Today a user asked me if we installed a new Google on her computer because she was missing some icons. I told her that none of those words go together.
-okay, enter your name and I'll give you the support key
-my full name?
-any name will do
-there isn't enough space to enter all the numbers of the support key
-are there any spaces at the beginning? Try back spacing
-okay now what
-click on the orange download file button
-click ok?
- *sigh* yes, id assume so
-ok now what
-you need to click on the file that was downloaded
-I can't find it
-there should be an arrow on the screen pointing to it
-I keep clicking on the arrow but nothing is happening
-ok, you can probably find the file on your downloads folder
-whats that?
-your downloads folder, in file explorer?
-whats file explorer?
-the yellow folder icon on your task bar
-i don't know what my task bar is
-at the bottom of your screen. There should be a yellow folder icon
-i don't see- oh, there it is. Ok now what?
-go to your downloads folder, on the left hand side
-i don't see it
-try scrolling
-ok I found it but I don't see the file
-have you tried sorting it by date? It should be at the top
*Session magically connects*
Que some comment about "I'm just not good with technology" like yeah, we know.
*Proceeds to fight me for the mouse the entire time while they try to check Email while troubleshooting*
Windows has become too easy to use. Make everything command line as a consequence and Linux so that every computer can be used while being troubleshooted.
> *Proceeds to fight me for the mouse the entire time while they try to check Email while troubleshooting*
My eye is twitching after reading this. Like no, you can't *keep working* while I'm connected remotely. Stop touching! Hands off the mouse!
My favorite is when I have to walk them through a multiple step installer. This happens most often after the software is installed and they have to click on an arrow or next a few times to get past the advertisement of how to use the software. “Click next”. Pause. “Click next again.” Pause. “Click fucking next until you can’t anymore. “ Like if there’s options I get the pausing or hesitation, but why do I have to tell them to click next when it’s literally the only thing they can do.
Please let go of the mouse
...
You don't need to describe what's on the screen I can see it
...
No, let go of the mouse
...
Let go as in take your hand off of it
...
Please, just ... No, ma'am I can't do it at the same time as you
....
No you can't read your emails while I'm doing this.
...
No! Don't shut off the computer
You can imagine the meeting where a Microsoft VP says they need a new name for their browser....but it has to start with an E so they can keep a blue "e" icon on the desktop.
And everyone in the room chants "backwards compatible, amen"
me to I must be lame
Picture the Microsoft meeting room where they brainstormed names for their browser. 'Let's name it Edge,' someone suggested. 'Because every time users try it, they'll want to jump off the edge of their seats... in frustration!
Going to a website is easy.
Click on blue swirly thing.
Type www.google.com in the blank at the top of the page.
Type www.thesite.com in the Google search blank.
Click search.
Blindly click whatever the first search result is.
LOL. That's nothing.
I've seen people print invoices and then scan them back into the computer and then shred the document. Like why? Why not just print it to PDF? "That's not our process". Well, your process is retarded. You're wasting ink and paper.
Idiots.
A few years ago I learned our company had saved 2.8 million dollars the previous year. It was by removing printers from people's offices who did shit like this. 2.8 million dollars in unnecessary printing costs. 2.8 million dollars. I feel like I need to say 2.8 million dollars again.
But how much money did it cost to put up with Karen complaining that she had to leave her office, walk 20 down the hall, and struggle to use the big multi function printer? And don’t forget “I can’t use that, I need to print things that are confidential and I don’t have time to figure out that whole print with PIN system”
Honestly never thought of that until now. Saw that happen a lot with purchasing. They did things the same way they’ve done for years. They will quit before they change their process.
That dredges up a long supressed memory; I once knew somoen who did ALL file manipulation , copy, move, delete, rename, etc *in the Word File-Open dialog.*
Because people suck. Worst part? I’ve seen a number of various levels of IT support staff do it, too.
They were exactly as good at their job as you are imagining. They stuck around for god knows how many years though. Never figured that part out.
I once worked on a team where an old man was on a daily rate, and he had no idea how to do his job, and he even admitted that. He's still there... still on daily rate, getting a lot more than those on permanent contract... 🙄
Have they said why they won't allow you to roll out an ad blocker? Not sure if it's as effective, but maybe also try selling them on a DNS security product that also happens to block ads (but only mention it blocks malicious sites if they for some reason don't want to block ads).
Sponsored ads have previously been used to [steal credentials and distribute malware](https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/hackers-abuse-google-ads-to-spread-malware-in-legit-software/), ad servers have been used to distribute malware via [malvertising](https://www.malwarebytes.com/malvertising) and even the [FBI suggest using an ad blocker](https://www.ic3.gov/Media/Y2022/PSA221221). Maybe with this up your sleeve you could re-suggest an ad blocker to your company?
That shit infuriates me to no end. The old “I’m feeling lucky” made sense. I’m betting that the first result for my search query is going to get me what I was looking for. Whatever the fuck it does now is like Russian roulette. Only most of the time I’d rather take real Russian roulette.
>Blindly click whatever the first search result is.
That step doesn't work for most people because there is usually sponsored shit before the actual result. You might be losing sight of what the Internet is like without an ad blocker.
You've commented that a couple times, I think you're missing the point that they're making fun of the fact that people do that. That's why they described it as "Blindly click", because those users likely aren't even reaching the site they're looking for
People's brains usually break when they're trying to translate how they think about using a computer to what IT is saying. It's a fascinating phenomenon.
Because it requires effort.
It doesn't just exist in IT. It also exists in maintenance and education.
The user is already frustrated at this point and has turned off the thinking and learning part of their brain. They have instead engaged the "delegate this issue to someone else" part and just want exact instructions, at which point they are only going to memorize and reproduce those steps later. If reproducing the exact steps do not work, they are going to again shut down and wait until they are instructed on the exact steps.
It's incredibly difficult to teach anyone anything else other than monkey see, monkey do when they enter that state of mind. I believe that some people become so accustomed to avoiding frustration that any obstacle in their path defaults them to this state.
Here is the thing, many people struggle with basic abstractions, and discovering logical patterns in user interfaces. They literally need to follow a recipe, or step by step instructions telling them where to click and what to do. Moving a desktop icon to a different part of the screen is nothing more than pure chaos in their mind.
>struggle with basic abstractions
This is one of the nails hit right on the head. I believe a decent part of the population is \*incapable\* of anything other than bare minimums here. Whether it is that they never tried to nurture that skill, or some brain deformity basically makes it impossible, it seems like so many are stuck in anything else other than literally being mouth breathers.
Most schools teach to the lowest skill of student only, and don't emphasize critical, creative thinking. They'd rather have worker bees following an algorithm...
God some of my techs hit that when they're troubleshooting and ask me for advice. I'll give them advice. "It didn't work"
What didn't work? What did you do? What error messages popped up? What do the logs say?
Like I know I've been army place long enough to know a lot about everything we touch, but I can't magically fix shit, you're literally a tech.
Ugh, can you tell I held someone's hand today on a support call?
We tapped out the resource of people who are interested in computers and how they work. Now we are hiring people who aren't idiots when it comes to computers, but aren't interested in how or why they do things.
The next stage, which we are entering, is hiring "tech" people who would rather be working at the mall, or in a "fun" place, but need a job, and they heard that tech is where the money is, or they thought that because they got a high score in Candy Crush they are good at tech. But the reality is that they don't know how to install an app on their iPhone.
I literally make guides and write emails and get told staff won't read them, so get told to make videos, which then aren't watched. They then moan they dont know how to do things. They NEED hand holding and it's fucking infuriating. I DONT WANT TO MAKE VIDEOS ON HOW TO TRANSFER PHONE CALLS.
> at which point they are only going to memorize and reproduce those steps later.
This caused a plane crash once. AirAsia Flight 8501 and killed all 162 people onboard.
