Hidden parameters are like a badge of honor in Oracle circles. Knowing more of them make you more knowledgeable, more likable, and have more hair. Of course, the ladies just love a man that know their hidden params.

My problem with it is that it’s dumb to have them, and they cause problems like this:

http://blogs.oracle.com/theshortenspot/2009/03/change_to_hidden_oracle_parame.html

The major issue here is that by having these hidden parameters, you effectively have turned every instance to a beta version, and worse, you reward the risk taker DBA by allowing them to do things that they really shouldn’t be doing. It’s just an unneeded hassle that has very little benefit in my mind.