Why are so many IT guys antisocial.

[dannygold]

Don't get me wrong... I loathe the human race as much as the next guy, but I can, you know, carry on a conversation if I need to. Seems like a lot of IT guys CANNOT. Not all, but most maybe?

Me: Oh, by the way I think this P-RAM battery might be dead, the clock keeps reverting back to 1969.

Him: Adjusts his glasses staring at me as if I'd just said "I'm going to fly to mars tonight on butterfly wings, care to join me". Says NOTHING. Very disconcerting.

Or an IT guy walks in to a crowded room with people working, fixes something and slinks out. No "Say, mind if I have a look see at this problem".

Astburgers Syndrome? Anyone care to share similar experiences or tell me I'm wrong??

[Seifer]

I'm an IT GUY

I try to communicate with people... but they don't understand

I'm like "you only need a converter box if you use an antenna. you have cable, so clearly you don't need one"

and then the guy will be like "but duh change is a comin' them peoples gonna change duh TV in 2009 I gotta gits converter box so I can watch m'shows BUDDY"

and then later I'm like "you downloaded this virus right here, see look at me point at it on the screen. don't download this again."

and then after I leave they try to steal the exact same kid rock song again and download the exact same virus off of CRAPSTER or whatever and then call me and say "hey BUD you didn't fix my dang computer so GIT R DONE buddy ****in' truck balls AMERICA I gits a refund"

and then dudes, AND THEN, I swear this guy could not LOG IN so I looked at his user name and he typed "LIWS" so I said "your username and password are wrong. tell them to me" and he said "IT'S MY NAME" so then I look at my clipboard and see that his name is clearly "LEWIS" and he just can't spell it. I tell him the computer can't assume that he is spelling his name wrong like I can, but he didn't get it.

and then this lady is like "make mp3 before gits on CD" and I'm like "nah just copy them without converting them so you don't lose any quality" and she was like "you don't know nothin' mp3 is how the dang INTERNET sounds like PAL"

I want to die, or become a janitor. I could pick up turds as long as nobody talks to me I guess

[temetrepo]

I work in IT and i deal with these daily

1. If you ask me technical questions please don’t argue with me because you don’t like my answer. If you think you know more about the topic, why ask? And if I’m arguing with you…it’s because I am positive that I am correct, otherwise I’d just say “I don’t know” or give you some tips on where to look it up, I don’t have the time to just argue for the sake of it.

2. Starting a conversation by insulting yourself (i.e. “I’m such an idiot”) will not make me laugh, or feel sorry for you; all it will do is remind me that yes, you are an idiot and that I am going to hate having to talk to you. Trust me; you don’t want to start a call that way.

3. I am ok with you making mistakes, fixing them is my job. I am not ok with you lying to me about a mistake you made. It makes it much harder to resolve and thus makes my job more difficult. Be honest and we can get the problem resolved and continue on with our business.

4. There is no magic “Fix it” button. Everything takes some amount of work to fix, and not everything is worth fixing or even possible to fix. If I say that you just need to re-do a document that you accidentally deleted 2 months ago, please don’t get mad at me. I’m not ignoring your problem, and it’s not that I don’t like you; I just can’t always fix everything.

5. Not everything you ask me to do is “urgent”. In fact, by marking things as “urgent” every time, you almost ensure that I treat none of it as a priority.

6. You are not the only one who needs help, and you usually don’t have the most urgent issue. Give me some time to get to your problem, it will get fixed.

7. Emailing me several times about the same issue in the same day is not only unnecessary, it’s highly annoying. Emails will stay until I delete them, I won’t delete them until I’m done with them. I will typically respond as soon as I have a useful update. If it is an urgent issue, let me know (see number 5).

8. Yes, I prefer email over telephone calls. It has nothing to do with being friendly, it’s about efficiency. It is much faster and easier for me to list out a set of questions that I need you to answer than it is for me to call and ask you them one by one. You can find the answers at your leisure and while I’m waiting I can work on other problems.

