company component database rules

[buenos]

Hi

This is about company component database.
Do you pre-define policy (and inform everyone or document it) for accessing the shared database?
Or do you expect people to try to resolve every new entry in a unique way?
Some say it should be based on general experience, others say it might be any arbitrary rule set so it has to be agreed and communicated to every participant. Someone says defining general rules would be impossible, so don't even try it.

 

[barry]

What?? Someone is proposing letting everyone define their own format? Anarchy is a very bad idea for databases. How could you possibly do any kind of search when every entry has different structure?

And "someone says defining general rules would be impossible"? That's quite possibly the most idiotic thing I've heard.

 

[buenos]

"And "someone says defining general rules would be impossible"? That's quite possibly the most idiotic thing I've heard. "
-yeah. I got surprised too. When I suggested the admin to lets discuss how the system works so I can learn, I got backstabbed immediately and very aggressively with the help of my boss. Some people can only deal with systems in a case by case basis, not seeing (don't have the brain capacity or just don't care) the whole thing. And if someone suggest a discussion that might accidentally expose incompetence (that the admin never understood the whole system) of well established employees, then the harsh attack is imminent. Anyway my boss defended the guy very aggressively telling me "who do you think you are, asking questions like this?!?, just drop it immediately!". I assumed the admin knows the system so he can tell me, but apparently they all work case by case basis, and expect me to follow suit too. They work with the dots, they don't connect them. That is true in other areas too. They also told me this is the American way (as I am from Europe and not used to this), although both of them are from Asia, just to confuse me more. Just do hacking on everything, rather than building a systematic approach. I though accessing a shared database required a clearly defined policy, but apparently not.
They didn't say everyone can do whatever they want. They said Everyone has to keep trying in every case separately without suggesting any conclusion about an actual "system". They tell people "that's wrong, you can't do that", but they don't tell people "look this is the rule". They say everyone has to comply, but if you ask for the rules, then you get backstabbed, or might get fired (don't make the established guy uncomfortable by asking question he would be unable to answer).
So I was very surprised, as it contradicted to professional principles I knew before, hence this forum post.