Job security

Job security. Job security. The mantra that we repeat over and over when confronted with emails like this one:

Hi PoorTech,

I got a new keyboard and it came with a mouse- but I would like to keep my old one… is there a way to do this?

From my new favorite luser of the week: "My speaker makes a big noise now and I am not sure why. Could you advise? Thanks." 

Really, do I need to comment any further? Or does this user request speak for itself? (or at least make a big noise in your head?)

Dear God what is that thing?!?

I am really, really starting to be creeped out by online ad placement. Even my Gmail is a little freaky now and again. But sending messages to friends and family on FB one day, and I get this ad:

 on the flip side, its great that Americans in debt can get info about how to keep their underwater ass(ets) from drowning, but OMG WHAT IS THAT THING?! I no longer care about recession relief, the whole ad has been hijacked by that...that...wtf is that? 


(ps-my apologies, I guess I linked this locally, was working for me, but nobody else!)

beep beep beep

I had no idea I hadn't posted anything here since last spring. Guess it's been a busy summer.

Thursday was very quiet, as a majority of my department, many of the leadership of the org, and others, were in "a training" (I detest that phrase, but they love to use it. It makes me think of teaching a ball to catch a dog, a toilet to use a toddler, or some similar exercise.) This left four out of five sites with no IT coverage, so I had to put on my hat and venture forth when the following complaint was logged (not a direct quote, but close):

"My thin client is making a high-pitched beeping noise that is very loud and irritating. It is driving me crazy, and co-workers are complaining."

OK. First of all, this user distinguished herself by calling the offending hardware by its proper name. She said "thin client," rather than "modem," "hard drive," or "CPU," which are among the various things that our users will call thin clients. This is perhaps the reason why I took this complaint seriously. I am searching for such a reason. Maybe I was tired.

So, I packed up my stuff and ventured forth. Arriving at the desk of the frustrated user, I expected to find her inundated with noise, perhaps pulling out her hair, and dodging the furious glares of cubicle-neighbors. But no. Instead I heard absolutely nothing, and had to spend a few seconds waving my hands in her line of sight, since she was wearing earphones and no doubt enraptured by some Philharmonic masterpiece.

She looked at me with surprise. I said "beep, beep?" Now she looked at me with confusion, then thought a moment, and said "Oh! Yes!" She then proceeded to tell me that she was only hearing this beep at certain moments, and only when she accessed a certain arcane piece of software totally unknown to me. I humbly requested a demonstration.

Albeit with some grumbling, the user proceeded to access an outside Citrix server used by an entity with which we do some business. On this server resides a venerable character-based program that it took her a full five minutes to find and log in to. A few minutes later, after entering some commands and fumbling about, she was able to produce a bona-fide "beep!"

Being a seasoned veteran of the telecommunications achievements of the last century I recognized this as what we would have called a "system bell" in 1975. And indeed each time the program executed some portion of whatever it was doing, it made this noise. In a normal day's work, I estimate that this user might have produced .05 such beeps.

Most likely this beep comes from the tiny little speaker glued to the circuit board inside the thin client. Lacking the curiosity to discover this, I offered to replace her device with one that I had (wisely, I thought) brought along. Hers was a brand-new one, of a type we hadn't widely deployed. I was pretty confident that the one in my bag was incapable of making any such noise.

"But, this one is brand new!"

And shiny. OK. I'm no fool. I logged in to the admin account, and disabled all sound devices while the user looked on. While I had little hope that this would affect the "beep," I also knew that (1) the user was impatient to leave for a cigarette break, and (2) by the time the machine "beeped" again it would be a day long in the future, and perhaps the offensive noise would be unheeded due to the emanations of the iPod.

If a thin client's board speaker is activated in the office but everyone is wearing ear-buds, does it make any sound?

Oh, you want my computer password?

"Oh, you want my computer password? It doesn't have one, just hit Ok to install. I decided I didn't like having so many passwords.." 