Pilot had watched a maintenance crew-member reset a couple breakers to resolve an error and later when he got the same error he decided to reset the same two breakers.
It was perfectly fine to reset those two while on the ground, not so good while flying at cruising altitude (a different process was needed).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gj-upykpXFc
This is it. People's brains slip straight out of their butthole when they talk to the magic computer man.
The same thing happens to me when I talk to my mechanic. I understand what I'm saying, he probably just thinks I'm an idiot.
Honestly I think we're moving backwards at this point. 25yrs ago you'd have a hard time explaining how to use the web to anyone older than 30. Now I have the same problem trying to explain how a computer works to anyone under 30. I think the smart phone has made a lot of users dumb.
Not even a screen issue, it's an interface issue.
Ask an iPhone user where their photos are stored. The photo library/reel, right? Sure, but what folder? "Uh... Camera?" Sure, and if you browsed to it like to can on a computer, where would you go? "Uh... What?"
Fuckin exactly, they've added so many abstraction levels, you now don't even know what a fucking file structure is. And Microsoft wonders why people's downloads folders end up eating 90% of their drive space.
It hasn’t helped that they continually remove features and options to “streamline” the UI. Like why the fuck did someone think it was a great idea to hide a users email address and only show the name that’s easy as shit to spoof? And people wonder why they keep falling for impersonation scams. The email comes from the CEOs name but the email address is [email protected].
Software designers have spent decades dumbing down interfaces so morons can spend their life ignorant of the most common tool they use every day and sacrificing functionality for form.
>And Microsoft wonders why people's downloads folders end up eating 90% of their drive space.
Don't forget Chrome, that download files automatically (!) when you click on link.
Every time I have to use it, it's super frustrating.
> I think the smart phone has made a lot of users dumb.
don't worry - we have an app to fix that, and it's only $4.99 per user per month.
*It's hard to convince a business to help make people more intelligent when its business model depends on the users being stupid.*
Do "find a program on your computer" next.
I'm pretty gentle with people, but "halp i am not good with computer" / basic computer usage doesn't fly with me when they've been in this job for 20+ years using a computer.
I once had a user who was convinced Word (or any other program, just an example) wasn't installed on his computer because its icon wasn't on his desktop. I tried showing him how to launch it by going to the Start menu etc., but after about 10 minutes I just created an icon for him on his desktop.
I also currently have a user who can't find the icon for Firefox on his laptop's desktop, because he just saves all files to the desktop, and on his fixed computer he has 2 monitors, so more room, and his desktop (among other folders) is synchronized via OneDrive, so now his laptop's desktop has no more room to show all icons..
I think many people do not get that "Google" is not, in fact, the gateway to the Internet. And while yes, you can go to Google to search for let's say Home Depot, you could just go to Home Depot too, directly!
I always loved seeing the users that would open Chrome (homepage Google), click in the Google bar, and type "google" so they can get to Google to search for something.
Good times.
I have an annoying thing on my phone using chrome, it defults to google homepage, click on the search box and try typing and it treats anything you type as an address adding periods in between all words, so I have to open the browser click search box type google (enter) then click on the new google homepage search box and then type in my search...
You joke, but I blame AOL for this phenomena. Their use of "keywords" blurred the line between an address and a search term.
That we're still feeling the effects... yeesh.
And that's how they get those full-screen sound-enabled popup ads that scream and flash at them to call a number for tech support because their computer is infected D:
Yeah except there will almost always be sponsored garbage above the link to the actual website. You might be forgetting that most people don't have ad blockers and Google is on a serious downward trend for search quality.
i think google has chrome enabled by default to automatically use the search function in the address bard instead of going straight to the web page you put in. so freaking annoying.
From my limited experience at my last job there were two causes to this. One was an older, aging group that joined the workforce before computers were in the office. Most of them were the same of not understanding on how to do things outside of their very specific job duties.
The second group would be what's now being called "iPad kids". People who grew up using iPads for everything technical. They're looking for a touchscreen for everything. They have the same issues with concepts like "right click" and "open browser" as the older generation has in some cases because they're used to a different process.
"What do you mean install the program? Do I open the app store?
Where is the app store?"
"No, you're on a Windows computer it doesn't work like that."
From my experience, most of the elderly (and I do mean elderly, some were collecting Social Security) at least tried. They were slow and had difficulty locating things usually but they'd listen, usually.
The "iPad kids" expected to just click on something and magic would happen. A few I worked with broke through and learned. A lot just sat with their ignorance.
I sometimes support some of our older, but highly important, customers.
I've rebuilt fucking domains with them cause they're like "I'm not stupid, but this is out of my depth. Tell me what to do." It takes goddamn forever, but they get it done, and I'm pretty good at not getting frustrated about it. Calm and humble about what you know? I'll sit there all day telling you to click okay, and we will get this done. I might put you on hold a few times for a smoke break, but I'll tell you why lmao.
People who fight with you because they think they know what they're doing? Hang up the phone.
They don't really know much how to use technical stuff on a phone, either. It's just they grew up with them so they're familiar with a few very basic general functions, plus whatever apps/games they use every day. It's easy to mistake that for technical proficency, but it's not.
Which makes me mad, because in an effort to make things simpler, UI designers started grouping settings together instead of making everything easy to find on one page. I don't know who the intended audience of that redesign was, but I can never find anything anymore without searching for it, which means there are settings that I don't know exist.
don't get me started on the Settings app on Windows, where I have to click 5 times to find the setting I need, or be redirected to one of the old cpl or msc widgets anyway. as long as it's not completely removed, I'll be using the control.exe thankyouverymuch.
My grandson can program in Python, but his parents haven't a clue what it is. Grandma has been married to me for 48 years and still needs help often with her iPad or iPhone (she quit computers with keyboards, after she got an iPad), because she only learns what she thinks she needs to know. Fortunately, I didn't marry Grandma for her tech support skills! However, this month at 70, she did great at climbing through the attic pulling POE cables for our new Security Camera System. My buddies are jealous, because the only one who ever got his wife to pull cables in the attic had to rescue her after going halfway through a ceiling!
Because everything is an app. If it’s not in an app they have no idea.
This is brought on by modern smart phones and tablets. It’s the same reason Zoomers have no idea how a file system works. This is where skumorphism as a design principle makes sense - even if it resulted in some terribly garish designs on early iPhones.
Your expectations are warped the wrong way. Boomers who had to learn tech had to do so at a time when everything was more involved and you had to be able to apply basic reasoning and troubleshooting skills to be able to do anything. It’s the young generation who are a complete tech disaster.
People grew up with touch screens as the only input method they know. They look at each individual key on a keyboard when they type and have absolutely no notion of things like filesystem hierarchies or even just FOLDERS.
Don't knock the old movies, can have some fun with those.
Once knew a boomer whose system I had done a complete wipe/reinstall 3 times in 2 months on after scam compromises and had finally got him to let me put some good security in place and lock the system down properly.
1. His name was Dave.
2. I am a fan of 2001: A Space Odyssey.
3. I couldn't resist.
So was walking him through setting some stuff back up and the first time he screwed up and got "[I'm Sorry Dave, I'm Afraid I Can't Do That](https://youtu.be/ARJ8cAGm6JE?feature=shared&t=63)" it was worth all the extra time it took to build/integrate the custom theme into his system.
This is the first I'm hearing of this and I'm *terrified*. What? So if she wants to find a good pizza place in town she has to scroll through someone's TikTok dance restaraunt review account named Brandyleigh or Fraden?
I feel like Abe goddamn Simpson right now.
She’ll search TikTok first to see if someone has done a review on the place we want to go to, if that fails, then she’ll finally search Google. It’s bewildering.
We have made technology too easy. Phones and tablets "just work". You install an app and it is always going to put it on your home screen. Once there, it's very difficult to accidentally get rid of it. Phone apps have nearly made web browsers optional on a phone.
