how can people be so stupid?!

[chris200x9]

Ok my mom gets a message with some funky attachment with .mht extension the open it it's a picture and it's like "I love you" so they forward it to everybody including me. I'm on a mac and I wipe it often because I switch distros alot so I open it after the make me. I download it safari warns it contains an application. I tell my mom and sister and they still tell me "oh it's fine! Stop being like that" and won't even listen or care. No wonder my family computer on winxp is so slow....

[koleoptero]

People can be more stupid than we can all together imagine. But what you're talking about seems more irresponsible than stupid.

[Johnsie]

With Windows 7 and a decent antivirus they would probably be fine in most cases as it would alert them before it did any harm.

The problem is that most computer users are not IT literate. It takes alot of time to become IT literate and not everyone has the time or are interested enough to care enough to become IT literate. That's not really stupid, it's just that people have different interests. They might actually be better at some other non-computer related things than you are.

[gnomeuser]

It's not because they are stupid, it is because nobody has explained the full extend of terror bad people can enact using simple means. Don't try to act superior, you once to was in the position of not knowing the rules and had to have them explained to you. Teach them some effective tricks to raise their security and show them the impact it has, go slowly, Rome wasn't built in a day.

Next time might I suggest trying an approach like this:

Do you feel spam is a problem? (alternatively one can go the do you like the environment route and explain how much power is wasted by spam, I find this works well on for some people).

Absolutely, I don't like getting offered breast cup size enhancement creams either. You see the way spam is mailed out is by hijacking a bunch of machines into what is called a botnet. Aside making your machine a bit slow there is usually no noticable signs that you are part of one. This is because so long as you do nothing to prevent them from using your computer and your internet to make money.

Now the scary bit, you have no idea what this botnet does, it could be sending out spam, or it could be part of attacking peoples netbank accounts, or it could be serving childporn.. anything really. It could be part of holding major websites ransom since unleashing a few million machines to mercilessly hammer a website will take it down.

Now how do they get that control of your machine, amongst other things they use such mail attachments. That is why it is important that you learn a few basic safety tips for using the Internet. It's for your protection and for the protection of the rest of the internet.

You don't need to do much, install antivirus, enable the firewall, little things that make a big difference. Live by a few basic rules such as not opening attachments from unknown people or in formats the protection software warns you is malicious, I will happily teach you little by little. It will save you money and concern in the long run.

Please understand I am not telling you this to be superior or to be annoying. It is because I care about you and your continued enjoyment of the Internet.

[scorp123]

... and won't even listen or care. My wife is like that too ... She'll click on anything that moves. Litterally. "Oh look, there is a stupid pop-up ad in my browser. Let's click on it, maybe it's something interesting ... Oh look! More pop-ups! Let's click on each of them ... "

At least I don't have to bother about viruses or malware. She at least can't get those. And she has no admin rights over her Ubuntu netbook. So even if she clicks on anything that moves I at least don't have to worry too much about things getting broken.

Same with my parents BTW. My father would call me every day because of his self-inflicted ******* problems. It didn't matter to him that I was in an important meeting. Or that I was on the other end of the world attending to business matters. Nope. "Son, come here and fix my PC pllleeeeeaaaaseee ... " "But Dad!!! I'm in Cyprus now! 3000 km away!" "I don't care! Fix my PC, damn it! I'm your father ... "

One fine day I migrated his PC to Ubuntu. I did not even bother to ask my Dad. He of course protested .... At first. After a while his protesting died down. Especially when he found out that the Windows installer is too stupid to handle the elaborate partitioning scheme I did on his hard drive (Windows XP's installer can't handle more than 1-2 partitions per drive ... If you have more than that then the installer will kill itself and hang; you get a completely "black screen of death"). "Whaaaat? Windows is too stupid to delete those Linux partitions???" "Yeap." "Uggghh."

It took him a while to realise that he all of a sudden has far more time to get the stuff done he actually wants to do. His PC now "just works". No more defragmenting. No more hunting down and installing anti-virus, anti-this and anti-that updates. No more expensive phone calls to the other end of the world because his PC decided to do something strange. Now it just works ... Now when he calls me we talk about a ton of other far more pleasant stuff. Since his forced migration to Ubuntu I don't remember him ever calling me again because of "computer problems".