This on a computer that is supposed to be HIPAA compliant. A laptop. Specifically a MacBook used by a surgeon for scheduling patients, coordinating appointments, and traveling. AND the user turned off FileVault as part of the same no password policy. And people wonder why I have so many bruises on my forehead. 

Outlook?

Me: "Hi, my user can't connect to the web VPN with her MacBook Air".
Main Office Tech: "Uh, is she using Outlook?"


This, ladies and gentlemen, is a perfect example of how NOT to try and fix a problem. Don't listen to the person on the other end, and when you don't hear a word they said, instead of asking them to repeat it, ask about Outlook. I mean, I know Outlook is the primary cause of quite a bit of technical difficulties, but seriously, did you even hear me say "MacBook"???

Dude, you're getting f&*ked!

So that particular company that produces PC machines and uses the "dooood" guy--what a week with them! In just two days, I had the following insane conversations:

Me:  "I have a hard drive that is failing and needs to be replaced. Checkdisk shows that there is a large portion of the drive sectors that are damaged and unrepairable."
Dood-Company Tech: "Oh, well, you know, you can fix bad sectors by reformatting the drive."
Me: "HAHAHAHAAAAAA!!! Oh MY! Can I quote you on that?"
Dood-Company Tech: "Uh, my supervisor says I can swap this hard drive out for a replacement."


Me: "Hi, I received this hardware encrypted HD, and didn't get the software for it. Can you tell me if there is somewhere I can download it from?"
Dood-Company Tech: "No, I'm in the software department. You'll have to speak to someone in Hardware."


For the last one, this is just all kinds of extra-special. I received a laptop computer for a new-hire several weeks ago. On removing it from the shipping materials, I immediately noticed that it was missing 3 case screws, including the one that holds the DVD burner in place. When I tried to build the machine, the sound card failed. I immediately contacted our district sales manager, who assured me that there was going to be a new machine built and shipped to me within 5 days. 20 days and 37 *yes, 37 at that point* emails later, I still didn't have the machine, and there was no ETA for the build to even be completed. Then the most special part--the sales manager sent me the wrong email. He was trying to send virtually the same excuses to another user, in a completely different part of the state. He copied me on the ENTIRE email thread, some of which I've copied and pasted here. Someone, ANYONE needs to stand up and not only fire the sales manager, but also the tech who sent the original emails to this user:

The first part involves the user asking for a lemon-law replacement (30 days from date of purchase in CA). I'm posting all of the responses from the thread after this (these are unedited, please note the spelling and lack of grammar or punctuation. The only thing removed is the signatures and names of the innocent and guilty. Use spell-check for F&*ks sake people!):

Dood-Company Tech (DCT from here on out):

Friday April 16th

Good Morning, Madam

I am back to work so I need to confirm to you if you will process the return of the system? Or the exchange since today is the only day that you have to return the system since your 21 days return policy done today please let me know before the day done so that I am able to process the return for you or the exchange. If we process the return let me know if you will like labels t your e-mail account which can arrive within 24 hours or through the regular mail which will be deliver in less than 7 days please let me know.

Thank you so much for your patient

DCT

Poor User (referred to as PU):

Monday, April 19th

Please forward this issue to a supervisor, as I find it dishearting that a simple accommodation cannot be made, especially in the face of a horrible, essentially DOA product.

However, if that is not possible, please send me a replacement as soon as possible.

 DCT:  

Monday, April 19th

Good morning I will be processing the exchange for you it will arrive within 7-10 business days if you do not agree with this terms let me know so that we can process the return please do it as soon as possible since you have already run out of time thank you. If we issued the exchange it will be similar product

PU:
Thursday, April 29th
I have not received the replacement laptop.  Can you please let me know the status?

 DCT:  

 Friday, April 30th
Thank you for your re-ply let me go ahead and explain to you your system will arrive to you as I stated within 7-10 business days since we did not agree on nothing on the previous e-mail until today I send the request for the exc.  From here Mam if there is anything else you need assistance on please call 1800-624-9897 since I will be out of the  office for 2 week thank you.

