USB Theatre of the Bizarre
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Just moments ago someone walked into our IT office. Seeing the only two occupants having a business conversation, she knocked loudly on a desk.
How can we help you?
[hee hee] I, um, there’s a meeting. And they [hee hee] need a.. they’re having a training in the Big Room. They need a … thing. I don’t know [hee hee]. Maybe a laptop thing. USB - yeah. Or a projector… I don’t. [hee hee] Can you just come look?
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You’re probably all excited by the suspense generated by this request. You really need to know what she wanted (because obviously she didn’t).
This brunette (with blonde roots) wanted to plug a USB drive into a computer. She didn’t know where to plug it in.
“Any USB port” would obviously have been too complex a thought to have crossed her (alleged) mind.
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The even sadder part of this is the process by which she came to ask:
I need to plug this in. Hmmmm……
Oh well, I’ll just go get IT - they’ll know what to do.
She did not stop to try. She did not look for where to plug it in. She just threw up her hands and went to ask The Experts<tm>.
It has become apparent that we not only have a Stupid problem - we have a cultural problem too.
“Don’t think: it only makes your head hurt”
3 Comments
the oracle
April 23rd, 2009
at 7:19am
But it gives you a job! Never underestimate the need for educated people, because there are vast numbers who aren’t - and aren’t interested in becoming educated, either.
leftystrat
April 23rd, 2009
at 9:10am
I call it Enforced Institutional Stupidity.
A lot of people will give a problem some thought and effort, as opposed to picking up the phone immediately to have someone else do it. I love these people.
Unfortunately it’s apparently ok where I work to be blissfully ignorant AND stupid. That’s what gets to me. I like helping people, but there’s a line…
Buffalo
April 23rd, 2009
at 9:25pm
So, i get a notice from the IT people that I have to fill out this online employee evaluation form. ok. I log in to the employee evaluation survey site and it attempts to toss out a pop-up. Ut-oh, that browser doesn’t let script play. Duh. Employee site–must use IE. Do I let IE spin off pop-ups. no. …but it does ask me if I want to temporarily allow them for “this site.” I could do that BUT… ….noooo… ….because the web site designer caused a message to display which tells me I have pop-ups turned off and it blocks any action accept acknowledging the “you have pop-ups turned off” message with its inane button. ok. I push (click) the button which has the effect of making the browser offer to temporarily allow pop-ups also go away. Grrrrrrr.
Dear IT department.
It is a reasonable security measure to disallow my browser to regurgitate pop-ups. Could you please redesign your employee evaluation website form to not require pop-up windows?
Dear Employee,
We have enclosed the steps necessary to let your browser view pop-ups.
Dear IT Department,
Ahhh, can you tell me where on thischere computer I plug in this USB thingy?