You have Windows users in your family who are bugging you with their problems all the time? I tell you: Stop giving free Windows support and move them to Linux. Voila. Peace of mind. No more "free Windows support" in the middle of the night just because they happen to be members of your family :D

[CharmyBee]

You have Windows users in your family who are bugging you with their problems all the time? I tell you: Stop giving free Windows support and move them to Linux. Voila. Peace of mind. No more "free Windows support" in the middle of the night just because they happen to be members of your family :D

Nasty. Maybe they'd bother with geek squad over incompetence.

[chris200x9]

Sorry stupid may be the wrong word, I just wrote this RIGHT after and was a little angry.

[lovinglinux]

EDIT: Nevermind.

[earthpigg]

You have Windows users in your family who are bugging you with their problems all the time? I tell you: Stop giving free Windows support and move them to Linux. Voila. Peace of mind. No more "free Windows support" in the middle of the night just because they happen to be members of your family

i disagree.

friends and family get minimal support for free, regardless of OS, assuming they aren't rude about it (calling in the middle of the night, for example).

i recovered my hobbyist photographer uncle's pictures from a dead laptop that ran Windows, for example, on the understanding that he will either back up his important data in the future or face being referred to Geek Squad.

a few weeks ago, i looked over my neighbor's shoulder and walked him through installing Firefox on his Windows computer and recommended Avast! antivirus to him.

i will not install or upgrade Windows, nor will i look at the registry or manually edit any Windows config files. that is where i unilaterally draw the line. if friends and family question this, i recite the Four Fundamental Software Freedoms to them and notify them that proprietary software means paid support, Free Software means community support, and they are welcome to choose as they will.

[northwestuntu]

My wife is like that too ... She'll click on anything that moves. Litterally. "Oh look, there is a stupid pop-up ad in my browser. Let's click on it, maybe it's something interesting ... Oh look! More pop-ups! Let's click on each of them

:P lol i can relate.

[Garrovick]

I like these "My Mother/Father/Old Person" did this.

Sounds like it was really the Kid that did that.

[73ckn797]

Sorry stupid may be the wrong word, I just wrote this RIGHT after and was a little angry.

Uninformed might do better. Inexperienced would also apply.

[Shibblet]

Ok my mom gets a message with some funky attachment with .mht extension the open it it's a picture and it's like "I love you" so they forward it to everybody including me. I'm on a mac and I wipe it often because I switch distros alot so I open it after the make me. I download it safari warns it contains an application. I tell my mom and sister and they still tell me "oh it's fine! Stop being like that" and won't even listen or care. No wonder my family computer on winxp is so slow....

Sounds to me like there is more of an expectation on you from your Mom and Sister. They expect you to be the smart one, and fix all of the things that go wrong.

My guess is that you are constantly tinkering with the "family" computer and fixing it from things that they've downloaded, or attachments they've opened.

Might be time to stop being available when that kind of crap happens. Or when they forward you an email, just ignore it and let it go awry.

Remember that necessity is the mother of invention. If you're not there to fix it, they'll learn not to break it.

[73ckn797]

Remember that necessity is the mother of invention.

Or sometimes better phrased: Necessity is a mother!

[Shibblet]

Or sometimes better phrased: Necessity is a mother!

I love it!

[chris200x9]

Sounds to me like there is more of an expectation on you from your Mom and Sister. They expect you to be the smart one, and fix all of the things that go wrong.

My guess is that you are constantly tinkering with the "family" computer and fixing it from things that they've downloaded, or attachments they've opened.

Might be time to stop being available when that kind of crap happens. Or when they forward you an email, just ignore it and let it go awry.

Remember that necessity is the mother of invention. If you're not there to fix it, they'll learn not to break it.

I'm not I don't touch there computer, it runs just it's slow as molasses in winter...I dread printing stuff...(I have no printer)

[MaxIBoy]

I say you should alert your family to the danger of using Windows. Hack something together with some "annoying popup" batch files, make sure you're on vacation that week, and hide some cameras if you want bonus points.

When they call you to ask you to fix it, use the metasploit framework to remotely root their computer, then start deleting files from the desktop (or adding random files to the desktop.) Naturally, these people will have about 60,000 desktop items for you to play with, computer illiterates always do. You should also fire up a defragger and launch a few CPU benchmarks, to make it even slower. After about 30 seconds pretend that you need to leave the phone for something urgent, and hang up, then stop deleting stuff and allow the computer to return to normal speed. Repeat this every time they call. I guarantee you that within a half hour, they will have learned to never bother you again.