PU:

Monday, May 10th

Good Afternoon,

After much ado about this exchange and your two assurances that a replacement system is on the way,  I still have not received the new laptop.

Additionally, when I phoned the number you gave, there is no record of this return in process.

Please explain what is the status of this return.

At this point the district sales manager screws up and sends me this email, rather than the one that applies to me. *sigh* This certainly engenders little confidence that my missing machine will EVER arrive.

Illusions (or delusions) of Nerd Grandeur

Ok, if you get queasy at the thought of a wannabe hacker douche, please look away now.

A very good friend asked me to fix her sister's boyfriend's infected computer (referred to hereafter as SB.) She had warned me that he was an idiot, but I was completely unprepared for what I found.

I spent a couple hours trying to clean up the data in a VM environment. Cleared off literally hundreds of infections (all sorts of trojans, viruses, and assorted malware) with a variety of tools. Still not clean. Called my friend, explained that I could wipe and restore the system in less than an hour. She checked with the SB, he said no, he had never backed anything up. I'm thinking to myself "Ok, pretty much the stupidest move possible." I tell her I'll continue to try to clean it, but no promises of actually recovering anything. Apparently when she relayed this message, SB actually cried. SB demanded that his data be restored. Again, I made no promises.

Flash forward 10 more hours of cleaning. In the process I noticed he had multiple P2P software installed, including LimeWire, Kazaa, etc. He also has a very substantial collection of porn. I try to salvage everything I can. The problem started when his Symantec went out of subscription and he failed to renew it, update it, or even go get a different free anti-virus program.

Then I put the drive back in and try to boot it. I got the following screen:

You might notice that the profile name is called Lone Wolf. Ok, pretty douchey, but still, I've seen far worse. Now look at the bottom left corner of the screen. Yes, that does say "Turn off Hacking Computer"

I saw that and panicked. OMG, after all the work on this thing so far and its still hosed! I quickly snap a photo with my crackberry in case anyone has seen this sort of thing before. I forward it to my friend, who sends it on to SB.

A few hours later I get a text back from my friend "SB says he actually NAMED his computer Hacking Computer". Uh, wow. I call her back and we're both laughing so hard we nearly pee ourselves. We were both happily picturing every REAL hacker in the world busting into this computer and anally-raping SB over and over through the Internet, just to show him what real hacking is.

Please feel free to renumber this into your own order of stupidity. Here's mine:

1. Naming computer Hacking Computer
2. Not ever backing up ANY data...for 5 years. Yeah, 5. (this is based on age of the machine and dates of files)
3. Installing P2P and porn
4. Not keeping at least one up-to-date anti-virus program running.
5. Not knowing how to clean the computer after it got infected.
6. Not just saying "Ok, I guess I'm going to lose everything" and accepting the loss as a result of your own direct stupidity.

There are also the additional segments of dumb like disabling the firewall, allowing sharing of his entire hard drive through LimeWire, etc, but you can add or delete those as you feel like. 

Power Failure

Okay, I just have to let this one out. Somebody in accounting got a phone call from a person who said he was from the power company, and wanted to let us know that we're going to have a power outage during the day tomorrow. They forwarded the call to IT (why?) and the power company guy (if he really was) left a message on our help desk voice mail.

Seeing some potential for ugliness, I alerted my boss and the guy who's in charge of facilities. There was some back-and-forth, from which I politely excused myself, leaving this for those in charge to deal with.

Later in the afternoon my boss sends me an email with the subject line "Power outage." The entire text of the message is "send an email to all staff." He's in a meeting where I can't contact him. I answer the email with "OK, but what should I say?" Of course, no answer. I decide to wait 15 minutes, as it's getting late in the day. No answer. So, I send out an all-staff email that basically says we have been warned of a power outage and have no further details.

And so, an email comes back from one of the Leaders of the Org. that asks "does this mean no lights, and no computers?"