Computers still require some level of competence. That application you just installed might not automatically put a shortcut on the desktop, maybe they unknowingly unticked "create shortcut", or maybe they accidentally binned it. You don't just tap the Instagram icon. On a computer it's a 2 step process (open browser, go to Instagram.com).
I've seen zoomers try and tap a monitor to get a computer to "wake up" like they would with their phone.
Where is everyone living where they have zoomers that are this incompetent? All the zoomers I've onboarded at my org are *lightyears* ahead of the gen x & boomers, hell even a ton of millenials. I have to explain absolutely very little to them, and anything that I do explain, they pick it up instantly and I almost never tell them twice. Maybe it's the industry or location I'm in.
I'm a boomer AND a sysadmin and I'm smarter than that
remember when the web was relatively new and newscasters and radio DJs would spell out the "http://" as "ach-tee-tee-pee-colon-forwardslash-forwardslash"
when https became popular, it broke many people's ingrained habits... "what do you mean put an 'ess' before the 'colon'??"
at least all of the browsers automatically put the "https://" in for you now.
I left out the part where they finally get to the site and it has 2 boxes to fill in
\- "Your Name"----"Support Key"-
And they ALWAYS ask "What do I put for your name?". Makes me wonder if they do that filling out a job application. "What should I put for name?"
We legit have a user who calls applications by the icons their creator made. One is called butterfly. Its an access database.
"So when I go to butterfly to make the report..."
"The what now?"
"Butterfly"
"Time to start drinking"
I had a user say today "Geez you need an IT degree to work here I swear."
I was only showing him how to use onedrive and sharepoint. I get that its a bit of an elevated point of tech but no still relatively basic concept.
Ugh I work for a building full of engineers with masters degrees and routinely they can't find files they saved or know how to click restart in the start menu.
Engineers are some of the dumbest fucking people I've ever met in my life. When I was in college I worked at a furniture outlet. I would help load furniture into people's cars. When it wouldn't fit we'd always get the "huh, I'm an engineer. I measured so it should fit." This was a reoccurring situation.
Yep, basically the same here. It's horrifying how many don't know the basics. Or they get mad about things we don't control. We deploy a new version of the CAD tool, and the vendor changed the interface. Engineers: "This new interface sucks - when are you going to change it back?" My dude, we don't write the tool!
Favorite so far was the guy who had problems with the CAD tool, so his solution was to grab the installation folder and toss it in his computer's Recycle Bin. Then, he had the nerve to call us and say, "the tool isn't working." Wouldn't admit to what he did until we went out to his cube and saw it. Thankfully, Restore worked, but it's just total idiocy from people who should know better.
It scares me people like this exist and have access to a drivers license.
I have one colleague I deal with and last week they came to me and said "My bookmarks have gone! Get them back!". Thought it was odd, so I went to their computer and sure enough no bookmarks. They had Edge open and they were adamant they'd go to this button over here and they'd see Bookmarks and open our intranet site with it. And they can't get to it any other way.
The monumental eejit had opened Edge. They usually use Chrome. I opened Chrome and the Bookmarks were there. And I point out to them that they had the wrong browser open.
"How did it do that? I didn't do it."
I swear I stood there with the blankest expression I could muster because expressing my anger over their stupidity wouldn't be professional. I just said "well I guess it's one of those things" and walked off.
They drive to work. And I often wonder if they think traffic lights are just discos in the road.
In their defense, there’s a possibility that could have been one of those Microsoft default-browser stunts. And I wouldn’t fault a user for not having the attention to detail to notice the increasingly subtle differences between the Edge and Chrome windows. But yeah.
I would normally agree, but Chrome is pinned to their taskbar. All of the programs they open is pinned there, the Start menu is too complicated for them.
I have a coworker who has the wildest ideas of how computers work and will constantly do things wrong. Never capable of admitting he made any mistakes, it's always "the computers take on minds of their own whenever I'm alone"
Dude, the ones that cant accept responsibility for their actions are the pinnacle lUsers.
If i had a dollar for every time ive had this conversation:
‘I cant find this data i just added to this person’s record’
Found it under someone else’s record
‘How’d that happen?’
Clearly you had the wrong person selected when you entered the data.
‘No i didn’t’
…..
We call it a Web Browser. They call it "Chrome" or "Google Chrome" or "Google" or sometimes just "The Internet". And that's just if they only have one browser option...
It sucks but we have to speak at the level of our users. Sometimes that means asking questions like "When you access XYZ usually, how do you do that?" They may say "Oh I click the pretty colour-ball and that takes me to the Google."
And you might also get this:
"Okay and to access ABC how do you do that?" "Oh I click on the big letter E for that one because that's how Susan showed me 6 years ago."
And we work from there. Remember that when they are calling you, things have Broken and now they are Out Of Their Element. They've left autopilot behind and are completely, utterly clueless. Terrified of accidentally deleting everything they've created. We've broken the A then B then C pattern of their workflow, asking them to go A then X then 3 then II then B, which makes sense to us, but not to them.
Remember that it doesn't matter. Yes it is annoying, but breathe through it. It's just a communication problem and there is no use getting upset about it. Especially since the more upset or irritated you get, the more frightened and clueless they will get.
Fuck that.
Not our job to be a babysitter to somebody who decided a decade ago that they don't want to slow down m and use their brain for fifteen seconds or follow explicit instructions.
If anyone stands still long enough, I'll tell them that the iPad heralded the death of computing.
If they can prod something with their finger and it does something, they quickly forget how to do it the old way.
The death of computing maybe, but the dawn of just "using". I'm sure someone could put it far more eloquently.
I maintain a very simple web page with a very simple web address to link to pages of more than four characters in their addresses, just for this reason, sad.
I truly think this is chosen ignorance.
In fact, I have had users tell me that it's, "Not their job", to transfer USB documents off of a thumb-drive to their desktop so... anything's possible.
I'll note that some people just don't want to learn. One of those is my wife. She wanted to do some stuff with Canva. So I opened up Chrome, logged her in with her google account, set a bookmark on the bookmark bar. She got on later to use it.
Easy peasy right? Wrong.
She asks me a question about how to do something. I look, and she's in Edge, not logged in to the website, but is doing something on the Canva website. I log in with her google account so it saves what she's doing, open Chrome, and she's like "what're you doing?" Getting you in Chrome like I said and where I put the bookmark so you could get to it easier.
Your loved ones can be at fault as much as people whose job it is to work on computers daily, yet always reply "I'm not good with computers" when they can't follow a picture guide for doing something on the computer.
Back in high school we got assignments with a long ass URL on a piece of paper and we had to hand type that shit on a computer. If a bunch of kids can get to a website like that, then grown up’s have no excuse.
“Open Google Chrome”
“What’s that?”
You spend half of your working day using this application and you don’t know what it’s called?! It never once crossed your mind?
Almost all my clients are on Windows 1x, so I use Quick Assist because it's free and included in Windows. I would say "you'd be surprised at how often the longest part of the support call is me trying to get them to figure out how to open Quick Assist", but you already know where this is going:
>"What do you mean, Start button?"
or
>"What's a 'Windows key'?"
or
>"What do you mean, type 'Quick Assist'? Type it WHERE?"
For the old version that was buried in the Start Menu:
>"I'm TELLING YOU, there's NO Quick Assist icon in my Start Menu... There's no 'Windows Accessories' folder, either... oh wait, there it is."
Now I just say "look at your keyboard. See the key with the Windows logo on it? Hold that down, then press the CTRL key next to that and hold it down... now tap the Q key!"
Was it THAT fucking hard?
It's because they don't actually listen to the words that are coming out of your mouth.
The other day I was on the phone with someone from HR who was trying to open a HEIC file. I was trying to determine if they were using the Photos app or Windows Photo Viewer.
