• (cs)

    I was totally expecting the server to just be missing for some totally bizarre reason. Maybe the guy was expecting some kind of gamer rig screaming away with bright orange lights all over it.

    Maybe we could have "you choose the ending" WTFs some time, maybe vote for choices or a competition or one of those chain stories where everyone writes one paragraph of it.

  • (cs) in reply to Theo
    Theo:
    Stupidumb:
    Ya Alex, this story sucks. I hate you. I could have solved the problem in my sleep! If I wanted to, I could even start my own software company. Did you know I can do a back flip? Make me laugh harder. I DESERVE BETTER ENTERTAINMENT. I will let it slide this time...
    That post made my day, thanks. Good you were there because frankly this WTF is just... <bonk>
    Hellloooo, sarcasm!

    Is there any way we can "resurrect" TheDailyWTF (now with added asterisky goodness!) and divert some of these ninnies? Christ, fully two-thirds of them haven't noticed that Jake is the Man here, not Alex. I dunno, maybe Alex has a real job or something?

    Anyway, I've been first, second, and third level support on a 24-hour basis, and this story, whilst seemingly mild and inoffensive, froze me to the marrow. I've been there. It's a pretty fair comment.

    Incidentally, it's sort of worth going through that hell, because you might actually reach third-level support at $15,000 a year (spare time). Free laptop, free wireless modem, free cell-phone. Three calls in twelve months, all of which were the sort of twenty-minute trivial crap that this story highlights.

    Basically, $15,000 per hour is pretty much the most money I'm ever going to make without taking my clothes off. In fact, now I come to think of it ...

  • Jackalope (unregistered)

    When I was doing 24 support for a large company with an inept help desk crew my wife and I decided that it would be best if she answered the phone when it rang in the middle of the night.

    Since she did not work for the company she could give the helpless desk techs all manner of grief for not knowing what to do. She would walk them through the standard checklist. If they hadn't performed some task or made a stupid assumption she would tell them what to do (somewhat rudely).

    The best part was the company couldn't say anything to me about it. She wasn't an employee and they couldn't discipline me for what my wife did.

  • ahganom (unregistered)
    "It's Dave at the datacenter. We've got a big issue here! UK customers can't reach uk.initrodeglobal.com."

    ...

    "Oh! When I grabbed the cable, it made the WAN light start blinking on and off!"

    A bad network cable, thought a relieved Cid. I'll be able to get back to wonderful, wonderful sleep soon. "OK, I need you to grab another network cable and swap it."

    "But the network cable's not the problem," argued a defiant Dave, "it works when I move the cable to the side a bit."

    Cid: Ok then, get the red swingline stapler from Milton, and secure that cable so it can't come lose.

  • (cs)

    Did anyone else feel nervous about a guy who doesn't have the brains to turn on a light wandering around the company's datacenter?

  • Sho (unregistered) in reply to real_aardvark
    real_aardvark:
    Basically, $15,000 per hour is pretty much the most money I'm ever going to make without taking my clothes off. In fact, now I come to think of it ...

    Eww... I'll pay you $16,000 an hour if you'll put your pants back on.

    If anyone wants me, I'll be out back barfing and upgrading the lenses on my goggles to concrete.

  • Cpt (unregistered)

    Are we now actually complaining that there are not enough people out there incapable enough to produce funny WTFs? I for one am glad that the trend seems to go towards more intelligent (ok.. capable, aware) people out in the wild. I personally think that there is some Darwin Awards effect going on in the world.

  • rawr (unregistered) in reply to bah
    bah:
    -Doesn't know to turn on the light to look for the orange box -Try to fix cable by moving it

    Come on ppl.. This is obviously a fake.. Someone with that kind of intelligence probably doesn't even know to look for the right person to call for help.

    I know a network tech that would use tape to keep the cable twisted so that it worked. He's not so stupid that he'd not turn ont he lights, but he is pretty damn stupid. ;)

  • Doifnot Elsethen (unregistered)

    The real WTF is that the British are up at 4:53 in the morning.

  • rawr (unregistered) in reply to Doifnot Elsethen
    Doifnot Elsethen:
    The real WTF is that the British are up at 4:53 in the morning.
    I get up at 430 to get to work in time. ;)
  • Synonymous Awkward (unregistered) in reply to fregas
    fregas:
    Yeah Alex. You can do better than that.
    In case you whiny little teenagers have forgotten, this site runs on user submissions. So when you've been promoted from "boy who fetches the coffee" and landed yourself an actual IT job, you can share some of your own glistening pearls of fascinating wisdom.
  • Jim (unregistered) in reply to Honest Opinion

    It's not a classic but it kept me entertained. Stop running the site down you pricks! ;-)

  • sweavo (unregistered) in reply to KattMan
    KattMan:
    I hereby ... quietly wait for tomorrows.

    That's a beautiful, melancholy image. After all, what else can one do with a tommorow?

    Captcha: atari. your move.