So far I have restrained myself from answering it. If no one else replies to it, I guess I'll just say "yes."

This is what is known as a Career Limiting Opportunity (CLO).

What I Like About Monday, So Far

One of our largest PITA (that ain't bread) users is giving a presentation in a conference room with her laptop hooked up to the projector in there. A large part of her show is to play a DVD for the people, no doubt the most intelligent part of the whole disaster. So, she starts playing the DVD, and there's no sound. Hm. Leave the room, run and get Me.

Have you ever played this DVD in this computer before? No. Any DVD? No. Of course this is 1-1/2 hours into a 2-hour dog&pony joke, I'm in there with 35 babbling audience members watching me trying to figure out why Windoze Media Player won't squeeze sound out of this disc.

Personally, I like to make sure stuff is going to work BEFORE I'm in front of the audience, but that's just me...

Technical Support Request

So, yesterday afternoon I was sitting behind my desk, forgot to lock and seal the door and turn all the lights off, and one of our particularly interesting users appeared in the doorway like the face of doom. She was waving a piece of paper, which, from where I was sitting, looked blank.

"Is there some way that I can write a letter and then save it so that I could use the same letter, perhaps with a few minor changes, at a later date?" (This is not an accurate quote. The real question was much more obtuse, vague, and hard to understand. I am sparing you, dear reader, many details that would cause pain.)

So, I took a deep breath and gave a general explanation of how to create and save a document, and suggested she could simply rename it each time with the date, or something like that. That seemed to interest her, but I could tell she was not satisfied.

"But when I try to type the letter, if I hit 'tab,' it goes into another one of those blocks."

Blocks?

"Are you using Word to write your letter?"

"Yes -- er, no. Excel."

So, here at the org. we are saddled with something called "[redacted]," which the boys and girls are supposed to use for continuing education credits, to maintain various contract requirements with the gummint. [redacted] provides a website where someone with basic computer/InterWeb skills could possibly log in and navigate to an area where he/she could receive some learnin' and take a test to prove that he/she had acquired said learnin'.

Okay, so there's problems with this. First, we got that InterWeb. Apparently you gotta have the InterWeb on your computer to use this. And then there's the skills. And the navigatin'.

Lucky for us we have college-educated users with advanced degrees. Certainly such people would be familiar with basic use of the tubes, yes?

No.

The Human Racehorses department provided (via e-mail) the users with a link to the site. One of our managers replied:

neither BING nor Google could find [URL for redacted].

This is not uncommon. People come to us all the time having put something like our SSL Citrix login address into Yahoo! or AltaVista or whatever they're using, telling us that "the system is down."

I love the smell of dropped packets in the morning.

More or LESS Comcastic..

user Guest_ has entered room

analyst Alexa has entered room

Alexa(Wed Feb 03 2010 18:40:30 GMT-0800 (Pacific Standard Time))>

Hello Guest_, Thank you for contacting Comcast Live Chat Support. 

My name is Alexa.

 Please give me one moment to review your information.

Alexa(Wed Feb 03 2010 18:40:30 GMT-0800 (Pacific Standard Time))>

Welcome to Comcast! How are you tonight?

Guest_(Wed Feb 03 2010 15:40:38 GMT-0800 (Pacific Standard Time))>

Hi Alexa

Guest_(Wed Feb 03 2010 15:40:41 GMT-0800 (Pacific Standard Time))>

I'm well

Alexa(Wed Feb 03 2010 18:41:01 GMT-0800 (Pacific Standard Time))>

That's wonderful to hear! I will be very glad to serve you 

today.

Alexa(Wed Feb 03 2010 18:41:02 GMT-0800 (Pacific Standard Time))>

To confirm if the information that we recived is correct. 

Please verify the following and let me know if there are 

any incorrect data.

