Comment by IIAOPSW | Hacker News Reader

Comment by IIAOPSW | Hacker News Reader

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Maybe I'm in the minority here but I don't think this is clever at all. BOFH isn't some Dr. House character who's insufferable personality is the price you pay for genius. BOFH isn't doing some sort of vigilantism, correcting injustices in the world. He acts like all the people he screws deserve it for being dumb, but the "dumb" decision being punished is not expecting to be sabotaged for no reason. That's not dumb of them, that's a necessary assumption to make civilization work. He phrases these stories as if he's some clever trickster that hasn't found a worthy opponent, but where's the cleverness in "HAHA deleted your thesis using my admin priv"? I can't even respect that in the technically talented hacker sense. He didn't hack or do anything intelligent as part of his cruelness. He just abused his normal work credentials. Don't let the tone fool you, as far as sophistication goes this stuff is on the level of a shirtless parking lot fist fight. This isn't even funny in the harmless prank sense because it flat out isn't harmless. BOFH is nothing more than an asshole who is actively counterproductive at his job. Why does anyone here aspire or relate to BOFH? Why are so many finding this to be a funny and agreeable part of "hacker culture".

This is a psychopath fantasy. It's the IT version of You (the novel / TV show), Dexter etc.

Nobody wants to be a psychopath unless they are, but there's a certain feeling of liberty that comes with imagining doing things without caring about the consequences.

There's only one joke here, which is repeated over and over and over: it's the callous carelessness by which the protagonist breaks every single social rule imaginable. Nearly every single sentence contains this joke, and there are no other jokes.

It's like Dave Chappelle's "so I kicked her in the pussy" skit, but without the buildup. And ofc way less well done because this isn't Dave Chappelle.

This is what BOFH really is. It's that sick revenge fantasy you have where you brutally beat that reckless driver asshole who almost hit you while playing indy 500 on the highway, before your morning coffee, after running him off the road. In reality you sure as hell aren't running people off the road and beating them to within an inch of death with a tire iron. It's just a fantasy to release anger or deal with it.

BOFH is the psycho fantasy you have after dealing with the same idiot who yet again forgot their password and locked themselves out. Or that snippy idiot in the office who keeps insisting there is something wrong with their computer and its not as fast as the one they have at home or the "better" computer the person in the adjacent cubicle who also coincidentally can't stand them. But hey, it's still your problem to deal with. So screw em, why not delete their shittly work or their account for that matter? That'll show em.

I don't know how often I can watch someone godmode noclip allammo pwn the opposing team and still find it novel, entertaining or engaging.

He just wants to fuck with people. It'd be a different story if he had a different self-serving material goal every time and used surprising, morally despicable means to attain it, that still caught you off guard after the 10th episode.

People enjoy watching a fictitious, narcissistic psychopath from afar. I think you're reading too much into it.

It reminds me of Always Sunny in Philadelphia.

See I like Always Sunny but the joke in Always Sunny isn't about narcissistic psychopaths from afar. There's many layers of joke in that show. Sometimes the joke is that the apparent voice of reason has just as poor reasoning as the rest and they only got it right by coincidence. Sometimes the joke is that every time you think there's a genuine moment the rug gets pulled out and its revealed to be a scam or setup. Sometimes the joke is in the way they don't react to any tragedy going on around them. Almost always the joke is to subvert the tropes of the "20-somethings urbanite sitcom" genre (cheers/friends/HIMYM).

Sounds like Seinfeld, which I hate.

He's a parody, not a role model. People like watching Tom and Jerry but that doesn't mean they think Jerry is some kind of heroic character.

This is like Tom and Jerry if instead of constantly matching wits and ending in stalemate, Tom put a plain old mouse trap in front of the hole and killed Jerry within the first 5 seconds of the show and then Tom patted himself before the episode abruptly ended.

You're misunderstanding the power dynamic. The BOFH is the mouse.

You are describing the derranged Tom amd Jerry boys in the 90s wished existed.

But Itchy and Scratchy does exist!

You can laugh at a character without respecting or agreeing with the character. I personally find the absurdity of the stories funny (maybe because it caught me off guard).

The name of the character is "Bastard Operator from Hell." He is supposed to be terrible. He's like Cartman.

On the other hand, most of the other characters are also terrible, or incompetent or attempting to be abusive, and that echoes with the experience of many IT people dealing with users. Seeing those fuckers get even a fictional comeuppance is somewhat cathartic.

Bofh is a little further out than, say, thedailywtf, but largely in the same vein. There are so many shitshows and people "faking it until they make it" horror stories floating around.

I enjoy Watching House, but wouldn't want him as my doctor and would probably fire him if he was in my staff. Same with BOFH.

I’d be ok with House as my Dr I think, not so much as my colleague or staff.

> BOFH is nothing more than an asshole who is actively counterproductive at his job.

I think you're right, but if, as a sysadmin, I chuckle at these stories and it helps me remember why I should make an effort for my high-maintenance users (instead of deleting their $HOME), is that ok?

I thought that was the joke.

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