9. Yes, I seem blunt and rude. It’s not that I mean to, I just don’t have the time to sugar coat things for you. I assume we are both adults and can handle the reality of a problem. If you did something wrong, I will tell you. I don’t care that it was a mistake, because it really makes no difference to me. Don’t take it personal, I just don’t want it to happen again.

10. And finally, yes, I can read your email, I can see what web pages you look at while you are at work, yes, I can access every file on your work computer, and I can tell if you are chatting with people on an instant messenger or chat room (and can also read what you are typing). But no, I don’t do it. It’s unethical, I’m busy, and in all reality you aren’t all that interesting. So unless I am instructed to specifically monitor or investigate your actions, I don’t. There really are much more interesting things on the internet than you.

oh and yea. I'm one of those that just can't keep a convo going. Something happens that in the middle of the other person talking to me all of the sudden everything converts to blah blah blah. Don't know why. :)

[gearaddict]

Originally Posted by temetrepo

oh and yea. I'm one of those that just can't keep a convo going. Something happens that in the middle of the other person talking to me all of the sudden everything converts to blah blah blah. Don't know why. :)

Maby because you are so smart and every one else is dumb..see back in high schoblah blah blah blah understand!!

[Capt. Kirk]

Back in the day blah blah blah blah daydreamers. Now we call blah blah blah ADD.

[temetrepo]

lol

[donsolo]

I love IT guys, they're how I make my money.

All kidding aside, IT is one of the busiest and most expensive departments in business.

Also, you don't go into IT because of your great people skills. If you have great people skills, sales is a much more lucrative industry.

And it's spelled asperger's. And it's EVERYWHERE, not just in IT.

(Yea, I'm a little offended by that part)

[Chris Doremus]

I totally thought that everybody was talking about like big timers. Like famous, like the in crowd. The "IT" dudes... I guess the I-T guys wont find that funny!!!

[NorseHorse]

My friend who does sound just learned after several years that PA stands for "public address", not "power amp".

These things happen.

[ElMosca]

Originally Posted by temetrepo

1. If you ask me technical questions please don’t argue with me because you don’t like my answer. If you think you know more about the topic, why ask?

Uh...because you have the administrator password, therefore I cannot test my theory by myself???

Seriously, I agree with all the other things you wrote, but don't just assume that everybody who calls you is a technodolt.

Also, what is a "convo"? Is that like a "preso"?

Cheers,
++aldo

[Jake 2.0]

I respect guys in IT that have the patience to do what they do . and there are some damn good IT guys out there (yes their out there, i know a few of them)

[Loud Noises]

Imagine trying to explain quantum physics to a room full of retarded 8 year olds, none of them understand your language, and they all DEMAND that you give them this knowledge instantly, and then solve the problems they are having for them, even though they all believe they know a better way to do it.. This is the daily life of somebody in IT.

[psycho_monkey]

couldnt you replace "it guy" with "maintenance guy" as well?! Same sh1t, different room...

[KingDaddyO]

Because even though their kung fu is the best ... they still can't seem to get the girl.

Um ... just kidding: of course they can get the girl - it just takes a lot longer than normal . But in the end, it all works out just swell. Revenge of the Nerds and all. K'?

Well, almost. Except for a very 'special' few- you know them: the true 'Hi Fidelity' types, the ones who should never come in contact with other biped carbon based lifeforms. I mean, does it really matter what you know (short of an imminent disaster which you AND YOU ALONE, hold the power to avert ?) ... if the client won't even let you enter the building again?

[Loud Noises]

Originally Posted by psycho_monkey

couldnt you replace "it guy" with "maintenance guy" as well?! Same sh1t, different room...

My point has been proven with this brilliant example of ignorance.

