You could make the argument that this really was not a fine week for me. I had a number of deadlines to meet, a 10 minute presentation to prepare and present, and a number of meetings to attend. (I even got stood up by someone I was supposed to meet…sheesh.) But I was okay with all these admittedly somewhat stressful events.
What I was NOT okay with was facing nerd snobbery: one of the most offensive elements of the technology industry. Ask most people what they hate about computers and many times you’ll get something along the lines of "they make me feel dumb."
The thing is that it’s not the computer itself that makes you feel dumb. It’s people. For some reason, many so-called "experts" seem to enjoy making you feel inferior for not knowing everything there is to know about every element of the computer industry. At this point, that encompasses everything from networking, to software, to programming, to security, and even to sending out a free e-mail newsletter.
As a few readers noticed, Logical Tips went out twice again. A huge "thank you" to those of you who alerted me to the problem with kind words that indicated they knew I wasn’t trying to do anything underhanded or sneaky. Your support is most appreciated. But the biggest kudos have to go out to Greg Chapman, networking god extraordinaire (and Logical Tips reader), who took time out to analyze the e-mail headers, explain the problem, and just plain be super nice and help me.
Normally I get awsome tech support from our hosting company, which is why I’ve been with them for years. But this time it was a struggle and I faced nerd snobbery. Whether you are learning to use a mouse for the first time or struggling with complex server authentication problems, being treated like an idiot is always offensive. There’s just no call for that. Ever. (As an aside, I do think we’ve solved the problem at last.)
But if anyone ever wonders why I’m so sympathetic to new computer users who are tired of dealing with "computer people" that make them feel dumb, the reason is because I’ve been there. Just yesterday, in fact.