Silver Bullet, a stunningly important essay from way back in 1986, by Frederick P. Brooks (he of Mythical Man-Month) that has proven again and again to be spot-on.
Nothing matches.
Beliefs
Korrents What they believe 5 beliefs — each backed by an exact quote.
Each is a — compiled by korrents.com, not by them: the one-line wordings are korrents', the quotes are theirs.
Recent
An interviewer who cannot decide on a candidate should say No Hire.
Never say “Maybe, I can’t tell.” If you can’t tell, that means No Hire.
The Guerrilla Guide to Interviewing (version 3.0) Said 25 Oct 2006
Brain-teaser questions tell an interviewer nothing about whether a candidate is smart and gets things done, only whether they have heard that teaser before.
With these questions knowing the answer just means you heard that brain teaser before. So as an interviewer, you don’t get any information about “smart/get things done” by figuring out if they happen to make a particular mental leap.
The Guerrilla Guide to Interviewing (version 3.0) Said 25 Oct 2006
Interviewers should hear nothing about a candidate beforehand and should not compare notes until each has decided independently.
So: don’t listen to recruiters; don’t ask around about the person before you interview them; and never, ever talk to the other interviewers about the candidate until you’ve both made your decisions independently.
The Guerrilla Guide to Interviewing (version 3.0) Said 25 Oct 2006
Show 2 more
Handling recursion and pointers is an excellent test of a good programmer, even though modern languages have made that skill itself almost unnecessary.
Sadly, despite the fact that I think that all good programmers should be able to handle recursion and pointers, and that this is an excellent way to tell if someone is a good programmer, the truth is that these days, programming languages have almost completely made that specific art unnecessary.
The Guerrilla Guide to Interviewing (version 3.0) Said 25 Oct 2006
When a candidate describes a team project, the interviewer should look for signs that they took a leadership role.
If the project was a team project, look for signs that they took a leadership role.
The Guerrilla Guide to Interviewing (version 3.0) Said 25 Oct 2006
What is a korrent?
A korrent is a belief a person has stated in their own words: one sentence stating the claim, backed by a quote and a source, kept at korrents.com.
Under a name here, the quoted block is what they actually said. The korrent beneath it is the claim those words support, in korrents' wording — tap it to see the record, its source, and who else holds it.
Nobody here wrote their own korrents. They are compiled from public statements, and a person can change their mind, which is recorded too.
Recommends rcmnd
rcmnd What they recommend 5 things — each backed by an exact quote.
Compiled by rcmnd.app, not by them: the quotes are theirs, and each links to the post it was copied from.
Recent
Recommends The Founder's Dilemmas
Wasserman has finally put it all together in a great book called The Founder's Dilemmas, which I highly recommend if you're starting a company.
joelonsoftware.com 27 Mar 2012
Recommends NewsBlur
If you want to know when I publish something new, I recommend getting an RSS reader like NewsBlur and subscribing to my RSS feed.
joelonsoftware.com 25 Jan 2010
Liked Don't Make Me Think
Steve Krug has written a follow up to his usability classic Don't Make Me Think.
joelonsoftware.com 25 Jan 2010
Show 2 more
Recommends Rocket Surgery Made Easy
The sequel, Rocket Surgery Made Easy, is a terrific, short, concise, fun guide to running simple "hallway" usability tests to improve the usability of your software and websites. Highly recommended.
joelonsoftware.com 25 Jan 2010
Loved No Silver Bullet
It's probably because we read No Silver Bullet, a stunningly important essay from way back in 1986, by Frederick P. Brooks (he of Mythical Man-Month) that has proven again and again to be spot-on.
joelonsoftware.com 12 Oct 2006
Where they publish
Blog joelonsoftware.com Joel on Software, his blog on software development and running software companies.
Link verified 5 Sept 2026.
x.com @spolsky His X account.
Link verified 5 Sept 2026.
About the English under a post
Some people here publish in a language other than English. Where they do, this site shows a machine translation beneath the post, in this typeface — the site's own, not theirs.
The post itself is never changed, moved or hidden: what is set in the serif above is exactly what the person published, and it is what to quote them on. A translation can be wrong in ways that matter, especially about tone.
Only the post's own words are translated. A quoted post, a linked article and a belief on korrents.com are left in their original language.