Post #1678059

2026-04-25 06:49 UTC

A few years ago, after finishing 20 years as a sysadmin, I compiled a list of rules that were generally true. 1. You can&#39;t automate a process that doesn&#39;t already exist 2. Good engineering makes for easy administration 3. The easiest thing for us to do is exactly what we&#39;re told. Inventing what needs to be done takes longer. 4. It&#39;s just as easy to do something right as it is to do it wrong (or avoid doing it) 5. Everything you know will be suboptimal in three years, replaced in five, and obsolete in ten 6. Someone who is unwilling to learn is no different from someone unable to learn 7. It costs more than you think it will. It will also take longer, and do less 8. Extent always exceeds intent 9. The only safe connection is a disconnection 10. Your intellectual work is a part of the total cost of ownership

Replies (9)

@zaphodb@twitter.resolvt.net 2026-04-25 13:51

@KevinFlynn @anton DNS and BGP so far are holding up pretty well to rule 5 though. I think everything is not even most but a lot of things there.

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@cm@chaos.social 2026-04-25 13:52

@KevinFlynn i think 4) is only true in the long run.

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@amarok3@mastodon.social 2026-04-25 14:26

@KevinFlynn there is a lot of truth in these statements!

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@gtsadmin@wiseowl.club 2026-04-25 14:48

@KevinFlynn Those that manage and control money have the most power. Next are those who manage people. Alas, at the bottom of the totem pole are those who manage _things_.

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@wynke@mendeddrum.org 2026-04-25 15:17

@KevinFlynn 7 is, I think, true for just about anything, not just IT related things..,

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@jacktrek@mountains.social 2026-04-25 15:53

@KevinFlynn + because God said: “Premature optimization is the root of all evil.” – Donald Knuth, The Art of Computer Programming (1968) then The First Rule of Program Optimization: Don't do it. The Second Rule of Program Optimization (for experts only!): Don't do it yet.

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@ManyRoads@mstdn.social 2026-04-25 16:16

@KevinFlynn My 50 years of engineering says the most simple, practical solution is best.... blend that with an Einstein attributed axiom :"make things as simple as possible, but no simpler"

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@sellathechemist@mastodon.social 2026-04-25 21:01

@KevinFlynn May I suggest that both components of point 7 are subject to Hofstadter's Law?

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@pgreer@genomic.social 2026-04-27 19:16

@KevinFlynn Adding one more: A good system admin is only noticed when something breaks. A great system admin is invisible.

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