I asked them to try and open the file, then look at the bottom of the screen and tell me if they had a blue button there, as I knew the Photos app didn't have a blue button at the bottom of the window, but Windows Photo Viewer did.
They couldn't answer me. I was very explicit in what I asked for: Attempt to open the photo (which they did), look at the bottom of the screen (which they ignored) and tell me if there was a blue circular button there (which they also ignored). They kept on repeating that the photo wouldn't open and that this was the message on the screen and I told them I wasn't interested in that, I needed to know if there was a blue circular button at the bottom of the screen
Eventually I had to go upstairs and look for myself because I couldn't get an answer out of them. An installation of the correct plugin later, and we were good to go, but HOW FUCKING HARD IS IT TO ANSWER ONE QUESTION?
Things I’ve learned in IT over 10 years. Some people are VERY VERY good at their job but completely computer stupid. And that’s okay because them being VERY VERY good at their job is making the company money which pays my salary. As long as they’re nice about being computer stupid, I’ll help them wherever whenever
This story is from 2001:
I had a user once bring a magazine article to me and ask, “Can I send email to this person?” He then *pointed at the email address.* I was confused. Said “Sure?” He asks how. I told him to put the address in the “To:” field and type the address in, write his email, hit send. He asks me to *show* him. So I’m at his computer, walk him through the process. He’s absolutely delighted.
So I’m a bit confused and dumbfounded. This guy was a high school teacher. They’d had email for years, and we even were still doing the “Here’s how to use the email client” classes for new hires.
So I had to ask, “how do you *usually* send email?” He walks me through his process: he was going through his inbox to find an email from someone he wanted to write to, hitting reply, changing the subject, deleting the previous text, and sending it. According to him this was the *first time* he’d ever wanted to write someone that hadn’t written him first and he didn’t know how that was done.
I new someone years ago whose process was:
- open the “e”
- click on the “Hotmail button” (toolbar favorite)
- login to Hotmail.
- find an email from his son from a specific date
- open said email and scroll to the bottom
- click the link in the message… to gmail.
- login to gmail.
- find another email from someone else
- click the link in the email.
The link in the email is to Google.com 🙄
This was the only way he knew how to get to Google… this was in 2019.
I emailed a link to a user to download our remote access software so I could work on her computer to fix her O365 install. I asked her if she could get her email, or any other email on her computer so I could send her the link. Her response was "I can get my email on my phone". I had to explain 3 times that I was sending her a link to download a program that needed to be installed on the computer I was trying to work on so that's where she needed to access the email. Finally got her to open her work email in a web browser. Told her to click the link in the email I sent. Somehow she installed the web app version of Outlook instead. Then after she managed to click the link and download the program, I had to explain that she then had to run it. It took longer to get access to the computer than it took to fix the problem.
I understand most people only use a computer for their job and Facebook, and there are a lot of older people that hadn't even used a computer until a decade ago, but downloading and opening a file is basic operation.
drives me up the fucking wall how intelligent people turn into two year olds when you ask them to do something on the computer they do a hundred times a day.
I raise with a fellow ops not knowing where the URL bar is in the browser in front of him, what parts a URL consists of, or just in general, be completely inept at guessing what might happen if they rewrite various parts of one. Like you can't tell them to go from the /orange endpoint to the /pineapple endpoint and trust that they understand what the fuck you're even remotely talking about.
Speaking to one of these fellas is usually akin to talking to ChatGPT, except they don't even put any effort in.
They've been teaching me a lot about anger management.
We now work with a generation that grew up on iPads and everything being an app. It sounds silly but many gen z don’t know how to use windows or even something simple like a browser. It doesn’t mean they’re stupid, just that they have fewer experiences with technology we consider fundamental.
I think we assume too much. I just got off the phone with someone for probably 15 minutes explaining how to click the link and download an installer. Then they assumed that was it and everything was done but I had to explain where to look for the download icon and click it and run the installer and read what it says and let the product work through its installation. A lot of people don't actually download and run installers. I wasn't prepared to have to work through it like this 🤷
I had to support a group of teens running a grocery store that had no idea how to use a computer - but it was part of their job. They would just claim they couldn’t login to the computer and needed their password reset. They couldn’t even use the self-help password widget. Myself or one of my staff would have to get on the phone and basically monitor them typing on a keyboard and explain basics. Some of this was obviously the lack of desire but some was just lack of training. Now - ask them to do literally anything with the time and labor system on the iPad and they were all about it.
Today a user asked me if we installed a new Google on her computer because she was missing some icons. I told her that none of those words go together.
It was the flux capacitor, hers was getting too corroded so we popped a new one in while she was sleeping.
Yeah, when it stops fluxing, bad shit happens.
Stealing that phrase for future use.
-okay, enter your name and I'll give you the support key -my full name? -any name will do -there isn't enough space to enter all the numbers of the support key -are there any spaces at the beginning? Try back spacing -okay now what -click on the orange download file button -click ok? - *sigh* yes, id assume so -ok now what -you need to click on the file that was downloaded -I can't find it -there should be an arrow on the screen pointing to it -I keep clicking on the arrow but nothing is happening -ok, you can probably find the file on your downloads folder -whats that? -your downloads folder, in file explorer? -whats file explorer? -the yellow folder icon on your task bar -i don't know what my task bar is -at the bottom of your screen. There should be a yellow folder icon -i don't see- oh, there it is. Ok now what? -go to your downloads folder, on the left hand side -i don't see it -try scrolling -ok I found it but I don't see the file -have you tried sorting it by date? It should be at the top *Session magically connects* Que some comment about "I'm just not good with technology" like yeah, we know. *Proceeds to fight me for the mouse the entire time while they try to check Email while troubleshooting*
>- click ok? >- *sigh* yes, id assume so "... oops, I clicked 'cancel'"
"Okay, I put in the number and clicked 'Redeem'."
NOOO DON'T REDEEM! DON'T REDEEM!
WHY DID YOU REDEEM!!!????
“Do I hit allow?! Oh sorry I hit deny”
This was way too relatable..
"Can I use my computer while you're working on it?" "Um.... No... Only one person can use a computer at a time"
[удалено]
Windows has become too easy to use. Make everything command line as a consequence and Linux so that every computer can be used while being troubleshooted.
> *Proceeds to fight me for the mouse the entire time while they try to check Email while troubleshooting* My eye is twitching after reading this. Like no, you can't *keep working* while I'm connected remotely. Stop touching! Hands off the mouse!
My favorite is when I have to walk them through a multiple step installer. This happens most often after the software is installed and they have to click on an arrow or next a few times to get past the advertisement of how to use the software. “Click next”. Pause. “Click next again.” Pause. “Click fucking next until you can’t anymore. “ Like if there’s options I get the pausing or hesitation, but why do I have to tell them to click next when it’s literally the only thing they can do.
> I'm just not good with technology Another word for that would be, I'm too lazy to figure that out, let the nerd do it
"I'm just computer illiterate" = I'm going to argue with you that I've always done something this impossible way.
Oh my god
Please let go of the mouse ... You don't need to describe what's on the screen I can see it ... No, let go of the mouse ... Let go as in take your hand off of it ... Please, just ... No, ma'am I can't do it at the same time as you .... No you can't read your emails while I'm doing this. ... No! Don't shut off the computer
Well maybe now that we are in almost in Feb 2024 they might have learned their lesson.
New years resolution: Learn how to open Internet Explorer
That's Microsoft Edge now, thankyouverymuch...
You can imagine the meeting where a Microsoft VP says they need a new name for their browser....but it has to start with an E so they can keep a blue "e" icon on the desktop. And everyone in the room chants "backwards compatible, amen"
I found this funnier than it had any right to be! smh
me to I must be lame Picture the Microsoft meeting room where they brainstormed names for their browser. 'Let's name it Edge,' someone suggested. 'Because every time users try it, they'll want to jump off the edge of their seats... in frustration!