Guest_(Wed Feb 03 2010 15:41:03 GMT-0800 (Pacific Standard Time))>

I'm curious as to what the current download/upload speeds 

are that are offered in my area

Alexa(Wed Feb 03 2010 18:41:23 GMT-0800 (Pacific Standard Time))>

Service Street Addr: XXXXX 

Service Addr Apt: 

Service Addr City: XXXX

Service Addr State: XXX

Service Addr Zip: XXXXXX

Guest_(Wed Feb 03 2010 15:41:56 GMT-0800 (Pacific Standard Time))>

yes, that is correct

Alexa(Wed Feb 03 2010 18:42:07 GMT-0800 (Pacific Standard Time))>

Thank you!

Alexa(Wed Feb 03 2010 18:42:31 GMT-0800 (Pacific Standard Time))>

Please give me a minute to check on the internet speeds 

offered in your market.

Alexa(Wed Feb 03 2010 18:44:30 GMT-0800 (Pacific Standard Time))>

1. Economy with 1 Mbps download speed and 

384 Kbps upload speed.

Alexa(Wed Feb 03 2010 18:44:49 GMT-0800 (Pacific Standard Time))>

2. Performance with 12 Mbps download speed 

and 2 Mbps upload speed.

Alexa(Wed Feb 03 2010 18:45:13 GMT-0800 (Pacific Standard Time))>

3. Blast with 16 Mbps download speed and 

2 Mbps upload speed.

Guest_(Wed Feb 03 2010 15:45:31 GMT-0800 (Pacific Standard Time))>

that slow?

Guest_(Wed Feb 03 2010 15:45:34 GMT-0800 (Pacific Standard Time))>

ouch

Alexa(Wed Feb 03 2010 18:45:36 GMT-0800 (Pacific Standard Time))>

4. Ultra with 22 Mbps download speed and 

5 Mbps upload speed.

Guest_(Wed Feb 03 2010 15:45:48 GMT-0800 (Pacific Standard Time))>

sorry, I'm spoiled at work 

Guest_(Wed Feb 03 2010 15:45:51 GMT-0800 (Pacific Standard Time))>

and in my old comcast market

Alexa(Wed Feb 03 2010 18:46:00 GMT-0800 (Pacific Standard Time))>

5.Extreme with 50 Mbps download speed and 

10 Mbps upload speed.

Guest_(Wed Feb 03 2010 15:46:10 GMT-0800 (Pacific Standard Time))>

what is the monthly pricing on extreme?

Alexa(Wed Feb 03 2010 18:47:28 GMT-0800 (Pacific Standard Time))>

That would be $114.95 for internet only service 

and $99.95 if you are subscribed to cable or 

phone service.

Guest_(Wed Feb 03 2010 15:48:19 GMT-0800 (Pacific Standard Time))>

really? isn't that the same speed as the speed 

tier in WA state?

Guest_(Wed Feb 03 2010 15:48:31 GMT-0800 (Pacific Standard Time))>

I think I paid $59.95

Alexa(Wed Feb 03 2010 18:49:04 GMT-0800 (Pacific Standard Time))>

The speed I have provided you is for the 

general D3 market which inlcudes CA and WA.

Alexa(Wed Feb 03 2010 18:49:19 GMT-0800 (Pacific Standard Time))>

If you paid $59.95, you had the Performance Package.

Guest_(Wed Feb 03 2010 15:49:39 GMT-0800 (Pacific Standard Time))>

I had speed tier when I worked for Comcast in 

that market

Guest_(Wed Feb 03 2010 15:49:56 GMT-0800 (Pacific Standard Time))>

it started at 10Mbps, went up to 25mpbs

Guest_(Wed Feb 03 2010 15:50:07 GMT-0800 (Pacific Standard Time))>

I was told by my brother he's pulling 50Mbps down

Guest_(Wed Feb 03 2010 15:50:13 GMT-0800 (Pacific Standard Time))>

probably because it is still a test market

Alexa(Wed Feb 03 2010 18:50:53 GMT-0800 (Pacific Standard Time))>

Oh really. I do not think that is possible but we 

offer High Speed Internet so the speed is way different 

compared to DSL.

