The one question I hate the most?

[Geoff Hart <ghart -at- videotron -dot- ca>]

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.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - --
Geoff Hart   ghart -at- videotron -dot- ca
(try geoffhart -at- mac -dot- com if you don't get a reply)
www.geoff-hart.com
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -


^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Now Shipping -- WebWorks ePublisher Pro for Word! Easily create online
Help. And online anything else. Redesigned interface with a new
project-based workflow. Try it today! http://www.webworks.com/techwr-l

Doc-To-Help 2005 now has RoboHelp Converter and HTML Source: Author 
content and configure Help in MS Word or any HTML editor. No 
proprietary editor! *August release. http://www.componentone.com/TECHWRL/DocToHelp2005

---
You are currently subscribed to techwr-l as:
archiver -at- techwr-l -dot- com
To unsubscribe send a blank email to leave-techwr-l-obscured -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
Send administrative questions to lisa -at- techwr-l -dot- com -dot-  Visit
http://www.techwr-l.com/techwhirl/ for more resources and info.