One of things that annoy me—let me be honest, and say that along with pigeons, cycle helmets and Henry Gee, one of the many things that annoy me—is the inability of apparently otherwise intelligent folk to use a computer. But perhaps more than that do I find said people’s grasp of terminology more than a little irksome.
Let me be clear.
When your computer loses its network connection to the outside world, “your internet” (a meaningless term if ever there was one) has not “gone down”. Your intranet is still running, your wireless network is still working, and outside in the big blue room and its side rooms the internet is still there, serving cat porn just like it always does.
Now, for sure your router might have died, or someone might have put a JCB through a fibre bundle, or your DNS might even have packed up and buggered off to Brazil to play canasta with Ronnie Biggs; but whatever has happened, your internet has not gone down.
So please, when I give you an accurate error message don’t insult my intelligence by saying “our internet went down”.
No it fucking didn’t.
Giggle.
“Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you: The Internet.”
Where’s the “like” button?!
At the company I worked for, I seriously considered putting an “I am NOT the IT department!” sign on my office door. Which wasn’t really true, since I did in fact arrange to have the network set up (by a proper systems integrator, not myself).
Manymostalmost all of the complaints I got were of the “the internet is broken” nature, so I feel your pain. No it’s not… you just can’t connect to it from your machine. Now go and re-start the modem and wireless router like I showed you last week. Etc.I writhe with delight at my presence being merely registered by rpg, especially as an annoyance. I may now die secure in the knowledge that the circle of life, etcetera, goodbye (matinée Wednesdays)
Henry, you are always in my thoughts. Much like a a scrotal itch.
xx
You know, it seems like this is an everlasting misconception. I mean, one could’ve thought it would go away after several years with “the internet”…. Although, I saw this article a while back and it talks about similar things (no hope for the future?) http://coding2learn.org/blog/2013/07/29/kids-cant-use-computers/ . same thing, misconceptions and maybe the most bugging thing “people don’t seem to know the background of what they’re looking at”. It’s all about the WYSIWYG and they want it to work…..(without figuring it out and knowing how it works.)