What is Digg?398 Comments
- fant0m, on 10/21/2007, -5/+268FTA: IT pros frequently use jargon to confuse nontechnical business managers and hide the fact that they screwed up.
It also helps when I'm too lazy to explain to the 85 year old lady who when trying to log in to her online banking yells at me and argues that the numbers will be "capitalized" when she puts on the CAPS lock key.
Don't ever try to prove a senior citizen wrong, because even if you are right, you are still wrong. Each wrinkle on their face is a "life lesson" that makes them smarter than you. Even if he/she believes that numbers can be capitalized.
Like small children, if you tire them out, they will give up. - SilentJay74, on 10/17/2007, -2/+17813. Some Jackass's will need their password reset 3 to 4 times a day because they leave their caps lock on.
- nizzy1115, on 10/17/2007, -3/+162what i have learned. never ever ever fix a coworkers personal pc, even if they pay you for it. You will be tech support for life. my boss warned me about this, i didnt believe him and thought i could be a nice guy and help the lady out, however, 2-3 phone calls a week for her computer problems and her friends computer problems gets old real quick.
- aldenhg, on 10/17/2007, -3/+13613. There is porn on every hard drive, no matter who the user is.
- SilentJay74, on 10/17/2007, -0/+12812. You will spend more time with a senior aged co-worker explaining how to use office software that a 10 year old now uses every day in school.
- badfrog, on 10/17/2007, -0/+128They forgot "Cheap management that won't buy new equipment but still expects everything to run fast"
- MattB123, on 10/17/2007, -1/+125And will argue via email "NO I DIDN'T!"
- scooterbaga, on 10/17/2007, -1/+116That goes for pretty much anyone, doesn't matter if it's a coworker. I have come up with a very simple rule that seems to work most of the time when trying to decide if you should help a person with their computer problems.
If they're hot, help them with their computer. Otherwise, avoid at all costs. - ripstuntz, on 10/16/2007, -5/+11011. If something breaks it is ALWAYS your fault.
- lodleader, on 10/17/2007, -0/+983.) I had a guy at my last job that would not use anything other than Lotus for his word processor... If someone would send him a word doc he would convert it into Lotus then read it, modify it, and send it back to them as Lotus....
I hated him with such passion... - ImTheManWhoRU, on 10/16/2007, -2/+93when you explain things people nod their heads without having a ***** clue what you just said
- MindTrigger, on 10/16/2007, -0/+9114. The people you support will, in fact, attempt to send you emails to let you know their email isn't working. Later they will ask you why you didn't respond.
- hiltinuts2, on 10/16/2007, -0/+90You're only as good as your last backup... you'll never get promoted for having a backup plan, only fired when it doesn't work.
- Kitsune818, on 10/17/2007, -1/+86Easy fix. Tell them they need to drop off the computer so you can "put it on your bench". Wait a week or two. When they ask how it's going, say "Oh yeah, I need your original restore disks" or whatever else you can think of that's somehow related to the issue. Wait to get them, wait an additional two weeks after that. Call them up, ask a bunch of odd questions "Did you visit MarthaStewart.com recently? Is the computer being used in a place with low humidity?" wait another week. Continue this until they start getting pissy about not having a computer, then explain how you need more time. Eventually, claim you have no idea what is wrong, and drop it off to them. Do that once or twice and they'll never bother you again.
- shitton, on 10/17/2007, -0/+82I worked in a local computer shop for over a year and I found that seniors were generally some of the best customers we had - they always seemed to be very patient when we were racing around answering phones and whatnot - I thought it was cool that we'd get people in who would say "I've never used a computer in my life but I want to learn" - maybe my experience was unique, who knows
- jeliel, on 10/17/2007, -2/+77Scripture.
Oh and things non tech people should realize:
1- We can read your e-mail and you'll never know.
2- We can see everything on your computer... everything and again you'll never know
3- Network security is an illusion (because of some of the reasons mentioned in above article)
4- We know when you are lying, that's usually when you are talking.
5- Having 8 Directors and VPs behind me and starring at me working will not stress me out, I can zone you out like I zone out ads on a web page. The transaction server will be up when it's ready and not before. - abohling, on 10/17/2007, -0/+67My only two would be:
1. If it uses electricity - expect to be asked to fix it. Lamps, fax machines, etc etc.
2. If a computer is on furniture it becomes one with the furniture - be prepared to move desks. - trib4lmaniac, on 10/17/2007, -0/+54CAPS LOCK DOESN@T AFFECT PUNCTUATION< FOOL>
- Icecream, on 10/16/2007, -0/+4975: You wont Learn anything when going for your Certs that will actually help you on the job
- SasquatchBill, on 10/16/2007, -2/+50At what point did any of this become a 'secret'?
