Rtfm!

[losfp]

Ahhh... one of the best acronyms ever invented. Used with alarming regularity in the tech support world :D

I was reminded of this last night as I struggled for over an hour with DVD backup, trying to rip a DVD to my desktop so I can watch it later without the disc. It would just give up everytime it got to the video files. Over and over and over again. Turns out you need to load up DVD player to "validate" the disc before it'll let you do it. I'd set the machine not to load up DVD player upon mounting a DVD so I never knew that. Of course, if I'd read the @#)$(*#@ documentation that came with DVD backup, I would have known!!! :)

Seems to me that it's a mostly male thing, to try to solve every problem without referring to the manual if at all possible. When we bought our TV, a Metz Astral (excellent set btw), I set about setting it up without bothering to look at the manual. My girlfriend wandered off, as she saw what was coming ("let me know when you finally get it working", she said). Of course, in typical efficient German style, the manufacturers had replaced the labels on the remote control with vague symbols and colours that had nothing to do with the functions. A couple of hours later, I relented and resorted to the manual, and had the thing working within 15 minutes.

Also does anyone else do this - when something isn't working when you do something.. you try that same thing again and again? It's like "ok, if I push this button ONE MORE TIME, maybe it'll decide to work this time". and then you're really surprised when the thing you did 20 times before that didn't work, surprisingly fails to work, again.

Fun times!

[Computer_Phreak]

Originally posted by losfp
Ahhh... one of the best acronyms ever invented. Used with alarming regularity in the tech support world :D

I was reminded of this last night as I struggled for over an hour with DVD backup, trying to rip a DVD to my desktop so I can watch it later without the disc. It would just give up everytime it got to the video files. Over and over and over again. Turns out you need to load up DVD player to "validate" the disc before it'll let you do it. I'd set the machine not to load up DVD player upon mounting a DVD so I never knew that. Of course, if I'd read the @#)$(*#@ documentation that came with DVD backup, I would have known!!! :)

Seems to me that it's a mostly male thing, to try to solve every problem without referring to the manual if at all possible. When we bought our TV, a Metz Astral (excellent set btw), I set about setting it up without bothering to look at the manual. My girlfriend wandered off, as she saw what was coming ("let me know when you finally get it working", she said). Of course, in typical efficient German style, the manufacturers had replaced the labels on the remote control with vague symbols and colours that had nothing to do with the functions. A couple of hours later, I relented and resorted to the manual, and had the thing working within 15 minutes.

Also does anyone else do this - when something isn't working when you do something.. you try that same thing again and again? It's like "ok, if I push this button ONE MORE TIME, maybe it'll decide to work this time". and then you're really surprised when the thing you did 20 times before that didn't work, surprisingly fails to work, again.

Fun times!

lol...
that describes me perfectly!
I never use the manual, but usually I can figure it out without reading it.

[jefhatfield]

i have been a techie since 1999 in very close proximity to silicon valley and most of the major techie companies, and i have never heard that one

well, now i know

it's amazing how many acronyms there are in the computer world...mcse, ntfs, pop, tcp-ip, etc

[Mr. Anderson]

Originally posted by losfp
Also does anyone else do this - when something isn't working when you do something.. you try that same thing again and again? It's like "ok, if I push this button ONE MORE TIME, maybe it'll decide to work this time". and then you're really surprised when the thing you did 20 times before that didn't work, surprisingly fails to work, again.

True, but today if you manage to get something to work quickly without reading the manual you get that nice superior feeling....;)

And once when I was little (6 or so) I wanted a soda from a vending machine and didn't have any money. So I kept hitting the buttons, and being bored, kept at it. Around the 100th button press out pops a Grape soda!

Never happened again....:D

D

[jefhatfield]

Originally posted by dukestreet
True, but today if you manage to get something to work quickly without reading the manual you get that nice superior feeling....;)

And once when I was little (6 or so) I wanted a soda from a vending machine and didn't have any money. So I kept hitting the buttons, and being bored, kept at it. Around the 100th button press out pops a Grape soda!

