Technosnob

This whole post is going to make me out to seem like a technosnob and maybe I am, a little. The computer questions and problems people have with what are, to me, fairly simple things boggles me. It's hard to explain what I mean without giving an example.

I belong to a particular email list that's mainly full of chicks who dig certain actor I like. I mostly joined so I could get scoops and info about what the actor is up to. I don't know anyone on the list but I have to wonder how some of them manage to figure out how to turn on their computers much less get online and join an email list.

Ooo catty. These are perfectly nice ladies as far as I can figure out, but when someone sends a link to a photo to the list that ends up truncated and split onto two lines because it's so long (why no one has worked out how to use tinyurl.com is beyond me), it doesn't take a rocket scientist to work out you're going to have to cut and paste both lines together in your browser address bar. Instead, a flurry of 'I can't see the picture :( :( :(' posts are made to the list followed by a flurry of explanation emails from members who know what they're doing.

I guess this example just made me think of all of the "I can't find..." and "How do you..." emails I deal with daily at work. Most of the time I can tell the person asking the question is just too damn lazy to look for the info themselves and want me to do it for them. Sometimes the person just should not be allowed to have a computer. I answer all their questions without betraying the 'Oh my god, please take a computer class' tone that tries to creep into my voice and send them on their way because I am a professional and I have to remember that not everyone is tech-oriented, but man, sometimes I just have nod and smile and hope these folks listen when I teach.

I once had a lady ask me to help her out with her computer. I asked her what kind of computer she had and I swear to Elvis this was her actual reply: "I'm not sure... but it does have a mouse!" and she was very proud that she knew that much.

Anyway, I dunno where I was going with this little rant. Just felt the need to get it out there.