  • sweavo (unregistered) in reply to Doifnot Elsethen
    Doifnot Elsethen:
    The real WTF is that the British are up at 4:53 in the morning.

    Now that drinking laws are relaxed, there's no need to go to bed!

  • Pooma (unregistered) in reply to Doifnot Elsethen
    Doifnot Elsethen:
    The real WTF is that the British are up at 4:53 in the morning.

    What can I say? We're the morning people, the sun likes us more, and always makes sure to warm up with hours of happiness gazing upon Blighty before the long trek over the Atlantic to brighten up your lot.

    'Course, why it would choose to show up over France first I can't answer. Very flaky taste.

  • (cs)

    Cid should have just gone down to the datacentre himself - it'd probably only take a couple of minutes in his airship.

    I'll get my coat.

  • (cs)

    The really smart ones that understand what you want and actually help, or the robot ones that just switch on lights when you ask.

    If the robot people start trying to understand things it's going to be a mess, and if the smart ones are not smart enough but still act like they actually understand things it's going to be a mess.

    This is what I learnt and this post actually reminds me to set up an 'emergency plan' for my future customers... the guy I'm currently working with has some basic understanding and I know him pretty well so it's currently not a big problem in situations like this.

  • AdT (unregistered) in reply to Doifnot Elsethen
    Doifnot Elsethen:
    The real WTF is that the British are up at 4:53 in the morning.

    You never really see the Sun in Britain anyway, so it doesn't matter when you get up. I'm not talking about the newspaper.

    Or maybe the real WTF is people who don't know about time zones.

  • Tei (unregistered)

    the Real WTF is.. why the "The IT Crownd" sessions are so sort?

    UK is kool.

  • Gabelstaplerfahrer (unregistered) in reply to Tei

    I think your keyboard might be broken...

  • (cs) in reply to Honest Opinion
    Honest Opinion:
    This site jumped the shark when "The Daily WTF" became "Worse Than Failure". I think the site is named after it's mission statement.

    If it's been so bad for all that time, WTF are you still doing here wasting everyone's time with your BS?

  • (cs) in reply to Cyrus
    Cyrus:
    Considering this is a user driven site I believe the worst failures are the people complaining about the site sucking and doing nothing about it.

    I knew there were people out there who had brains! Thanks for showing I was right, Cyrus.

    If the idiots don't understand by now that the stories come from user input, and that THEY ARE THE USERS who submit that input, they're a lost cause. That seems to be the case for a lot of people here.

  • (cs) in reply to CodeRage
    CodeRage:
    I guess they could actually label the light "Activity", but then it wouldn't sound all fancy and technical like 'ACT'.

    Nope. That would mean that they either had to use a really small font, or widen the switch/router to add enough space for the extra letters. Neither would work.

    However, anyone who lacks the necessary knowledge to understand that that light means activity has no business being left alone as the first level support. I mean, really. What was his boss thinking?

  • (cs) in reply to Cpt
    Cpt:
    Are we now actually complaining that there are not enough people out there incapable enough to produce funny WTFs?

    No, some of us are complaining that all of the people out there capable enough to produce funny WTFs seem to be here bitching and whining about the lack of funny WTFs instead. They should get back to where their real skills lie - producing posts for this site.

  • Matt (unregistered) in reply to Sho
    Sho:
    If anyone wants me, I'll be out back barfing and upgrading the lenses on my goggles to concrete.

    Agh! Meine eyes! Ze goggles do nah-sing!

  • Ubersoldat (unregistered) in reply to Sgt. Preston
    Sgt. Preston:
    Would someone please take pity on the benighted among us who don't work in a data centre and tell what 'ACT' means?

    ehm... you don't need to work in a datacenter to know that, just look at your stupid network card!

    Yeah! DOOM is what await us for all human stupidity

  • (cs) in reply to KenW
    KenW:
    However, anyone who lacks the necessary knowledge to understand that that light means activity has no business being left alone as the first level support. I mean, really. What was his boss thinking?
    Perhaps, "Goodie, now I won't have to do it"?
  • (cs) in reply to KenW
    KenW:
    CodeRage:
    I guess they could actually label the light "Activity", but then it wouldn't sound all fancy and technical like 'ACT'.

    Nope. That would mean that they either had to use a really small font, or widen the switch/router to add enough space for the extra letters. Neither would work.

    However, anyone who lacks the necessary knowledge to understand that that light means activity has no business being left alone as the first level support. I mean, really. What was his boss thinking?

    You know, I wasn't even being serious in the first place, but now I'm really curious...

    Can someone show me an picture of a router where it is really impossible to put a HUGE word like "Activity" next to the light, where only "ACT" will fit?

    Don't just explain, give me an image. I have this suspicion that you will find that...

    a) the word will actually fit, or b) in the case of many activity lights and ports, one could label a whole row of them and save even more space.

    But maybe I'm just thinking outside the box here. WTF.

