Try something like "In order to write better tools and automation, I need to empathize with the people using the tools and experiencing day-to-day pain. Can we find somebody who is willing to let me watch over their shoulder for a few minutes on one day?" Note the implicit bargaining for small amounts of time and only small intrusion, as well as the understanding that you are not a decider, but an observer; not an automator, but a pain-reliever.
Good advice, but the first line is completely unneeded. I don't think that assuming someone's manner of speaking to be off-putting based on a short, evidently intended as a summary, comment on a forum is a polite thing to do. Using this kind of thinking suggests that you're no less of a prick than the GP, which is obviously wrong... right?
There is a strange desire on this site to assume good faith. I have no idea where that comes from; nearly everybody is clearly posting with a heavy, thick personal bias. I suspect that folks only feel that they are arguing in good faith, and that their feelings blind them to their biases.
Even if being civil and assuming good faith wasn't baked into the ethos of HN (and YC in general), I'm genuinely curious as to why you'd personally default to assuming the worst in people. As far as strategies go, is it working for you? I am not being glib or sarcastic.
I ask because I directly attribute almost every bit of "luck" I've experienced to people acting in good faith. It's literally been the most important decision I've ever made and stuck with.
Personally, I have no energy for discussions where people assume the worst by default. That falls way too close to "someone is wrong on the internet" for me. It's easy to find people to disagree with, and difficult to find smart people that can illuminate why you might be holding onto incorrect assumptions.
The first line is very right. The op thinks his colleagues think he is cute but actually it is arrogant because what he is trying to do is take their jobs away. It's a Powerful feeling to think of automating as a programmer but also need to keep in mind the human emotions on the other side.
Try something like "In order to write better tools and automation, I need to empathize with the people using the tools and experiencing day-to-day pain. Can we find somebody who is willing to let me watch over their shoulder for a few minutes on one day?" Note the implicit bargaining for small amounts of time and only small intrusion, as well as the understanding that you are not a decider, but an observer; not an automator, but a pain-reliever.