Never happened again....:D

D

my techie side of me is hardware only...so because of computer hardware's reliance on mathematics and electronics, i usually only have to work some scenario once or twice to be able to diagnose a problem correctly and fix the issue

but now, i am taking my first, yuck, programming class (java) and most logic seems to go out the window since i can try and get something to compile and depending on how the gods of programming feel that day, it may compile and things will work

certain programming concepts may mesh with what the books says and its like fitting a puzzle which is made out of jello and constantly melting...it's a mess and now i know why they call it software

sometimes people have to type in the same code over and over and try and compile and then after the hundredth time, the darn thing compiles

thank god that computer hardware is not that sketchy...not even the pcs i work on for a living;)

[evoluzione]

ah haha! oh i know exactly the feeling. i always set stuff up without reading the manual, or instructions/destructions. it's very rare i have to resort to the manual, although, when it comes to Philips things, what with the colour-coded crap.....oh, and i can take apart almost anything, set it up, bodge it, anything, including handywork, but when it comes to telephones, they scare me. i don't know why, it's weird :rolleyes:

maybe it is one of them typically male things we do, like never admit to resorting to a map :p

and yeah, the feeling of superiority when you set something up, whether it be electronics, Ikea furniture, anything, is great (good excuse to drink lots of beer too), especially if your girlfriend is close. rewards are goooood :D ;)

[janey]

my favorite one is rtfm :D
nobody outside the computer/techie world knows exactly what the "f" in rtfm stands for :D
(other person asks stupid question)
me: RTFM!!!
the other person: huh? what's rtfm...
me: Uh...it means...read the...uh...friendly manual...

[scem0]

what is a manual? :confused: ;) :D

[bousozoku]

Has anyone heard of an id10t error? I've heard it's used a lot with end users by ISP staff.

"Yes sir, I believe it's an id10t error." "Oh, is that bad?" "Yes sir, it's very bad. Have you been using a computer very long?" <user hears wild laughter in background> "What's that?" "Oh, someone just told a joke, sir."

How do people keep their jobs?

[Rower_CPU]

Originally posted by bousozoku
Has anyone heard of an id10t error? I've heard it's used a lot with end users by ISP staff.

"Yes sir, I believe it's an id10t error." "Oh, is that bad?" "Yes sir, it's very bad. Have you been using a computer very long?" <user hears wild laughter in background> "What's that?" "Oh, someone just told a joke, sir."

How do people keep their jobs?

That's a good one.

People keep their jobs because there's no-one to replace them. Techies can still be anti-social because they are in demand.

Once techs are as common as say, salespeople, we'll see much better service. Until then: RTFM!

*puts on his "I don't work here." shirt* ;)

[Doctor Q]

There is a good reason not to read the manual. Many times, you can figure the problem out faster by trial and error. When your goal is to accomplish one task, not master the program, and a mistake won't prove disastrous, this is fine. It can take hours to read the huge manuals (printed or electronic) that come with some products.

On the other hand, if it's the manual for your pacemaker, I suggest that you settle into a big comfy chair and get reading!

[Roger1]

Anyone here ever have a PICNIC? I have them every once in a while.:D

(Problem In Chair....Not In Computer):D I'm sure all the support people out there have people like this.:p

:rolleyes: Example: I just started a new thread, because I hit the new thread button rather than post reply.

[WinterMute]

It would be almost impossible to function in installation of Pro-audio without referring to the manual, the one that came with the Otari Elite console is six inches thick:eek:

However, I run ProTools 5/6 and have never looked at the manual, same for most of the synths/samplers I've ever owned, and I can programme a VHS video:D

RTFL, very good, PICNIC even better:D

We call most of our first year students midiots, cos its all they know generally...

[crazytom]

I remember when I could set up practically anything without a manual. Since we now have 'multi-function' buttons on just about everything , I'm finding that I have to read the manual because nothing is logical anymore. I actually had to rtfm while setting up a DVD player!!! (There's no longer just 'audio' --- it's either analog RCA, digtial coax, or digital optical... video is no longer just video --- it's composite, HD, S-video, and one other I'm forgetting about). The tech world has become much more complicated than it used to be.

