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Dear Users… (A thread for Sysadmin, Technical Support, and Help Desk people) Part 10

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arthwollipot said:
There is one legacy system that we use where the Paste function is disabled. Worse, this particular legacy system times out after 15 minutes and requires that the password be reentered. This means that I have to have my secure 14-random-character administrator password in clear text in a Notepad window so that I can type it in manually.

Crazy. Absolutely bonkers. And did I mention annoying?
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If it's web based can you raise this as an issue with IT security and suggest they get a browser extension installed that blocks "no paste"?
 
Clementus Slidewhistle: Can you make [Thing] for me?
Me: No, what you want can only be built in [Tools I Don't Have]. Nanvirelle Flufflefart is the one who can build things in [Tools I Don't Have].
Me: Nanvirelle, can you assist Clementus with [Thing]?

from then on:
Nanvirelle to me only: Is [Version 1] okay? Check it out and let me know.
Clementus to me only: Where is [Thing]? Is [Thing] done yet?

How many damn times am I going to get replies to ME ONLY and just forward them before they realize I'm contributing nothing here as a middleman? They're even taking each other OUT of emails when I reply to both! I can't even SEE [Thing], much less assess whether it meets Clementus's needs. Why isn't he talking to Nanvirelle? Why does Nanvirelle think I have any insight into Clementus's mind? My only contribution to [Thing] is that I slow down progress because of the wasted time in relaying their emails to each other!
 
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TragicMonkey said:
Clementus Slidewhistle: Can you make [Thing] for me?
Me: No, what you want can only be built in [Tools I Don't Have]. Nanvirelle Flufflefart is the one who can build things in [Tools I Don't Have].
Me: Nanvirelle, can you assist Clementus with [Thing]?

from then on:
Nanvirelle to me only: Is [Version 1] okay? Check it out and let me know.
Clementus to me only: Where is [Thing]? Is [Thing] done yet?

How many damn times am I going to get replies to ME ONLY and just forward them before they realize I'm contributing nothing here as a middleman? They're even taking each other OUT of emails when I reply to both! I can't even SEE [Thing], much less assess whether it meets Clementus's needs. Why isn't he talking to Nanvirelle? Why does Nanvirelle think I have any insight into Clementus's mind? My only contribution to [Thing] is that I slow down progress because of the wasted time in relaying their emails to each other!
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Being the middleman in such conversations is 75% of my job. I love it.
 
Dr. Keith said:
Being the middleman in such conversations is 75% of my job. I love it.
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If I extracted any benefit from it that would be another matter, but I don't. Credit for the work will go only to Nanvirelle for doing it and Clementus for thinking to ask for it, there will be no financial benefit flowing my way as a result of it, and every minute I spend on forwarding messages is a minute behind in my actual work getting done, for which I do get judged. I'm not paid by the hour so the time is simply wasted.
 
catsmate said:
Yeah, though it gets messy. Very handy for decapitation though.
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When I took a pottery class one of the tools was a thick, sharp metal wire with wooden handles on each end. It's allegedly meant for slicing through clay, but damned if half the class didn't instantly see it as a murder weapon. This was pre-internet so I wasn't able to do any quick research on strangulation/decapitation murders among pottery students but I'm pretty sure that somewhere out there there are a lot of nearly-decapitated bodies of people who unwisely criticized amateur pottery.
 
TragicMonkey said:
When I took a pottery class one of the tools was a thick, sharp metal wire with wooden handles on each end. It's allegedly meant for slicing through clay, but damned if half the class didn't instantly see it as a murder weapon. This was pre-internet so I wasn't able to do any quick research on strangulation/decapitation murders among pottery students but I'm pretty sure that somewhere out there there are a lot of nearly-decapitated bodies of people who unwisely criticized amateur pottery.
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I've seen them. :)
Though the strong file/wire saw has a serrated edge, really good for sawing through the neck. But very messy.
Poisons are generally easier.
 
catsmate said:
I've seen them. :)
Though the strong file/wire saw has a serrated edge, really good for sawing through the neck. But very messy.
Poisons are generally easier.
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I'm imagining a police procedural show (most likely from the BBC) where the forensic examiner records traces of clay in a wound. :(
 
TragicMonkey said:
Clementus Slidewhistle: Can you make [Thing] for me?
Me: No, what you want can only be built in [Tools I Don't Have]. Nanvirelle Flufflefart is the one who can build things in [Tools I Don't Have].
Me: Nanvirelle, can you assist Clementus with [Thing]?

from then on:
Nanvirelle to me only: Is [Version 1] okay? Check it out and let me know.
Clementus to me only: Where is [Thing]? Is [Thing] done yet?