[destiny1]

since I am at university and only surrounded by information technology students,I must say they are of course an own kind of people,but again also audio guys(which I had to do with at the audio school I went to) are different than other people,what I do not like is if people only talk about theoretical stuff,I mean I wanna also do something and not only talk theory,that is what I often miss in information technology students here,they are way more theoretical ,ok I study this as well,but I rather also do sometimes things and not only calculate them or stare at a PC and call that kind of work "practical" and students here in germany are also not as cool or laid back than anyone I met who is in music and is from the USA,actually what I do not like about germany that people are too serious too often

[KingDaddyO]

Originally Posted by destiny1

since I am at university and only surrounded by information technology students,I must say they are of course an own kind of people,but again also audio guys(which I had to do with at the audio school I went to) are different than other people,what I do not like is if people only talk about theoretical stuff,I mean I wanna also do something and not only talk theory,that is what I often miss in information technology students here,they are way more theoretical ,ok I study this as well,but I rather also do sometimes things and not only calculate them or stare at a PC and call that kind of work "practical" and students here in germany are also not as cool or laid back than anyone I met who is in music and is from the USA,actually what I do not like about germany that people are too serious too often

IMO you are on the right path - balance, moderation, being well rounded ... the sum of all is greater than the one. Keep searching.

[Mylithra]

Ive been working in IT for about 15 years now and the last 8 directly talking to customer via phone and ticketing systems.

I tend to be antisocial for a couple of reason.

1. The constant badgering to fix something for someone for free the moment they find out I'm good at this. I mean, You meet a doctor when you're out and about then find out they're a doctor and say "Oh BTW, I have this problem..." I do this for 12 hours a day, 48 hours a week. The last thing I want to do when I get done working is to be stopped when I'm on my own personal time and work some more.

2. The constant brain picking for stuff that easily answered by typing your questions in Google and the the first 20 results that have the EXACT answer you're after. Ill be the first to admit that I dont know everything, but I know where to look to go find the answer but when the answer is right there for the looking, and I still get asked, I get irritated.

3. The combative/argumentative people that call you for help, then tell you you're wrong and argue with you that its not the solution. If you know so much about all this, why do you call me for? Its not my obligation to show you how to do anything. (unless you're one of my customer) If I choose to help you, be cool about it. The moment you're an A-Hole, I dont want to deal with you anymore.

Originally Posted by temetrepo

5. Not everything you ask me to do is “urgent”. In fact, by marking things as “urgent” every time, you almost ensure that I treat none of it as a priority.

6. You are not the only one who needs help, and you usually don’t have the most urgent issue. Give me some time to get to your problem, it will get fixed.

9. Yes, I seem blunt and rude. It’s not that I mean to, I just don’t have the time to sugar coat things for you. I assume we are both adults and can handle the reality of a problem. If you did something wrong, I will tell you. I don’t care that it was a mistake, because it really makes no difference to me. Don’t take it personal, I just don’t want it to happen again.

F-en A!

Dont get me wrong, I love what I do and I dont think Id be doing anything else, but people tend to be inconsiderate to those who do this.

[Mantik]

I love them, they have a very special humor and they are usually very friendly guys which love their work - talking about the real advanced bitheads.
there is another form of them, the more business-IT guys which are not as good in coding as the "bitheads" but more within concepts and business. they work more like an interface between costumer and "bitheads" - and i am one of them. so the ability to talk is something we need and spend very much time to improve our listening and communication. the problem very often is: the costumer does not know what he needs, and if he knows its a very unefficient idea very often. a lot of e-business people like shopowners for example have horrible websites where a lot of sales go to hell. some it-man going over there and telling him:" your site is shit" usually is not respected very well nothing to say, often very hard to make them understand about the reasons. you cant imagine how many of very "professional" shops in the internet are making fundamental mistakes. so we are something like the unwanted truth. thats how it goes - we are some kind of misunderstood nerds.