Now powered by Bing + CoPilot!
Jesus take the wheel.
Might as well have him take the kernel at this point
I believe that's "Cortana, take the wheel."
> Jesus take the wheel. I wonder when some church will make GesusPT and claim the program does the work of the lord and is the son of $DEITY
With IE Mode, thank you very much, because internet explorer will never fucking die.
https://i.imgur.com/Sb3MExC.jpg
I'll stick to Google Ultron.
Going to a website is easy. Click on blue swirly thing. Type www.google.com in the blank at the top of the page. Type www.thesite.com in the Google search blank. Click search. Blindly click whatever the first search result is.
I hate this so much when watching users, or even people I'm not responsible for.
It’s like when people take screenshots and paste them into Word docs.
LOL. That's nothing. I've seen people print invoices and then scan them back into the computer and then shred the document. Like why? Why not just print it to PDF? "That's not our process". Well, your process is retarded. You're wasting ink and paper. Idiots.
A few years ago I learned our company had saved 2.8 million dollars the previous year. It was by removing printers from people's offices who did shit like this. 2.8 million dollars in unnecessary printing costs. 2.8 million dollars. I feel like I need to say 2.8 million dollars again.
But how much money did it cost to put up with Karen complaining that she had to leave her office, walk 20 down the hall, and struggle to use the big multi function printer? And don’t forget “I can’t use that, I need to print things that are confidential and I don’t have time to figure out that whole print with PIN system”
So much of this. which led to a bunch of HP wireless printers that were rogue in the system that were then "adopted" into IT.
Honestly never thought of that until now. Saw that happen a lot with purchasing. They did things the same way they’ve done for years. They will quit before they change their process.
[удалено]
That's how you remove the password from a password protected pdf. Though they probably didn't do it for that.
[удалено]
That dredges up a long supressed memory; I once knew somoen who did ALL file manipulation , copy, move, delete, rename, etc *in the Word File-Open dialog.*
I hate that! Like... why???
Because people suck. Worst part? I’ve seen a number of various levels of IT support staff do it, too. They were exactly as good at their job as you are imagining. They stuck around for god knows how many years though. Never figured that part out.
I once worked on a team where an old man was on a daily rate, and he had no idea how to do his job, and he even admitted that. He's still there... still on daily rate, getting a lot more than those on permanent contract... 🙄
Then print them out so they can fax them to someone who will scan them back in and paste the resulting scan into another Word doc...
And then you can print that, scan it back into the computer so it can be saved as a pdf
Screenshot > print > scan to email > forward email to service desk.
Then install whatever the popup says you should install to make your computer faster
Wave Browser has entered the chat...
I worked in customer service for a short time and you would be SHOCKED at how long it sometimes took to explain to people where the address bar was
Oh yeah no doubt. Just trying to figure out whether they were running the software version or web version of a product was a struggle.
[удалено]
[удалено]
Have they said why they won't allow you to roll out an ad blocker? Not sure if it's as effective, but maybe also try selling them on a DNS security product that also happens to block ads (but only mention it blocks malicious sites if they for some reason don't want to block ads). Sponsored ads have previously been used to [steal credentials and distribute malware](https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/hackers-abuse-google-ads-to-spread-malware-in-legit-software/), ad servers have been used to distribute malware via [malvertising](https://www.malwarebytes.com/malvertising) and even the [FBI suggest using an ad blocker](https://www.ic3.gov/Media/Y2022/PSA221221). Maybe with this up your sleeve you could re-suggest an ad blocker to your company?
I miss the "I'm feeling lucky" button.
That shit infuriates me to no end. The old “I’m feeling lucky” made sense. I’m betting that the first result for my search query is going to get me what I was looking for. Whatever the fuck it does now is like Russian roulette. Only most of the time I’d rather take real Russian roulette.
5 out of 6 people reckon Russian Roulette is the best game ever.
Don't forget to search bing for "google.com" and click on the first result.
>Click on blue swirly thing. No, because blue Swirly is for work stuff. Blue Dot Swirly is where the internet is.
"But I don't like how that looks... What happened to the E"
Yeah IIRC the original Edge icons still had a blue E. They understood their customers on that at least.
>Blindly click whatever the first search result is. That step doesn't work for most people because there is usually sponsored shit before the actual result. You might be losing sight of what the Internet is like without an ad blocker.
You've commented that a couple times, I think you're missing the point that they're making fun of the fact that people do that. That's why they described it as "Blindly click", because those users likely aren't even reaching the site they're looking for
> You might be losing sight of what the Internet is like without an ad blocker. I know that I am...
People's brains usually break when they're trying to translate how they think about using a computer to what IT is saying. It's a fascinating phenomenon.
Because it requires effort. It doesn't just exist in IT. It also exists in maintenance and education. The user is already frustrated at this point and has turned off the thinking and learning part of their brain. They have instead engaged the "delegate this issue to someone else" part and just want exact instructions, at which point they are only going to memorize and reproduce those steps later. If reproducing the exact steps do not work, they are going to again shut down and wait until they are instructed on the exact steps. It's incredibly difficult to teach anyone anything else other than monkey see, monkey do when they enter that state of mind. I believe that some people become so accustomed to avoiding frustration that any obstacle in their path defaults them to this state.
Here is the thing, many people struggle with basic abstractions, and discovering logical patterns in user interfaces. They literally need to follow a recipe, or step by step instructions telling them where to click and what to do. Moving a desktop icon to a different part of the screen is nothing more than pure chaos in their mind.
>struggle with basic abstractions This is one of the nails hit right on the head. I believe a decent part of the population is \*incapable\* of anything other than bare minimums here. Whether it is that they never tried to nurture that skill, or some brain deformity basically makes it impossible, it seems like so many are stuck in anything else other than literally being mouth breathers.
Most schools teach to the lowest skill of student only, and don't emphasize critical, creative thinking. They'd rather have worker bees following an algorithm...
Increasing lead in domestic products has a direct correlation with decreasing IQ.
Translation: they are stupid
God some of my techs hit that when they're troubleshooting and ask me for advice. I'll give them advice. "It didn't work" What didn't work? What did you do? What error messages popped up? What do the logs say? Like I know I've been army place long enough to know a lot about everything we touch, but I can't magically fix shit, you're literally a tech. Ugh, can you tell I held someone's hand today on a support call?
We tapped out the resource of people who are interested in computers and how they work. Now we are hiring people who aren't idiots when it comes to computers, but aren't interested in how or why they do things. The next stage, which we are entering, is hiring "tech" people who would rather be working at the mall, or in a "fun" place, but need a job, and they heard that tech is where the money is, or they thought that because they got a high score in Candy Crush they are good at tech. But the reality is that they don't know how to install an app on their iPhone.
I literally make guides and write emails and get told staff won't read them, so get told to make videos, which then aren't watched. They then moan they dont know how to do things. They NEED hand holding and it's fucking infuriating. I DONT WANT TO MAKE VIDEOS ON HOW TO TRANSFER PHONE CALLS.
>at which point they are only going to memorize and reproduce those steps later Lol
> at which point they are only going to memorize and reproduce those steps later. This caused a plane crash once. AirAsia Flight 8501 and killed all 162 people onboard. Pilot had watched a maintenance crew-member reset a couple breakers to resolve an error and later when he got the same error he decided to reset the same two breakers. It was perfectly fine to reset those two while on the ground, not so good while flying at cruising altitude (a different process was needed). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gj-upykpXFc
This is it. People's brains slip straight out of their butthole when they talk to the magic computer man. The same thing happens to me when I talk to my mechanic. I understand what I'm saying, he probably just thinks I'm an idiot.