How many damn times am I going to get replies to ME ONLY and just forward them before they realize I'm contributing nothing here as a middleman? They're even taking each other OUT of emails when I reply to both! I can't even SEE [Thing], much less assess whether it meets Clementus's needs. Why isn't he talking to Nanvirelle? Why does Nanvirelle think I have any insight into Clementus's mind? My only contribution to [Thing] is that I slow down progress because of the wasted time in relaying their emails to each other!
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I hate to tell you this but perhaps you are seen as the most competent, rational IT person there.
 
Wudang said:
"Well as my notes from that Close Quarter Battle course said...."
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I used to work with an ex-military gentleman who had a poster up over his desk. It showed a sniper in a ghillie suit, with the caption,

"If I lived every day as if it were my last, the body count would be enormous."
 
a_unique_person said:
I hate to tell you this but perhaps you are seen as the most competent, rational IT person there.
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That may play into it. I suspect there is also a factor of hoping that TM will respond in a way that may be seen as taking point on the matter, allowing them to unload ownership. TM could be in the middle of a game of hot potato.
 
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gnome said:
That may play into it. I suspect there is also a factor of hoping that TM will respond in a way that may be seen as taking point on the matter, allowing them to unload ownership. TM could be in the middle of a game of hot potato.
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The trick to dealing with hot potatoes is to watch the person tossing it to you, and ignore it, staring at him/her/it as if they were an idiot and letting the overheated tuber fall to the floor. Then walk off, shaking your head sadly at the stupidity of humanity.
 
Wudang said:
If it's web based can you raise this as an issue with IT security and suggest they get a browser extension installed that blocks "no paste"?
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It isn't. It's an RDP to a server. Anyway, 99%+ of browser extensions are considered security risks in this environment.

I started my Team Leader position today. So far it's mostly monitoring the queues and responding to queries from staff, but I'm also doing a bunch of reading. So... all good so far!
 
catsmate said:
The trick to dealing with hot potatoes is to watch the person tossing it to you, and ignore it, staring at him/her/it as if they were an idiot and letting the overheated tuber fall to the floor. Then walk off, shaking your head sadly at the stupidity of humanity.
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Or in the case of non-literal potatoes, I think I shall ask one of the two a question that cannot be answered. They will stall for time to try to find an answer, and I'll just tell the other one that the first one is "researching it". Eventually they'll both give up, or die.
 
TragicMonkey said:
Or in the case of non-literal potatoes, I think I shall ask one of the two a question that cannot be answered. They will stall for time to try to find an answer, and I'll just tell the other one that the first one is "researching it". Eventually they'll both give up, or die.
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A consummation to be desired. And encouraged...
 
Things I Wish More People Knew #6973: Don't use the X button to close windows.

Things prompt you to click buttons for a reason. Those buttons do things. If you are getting an error message asking you to accept a legitimate certificate, hitting the X in the corner to get rid of it isn't going to answer the question that is being asked. It's going to keep asking you until you tell it to "Accept" that certificate.
 
arthwollipot said:
Things I Wish More People Knew #6973: Don't use the X button to close windows.

Things prompt you to click buttons for a reason. Those buttons do things. If you are getting an error message asking you to accept a legitimate certificate, hitting the X in the corner to get rid of it isn't going to answer the question that is being asked. It's going to keep asking you until you tell it to "Accept" that certificate.
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Sometimes I think it might be better if it didn't ask at all. If it won't work without the certificate but the user insists it MUST work, just install the frigging thing and move on.
 
Once in a while I feel forced, in a way. In some instances that popup occurred because I clicked something I didn't want to, and now either choice will change my file in a manner I don't want. If "act like I'd never hit this button in the first place" isn't an option, I feel compelled to try the x. Or quit without saving.
 
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