Guest_(Wed Feb 03 2010 15:51:06 GMT-0800 (Pacific Standard Time))>

yeah, really

Guest_(Wed Feb 03 2010 15:51:21 GMT-0800 (Pacific Standard Time))>

and there is better pricing for U-Verse at this point, 

i just don't want AT&T in my house

Alexa(Wed Feb 03 2010 18:51:43 GMT-0800 (Pacific Standard Time))>

I see.

Alexa(Wed Feb 03 2010 18:51:57 GMT-0800 (Pacific Standard Time))>

As of now, we do not have any promotional offers for 

internet only service.

Guest_(Wed Feb 03 2010 15:52:00 GMT-0800 (Pacific Standard Time))>

here is my dilemma. I'm a gamer at home, 

an IT nerd at work

Alexa(Wed Feb 03 2010 18:52:10 GMT-0800 (Pacific Standard Time))>

These are the current levels of service that you can get.

Guest_(Wed Feb 03 2010 15:52:20 GMT-0800 (Pacific Standard Time))>

I wanted HD DVR and Pref package as well

Guest_(Wed Feb 03 2010 15:52:37 GMT-0800 (Pacific Standard Time))>

so are those speeds you told me throttled?

Alexa(Wed Feb 03 2010 18:53:58 GMT-0800 (Pacific Standard Time))>

It will not affect your choice of internet service.

Guest_(Wed Feb 03 2010 15:55:49 GMT-0800 (Pacific Standard Time))>

right, but it affects my initial promotional 

pricing, right?

Guest_(Wed Feb 03 2010 15:55:59 GMT-0800 (Pacific Standard Time))>

and are the speeds throttled?

Alexa(Wed Feb 03 2010 18:56:33 GMT-0800 (Pacific Standard Time))>

Are the speeds throttled?- definitely not!

Alexa(Wed Feb 03 2010 18:57:07 GMT-0800 (Pacific Standard Time))>

What do you mean by your intial promotional pricing? 

Do you have an existing account with us?

Guest_(Wed Feb 03 2010 15:57:09 GMT-0800 (Pacific Standard Time))>

so if I'm using my max bandwidth I'm not going to notice 

a drop?

Guest_(Wed Feb 03 2010 15:57:19 GMT-0800 (Pacific Standard Time))>

no, I don't, which is why it would be initial pricing

Alexa(Wed Feb 03 2010 18:57:21 GMT-0800 (Pacific Standard Time))>

Of course.

Alexa(Wed Feb 03 2010 18:57:35 GMT-0800 (Pacific Standard Time))>

Which promotional offer did you choose then?

Guest_(Wed Feb 03 2010 15:58:07 GMT-0800 (Pacific Standard Time))>

I haven't yet, I've been asking questions to determine 

what I want.

Alexa(Wed Feb 03 2010 18:58:16 GMT-0800 (Pacific Standard Time))>

I see.

Alexa(Wed Feb 03 2010 18:58:29 GMT-0800 (Pacific Standard Time))>

Promotional offers have terms and conditions that 

have to be considered.

Alexa(Wed Feb 03 2010 18:58:41 GMT-0800 (Pacific Standard Time))>

It will all depend on what promotional offer you choose.

Guest_(Wed Feb 03 2010 15:58:41 GMT-0800 (Pacific Standard Time))>

yes, I know

Guest_(Wed Feb 03 2010 15:58:45 GMT-0800 (Pacific Standard Time))>

I thought you were in sales

Guest_(Wed Feb 03 2010 15:58:53 GMT-0800 (Pacific Standard Time))>

and are you sure they aren't throttling for any reason?

Alexa(Wed Feb 03 2010 18:58:57 GMT-0800 (Pacific Standard Time))>

I am in sales, yes.

Alexa(Wed Feb 03 2010 18:59:13 GMT-0800 (Pacific Standard Time))>

It is not throttling.