[Shibblet]

I'm not I don't touch there computer, it runs just it's slow *** molasses in winter...I dread printing stuff...(I have no printer)

You're a lucky man Chris. Everyone even loosely associated with my family thinks that I am some kind of computer genius who can make things out of nothing.

You know, things like "I accidentally clicked on "Don't save." But now I need it back. Can you bring it back?"

So I have started saying things like "I don't use Windows, so I have no idea."

[chris200x9]

So I have started saying things like "I don't use Windows, so I have no idea."

I think I annoy family members when I say that, they've never asked me for help cleaning it but even like how do I zip a file I'm like "I dunno" and it's kind of sad I honestly don't =\

[73ckn797]

I'm not I don't touch there computer, it runs just it's slow as molasses in winter...I dread printing stuff...(I have no printer)


Delete all the files in the Windows\Prefetch directory and things may speed up quite a bit.

[stwschool]

Thing is that a computer is something you should know how to handle if you're going to use it, for the very reasons gnomeuser outlined (botnets can do terrible things). Saying that it's ok to not know how to keep it secure is like saying it's ok to mow down pedestrians as he's still learning to drive. Some things that's just not an option for, and given the heavy criminal involvement in this stuff, this is one such thing.

Additionally, yes, some of the stupid people fall not into the "can't learn" category, but the "won't learn" category. They refuse to learn, because they will always get free support from their local geek. Will their local car mechanic fix their car every time they put tomato ketchup in the petrol tank? No. So we shouldn't do the same.

I generally won't bother if someone has been told 3 times and still doesn't learn. If they're that bad they're either too stupid (and thus I won't be able to help them and they'll just drain my time, I have things to do too) or too ignorant (and thus just simply showing me disrespect). These people aren't worth my time. I will suggest Linux, but otherwise I will leave them be.

[Shibblet]

Additionally, yes, some of the stupid people fall not into the "can't learn" category, but the "won't learn" category. They refuse to learn, because they will always get free support from their local geek. Will their local car mechanic fix their car every time they put tomato ketchup in the petrol tank? No. So we shouldn't do the same.

The "can't learn" and "won't learn" categories. I have never heard it put so beautifully in my life.

I've always said that before you buy a computer, you need to pass a test. And like all tests, it would have to be updated for the current times.

People don't realize that using a computer is like driving a car. If you crash, and your airbags, and seatbelt save you, your car is still screwed. Even after the insurance buys you a new one. So it's best to learn how to drive safely, and how to watch for hazards on the road.

[scorp123]

Sorry stupid may be the wrong word, I just wrote this RIGHT after and was a little angry. Understandable. I guess many here have often enough been in the absolutely same situation.

[scorp123]

I disagree It is your right not to agree. But then again you don't seem to have family members who think that you only exist to be at their disposal 24 hours per day to fix their self-inflicted computer problems for free? Trust me: You'd change your mind very fast :lolflag:


friends and family get minimal support for free, regardless of OS, assuming they aren't rude about it (calling in the middle of the night, for example). Been there, done that. It's a dead end. Because over time they will ask for more and more. It starts with them calling at 19:00 at first. "Oh, did I disturb you?" "Uhhhm, no, not really ... " Then they call at 20:00. Then they call at 21:30. And you try to remain polite. If you get rude they will make you feel bad about it. And so sooner or later they will call you at 22:00, 23:00, 00:30 or even at 2:00 in the morning.

That's where giving free Windows support gets you. So this had to stop. Taaddaaaa: Linux. And those stupid phone calls stop. Voila.


or face being referred to Geek Squad. No idea what that is. The way you formulate it it sounds like those guys are incompetent anyway. Well, here the alternative is to go to a local PC store where they will charge CHF 150.- (= USD 145.-) right away just for looking at the problem (solving it is another story...) or you call Microsoft and pay like 4.50 per minute ... too bad if they put you into a loop where you have to wait for an hour or so.

