this post was submitted on 22 Aug 2023
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"I try to do a thing on my computer and I get an error message."
"What does the message say?"
"I don't know."
The story of me helping people with computers.
To be fair, that's learned helplessness.
How many times have you said 'yes yes, just click through that, jeeze'?
There is so damn much horrible shitty UX out there; 90% of the time users are just trained out of using common sense, and you can't blame them for it.
That other 10% though, goddamn. I swear if you moved their doorknob an inch to the left they'd starve to death in their home.
Also one my favourites:
βNothing works, and this annoying message keeps popping up. I keep closing it, but it just comes back every time. Can you help me?β
Them: "All the PCs are broken"
Me: "ok, cam you see any lights on the monitors or on the front of the pcs"
Them: "i dont know"
Me: "ok I'll come have a look"
walks down
Me: "Ok show me one of the broken ones"
Them: "ok well its actually just this one"
Me: dont get mad, they are just an idiot
Me: turns on screen
Them: "how did you do that?"
Me AAAAAARRRRHHHHHHHHHHGGGGGG "magic π" AAAAAAARRRRRHHHHHGGG
The amount of people who work on a computer every day and still don't know the absolute basics is astounding.
I fully understand that someone who never used a PC doesn't know their way around one, that's absolutely fair, of course. But if they've used one for years because of their job, and are still not able to work out where that one file is...
That's just inexcusable.
Great job security for IT and tech support though.
I think some people are just wired to think in a way that makes the ways computers work difficult to understand. (Just like some folks don't have an inner monologue or can only think in images, or can't visualize anything at all). I've been the liaison between tech folks and non-tech folks in the same conversation with me needing to translate between both parties. They could not understand each other even in the same conversation.
I can't find files because they're buried in subfolders or split into separate drives because IT decides to change the structure of everything and who knows where where to find what if there's not a shortcut to what I need on my desktop. Did they put it on X drive or G drive or H drive? What folders did it get buried in?
Windows search is trash at being able to actually find anything.
I once had six monitors shipped to us from onsite, complaining they were all dead.
Each one, just twiddle the brightness knob right on the front (yes this was the 90s, CRTs with analogue knobs...) and they were absolutely fine.
More like my computer doesn't work. Error message at least implies the computer booted up.
The process of trying to get someone to explain their problem is so painful.
Even people on our fucking helpdesk write up tickets like that.
"Caller can't log in"
Okay what are they logging in too? What creds are they using? Are they getting an error message? what is it? WHY AM I HAVING TO FOLLOW UP WITH YOU TO ASK THESE QUESTIONS YOU STUPID FUCK.
Or the classic "I can't send email"... sent to us by email.
Well, I've had this happen before because the error is half a screen long with a bunch of random (to me) characters, only shows for half a second and it won't let me screenshot it and isn't always repeatable because it already showed me the error message, so why would it again?
I hate when that shit happens.
(Kent Brockman voice) JUST TAKE A SCREENSHOT, PEOPLE!!
Aside from reading comprehension, it seems as though people absolutely lack the ability to problem solve. Head scratching is as far as many will go. I can't count how many times I've found inefficient, tedious, or straight up broken systems or out of date info in my office and when I ask people if they've ever contacted IT about it or tried to figure it out they just say "Eh, nah, I just leave it and it works itself out." No. My guy, you're just doing it wrong/taking an extra 15 minutes to do everything you're doing because of the workarounds.