Compelled to write regarding some CCIE candidates and their

Truth be told there aren't many things I feel compelled to write about
on GS. While there is much value there is also and equal and
sometimes greater amount of useless people and useless question
instead of taking it upon ones self to do a little background work and
research and then come forward with what I would consider a legitimate
question/need for assistance. It is true that there are many things
out there these days that devalue a CCIE. There are also forces at
play like with anything else (analogous to a cable hot box that gets
you all the channels that the cable company has to defeat only to find
that someone found another loop hole).Issues like this have gone on
since the beginning of time and will continue to do so and anyone who
doesn't see it that way may be a little naive.

Having said that there's been some drama that has tricked on to the
twitter-verse and yes I was a part of that too. I know the basic
background of Darby Weaver, I've followed his adventures through
failed attempts prospects of becoming a CCIE proctor and so on. On
twitter it wasn't just one person (twitter.com/ipv6freely) who pointed
out Darby's short comings we 'all' have. Basically every CCIE that
currently posts to twitter. There are many of us there for both
entertainment and serious knowledge sharing.

I'd like to dispel the rumor that one of my great friends, who I
personally know, Chris Jones aka on twitter IPv6Freely. It is
unfortunate to that someone such as Darby with all of the clout that
he thinks he has on GS needs to berate someone for their intelligence
and success. I had read one time that Wendell Odom had taken the CCIE
exam and pasted it after I do believe a few weeks of study. By
today's standards Wendell would be considered a cheater because he
knew what he was doing, he had industry experience and went in and
passed his test. Personally knowing Chris and having played a role in
his mentoring, which included pushing him to go for the prize every
day, along with the training materials he was already working through
I can tell you that Chris is one of those intelligent people who
doesn't have to bother cheating or event thinking about it.

One of the great people in this space who I admire (Narbik) once said
that the CCIE is so easy its hard. Think about that because there is
truth to it. It took me three attempts to pass my exam and I know
exactly why It took me three attempts. I didnt fully read the
question put before me before making my choice on the solution. The
result was correct answers popping in my head after the fact, after I
had take the time to think about it. Some people like Chris don't
have that problem and pass their exam on the first attempt. It isn't
as if he is the only person in the world who's passed their CCIE on
the first attempt either.

What bothers many of us (and I am presumptuously speaking for people
here) is that we see some who bloat themselves up with greater
importance that is needed when they should humble themselves, put
their nose in it and get the prize. When Darby made it to twitter
most of 'us' heard on a daily basis the rantings of a person who was
about to take their test, finally the person who tried telling others
how to pass the CCIE was going to try to pass the CCIE himself. The
result was, I lost my wallet and I couldn't take the CCIE exam. While
true, given the past it seems unlikely to many that this happened,
that what followed was rantings that made everyone confused, did he
take it and not pass, and then rantings of I'm gonna be a CCIE proctor.

Ok, I realize that we all should be worried about only one person,
Ourselves. I am guilty of this and many others are for not following
that advise. If all sides did that there would be much less problems.
What isn't fair even beyond the supposed stalking is to accuse someone
of cheating. Maybe you don't realize that in this day the word
cheating can make or break your career. These days HR departments are
watching your every move to see if you are really what they want in
their company. That one word can keep you making bigmacs at Mcd's for
ever.

I'd like to point out for those who don't know twitter, it is exactly
like stalking, everyone follows everyone else. If you follow someone
the intended operation of twitter puts everything that all of the
people you follow say in your timeline. That timeline is also public
domain searchable via any search engine. Until you are blocked from
following a person you are essentially stalking said person or
people. I stalk 1300~ people, and around 1100~ people stalk me back
and see every word I say.

I wish the best for those attempting the CCIE, even though you drive
me insane, you too Darby. Like the rest of us however, you need to
humble yourself, pass the test and then reap the rewards of such an
accomplishment.

Best regards to all,

---
Hank Yeomans
CCIE No. 21174
Cell:  (619) 721-3003
hank.yeomans_at_me.com
Blogs and organic groups at http://www.ccie.net