From: blsonne at rogers.com (Byron L. Sonne)
Subject: Support the Sasser-author fund started

>My point is, then, that as we diversify, users are going to go into more
>unfamiliar territory, cause more problems and have less people available for
>a low fee to fix them. What then, for the computer industry? Are we ALL
>going to have to know every brand of OS that runs on a PC and products that
>run on that OS and how to fix it's problems? There may be quite a few gifted
>people who can do that right now. As we get used to the proliferation of
>different OS's (if that happens), I am of the belief that there will be more
>people with more problems and less people capable of fixing them.
>  
>
'Fuck em then. At some point, in many areas of life, we have to 
rediscover the technique of letting people be responsible for 
themselves. Of course we should be helping people and providing 
assistance; community is a very important ideal. Compassion is wise. But 
there needs to be a threshold set such that when you cross it is evident 
to all you are abusing the privilege. As long as poverty or disability 
isn't an issue/cause, if a person is spreading themselves so thin that 
they can't master whatever tasks they arbitrarily decide is worth their 
time, then fuck 'em. They need to adjust their priorities. Stop watching 
so much damn TV, hanging out at the mall or working too many hours 
trying to become rich. Sit down, shut up, and fucking learn. Of course, 
I'm preaching to the choir here. It's very, very hard to help people 
that don't want to be helped. Being stupid is a real impediment; first 
of all you're dumb and second of all you're too stupid to know how dumb 
you really are.

Once you learn the basic troubleshooting techniques, it's not too hard 
to apply them to *any* situation. The tools that people develop aren't 
the most important thing: after all if they were never made to begin 
with, somebody else would have thought up another solution. The trick is 
the philisophy. Your mind needs to be shaped to the problem, and too 
many people don't want to spend the effort... it's just like physical 
exercise. I can respect the decision, it's a personal choice. But not 
when they wail 'oh why me'... like people who live in flood plains and 
tornado zones and don't get the fuckin' hint that hey, you know what, 
this *is* a bad place to build a house... and expect me to help pay for 
it, time after time.  Or fat assed fucks who can't lay off the burgers 
and fries and expect *my* tax dollars to help get their stomachs stapled 
or the fat sucked out of their asses.

>MS did home users, at least, one real favour. It spawned a lot of people
>able to fix MS problems who honestly DO know what they are doing. As there
>ARE a lot and especially as things over where I live are getting worse for
>I.T. people thus they are losing their big pay packet jobs and doing what
>the "back yarders" do, prices are competitive. It isn't unusual for someone
>doing those things, with an I.T. diploma of REAL value, to be charging $30
>an hour to fix problems and earning less than $15,000 a YEAR in Australian
>dollars or a little over 66% of that if converted to US dollars right now.
>You cant live on that in Australia so people are moving out of I.T.
>altogether or if they have enough savings, are doing the low paid income,
>draining their resources and hoping to find another I.T. job in an
>overcrowded market. If I.T. industry needs improve so these people can get the jobs they are
>qualified for, that still leaves a lot of "back yarders" capable of fixing
>users' problems. If we diversify without thought, we may end up wishing for
>the days of the MS security holes!
>
The industry _counts_ on this. They want everyone to be super educated 
so that they can have the pick of the crop and pay them diddly-squat. 
They'll get a PhD to mop the floor if they can... yet again another 
instance where people need to think ahead to what the future holds. 
Which means thinking outside of your borders, about the world at large. 
It's all one economy now, and has been for a while. Those who choose to 
remain in ignorance... well, you sow the wind you reap the whirlwind...

Sorry for the rant! :)

-- 

For Good, return Good. For Evil, return Justice.

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