[irmongoose]

Guess my brain is still soft (or whatever you call it) so I can manage to do everything without reading the manual. Haven't touched a manual ever since I started getting into computers and gadgets (about 3, 4 years ago). Before that, I left it all to my dad. Now, he doesn't even bother taking a whole hour to figure things out; he just calls me and I set the thing up in a matter of minutes. Sometimes when something is not working, I just come and touch it a little bit and it stars working. My dad calls it 'the magical touch'. Heh.

Just something I feel I can boast about. Damn, I'm such a geek :p :D



irmongoose

[jefhatfield]

i notice the kids have that magic touch when it comes to anything high tech

when i was a kid, high tech was anything transistor...transistors came along at least 20 years before they were fully implemented everywhere...maybe even 30 years

still the best techies and engineers i know are the young self taught ones who didn't go to college or dropped out

i have met only one person with a computer science degree in the field in four years in high tech...and i live in northern california where companies like sun, adobe, oracle, hp, and apple are based

either college is bad for the thinking process of becoming a worker in the high tech field, or the colleges are so strapped with red tape that they can never keep up technologically or do not want to keep up with private industry

it would be unfair to force professors and high school computer teachers to have to learn new languages in programming all the time and keep up with the latest hardware technologies...while the math teacher or the english teacher can rest assured that their field won't be different the very next year

[bousozoku]

Originally posted by Roger1
Anyone here ever have a PICNIC? I have them every once in a while.:D

(Problem In Chair....Not In Computer):D I'm sure all the support people out there have people like this.:p

:rolleyes: Example: I just started a new thread, because I hit the new thread button rather than post reply.

Like PEBCAC--Problem exists between computer and chair.

[jefhatfield]

Originally posted by bousozoku
Like PEBCAC--Problem exists between computer and chair.

i like that one

i know some of the acronyms that techies use sometimes use four letter words or sexual imagery, but for the most part, i find techies to be the most polite, shy, and generally considerate group of people i have ever been around

i was a rock musician for more than 20 years, not as a living paying rent though, but there are not acronyms for four letter words in that world...those four letter words spelled out and spoken out were the greater part of a rock musician's vocabulary and not necessarily to denote something bad

ie) "wow, that guy is a monster shredder...his guitar solo is ******* great...he's one bad*** mother******, and he must be taking lessons from joe satriani...man, he's the ****

;)

[jefhatfield]

Originally posted by jefhatfield


ie) "wow, that guy is a monster shredder...his guitar solo is ******* great...he's one bad*** mother******, and he must be taking lessons from joe satriani...man, he's the ****



translation:

that man over there is a very good guitarist

he does not simply rely on pentatonic cliches like most players

...but incorporates a swift, sweep picking technique that utilizes many diatonic scales

he must be taking lessons from joe satriani

man, he's the one to beat :p

[janey]

great website with tons of hilarious stories:
http://www.techtales.com
i contribute occasionally...the amount of "my cup holder is broken", "my hard drive doesn't work" (magnets on computer) and "what's a power button" questions just drive me nuts...so i share my stories too :D

[jefhatfield]

Originally posted by übergeek
and "what's a power button" questions just drive me nuts...so i share my stories too :D

here i am a techie, certified, and working toward grad degree in computers and i can't find the "on" switch for a laser printer for one of my clients

i have to plug and unplug the thing to turn it on and off

turns out the switch is under a (very thin and small) beige sliding cover on the large beige casing of the machine...same color plastic so there's almost no way to find it unless you have a manual...which my client obviously threw away a long time ago

the sliding cover is the size of a quarter and is attached at the top with a tiny screw so it slides up and falls back down (with gravity)

the secretary, who has very little technical knowledge, ends up being the first person who was able to find the thing...instantly once he got hired

i wish i had a picture of this strange switch design for this lexmarx laser printer:p

[janey]

Originally posted by jefhatfield
here i am a techie, certified, and working toward grad degree in computers and i can't find the "on" switch for a laser printer for one of my clients...
i said what not where :D
the "what" questions are worse than the "where" questions because sometimes it is difficult to find the power button sometimes.