The problem is that when you give free support people think your time is "for free" too ... which it certainly isn't.


i will not install or upgrade Windows, nor will i look at the registry or manually edit any Windows config files. that is where i unilaterally draw the line. Been there, done that. The difference between you and me is that I just went one step further :D

Sooner or later you'll be there too. Trust me. :guitar:



notify them that proprietary software means paid support, Free Software means community support, and they are welcome to choose as they will. Exactly. That's why I refer people who ask me to repair their broken ******* to the nearest PC repair shop. PC shops here charge 150.- bucks just for looking at the problem, another 120.- or 150.- per hour to actually fix it .... Oh well. The PC repair shops here in my area are the best Linux evangelists I have ever seen. You'd be surprised how fast a Windows user is willing to switch to Linux after he had to pay like 300.- bucks to a PC repair shop just to get rid of spyware and a few viruses. Especially when the problem reappears ...

[Shibblet]

It is your right not to agree. But then again you don't seem to have family members who think that you only exist to be at their disposal 24 hours per day to fix their self-inflicted computer problems for free? Trust me: You'd change your mind very fast

No kidding. I love my mother, but for crying-out-loud, there are a few people that shouldn't be allowed on the web. And for lack of understanding, she refuses to use Ubuntu, because it's not Windows, and doesn't care about the security problems.

She KNOWS that if she has any problems, she can just call me. And that phone call is at least once a week.


Been there, done that. It's a dead end. Because over time they will ask for more and more. It starts with them calling at 19:00 at first. "Oh, did I disturb you?" "Uhhhm, no, not really ... " Then they call at 20:00. Then they call at 21:30. And you try to remain polite. If you get rude they will make you feel bad about it. And so sooner or later they will call you at 22:00, 23:00, 00:30 or even at 2:00 in the morning.

It's very valid to have this problem. How do you stop this issue? They don't want to learn, they don't want to wait, it's like they're driving around with no tail-lights on a car and refuse to repair them. And every time you tell them that needs to be fixed, they refuse! And live happily in their ignorance. Until they get pulled over, and ticketed for their ignorance.


That's where giving free Windows support gets you. So this had to stop. Taaddaaaa: Linux. And those stupid phone calls stop. Voila.

If you can get them to accept using Ubuntu. It's amazing how this fear comes out of people who don't know anything about Linux, but they have the same, just undiscussed, fear of Windows.


The problem is that when you give free support people think your time is "for free" too ... which it certainly isn't.

Have you ever politely taken on a problem, and ended up sitting in front of your family members computer for HOURS just trying to fix dumb? You just wasted the better portion of your day making someone's computer work, and you know, you just KNOW, they are going to mess it up again, the same way, as soon as you leave.


Exactly. That's why I refer people who ask me to repair their broken ******* to the nearest PC repair shop. PC shops here charge 150.- bucks just for looking at the problem, another 120.- or 150.- per hour to actually fix it .... Oh well. The PC repair shops here in my area are the best Linux evangelists I have ever seen. You'd be surprised how fast a Windows user is willing to switch to Linux after he had to pay like 300.- bucks to a PC repair shop just to get rid of spyware and a few viruses. Especially when the problem reappears ...

My friend actually runs the local computer repair shop, and he has some good stories. Most of his repair stories are people who don't want to lose any data. I don't have my pictures backed up, I don't have my TurboTax information backed up. A HD format, and re-installation of Windows will solve most anything. But bye-bye data.

Once again, it is too simple to take the step of backing up your data. EVERYONE has a CD-R now-a-days, and most people have a DVD-RW. But, like the lady driving around the car with no tail-lights, they just don't think it's an issue until they get in trouble for it. Now it's too-little too-late.

[MikeTheC]

At what point did a lack of responsibility stop being stupid?

I never got the notice.

[red_Marvin]

At what point did a lack of responsibility stop being stupid?

I never got the notice.

It is still stupid, but because they can get away with it, they delegate the responsibility to the family/local geek.

[bodyharvester]

It is still stupid, but because they can get away with it, they delegate the responsibility to the family/local geek.

do they believe they can get away with it because there is a geek around? if they stop receiving help i think theyd be likely to take up security measures and learn how to protect themselves

[Shibblet]

do they believe they can get away with it because there is a geek around? if they stop receiving help i think theyd be likely to take up security measures and learn how to protect themselves

It's easier to feign ignorance, than it is to accept responsibility.

Really, how many times has someone said "I don't know what I did, it just doesn't work now."

When they should be saying "Yeah, I was playing with my network settings, and screwed something up."

