A question to HN: reading this and other discussions, it seems to me that "craftsmen" are being rated by how good a business they run (or are contributing to). Similarly with the word "professional". I'd like to ask, what then would be the word for a "craftsmen" by rated how good <i>the work</i> is at its purpose (and without the usual cop-out of redefining "good" as value in dollars)?<p>Optimization for "good work" is only partially aligned with "good business"; frequently, the two are at odds. A good product, in my view, is one that lets the user achieve their goals as efficiently as possible, endures for as long these goals need to be achieved (often lifetime or more), and - after meeting these constraints - is also optimized to minimize the price and use of materials. It's the kind of product that you buy once, are happy about it, and when you no longer need it, give or sell to someone else. It's your grandfather's watch, passed on to you by your parents, and who you'll one day pass on to your kid. It's the furniture you've inherited with the house that remembers World War II, but is still almost as good as new. It's the forever repairable Soviet-era sound amplifiers or irons for clothes. It's the web page your bank had three redesigns and two SPA frameworks ago.<p>A good "professional" would take a look at one of such products and declare them bad. Overengineered. Because what's "professional", what's good for business, are products that break fast (ensuring recurring revenue) and are as cheap as possible to make. Do they solve 100% of the problems it was supposed to? Doesn't have to, customers don't know that when buying, and when they figure it out, it'll be easier for them to learn to deal with missing part of functionality, or learn to be extra careful around the product, than it'll be for them to spend money on something else. Whatever other defects there may be, we can cheaply cover for with sales&marketing. What a "professional" does is ensures their work makes them (or their employer) maximum amount of money for minimum amount of effort.<p>So, HN, I'm looking for a word that describes the person, the art, of doing good work and good products, as defined above, in contrast to being a "professional", which I increasingly despise of.