The one question I hate the most?

Subject: The one question I hate the most?
From: Geoff Hart <ghart -at- videotron -dot- ca>
To: "TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com>
Date: Sat, 30 Jul 2005 09:01:22 -0400


Sarah Stegall reports: <<"What do you need it for?" I usually get asked this by suspicious managers and IT sysadmins when I ask to have some software installed. Today I asked to have the same OS (Linux) installed on my machine that the developers use, so that I can experiment/test our software product. I've already backed everything up and partitioned my computer. But when I asked the Powers That Be to install the same version of Linux on my computer that the developers are using to compile their software, I got rolled eyes, blank stares, and The Question.>>

This is par for the course nowadays. If you recall that "IT" is an acronym for "In Trouble" (tip 'o the hat to Benoit Bisson for the joke), you'll understand the problem: the modern IT department, under siege from spyware, viruses, spam, trojans, and employees who would rather browse photo sites than work, are perpetually in a state of crisis. In additioned to having been largely abandoned by Microsoft, they are spat on by management because they're always asking for more money, accidentally crashing the network, delaying important work (like intra-management memos about the upcoming 3-martinii lunch), and (despite heroic efforts) letting occasional malware slip past the gates because of some f*ckwit who insists on opening every attachment.

Oh yeah... and surprisingly many of them are simply incompetent to do their job, MCSE certification notwithstanding <stitch>. Like the guy who reformatted my entire hard drive when he discovered I'd deleted all the unused shortcuts on the Program menu--and he didn't realize these were just shortcuts and assumed I'd deleted the actual programs. (The same guy who reformatted someone else's hard drive without backing up the data. I could tell you tales... <g>)

I once brought in my home computer so I could do the work I needed to do while waiting for an incompetent IT guy to get around to fixing my work computer. I actually left my former employer when the situation got too frustrating. After the 10th time asking the development manager (who also ran IT) to unlock my computer so I could install his software so I could document it, I asked myself why I was wasting my time. The answer didn't convince me, so I left. When the IT department forgets that they've been hired to make your life easier, not theirs, the rot has reached a terminal stage. And when a manager doesn't understand that you need to install his software before you can document it... The mind boggles; the Peter principle remains unchallenged.

If you're actually still enjoying your job and inspired to stay, work your way (cautiously) up the political chain until someone writes you a letter that tells the idjits in IT to smarten up and do what you ask them to do... or at least unlock your computer and let you do the installation yourself. There's no reason to put up with this kind of shit on the job.

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Geoff Hart ghart -at- videotron -dot- ca
(try geoffhart -at- mac -dot- com if you don't get a reply)
www.geoff-hart.com
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The one question I hate the most: From: siliconwriter

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