For the person fixing the problem, knowing what went wrong makes things WAY easier.

[lisati]

I get the occasional support request from family members, and am often tempted into a "RTFM" frame of mind. This doesn't always help because English is a second language for some of them, and may as well be for the rest of them, even though some have degrees. I still haven't quite figured out why they call potato salad "mashed potatoes"!

[Irihapeti]

The only way that you can get people to change their behaviour is to arrange things so that changing is easier or more rewarding than the consequences of carrying on as they are.

Most little kids know this (2 yr old tantrum, anyone?). Funny how we forget as we grow older.

[MikeTheC]

I don't hate people who are ignorant. Ignorance is the condition of having a lack of knowledge about and/or awareness of something.

Stupidity is a behavior which is very near to willful ignorance.

The older I get, the less I can abide stupidity and willful ignorance.

[chriskin]

Ok my mom gets a message with some funky attachment with .mht extension the open it it's a picture and it's like "I love you" so they forward it to everybody including me. I'm on a mac and I wipe it often because I switch distros alot so I open it after the make me. I download it safari warns it contains an application. I tell my mom and sister and they still tell me "oh it's fine! Stop being like that" and won't even listen or care. No wonder my family computer on winxp is so slow....

Albert Einstein once said "Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the universe"

back to topic though, it's not stupidity , it's lack of knowledge about computers, or even the lack to learn anything about computers :)
:popcorn:

[raymondh]

I am also the family and friend "geek" and do get frustrating calls at very-off hours as some family members are halfway around the world.

I answer those calls and help whole-heartedly ..... because I want my 9-year old son to learn and realize that no matter how busy life gets (or how frustrating the challenges thrown at you), there should always be time to help someone with patience and kindness.

I also do it because one day, I know I am going to need someone's patience and kindness.

[Shibblet]

I also do it because one day, I know I am going to need someone's patience and kindness.

no one is saying not to help. But when you get the same problem over and over again, you start to wonder if they even care about causing the problems. If you keep driving into a wall, instead of asking someone to move it every time you hit the damn thing... Find a way to drive around it.

And do this for your own sake. You get more comfortable doing things if you know you can fix any issues on your own.

[Irihapeti]

I wonder if people get messages from their surroundings that actually encourage them to be "stupid".

I'm talking about the kind of thing where they are told "you shouldn't be fiddling with that." "Don't worry your pretty little head about that." I certainly heard a lot of the former, whether from a certain family member or from IT types.

Many older women grew up in an era where they were expected to leave all the driving and the financial stuff to men. Of course, when they suddenly found themselves alone, no wonder they were easy targets for rip-off artists and so on.

I don't know about this personally, but some people say that even now, many women don't like to appear too clever in case it puts men off them.

So, maybe one of the first things is to make sure that they know that it's OK, and even commendable, to learn something new.

However, I also think that there are some people who are always going to be vague by nature. Technology just isn't their thing. Unfortunately, I don't know whether "then they shouldn't use one" is a choice these days. They may still have jobs that require using computers, and family members probably will still want to keep in touch by email.

[scorp123]

Many older women grew up in an era where they were expected to leave all the driving and the financial stuff to men ... Well, since 1941 it certainly isn't like that anymore? At least here in most parts of Europe this kind of "classical role" for women has long ago become obsolete, since at least WW2 (because men were at war the women had to take over men's jobs in factories and what not ... and this in turn caused women to liberate themselves and demand more rights - rightly so). And in Eastern Europe were socialism and communism reigned for ~60 years the socialist ideals of total equality between everyone, "brotherhood and unity" and what not were hammered into people's heads. For socialist/communist countries it was perfectly normal that a woman could study whatever she wanted and even do jobs that you'd normally expect to be "a man's job" in the West. I have an aunt who worked as mechanic in a tractor factory (!) and later she even became director of one of their branch offices. And one of my grand-mothers was a sniper in the communist Partisan army, shooting at and killing German Nazi soldiers in WW2.

I therefore find your statement a bit problematic ... It sure could be misunderstood as if you had tried to say "women == educated to act stupid" which certainly is not the the case.

Stupidity (let's face it: stupid people do exist!) and the willingness to learn are not limited to gender or age. It's a matter of personal character I guess?

My wife's parents are around 70 ... and they have never ever used or possessed a computer before in their life. Now they even have ADSL at home and they use their Linux PC regularly to call the rest of the family via Skype, browse the web, and so on.