- yeahright, on 10/16/2007, -1/+46i enjoy telling the user that it's an OSI layer 8 problem...
- Kitsune818, on 10/16/2007, -0/+45They forgot "You will be expected to provide all the bells and whistles of the latest products with little to no expenditure of capital" and "IT budget will be spent according to rank, not need".. ie, it doesn't matter that the secretary's system is an IBM AT, the boss needs a 27" monitor to check his email and the one site he knows how to get to.
- shark72, on 10/17/2007, -1/+45Your Senior Citizen in question probably believed this because this is how the old manual typewriters worked (for you teens reading this: manual typewriters were what we had before PCs, word processors, or even electric typewriters. They didn't even use electricity!). It was common for them to have a "Shift Lock" (note... not "Caps Lock" but "Shift Lock") key which shifted EVERY key, including the row of numbers. With the advent of ICs it was easier to develop methods for shifting some keys but not others; but manual typewriters were built in the days before ICs.
- Yildrak, on 10/16/2007, -1/+449) should actually be: "Most problems are PEBKACs: Problem Exists Between Keyboard And Chair".
And they forgot to mention: "A lot of IT problems are structural problems caused by marketeers not knowing what the hell they're talking about". - chris4404, on 10/17/2007, -5/+473.) Veteran IT professionals are often the biggest roadblock to implementing new technologies
Couldn't agree more, we still have people in the office who refuse to upgrade from Outlook 2000 and Word perfect 2002 - SuperOmegaSlack, on 10/16/2007, -0/+38That list nails IT right on the head...I got another one:
11) From the day you are hired on at your "IT" job, everything done or not done before you were hired is your fault. - cliffzdude, on 10/16/2007, -0/+35Never fix a co-worker's home pc, under the threat of an ugly death. If you change a co-worker's desktop background, they'll blame you when their HDD goes bad 8 months later. Mind you, I'm not kidding and speaking from personal experience.
My pat answer; "Sure I'll fix your computer, but not during business hours as that's not fair to the company. Oh, and I charge what the local guys charge although I'm FAR more competent, that's $125 an hour with a one hour minimum plus parts, which you'll have to order if I find something bad, no I won't place the order for you". Mind you, I'm totally serious and they know it.
Needless to say it only takes quoting my hourly rate for personal PC repair to be left alone to do my job, and go home to my family. - Jektal, on 10/16/2007, -0/+3413a. Half the time you really don't want to find it.
- ghettodev, on 10/16/2007, -0/+32Sure I'll fix your computer. I'll spend 6 hours reformatting, reinstalling windows, drivers and all your programs if you do something for me that takes 6 hours of your time. Like say, make me 300 sandwiches or clean my house and do my laundry or... Hey where are you going?
- SanTe, on 10/16/2007, -0/+30You should have hated your last employer for not establishing computing standards and requiring employees to stick to them. I know everyone thinks they're special and that they should be able to use their favorite tools/toys, but if your employer paid for that computer and Internet connection you're using then they have final say. Period. Employers who lack standards and refuse to implement them and back them up deserve the grade school level chaos and pettiness they get.
- MellerTime, on 10/16/2007, -0/+29*Nods his head as he reads*
- fant0m, on 10/16/2007, -1/+28Boy, that sounds like Heaven. I'm a CSR (internship FTL) so I get the angry customers. They assume they are going to get horrible service before I even pick up so they have their sword drawn. Everything is the "system's" fault and there's no possible way they made typo's or any other kind of mistake.
Once in a while I get a cheerful customer that is actually appreciative of my help and that helps the "morale", lol. But the rest of them drive me crazy. - akatherder, on 10/16/2007, -0/+26A lot of the IT professionals I have worked with suffer from the Peter principle. They are qualified for their position for a maximum of 3 months before the next quarter hits and they are promoted. Then they are in over their heads. All they can do is be a process monkey and shrug their shoulders when something goes wrong.
I've worked as a developer and a system administrator (concurrently) and I switched positions to just be a developer. There is nothing more frustrating than dealing with server/network admins who have their heads up their asses.
Me: Hey I can't connect to the SQL Server from the website.
IT: We just checked it. We can ping the SQL Server and the website. *ticket closed*
Me: I can ping both of them also, but they can't connect to each other.
