stupid/smart users

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2 total messages Started by Kim Dyer Thu, 16 Aug 1990 20:09

#4188

Author: Kim Dyer
Date: Thu, 16 Aug 1990 20:09

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All this talk of our adventures with novice users (remember, YOU TOO
once didn't know coax from conduit) reminds me that "ignorance is
treatable, stupidity it forever".  Most of the novice users I've run
into ... and experts with the modesty to admit they are human and can
forget something ... were easy to deal with.  They listened when I
talked, and understood if I didn't have an answer right off the top
of my head.  The absolute WORST person to deal with, however, was the
head of the CPS department at my previous university.  Until he got
to know me a little, I would have five minute arguements with him trying
to convince him that "CLEAR SCREEN TO CONTINUE" meant just that.
(He understood all the esoteric stuff, but the bonehead simple stuff
had all leaked out his left ear.)

Re: stupid/smart users

#4189

Author: je... Jesse Rendleman
Date: Wed, 29 Aug 1990 16:45

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I don't look at these little anecdotes as derogatory (for the most
part), after all most of us have made a silly mistake or two.

Here's a dialog, related to me by one of my co-workers, who was helping
a novice unix user, and needed to check a configuration file..

support-engr> ...ok, do a "more" on /etc/hosts.

customer> it says, "moron: command not found".

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