[psycho_monkey]

Originally Posted by Loud Noises

My point has been proven with this brilliant example of ignorance.

errr....hello?

in what way is my post "a brilliant example of ignorance"? Please do explain, Mr Experience....

...for what it's worth, I absolutely agree with your post, and I think it's EXACTLY the same situation with some maintenance guys, and some engineers/producers. Only difference is that hopefully many operators have a bit more understanding of the under the hood details than the average office drone.

[detached23]

Being an IT person myself, discussions like this always make me think of this video (contains some NSFW language):

The Website is Down

[Mylithra]

Originally Posted by Mantik

I love them, they have a very special humor and they are usually very friendly guys which love their work - talking about the real advanced bitheads.
there is another form of them, the more business-IT guys which are not as good in coding as the "bitheads" but more within concepts and business. they work more like an interface between costumer and "bitheads" - and i am one of them. so the ability to talk is something we need and spend very much time to improve our listening and communication. the problem very often is: the costumer does not know what he needs, and if he knows its a very unefficient idea very often. a lot of e-business people like shopowners for example have horrible websites where a lot of sales go to hell. some it-man going over there and telling him:" your site is shit" usually is not respected very well nothing to say, often very hard to make them understand about the reasons. you cant imagine how many of very "professional" shops in the internet are making fundamental mistakes. so we are something like the unwanted truth. thats how it goes - we are some kind of misunderstood nerds.

This post reeks of truth.
I tend to find the most often misunderstood internet fundamental tends to be DNS. Especially where email is involved, and half the time, its the one part of their systems I for the most part cant do anything about. (They generally have DNS pointed somewhere else and dont know why mail isn't being routed or is being bounced.)

Also, who's heard this?
"Every second this thing is down, I'm losing 1000's of dollars" and "Im your most important customer" yet when I go look at your account information, you have a $25 a month hosting plan? Dont B.S. me. I'll help you to the best of my ability but making exaggerated claims based on your fantasy of what you think you can make doesn't mean Im going to drop the previous 2 customers who have called me and said the same thing. Ill get to your request but have consideration for the others that come before you. Most people wont admit this, but when you call me with that attitude, and the next call I get is someone cool, guess who's sh_t is getting de-prioritized?

[Capt. Kirk]

Hey guys,

I'll be first to say that I am NOT a IT guy and have a great appreciation for them when I need them.

This distance that we all feel between us and them is mostly a helpless feeling that we are at their mercy and they're not speculating but just going through all the test in their head and we're sitting there waiting and the silence is killing us cause it appears that they are not emotional about our need like we are......... It kills me........but I love you guys......

[Duardo]

The constant badgering to fix something for someone for free the moment they find out I'm good at this. I mean, You meet a doctor when you're out and about then find out they're a doctor and say "Oh BTW, I have this problem..." I do this for 12 hours a day, 48 hours a week. The last thing I want to do when I get done working is to be stopped when I'm on my own personal time and work some more.

Isn't this the way it is for musicians in general?
"Oh, hey, you're a musician, can you play at my party?"
Sure, here's my rate...
"Oh, I thought you'd do it for free..."
Ah. And you're a dentist, right? So you'll go ahead and fill this cavity for me?

[Capt. Kirk]

Originally Posted by Duardo

Isn't this the way it is for musicians in general?
"Oh, hey, you're a musician, can you play at my party?"
Sure, here's my rate...
"Oh, I thought you'd do it for free..."
Ah. And you're a dentist, right? So you'll go ahead and fill this cavity for me?

How well I know that, I use to be a finance manager at a Toyota dealership. I'd be out to eat at night with my family and people coming by my table to get an appraisal on their car that's at home with a broke start but it's like new otherwise..........

[Duardo]

I'm just glad I'm not a dermatologist. I feel like everyone would always be trying to show me their rashes.

[Loud Noises]

Originally Posted by psycho_monkey

errr....hello?

in what way is my post "a brilliant example of ignorance"? Please do explain, Mr