  • bg (unregistered)

    The real WTF here is that initrodeglobal.com is registered by Alex.

  • Synonymous Awkward (unregistered)

    WorseThanFailure.com: come for the scary stories and sarcastic comments, stay for the juvenile whining and captcha failures.

  • (cs)

    Why he would spend 5 minutes arguing about replacing the cable? Just give Dave some orders, and if he's not following, hang up the call. WTF

  • (cs) in reply to Flippit

    "For as long as you want the network to work. Or you could just replace the cable with a good one. Listen, I have a call on the other line and since the network is working, I'm going to let you go. Thanks, man." (click)

    Flippit, You just earned kudos for severe application of the cluebat.

    I am awestruck.

  • Matthew (unregistered) in reply to JG
    JG:
    This is why the tier one guys get paid very little. Not much of a WTF here, this is why you have the guys who know WTF they're doing on CALL in the first place.

    I've been on call, but I don't know Worse Than Failure I am doing. I don't even know what that means.

  • Matthew (unregistered) in reply to evilghost
    evilghost:
    The WTF is there is no WTF. That's how Alex get's you; in this case the WTF is you.

    I disagree. Going into a room to look for something and not realizing that you have to turn on the light to see is a WTF. The rest of the story was just setting the stage.

    Though, it is possible that the level 1 tech might have thought that changing the status of the lights might somehow affect the server in question. Like, maybe the server was down because some wires from the lighting above fell down and knocked the power out of the server. And in the process, the lighting wires got frayed and the exposed copper was touching the case of the server in question. In which case, turning the lights on could make a bad situation worse... worse than failure, even!

  • (cs) in reply to AdT
    AdT:
    Doifnot Elsethen:
    The real WTF is that the British are up at 4:53 in the morning.

    You never really see the Sun in Britain anyway, so it doesn't matter when you get up. I'm not talking about the newspaper.

    Or maybe the real WTF is people who don't know about time zones.

    Or sarcasm...

  • (cs)
    "Leave that one alone."
    Cid could tell right away That it was bad to the bone.
  • Calli Arcale (unregistered) in reply to fluffy777
    fluffy777:
    Did anyone else feel nervous about a guy who doesn't have the brains to turn on a light wandering around the company's datacenter?

    I don't think the guy who didn't turn on the lights was stupid -- I think he was obtuse. It is not his job to know what to do; his job is to call the poor sap on call to get step-by-step instructions of EXACTLY what to do. I've met the type. If it's not in a procedure, they won't do it, because then they can get in trouble for deviating from procedure. Admittedly, the ones I work with usually have a better reason (like following a written procedure for a formal systems acceptance test), but still.

  • (cs)

    What the fuck is wrong with you people (the people commenting in here).

    What

    The

    Fuck

    you guys are fucked up

  • (cs) in reply to ActionMan
    ActionMan:
    What the fuck is wrong with you people (the people commenting in here).
    Too much exposure to trolls like you. It starts to work a number on you after a while.
  • Synonymous Awkward (unregistered) in reply to ActionMan
    ActionMan:
    I think I just soiled myself :-(
    Sucks to be you, I guess.
  • Arioch (unregistered) in reply to Mark
    Mark:
    What do you bet the front-line guy kept the cable around to reuse later?
    you meen, commiting a suicide ?
  • AnonAndOnAndOn (unregistered) in reply to obediah
    obediah:
    gabba:
    When does Part 2 of the story, in which a wtf occurs, come out? So far all we have is a typical datacenter story about a problem being identified and solved.

    I thought it was going to be when he got another call 5 minutes later because another website was down, and it would be traced to the running server the operator took the his replacement cable from.

    Also thought this :)

  • captain obvious (unregistered) in reply to dolle
    dolle:
    The quality of this site is seriously starting to drop. Come on, forgetting to turn off the lights isn't a major WTF, it's something I could imagine myself doing if I'd been at work till 4:50 in the morning, while being stressed out by angry customers.
    How about needing to ask how to spell WAN and taking 5 minutes to be persuaded to switch a cable despite obviously knowing fuck all?

    But yes, this site is nowhere near as interesting as before. Half the things are far-fetched interpretations that some nerd finds amusing, e.g.: http://worsethanfailure.com/Articles/Retard-Rubber.aspx (all 3 pics are not wtf's, and if you think they are, you are also sad for wanting it to be the interpretation that you are thinking of to make yourself feel better)

  • BOB (unregistered)

    "Do you have internet?" (20 times a day)

    "Are you trying to tell me that you don't have internet?"

    "Oh wait its back now, its very slow"

    5 minutes later

    "Do you have internet"

    "ffs"

    "Oh wait..."

    "Do you have..."

    "Shut the fuck up."

  • (cs)

    Man, I can relate to that ... I deal with customers on the phone like that on a daily basis.

Leave a comment on “Leave That One Alone”

Log In or post as a guest

Replying to comment #:

Log Out

« Return to Article