Guest_(Wed Feb 03 2010 15:59:34 GMT-0800 (Pacific Standard Time))>

ok, so this is just heresay?

Guest_(Wed Feb 03 2010 15:59:35 GMT-0800 (Pacific Standard Time))>

http://gizmodo.com/5123925/comcasts-internet-slowdown-

system-fully-armed-and-operational-and-avoidable

Alexa(Wed Feb 03 2010 18:59:44 GMT-0800 (Pacific Standard Time))>

I would say so.

Alexa(Wed Feb 03 2010 19:00:37 GMT-0800 (Pacific Standard Time))>

The website will let you know more about the product.

Alexa(Wed Feb 03 2010 19:00:41 GMT-0800 (Pacific Standard Time))>

I can get you a link.

Alexa(Wed Feb 03 2010 19:01:03 GMT-0800 (Pacific Standard Time))>

http://www.comcast.com/Corporate/Learn/HighSpeedInternet

/highspeedinternet.html?lid=2LearnHSI&pos=Nav

Guest_(Wed Feb 03 2010 16:01:08 GMT-0800 (Pacific Standard Time))>

how about this?

Guest_(Wed Feb 03 2010 16:01:08 GMT-0800 (Pacific Standard Time))>

http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/New-Comcast-

Throttling-System-100-Online-100015

Alexa(Wed Feb 03 2010 19:01:19 GMT-0800 (Pacific Standard Time))>

This is the official website of Comcast.

Guest_(Wed Feb 03 2010 16:01:50 GMT-0800 (Pacific Standard Time))>

Here's the official Comcast PDF file that 

says you are throttling

Guest_(Wed Feb 03 2010 16:01:51 GMT-0800 (Pacific Standard Time))>

http://downloads.comcast.net/docs/Attachment_

B_Future_Practices.pdf

Alexa(Wed Feb 03 2010 19:02:00 GMT-0800 (Pacific Standard Time))>

www.comcast.com is the official site of Comcast.

Guest_(Wed Feb 03 2010 16:02:08 GMT-0800 (Pacific Standard Time))>

wow

Guest_(Wed Feb 03 2010 16:02:28 GMT-0800 (Pacific Standard Time))>

so what is comcast.net? Is it not the home of Comcast 

internet services?

Alexa(Wed Feb 03 2010 19:02:57 GMT-0800 (Pacific Standard Time))>

Comcast.net are for existing customers who are already 

subscribed to Comcast.

Guest_(Wed Feb 03 2010 16:03:29 GMT-0800 (Pacific Standard Time))>

wow, do you mind if I copy and paste your comments as an 

example of what NOT to tell your users?

Alexa(Wed Feb 03 2010 19:03:44 GMT-0800 (Pacific Standard Time))>

Not a problem!

Guest_(Wed Feb 03 2010 16:03:48 GMT-0800 (Pacific Standard Time))>

Thank you very much for making up my mind for me. 

I will go with ANY other company at this juncture.

Alexa(Wed Feb 03 2010 19:04:08 GMT-0800 (Pacific Standard Time))>

Everything is documented. Do not worry.

Guest_(Wed Feb 03 2010 16:04:29 GMT-0800 (Pacific Standard Time))>

Great, please document away. And make sure your supervisor 

knows that you don't know your ass from a hole in the 

ground either.

Guest_(Wed Feb 03 2010 16:04:34 GMT-0800 (Pacific Standard Time))>

and have a lovely day.

Alexa(Wed Feb 03 2010 19:04:47 GMT-0800 (Pacific Standard Time))>

You do thesame!

Alexa(Wed Feb 03 2010 19:04:50 GMT-0800 (Pacific Standard Time))>

Take care!

Those pesky web forms

This was the entire text of a help ticket I got from a user.

"When I fill in my email address for orders on line there is a response that my email address is invalid. I would like that to be fixed."


Really? Would you like me to just go ahead and type up the entire web form for you, since you can't even correctly type your own email address?