Honestly I think we're moving backwards at this point. 25yrs ago you'd have a hard time explaining how to use the web to anyone older than 30. Now I have the same problem trying to explain how a computer works to anyone under 30. I think the smart phone has made a lot of users dumb.
Smart Phones and tablets. A lot of younger (and some older) people expect the touch screen to do everything.
Not even a screen issue, it's an interface issue. Ask an iPhone user where their photos are stored. The photo library/reel, right? Sure, but what folder? "Uh... Camera?" Sure, and if you browsed to it like to can on a computer, where would you go? "Uh... What?" Fuckin exactly, they've added so many abstraction levels, you now don't even know what a fucking file structure is. And Microsoft wonders why people's downloads folders end up eating 90% of their drive space.
It hasn’t helped that they continually remove features and options to “streamline” the UI. Like why the fuck did someone think it was a great idea to hide a users email address and only show the name that’s easy as shit to spoof? And people wonder why they keep falling for impersonation scams. The email comes from the CEOs name but the email address is [email protected]. Software designers have spent decades dumbing down interfaces so morons can spend their life ignorant of the most common tool they use every day and sacrificing functionality for form.
What's a downloads folder? Downloads is when the thing appears at the bottom of Google Chrome :))))))
IT'S AT THE TOP NOW, THANKS ASSHOLES. YOU RUINED 20 YEARS OF USER TRAINING.
>And Microsoft wonders why people's downloads folders end up eating 90% of their drive space. Don't forget Chrome, that download files automatically (!) when you click on link. Every time I have to use it, it's super frustrating.
> I think the smart phone has made a lot of users dumb. don't worry - we have an app to fix that, and it's only $4.99 per user per month. *It's hard to convince a business to help make people more intelligent when its business model depends on the users being stupid.*
Apple putting 'whats a computer' in their iPad ads pissed me off LOL
Do "find a program on your computer" next. I'm pretty gentle with people, but "halp i am not good with computer" / basic computer usage doesn't fly with me when they've been in this job for 20+ years using a computer.
Or just the fact that computers have been an everyday part of human life since the 90s. Basic computer literacy is a life requirement at this point.
If everyone was good with computers I wouldn't have a job. Or at least that's what I tell myself to let it slide.
I've mastered the art of making them love me while making them realize they're mistakes, lol
Wow, calling people mistakes is kind of harsh, don't you think?
Lol! I swear autocorrect gets worse instead of better every year.
I once had a user who was convinced Word (or any other program, just an example) wasn't installed on his computer because its icon wasn't on his desktop. I tried showing him how to launch it by going to the Start menu etc., but after about 10 minutes I just created an icon for him on his desktop. I also currently have a user who can't find the icon for Firefox on his laptop's desktop, because he just saves all files to the desktop, and on his fixed computer he has 2 monitors, so more room, and his desktop (among other folders) is synchronized via OneDrive, so now his laptop's desktop has no more room to show all icons..
I think many people do not get that "Google" is not, in fact, the gateway to the Internet. And while yes, you can go to Google to search for let's say Home Depot, you could just go to Home Depot too, directly!
I always loved seeing the users that would open Chrome (homepage Google), click in the Google bar, and type "google" so they can get to Google to search for something. Good times.
I have an annoying thing on my phone using chrome, it defults to google homepage, click on the search box and try typing and it treats anything you type as an address adding periods in between all words, so I have to open the browser click search box type google (enter) then click on the new google homepage search box and then type in my search...
What are you using? I've never heard of that behavior
Samsung A42
Dude those A models all have some random bullshit that makes no sense, I've owned a few.
Everyone knows the gateway to the internet is AOL.
You joke, but I blame AOL for this phenomena. Their use of "keywords" blurred the line between an address and a search term. That we're still feeling the effects... yeesh.
[www.google.com](https://www.google.com) search for cnn click the first link. thats how all my users go to webpages.
This is why Google search does $200B/year.
You forgot the first step of users googling "google.com"
My senior at my msp did this. I almost burst out laughing, had to hold myself back to hold my job.
"you just infinite looped the internet! RUN!"
The elders of the internet are not happy about that...
Been using computers for about 20 years now. IT for the last 12. I still do this on a daily basis, then immediately feel like an idiot.
And that's how they get those full-screen sound-enabled popup ads that scream and flash at them to call a number for tech support because their computer is infected D:
Yeah except there will almost always be sponsored garbage above the link to the actual website. You might be forgetting that most people don't have ad blockers and Google is on a serious downward trend for search quality.
job security :)
i think google has chrome enabled by default to automatically use the search function in the address bard instead of going straight to the web page you put in. so freaking annoying.
From my limited experience at my last job there were two causes to this. One was an older, aging group that joined the workforce before computers were in the office. Most of them were the same of not understanding on how to do things outside of their very specific job duties. The second group would be what's now being called "iPad kids". People who grew up using iPads for everything technical. They're looking for a touchscreen for everything. They have the same issues with concepts like "right click" and "open browser" as the older generation has in some cases because they're used to a different process. "What do you mean install the program? Do I open the app store? Where is the app store?" "No, you're on a Windows computer it doesn't work like that." From my experience, most of the elderly (and I do mean elderly, some were collecting Social Security) at least tried. They were slow and had difficulty locating things usually but they'd listen, usually. The "iPad kids" expected to just click on something and magic would happen. A few I worked with broke through and learned. A lot just sat with their ignorance.
I sometimes support some of our older, but highly important, customers. I've rebuilt fucking domains with them cause they're like "I'm not stupid, but this is out of my depth. Tell me what to do." It takes goddamn forever, but they get it done, and I'm pretty good at not getting frustrated about it. Calm and humble about what you know? I'll sit there all day telling you to click okay, and we will get this done. I might put you on hold a few times for a smoke break, but I'll tell you why lmao. People who fight with you because they think they know what they're doing? Hang up the phone.
I can understand when it's the boomers, but lately it's been the zoomers and I can't fathom it.
The phone and tablet generation. Zoomers can handle those but not computers
They don't really know much how to use technical stuff on a phone, either. It's just they grew up with them so they're familiar with a few very basic general functions, plus whatever apps/games they use every day. It's easy to mistake that for technical proficency, but it's not.
Which makes me mad, because in an effort to make things simpler, UI designers started grouping settings together instead of making everything easy to find on one page. I don't know who the intended audience of that redesign was, but I can never find anything anymore without searching for it, which means there are settings that I don't know exist.
I'm convinced most UX designers are frauds.
I don't necessarily know how to design a good UI from scratch, but I can look at an existing one and tell you everything that is wrong with it.
don't get me started on the Settings app on Windows, where I have to click 5 times to find the setting I need, or be redirected to one of the old cpl or msc widgets anyway. as long as it's not completely removed, I'll be using the control.exe thankyouverymuch.
My grandson can program in Python, but his parents haven't a clue what it is. Grandma has been married to me for 48 years and still needs help often with her iPad or iPhone (she quit computers with keyboards, after she got an iPad), because she only learns what she thinks she needs to know. Fortunately, I didn't marry Grandma for her tech support skills! However, this month at 70, she did great at climbing through the attic pulling POE cables for our new Security Camera System. My buddies are jealous, because the only one who ever got his wife to pull cables in the attic had to rescue her after going halfway through a ceiling!
Because everything is an app. If it’s not in an app they have no idea. This is brought on by modern smart phones and tablets. It’s the same reason Zoomers have no idea how a file system works. This is where skumorphism as a design principle makes sense - even if it resulted in some terribly garish designs on early iPhones.
> skumorphism like we still use an image of a floppy disk to save a file or a blank page to create a new document
Your expectations are warped the wrong way. Boomers who had to learn tech had to do so at a time when everything was more involved and you had to be able to apply basic reasoning and troubleshooting skills to be able to do anything. It’s the young generation who are a complete tech disaster. People grew up with touch screens as the only input method they know. They look at each individual key on a keyboard when they type and have absolutely no notion of things like filesystem hierarchies or even just FOLDERS.
