>There are lots of anecdotes like that in this business. That's what makes defining a so-called "professional" difficult.
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>I find it annoying when people use the term as a bludgeon e.g. person A writes code one way, person B thinks it's better to do it a different way and calls person A "unprofessional". On a public forum like this it's tantamount to defamation. Most, if not all regulated professions have strict rules about criticizing fellow professionals.

And then there are some who are selling their book or training services or some other gimmick as something that distinguishes professionals from amateurs. The difference between the two, by definition, is in the money - professionals expect to be paid, amateurs (check the etymology) do it because they love to.