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Comment by c0nsumer | Hacker News Reader

I don't mean to sound rude here, but welcome to the real world where IT is not the focus of business and is often seen as a cost center and necessary evil. This may not be right, but it's something that has to be dealt with.

I see my role as an IT professional as helping the other members of large organizations to understand what IT can do for them and how it should be used securely and appropriately. It's way, way, way bigger than just enjoying hacking on code or building small networks; it's putting together systems to support business.

After all, for most of the world IT is there to support the business, it's not the businesses' product.

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All valid points. And "Don't think about it" can be valid for things that aren't the main point of concern for your customers. Executives have limited things they can pay attention to. They don't like to change what they don't have to change, so they can focus on what's important.

I agree, I used to get upset because things didn't get done the way I thought should be done. I was worried about a server crashing and not having a budget to get another one, telling people about security and they not following recommendations. I left that company to go to another one a more corporate and bigger company and guess what the same issues, then another company and the same issues. Then I realized that technology is a means to an end. The company's goal is not technology is to make money, to pay investors, to have cash flow, yes technology is important but it is not the primary goal of a company. Code might be ugly or legacy but it pays the bills, now I do great work but don't try to think that everything has to be done a certain way I just adapt, nothing will be perfect.

They could probably start cutting IT costs by learning the difference between their PC tower and their monitor.

Don't be one of those tiresome bitter sysadmins.

I'm not a sysadmin (I'll make no comment on the counts of tiresome or bitter), but it's hard to deny that many people could use the most basic of computer education. I cannot blame you nor anybody else for downvoting those sorts of posts, but can you really blame me for feeling the way I do?

I don't really care to argue over this, so consider that a rhetorical question.

Life's too short to worry about whether somebody can tell one piece of technology from another.

Not if their inability to do so makes one's life shorter.

If people using the wrong terms for electronic office equipment is stressing you out to that extent, it's not healthy, and I would suggest re-considering some of your choices that lead you to this point in life or, if that's not possible, maybe think about getting some help.

That's in all seriousness, btw, it's not worth getting upset about stuff like that.

I think that willful ignorance is worth getting upset over. It may not be "healthy", but it's worth it.

And with that, I think I really am done perpetuating this silly discussion.

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