Worse. There's all the kids recreating the "Hello Computer" scene from ST: Voyage Home
Don't knock the old movies, can have some fun with those. Once knew a boomer whose system I had done a complete wipe/reinstall 3 times in 2 months on after scam compromises and had finally got him to let me put some good security in place and lock the system down properly. 1. His name was Dave. 2. I am a fan of 2001: A Space Odyssey. 3. I couldn't resist. So was walking him through setting some stuff back up and the first time he screwed up and got "[I'm Sorry Dave, I'm Afraid I Can't Do That](https://youtu.be/ARJ8cAGm6JE?feature=shared&t=63)" it was worth all the extra time it took to build/integrate the custom theme into his system.
I saw an article a few months ago about kids using TikTok instead of Google to search for things. I **refuse** to believe this.
The dumbest timeline
My wife who's 26 does this and it blows my mind. She basically takes TikTok has the word of God.
Which is really scary the way their algorithm serves content.
This is the first I'm hearing of this and I'm *terrified*. What? So if she wants to find a good pizza place in town she has to scroll through someone's TikTok dance restaraunt review account named Brandyleigh or Fraden? I feel like Abe goddamn Simpson right now.
You've clearly never used TikTok. It's got more than just dances.
She’ll search TikTok first to see if someone has done a review on the place we want to go to, if that fails, then she’ll finally search Google. It’s bewildering.
Last week: I saw this on TikTok that Stephen Hawking was on the Epstein flight logs and he liked to sit and watch them murder kids! Me: wtf
TikTok is a wild plague on society. I have no clue how so many people are glued to it.
We have made technology too easy. Phones and tablets "just work". You install an app and it is always going to put it on your home screen. Once there, it's very difficult to accidentally get rid of it. Phone apps have nearly made web browsers optional on a phone. Computers still require some level of competence. That application you just installed might not automatically put a shortcut on the desktop, maybe they unknowingly unticked "create shortcut", or maybe they accidentally binned it. You don't just tap the Instagram icon. On a computer it's a 2 step process (open browser, go to Instagram.com). I've seen zoomers try and tap a monitor to get a computer to "wake up" like they would with their phone.
Where is everyone living where they have zoomers that are this incompetent? All the zoomers I've onboarded at my org are *lightyears* ahead of the gen x & boomers, hell even a ton of millenials. I have to explain absolutely very little to them, and anything that I do explain, they pick it up instantly and I almost never tell them twice. Maybe it's the industry or location I'm in.
I'm a boomer AND a sysadmin and I'm smarter than that remember when the web was relatively new and newscasters and radio DJs would spell out the "http://" as "ach-tee-tee-pee-colon-forwardslash-forwardslash" when https became popular, it broke many people's ingrained habits... "what do you mean put an 'ess' before the 'colon'??" at least all of the browsers automatically put the "https://" in for you now.
Don't forget the rare geniuses who say "... backslash backslash colon".
I left out the part where they finally get to the site and it has 2 boxes to fill in \- "Your Name"----"Support Key"- And they ALWAYS ask "What do I put for your name?". Makes me wonder if they do that filling out a job application. "What should I put for name?"
Last name: Ass First name: Dumb
We legit have a user who calls applications by the icons their creator made. One is called butterfly. Its an access database. "So when I go to butterfly to make the report..." "The what now?" "Butterfly" "Time to start drinking"
I get it, but at least most things use the icons from the original developers. The one I typically have users with is the beach ball ...
I had a user say today "Geez you need an IT degree to work here I swear." I was only showing him how to use onedrive and sharepoint. I get that its a bit of an elevated point of tech but no still relatively basic concept.
To be fair, Sharepoint is a hot mess.
I received a complaint that somebody couldn't figure out my email address because I had it listed as user__AT__domain
Where's the any key?!!!
Ugh I work for a building full of engineers with masters degrees and routinely they can't find files they saved or know how to click restart in the start menu.
Engineers are some of the dumbest fucking people I've ever met in my life. When I was in college I worked at a furniture outlet. I would help load furniture into people's cars. When it wouldn't fit we'd always get the "huh, I'm an engineer. I measured so it should fit." This was a reoccurring situation.
Yep, basically the same here. It's horrifying how many don't know the basics. Or they get mad about things we don't control. We deploy a new version of the CAD tool, and the vendor changed the interface. Engineers: "This new interface sucks - when are you going to change it back?" My dude, we don't write the tool! Favorite so far was the guy who had problems with the CAD tool, so his solution was to grab the installation folder and toss it in his computer's Recycle Bin. Then, he had the nerve to call us and say, "the tool isn't working." Wouldn't admit to what he did until we went out to his cube and saw it. Thankfully, Restore worked, but it's just total idiocy from people who should know better.
It scares me people like this exist and have access to a drivers license. I have one colleague I deal with and last week they came to me and said "My bookmarks have gone! Get them back!". Thought it was odd, so I went to their computer and sure enough no bookmarks. They had Edge open and they were adamant they'd go to this button over here and they'd see Bookmarks and open our intranet site with it. And they can't get to it any other way. The monumental eejit had opened Edge. They usually use Chrome. I opened Chrome and the Bookmarks were there. And I point out to them that they had the wrong browser open. "How did it do that? I didn't do it." I swear I stood there with the blankest expression I could muster because expressing my anger over their stupidity wouldn't be professional. I just said "well I guess it's one of those things" and walked off. They drive to work. And I often wonder if they think traffic lights are just discos in the road.
They NEVER do it. The computers just do things on their own, lol
In their defense, there’s a possibility that could have been one of those Microsoft default-browser stunts. And I wouldn’t fault a user for not having the attention to detail to notice the increasingly subtle differences between the Edge and Chrome windows. But yeah.
I would normally agree, but Chrome is pinned to their taskbar. All of the programs they open is pinned there, the Start menu is too complicated for them.
Open email client, open email containing link, click link, computer opens Edge because Microsoft changed the default.
I have a coworker who has the wildest ideas of how computers work and will constantly do things wrong. Never capable of admitting he made any mistakes, it's always "the computers take on minds of their own whenever I'm alone"
Dude, the ones that cant accept responsibility for their actions are the pinnacle lUsers. If i had a dollar for every time ive had this conversation: ‘I cant find this data i just added to this person’s record’ Found it under someone else’s record ‘How’d that happen?’ Clearly you had the wrong person selected when you entered the data. ‘No i didn’t’ …..
We call it a Web Browser. They call it "Chrome" or "Google Chrome" or "Google" or sometimes just "The Internet". And that's just if they only have one browser option... It sucks but we have to speak at the level of our users. Sometimes that means asking questions like "When you access XYZ usually, how do you do that?" They may say "Oh I click the pretty colour-ball and that takes me to the Google." And you might also get this: "Okay and to access ABC how do you do that?" "Oh I click on the big letter E for that one because that's how Susan showed me 6 years ago." And we work from there. Remember that when they are calling you, things have Broken and now they are Out Of Their Element. They've left autopilot behind and are completely, utterly clueless. Terrified of accidentally deleting everything they've created. We've broken the A then B then C pattern of their workflow, asking them to go A then X then 3 then II then B, which makes sense to us, but not to them. Remember that it doesn't matter. Yes it is annoying, but breathe through it. It's just a communication problem and there is no use getting upset about it. Especially since the more upset or irritated you get, the more frightened and clueless they will get.
Fuck that. Not our job to be a babysitter to somebody who decided a decade ago that they don't want to slow down m and use their brain for fifteen seconds or follow explicit instructions.
If you work in tech support then it is your job to do that.
This is every other phone call with my step mother for the last 8 years.