[bousozoku]

Originally posted by übergeek
i said what not where :D
the "what" questions are worse than the "where" questions because sometimes it is difficult to find the power button sometimes.

Are you guys talking about the I/O button? :D

[janey]

Originally posted by bousozoku
Are you guys talking about the I/O button? :D
i have no idea...i don't make any sense...

[jefhatfield]

Originally posted by übergeek
i said what not where :D
the "what" questions are worse than the "where" questions because sometimes it is difficult to find the power button sometimes.

what is a real killer for those who don't know is the ejection of a cd or dvd from a slot loading powerbook...no buttons on a tray or switches...just hitting the correct "keyboard" button on the keyboard

now if a person didn't know to do this and was used to a button on a tray loading cd or dvd on a laptop...like 99.99% percent of all laptops are...then it would be a mystery

thank god, or apple (some say its the same) ;) , that they have a little sticker on the powerbook that explains how to do this

what i would like is a slot loading cd/dvd that could read a cd or dvd either way you put it in...lasers on both sides

also, if one side dies or gets off track with the reading beam, the other side will do

my dad has a cdrw drive and a dvd drive...2 drives... on his compaq desktop....one of the drives does not read cds anymore for some reason, so its a good thing that there is a backup

but broken optical drives or floppy drives on large company pc towers is not such a rare thing these days

again, that's why i use macs for my house...i don't want to troubleshoot pcs...for free...at my house when i get home

if i troubleshoot a pc...it better darn well be a customer's pc and me being on the clock so if i touch any windows running computer, i will get paid for my time and hassle:p

[Doctor Q]

They regularly put techtales-type stories in Computerworld newspaper. My favorite was the one where the guy in tech support told the user to back up the server each night. After a few days, the user called and said "I can't back it up anymore. It's all the way against the wall."

[janey]

my two favorite techtales so far:
first
Defective laptop screenshot
Received the following email from a user today (obviously a bad row of pixels on the LCD panel):
Hello:
As you can see by this screen shot, there's a horizontal line running through my screen.. It's an .
This looks like a hardware issue. I will re-boot to see if it clears up, but would like to have it looked at.
(screen shot with no visible defect)
Sometimes they get so close to the clue...
second
Hmmm... kinda defeats the purpose...
This isn't really a tech support tale, but a funny tech story anyway... I was working on a client's website (hosted on Unix) and was trying to get a simple content management script up and running. I downloaded it from the author's website, and then realized that it was a gnu-zipped tarball (.tar.gz) and that I didn't have any compatible decompression software on the 'puter I was using at the time.
So I figured I could find some shareware that would do the trick - sure enough, a google search for "untar" and "macintosh" did the trick, and I found a downloadable app that would do the trick. I downloaded it and dragged it to Stuffit, and stuffit refused to decompress it. So I thought, "that's wierd" and tried it again. It didn't work again. I finally went in and checked the file extension on the compressed untarring program, and sure enough.... untar.tar.gz.
Sorta defeats the purpose... :-)

[G4scott]

That reminds me...

I've had a TI-89 calculator for over a year now (almost 2). When I first got it, it's pretty screen and lots of extra buttons dazzled me. Half way through the year, I find out that it solves derivatives and integrals. Doph! Then in Physics, I find that it handles units. That would've helped last year for physics 1... If I had only read the manual...

[bousozoku]

I enjoyed the time when the PC person back in 1988 calls me over to his desk. He had just gotten a package from a user who was having a problem with an application a few days earlier.

He told the person having the problem with the application to make a copy of the diskette and send it to him. She called back several minutes later and asked if he wanted both sides.

He handed me the package she sent and told me to open it. I opened it, and looked inside. There was no diskette, just two sheets of paper with round images on them. She had ripped the 5.25 inch diskette out of its jacket and photocopied each side. :confused: :D