IT: Check IT support doc and the dev SQL Server was never spec'ed to connect to the website. *ticket closed*
Me: Their whole purpose is to connect to each other. This is the same in integration, staging, and production. According to the documentation we approved, the SQL Server and website should be able to communicate with eachother.
IT: Added firewalls rules to integration, staging, and prod so SQL Servers can no longer communicate with websites to be consistent with dev environmentt. *ticket closed*
IT: Taking afternoon off to get new tires. - subliminalurge, on 10/16/2007, -0/+25My boss once got a spam that advertised, amongst other things, 500W power supplies for about 15 bucks. Bought a dozen of the *****.
Obviously the things had about a two week lifespan (fan bearings froze up). Once I finally convinced him that I did, in fact, know how to hook up "all those confusing wires" properly, I then had to have the power company come out to diagnose the "power surges" that kept "burning out our power supplies".
To this day, it's still a fight every time we need to purchase power supplies since he still has that $15 figure stuck in his head and it's like pulling teeth to get him to cough up $40 for something halfway decent. - vofuse, on 10/16/2007, -4/+29Spelling it 'Windoze' and referring to 'MCSE monkeys' makes you sound like a second-year CS major.
- objectcode, on 10/16/2007, -0/+25if your boss is in IT, he would catch on to what you are really doing
- inactive, on 10/16/2007, -0/+25The question you should be asking yourself is why will *you* become that way - because you will. Old IT guys used to be young IT guys. What changed? The thing is, once you have twenty or thirty years of experience, the idea of doing cool stuff that ends up keeping you awake all night and away from your family is not so attractive. It's not like you will get any actual award for bringing in new stuff; a plaque and a $50 gift certificate is the most you can expect. No one remembers or even notices when when you heroically keep the business running through a major problem. They remember when you changed something and screwed it up. Maybe you should be paying attention to the old guys. They know what you haven't learned yet.
- cruzlee, on 10/16/2007, -0/+24ALWAYS fix computers owned by people who are DIY Gods, or who can fix cars, or women that make great food....
- objectcode, on 10/16/2007, -0/+24and you probably have a back door into your VP's home computer and network
- SilentJay74, on 10/16/2007, -0/+24Hakz, If you want my advice, either run and get out while you can, or start drinking and smoking heavily.
- subliminalurge, on 10/16/2007, -0/+23I finally had to start doing the same thing.
Why is it that working in anything IT related makes people think that you'd be overjoyed to drop whatever you're doing during your free time to fix their daughter's boyfriend's cousin's computer?
I don't call my accountant on Sunday afternoon and ask him to do my mom's taxes for free. I don't call my mechanic at 10:00 PM and ask him to come right over to fix my girlfriend's car. I don't ask my friends who work in construction to block off a weekend and put a free deck on my house.
But when it comes to computers? Everyone seems to think I'd be absolutely ***** thrilled to spend my whole weekend cleaning ***** spyware out of their Win98 installation. - credence, on 10/16/2007, -0/+22Been there, done that. My first serious job was tech support for a *nix company. It moved me from "drinks a little with friends on weekends" to "go home. become plastered. collapse. repeat"
- krets, on 10/16/2007, -7/+29Awww, does it feel good to puff up your little ego like that?
- rivasj, on 10/16/2007, -0/+2010 reasons I quit IT. Users farkin' blow.
- lubix, on 10/16/2007, -0/+19This article rings true I spent 45 minutes the other day explaining to our secretary that we can't support every website on the Internet for her.
- jimmy72, on 10/16/2007, -0/+19And the end user has no idea how it got there.
- shawnz, on 10/24/2007, -2/+21who uses a 2 as an apostrophe?
- pineapplehead, on 10/16/2007, -1/+20Hey, that reminds me
/remembers to add Youtube to the filterlist tomorrow - vofuse, on 10/16/2007, -0/+18The really ambitious ones will act as if they already know what you're talking about or finish your sentence for you when they realize what you're saying.
- GorfTron, on 10/16/2007, -3/+21My own rules for corporate IT survival:
--Write software, deploy software and move on. Avoid maintenance when possible.
--Bearing bad news makes you look bad. Go with the flow. Remember, if you complain about it, you will become the owner and branded a troublemaker.
--Read books about people - Dale Carnegie, Power(R. Greene) etc.
--Make your boss look good and be loyal to your department. Keep problems in the family and don't gossip. IT is a small world and the walls are thin. -
Show 51 - 100 of 391 discussions
Check out the new & improved 
© Digg Inc. 2009
— Content created and posted by Digg users is