Webster<\/a> states:<\/p>\n
\nEntry Word:<\/b> support
\nFunction:<\/b> noun
\nText: 1<\/b> something that holds up or serves as a foundation for something else (if you don’t add a couple more supports to that tower of blocks, it’s going to fall down)
\nSynonyms<\/b> brace, bulwark, buttress, mount, mounting, shore, stay, underpinning
\nRelated Words<\/b> column, pedestal, pilaster, pillar; arch, bracket, cantilever; crutch, mainstay, peg, post, stake, stanchion, stand, stilt, truss; base, foundation, frame
\n2<\/b> an act or instance of helping (the team’s victory owes a lot to Joe’s strong support in left field) — see HELP 1
\n3<\/b> something or someone to which one looks for support (Grandfather has long been the extended family’s emotional and financial support in times of trouble) — see DEPENDENCE 2<\/p>\n
Entry Word:<\/b> support
\nFunction:<\/b> verb
\nText: 1<\/b> to promote the interests or cause of (my parents support the local schools both by volunteering and by fiercely opposing funding cuts at town meetings)
\nSynonyms<\/b> advocate, back, champion, endorse (also indorse), patronize
\nRelated Words<\/b> adopt, embrace, espouse; abet, aid, assist, prop (up), second; bolster, boost, buttress, reinforce; bail out, deliver, rescue, save
\nPhrases<\/b> stand up for
\nNear Antonyms<\/b> baffle, foil, frustrate, interfere, oppose, sabotage, thwart; desert, disappoint, fail, let down
\n2<\/b> to pay the living expenses of (a young widow supporting a sick mother as well as two small children on a teacher’s salary)
\nSynonyms<\/b> maintain, provide (for)
\nRelated Words<\/b> finance, fund, stake
\nPhrases<\/b> foot the bills for, take care of
\n3<\/b> to hold up or serve as a foundation for (pillars supporting the bridge)
\nSynonyms<\/b> bear, bolster, brace, buttress, carry, prop (up), shore (up), stay, underpin, uphold
\nRelated Words<\/b> steady, truss, underlie
\n4<\/b> to continue to declare to be true or proper despite opposition or objections (we support the students’ right to speak out on local issues that affect them) — see MAINTAIN 2
\n5<\/b> to give evidence or testimony to the truth or factualness of (her grades don’t support her claim that her after-school job isn’t affecting her grades) — see CONFIRM
\n6<\/b> to provide (someone) with what is useful or necessary to achieve an end (sent reinforcements to support the troops already in the thick of battle) — see HELP 1
\n7<\/b> to put up with (something painful or difficult) (he could never support the thought of having to go on living without his beloved wife at his side) — see BEAR 2
\n<\/i><\/p>\n
So, just for a starter, let’s use definition 6 of webster’s verb:<\/p>\n
\n
\nto provide (someone) with what is useful or necessary to achieve an end (sent reinforcements to support the troops already in the thick of battle) — see HELP
\n<\/b>
\n<\/center><\/p>\nSo, it boils down to “help”. Should it be that simple? No, it is not, because there are a few constraints attached to that:<\/p>\n
\n- In order to help, you need control\n
- In order to help, you need ressources\n<\/ul>\n
In IT speak, this means: You need to “own” the stuff, otherwise you can not support. You need a contract, because otherwise you can not get ressources.<\/p>\n
The most critical part is the “control” part, because here, most mis-understandings occur.<\/p>\n
Some (mostly software) companies claim support, if they allow the usage with something, they do not control. That’s clear and good, because otherwise, they would never achieve broad adoption (Example: Microsoft Windows). Some other, more system-oriented companies only claim support, if they control the complete stack (example: Apple MacOS X, runs only on Apple Hardware, they even thought about putting in hardware to PREVENT mis-use).<\/p>\n
Still, for the average end-user, these differences are not transparent, because they all use the same word: “support”.<\/p>\n
So, we all should be more precise in USING that term. It might be good to replace that phrase appropriately by things like:<\/p>\n
\n- will (not) work\n
- (not) allowed\n
- might (not) work\n
- (not) tested\n
- (not) certified\n<\/ul>\n
And always add, which pieces will be covered by a support contract, because these are only the pieces, that are “owned”, and can therefore be “patched” (which opens a different can of worms), or maintained.<\/p>\n
With that: Floor open for discussion!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
We all in IT do have a phrase, that’s creating lots of headaches: Not supported! Still, no-one really knows, what this implies or means. Or: Everybody has his own interpretation\/meaning of this term. So, let’s try and start to define, what the term “supported” means, what it implies, and what we all really want. Because […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-363","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.pfuetzner.de\/matthias\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/363","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.pfuetzner.de\/matthias\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.pfuetzner.de\/matthias\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.pfuetzner.de\/matthias\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.pfuetzner.de\/matthias\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=363"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.pfuetzner.de\/matthias\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/363\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.pfuetzner.de\/matthias\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=363"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.pfuetzner.de\/matthias\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=363"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.pfuetzner.de\/matthias\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=363"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}