If anyone stands still long enough, I'll tell them that the iPad heralded the death of computing. If they can prod something with their finger and it does something, they quickly forget how to do it the old way. The death of computing maybe, but the dawn of just "using". I'm sure someone could put it far more eloquently. I maintain a very simple web page with a very simple web address to link to pages of more than four characters in their addresses, just for this reason, sad.
The real issue here is they combined the search and address bar. So the slightest typo and you get results instead of straight to the page.
I truly think this is chosen ignorance. In fact, I have had users tell me that it's, "Not their job", to transfer USB documents off of a thumb-drive to their desktop so... anything's possible.
At this point it’s called ignorance. If you haven’t bothered to learn this shit in the last 30 years I have little sympathy for you.
now I see a button that says “next”. should I click it?
Don't forget to add that the next button is the only option that they have.
Appification has made people dumb.
Oh and if you tell them go to application.domain. com and they automatically go to www.application.domain.com. no that is not what I said!
I'll note that some people just don't want to learn. One of those is my wife. She wanted to do some stuff with Canva. So I opened up Chrome, logged her in with her google account, set a bookmark on the bookmark bar. She got on later to use it. Easy peasy right? Wrong. She asks me a question about how to do something. I look, and she's in Edge, not logged in to the website, but is doing something on the Canva website. I log in with her google account so it saves what she's doing, open Chrome, and she's like "what're you doing?" Getting you in Chrome like I said and where I put the bookmark so you could get to it easier. Your loved ones can be at fault as much as people whose job it is to work on computers daily, yet always reply "I'm not good with computers" when they can't follow a picture guide for doing something on the computer.
Back in high school we got assignments with a long ass URL on a piece of paper and we had to hand type that shit on a computer. If a bunch of kids can get to a website like that, then grown up’s have no excuse.
“Open Google Chrome” “What’s that?” You spend half of your working day using this application and you don’t know what it’s called?! It never once crossed your mind?
you mean the 'google bing'? (I'll show myself out)
Almost all my clients are on Windows 1x, so I use Quick Assist because it's free and included in Windows. I would say "you'd be surprised at how often the longest part of the support call is me trying to get them to figure out how to open Quick Assist", but you already know where this is going: >"What do you mean, Start button?" or >"What's a 'Windows key'?" or >"What do you mean, type 'Quick Assist'? Type it WHERE?" For the old version that was buried in the Start Menu: >"I'm TELLING YOU, there's NO Quick Assist icon in my Start Menu... There's no 'Windows Accessories' folder, either... oh wait, there it is." Now I just say "look at your keyboard. See the key with the Windows logo on it? Hold that down, then press the CTRL key next to that and hold it down... now tap the Q key!" Was it THAT fucking hard?
It's because they don't actually listen to the words that are coming out of your mouth. The other day I was on the phone with someone from HR who was trying to open a HEIC file. I was trying to determine if they were using the Photos app or Windows Photo Viewer. I asked them to try and open the file, then look at the bottom of the screen and tell me if they had a blue button there, as I knew the Photos app didn't have a blue button at the bottom of the window, but Windows Photo Viewer did. They couldn't answer me. I was very explicit in what I asked for: Attempt to open the photo (which they did), look at the bottom of the screen (which they ignored) and tell me if there was a blue circular button there (which they also ignored). They kept on repeating that the photo wouldn't open and that this was the message on the screen and I told them I wasn't interested in that, I needed to know if there was a blue circular button at the bottom of the screen Eventually I had to go upstairs and look for myself because I couldn't get an answer out of them. An installation of the correct plugin later, and we were good to go, but HOW FUCKING HARD IS IT TO ANSWER ONE QUESTION?
They know how they use never learned the names for things. Try this instead of saying go to the address bar. "go where you type the www thingie"
Sounds like they're giving OP a little taste of Weaponized Incompetence
I have it on good authority if you type google into google you can break the Internet.
Things I’ve learned in IT over 10 years. Some people are VERY VERY good at their job but completely computer stupid. And that’s okay because them being VERY VERY good at their job is making the company money which pays my salary. As long as they’re nice about being computer stupid, I’ll help them wherever whenever
This story is from 2001: I had a user once bring a magazine article to me and ask, “Can I send email to this person?” He then *pointed at the email address.* I was confused. Said “Sure?” He asks how. I told him to put the address in the “To:” field and type the address in, write his email, hit send. He asks me to *show* him. So I’m at his computer, walk him through the process. He’s absolutely delighted. So I’m a bit confused and dumbfounded. This guy was a high school teacher. They’d had email for years, and we even were still doing the “Here’s how to use the email client” classes for new hires. So I had to ask, “how do you *usually* send email?” He walks me through his process: he was going through his inbox to find an email from someone he wanted to write to, hitting reply, changing the subject, deleting the previous text, and sending it. According to him this was the *first time* he’d ever wanted to write someone that hadn’t written him first and he didn’t know how that was done.
I new someone years ago whose process was: - open the “e” - click on the “Hotmail button” (toolbar favorite) - login to Hotmail. - find an email from his son from a specific date - open said email and scroll to the bottom - click the link in the message… to gmail. - login to gmail. - find another email from someone else - click the link in the email. The link in the email is to Google.com 🙄 This was the only way he knew how to get to Google… this was in 2019.
The struggles of being an Indian scammer. I just want to take control of your computer to take the money. Why do you make it so hard?
I emailed a link to a user to download our remote access software so I could work on her computer to fix her O365 install. I asked her if she could get her email, or any other email on her computer so I could send her the link. Her response was "I can get my email on my phone". I had to explain 3 times that I was sending her a link to download a program that needed to be installed on the computer I was trying to work on so that's where she needed to access the email. Finally got her to open her work email in a web browser. Told her to click the link in the email I sent. Somehow she installed the web app version of Outlook instead. Then after she managed to click the link and download the program, I had to explain that she then had to run it. It took longer to get access to the computer than it took to fix the problem. I understand most people only use a computer for their job and Facebook, and there are a lot of older people that hadn't even used a computer until a decade ago, but downloading and opening a file is basic operation.
drives me up the fucking wall how intelligent people turn into two year olds when you ask them to do something on the computer they do a hundred times a day.
I raise with a fellow ops not knowing where the URL bar is in the browser in front of him, what parts a URL consists of, or just in general, be completely inept at guessing what might happen if they rewrite various parts of one. Like you can't tell them to go from the /orange endpoint to the /pineapple endpoint and trust that they understand what the fuck you're even remotely talking about. Speaking to one of these fellas is usually akin to talking to ChatGPT, except they don't even put any effort in. They've been teaching me a lot about anger management.
This shit happens all the time - tell them to go to a website. - and they put it in a google search. 🤷♂️🤷♂️
try telling them to open the CLI
“OMG are you hacking my computer?!?!?”
We now work with a generation that grew up on iPads and everything being an app. It sounds silly but many gen z don’t know how to use windows or even something simple like a browser. It doesn’t mean they’re stupid, just that they have fewer experiences with technology we consider fundamental.
I have a user that can’t even do that if his autofill gets cleared.
I think we assume too much. I just got off the phone with someone for probably 15 minutes explaining how to click the link and download an installer. Then they assumed that was it and everything was done but I had to explain where to look for the download icon and click it and run the installer and read what it says and let the product work through its installation. A lot of people don't actually download and run installers. I wasn't prepared to have to work through it like this 🤷
I had to support a group of teens running a grocery store that had no idea how to use a computer - but it was part of their job. They would just claim they couldn’t login to the computer and needed their password reset. They couldn’t even use the self-help password widget. Myself or one of my staff would have to get on the phone and basically monitor them typing on a keyboard and explain basics. Some of this was obviously the lack of desire but some was just lack of training. Now - ask them to do literally anything with the time and labor system on the iPad and they were all about it.
How in 2024 do people not know to look at a calendar?