It really is a question of personal character.


many women don't like to appear too clever in case it puts men off them. Can't confirm this. At all. I know many highly intelligent women. And they definitely don't have trouble finding suitable partners for long-term relationships, be that with males or females ...

Your statements could be misunderstood as being rather sexist ... And you surely didn't mean that?



Technology just isn't their thing. Unfortunately, I don't know whether "then they shouldn't use one" is a choice these days. They may still have jobs that require using computers, and family members probably will still want to keep in touch by email. Yes, that's more like it. And also the "I don't care for as long as it works" mentality. My father was like that. "I don't need to know how to run a TV station ... I turn the TV on, it works ... that's all I need to know, it's all I want to know .... "

That's the problem. They refuse to care until you force them to, e.g. by withdrawing your free support service.

[Jim!]

You shouldn't collerate stupidity with being unable to know that a file contains a virus. Not everyone is a computer geek. I was volunteering at a charity that repairs and gives away computers once, and a man that "worked" there called another man "stupid" because he'd lost his computer to a virus - the man he called stupid was a scholar from the ANU (Australian National University).

Besides dude, it's your mum, I bet computers didn't even exist when she was a kid so it's no surprise she doesn't know these things.

[scorp123]

And for lack of understanding, she refuses to use Ubuntu, because it's not Windows My Dad was like that too. So I simply forced him to use Linux. I didn't even ask. See above. At first he protested and made a big fuss about it. The protests soon died down and now he actually likes it a lot. No more wasting time with defragmenting disks, searching for viruses or stupid anti-something tools. "It all just works". Another happy Penguin.


And that phone call is at least once a week. Yeap, been there too. My Dad still calls me at least once a week. But the topic has changed drastically: We don't talk about computer problems anymore. One might argue that forcing him to use Linux actually improved the relationship between the two of us. We don't have to waste the moments when we see or talk to each other with discussing computer problems. That's definitely an improvement.


Have you ever politely taken on a problem, and ended up sitting in front of your family members computer for HOURS just trying to fix dumb? You just wasted the better portion of your day making someone's computer work, and you know, you just KNOW, they are going to mess it up again, the same way, as soon as you leave. Yes, and it sure pi***ed me off. Especially when I all of a sudden get the blame!! "You didn't fix it correctly the last time or why else did the system break again!!?" "Uh whaaat!? .... "

Nah, sorry. Never ever again. :D

[randrews]

I eventually grew to despise providing free or nearly free tech support. Put my mom on a linux box for the longest time (and she was sufficiently happy with it, even though it was a fairly primitive experience at the time).

Bought her a dirt cheap eMachine display box at a steep discount at Best Buy 4 years ago or so with XP preinstalled (has worked fine in just about every meaningful respect). Now it's starting to become sufficiently problematic that she didn't argue when I said, "I don't fix these things any more. I'm a programmer. We'll just buy you another one."

The "another one" this time may turn out to be an ubuntu mini or cheap laptop. Less hassle for me.

Like most people, she uses her 'puter for checking email, browsing, and random tasks. Why deal with routine hassle/expense of anti-whatever updates just for that functionality?

[fidelandche]

I find that why people keep asking for help to fix their computers is because it is easier than to learn. For example at work we all have limited access to what we can do/install (because it is the NHS) so when the computer goes wrong they just pick up the telephone call the help desk and HEY it is fixed, so when at home and they have a problem, they just pick up the telephone and call their "resident help desk" and HEY it is fixed and IF they cannot get help from their "resident help desk" they just call their "little man" who comes to their home and charges a fortune to come round and fix it.

It is just easier for them to call someone than to learn a few basics to keep their computer clean, safe and healthy. I mean it does not take alot to learn how to install and use anti-virus/ anti-spyware/anti-malware, or to defrag and to use diskclean up!! You can buy a PC magazine which will take you through step by step on how to do these simple things, which you can keep by your PC to refer to when you have a problem.

[Shpongle]

Have you ever politely taken on a problem, and ended up sitting in front of your family members computer for HOURS just trying to fix dumb? You just wasted the better portion of your day making someone's computer work, and you know, you just KNOW, they are going to mess it up again, the same way, as soon as you leave.

tell me about it. then theres the others who will ring coz they cant open this file! or how do i put this song on this phone in this format, im like iv never even heard of that phone i dunno?, i dont use windows. iv just put some of them on linux and the calls have stopped

at the end of the day you have to have some sort of an interest , the majority of people dont even know what an os is, they dont care once they can do their daily tasks! and will pay for it!, now everyone do as i do point and click. . .

[stwschool]

I see some debate about whether we should provide free support. I can understand the argument about helping friends and family (family in particular) but, be honest, sometimes these people are such a drain on our time that our own work and personal lives suffer. Having people making constant demands on you, only ringing you when they want something, is tough to handle. It gets to you in the end, and yes I agree we should help other people, but sometimes it's doing US too much damage. I would also argue that 'helping' them is not really helping them, rather it is perpetuating the problem, but that's for another day.

Maybe we're all at different points on the curve, but you will eventually get to the stage that it is making you unhappy, unless you put a stop on it. Two ways: Method 1 is to charge. Method 2 is to say no. I prefer method 2 as I don't need the money.

[Shazaam]

Free family/friend computer support? You are not alone.
Try being a...
Doctor
Mechanic
Plumber
Carpenter
etc.
It's the same with all skills. People will ALWAYS go the free/easy route first. Human nature at work. When that fails they grumble and open their wallets. :)

[Tipped OuT]

"how can people be so stupid"

Because not everyone knows about computers. You may know a lot about computers, but it doesn't make you any smarter then... your family members[?].

So I think the real question is, "how can you be so arrogant".

[scorp123]

So I think the real question is, "how can you be so arrogant". You didn't even bother to read the other postings, right? Because right now the only arrogant one is you.

Welcome to my ignore list.

[Tipped OuT]

You didn't even bother to read the other postings, right? Because right now the only arrogant one is you.

Welcome to my ignore list.

What are you talking about? He's saying how stupid can people be, because they can't even tell an obvious virus to a legitimate file.

I don't even know you, why would I care if I'm on your ignore list? What the hell? Do you even know what arrogant means? Wow, just wow.

[Irihapeti]

I therefore find your statement a bit problematic ... It sure could be misunderstood as if you had tried to say "women == educated to act stupid" which certainly is not the the case.

<snip>

Your statements could be misunderstood as being rather sexist ... And you surely didn't mean that?


You have a view of the world based on living/growing up in Europe. Someone living in, say, the South of the US would have another one.

I am stating what I've seen and heard and read in the part of the world where I've lived most of my life, New Zealand. And some of which I've experienced, by the way, as an older woman.

[chris200x9]

What are you talking about? He's saying how stupid can people be, because they can't even tell an obvious virus to a legitimate file.


no just no. I have apologized in the tread for using the word "stupid" I was just frustrated at the time. Also if you bothered to read the first post carefuly you will see that my problem is not so much they opened it as their "get over it" attitude.

[Tipped OuT]

no just no. I have apologized in the tread for using the word "stupid" I was just frustrated at the time. Also if you bothered to read the first post carefuly you will see that my problem is not so much they opened it as their "get over it" attitude.

Well sorry man. But I'm not apologizing to "scorp123" because his response was completely un-called for.

[t0p]

With Windows 7 and a decent antivirus they would probably be fine in most cases as it would alert them before it did any harm.


What "they" are you talking about? If it's the same "they" as the OP's "they", then "they" would not be fine at all. The OP just told us Safari warned the attachment was an application and "they" didn't care. So how exactly would a Windows 7 warning be more effective?

[scorp123]

I am stating what I've seen and heard and read in the part of the world where I've lived most of my life, New Zealand. I am a bit astonished, I would not have expected that such things still occur in the "Western hemisphere" or whatever this is called.

[scorp123]

I'm not apologizing to "scorp123" because his response was completely un-called for. I neither want or need your apology. You entered this thread and started right off with an "ad hominem" attack and started assumptions about OP being "arrogant" and what not. I find this attitude inacceptable.

Not only that you don't know him and his circumstances, you didn't even bother to read the rest (as OP pointed out above). If you just dropped in to personally attack people ... fine. You did it. Congratulations. And thank you for outing yourself as troll.

I repeat my statement above: The only one being arrogant here is you.

Oh and: Grow up. ](*,)

I hope you enjoy the company of the other trolls in my ignore list ):P

[bapoumba]

Woohoo, cool off period :)