Couple of other pet peeves, (disclaimer here as I work in cellular) : people who say "sims" card when they mean sim card, and folks who refer to cell towers as the "satellite".
@robson offer them this next time: :D I blame samsung and sanyo for the satellite thing... their early phones used satellite dish graphics when "searching" for signal (and in various other locations on the display).
@awk Maybe they are referring to Media Access Control and its address. I do have to admit that I needed to look up what MAC actually stands for. I will also promptly forget it 30 seconds ago.
Not to deny the authenticity of your offense or aggravation, but just giving it some context:
I've done technology for a living for close to 30 years now--and when I was in college had an early PC and was a resident expert on the goofy-ass Dec word processors in my department.
Some of this stuff bothers me, but no more so (and generally less) than broader problems with grammar and usage, problems that seem to afflict technology professionals with no less frequency than those in other fields.
What bothers me more is the attitude of arrogance and condescension among waaaaaayyy too many IT folks, and the manifest feeling that their specialty and knowledge are somehow more important than anyone else's and that therefore their pet peeves more egregious.
For christsake, I work with engineers, and, as a rule, not even they are as bad as IT folks. And far more of them have undergone rigorous certifications and are compelled to operate under strict ethical guidelines.
@joelmw I think a lot of it is a matter of patience, and I think a lot of us in IT are kind of bent on efficiency. I mock a bit in this thread, but I try to be very patient with people IRL, and in general I think I'm pretty good at maximizing efficiency when I do have to deal with less tech-inclined folks… that is, striving for clarity and concision. There's always that little nag inside though, and it's the part of me that sees the shortest path to the goal… even in the smaller jargonistic issues brought up here. Minor communication speed bumps, and deep down you know it, but a big part of you is just like 'gah, who put that speed bump there?!'
@joelmw Can't disagree. I don't bring out the inquisition just because of nomenclature misuse; especially if it's not even their field. It's just one of those things like a stepping on a lego.
@DrunkCat@brhfl I do group this all with the broader language and grammar issues. And I should probably say that I used to lean prescriptivist but, after years of frustration--and, in fact, partly informed by the love of dumb users that I developed doing business analysis, systems implementation and integration, technical support, et al.--I've become more forgiving and more of a descriptivist. "Download" for "upload" is actually patently imprecise, but if you make your eyes all fuzzy, you realize that all the user knows is that stuff is being transferred and, oh, hey, didn't I hear a nerd call that kind of thing a "download"?
All that being said, don't get me started on the death of "literally."
@joelmw My peeve is when people lump all IT folks together -- I am a mainframe person, I can read most code languages, and I have built pcs in the past, but I have little knowledge of how the internet or even networks work. Don't ask me why your browser has stopped working or how to fix the margins in word, or how to make your presentation work seamlessly :) (ok, some of that I do know!)
@mikibell I actually took a mainframe course in college (in the 2000's), and we got to work on real IBM mainframes (remotely). How did you end up in the mainframe field?
Yeah, my Dad says "Memory" when he's talking about the hard drive. He's old, though, so he gets a pass. I just have to remember not to roll my eyes and just keep him talking until I figure out what it is he's trying to say.
Where are these folks? Because the terms are the opposite in the southern hemisphere due to the coriolis effect.
@JonT the `1:02 part
They're also the people who call their PC a "hard drive."
@thismyusername This reminds me so much of my wife.. lol
@thismyusername But to be fair, she's gotten a lot better after 6 years of marriage to a techie.
Couple of other pet peeves, (disclaimer here as I work in cellular) : people who say "sims" card when they mean sim card, and folks who refer to cell towers as the "satellite".
@robson offer them this next time:
:D
I blame samsung and sanyo for the satellite thing... their early phones used satellite dish graphics when "searching" for signal (and in various other locations on the display).
@robson cellular? Are you a microbiologist?
I work in IT. To use, everyone is just a bunch of mouth-breathing Luddites.
"Did you try turning it of and on again?"
@The_Baron or..."Let's start at the wall. Is it plugged in?"
@canuk "Are you from the past?"
@The_Baron PBKC, RTFM
Or what about...
"Hey where'd you get that phone case?"
"I got it off line."
h-t-t-p-colon-backslash-backslash…
@brhfl
It pisses me off when people classify themselves as hackers when they just follow some guide, or download a torrent.
@lichme
@lichme
Writing I-phone instead of iPhone.
Writing MAC instead of Mac.
Calling any Android device a "droid".
Calling individual blog posts "blogs".
@awk droid is a registered trademark of verizon and motorola (and Lucasfilm, well Disney now, but used with permission (aka payment)).
@awk I'm still not in favor of the word "blog" at all.. haha
@awk My father calls forums blogs. I don't think he's ever actually seen a blog.
@awk Maybe they are referring to Media Access Control and its address. I do have to admit that I needed to look up what MAC actually stands for. I will also promptly forget it 30 seconds ago.
@bruceoite …which brings up another good one, when you tell someone you're going to need their MAC addre— 'but I'm on a PC!!'
Not to deny the authenticity of your offense or aggravation, but just giving it some context:
I've done technology for a living for close to 30 years now--and when I was in college had an early PC and was a resident expert on the goofy-ass Dec word processors in my department.
Some of this stuff bothers me, but no more so (and generally less) than broader problems with grammar and usage, problems that seem to afflict technology professionals with no less frequency than those in other fields.
What bothers me more is the attitude of arrogance and condescension among waaaaaayyy too many IT folks, and the manifest feeling that their specialty and knowledge are somehow more important than anyone else's and that therefore their pet peeves more egregious.
For christsake, I work with engineers, and, as a rule, not even they are as bad as IT folks. And far more of them have undergone rigorous certifications and are compelled to operate under strict ethical guidelines.
@joelmw "I've done technology for a living..." Yup, you sound just like an end-user. Poser! ;-)
@joelmw I think a lot of it is a matter of patience, and I think a lot of us in IT are kind of bent on efficiency. I mock a bit in this thread, but I try to be very patient with people IRL, and in general I think I'm pretty good at maximizing efficiency when I do have to deal with less tech-inclined folks… that is, striving for clarity and concision. There's always that little nag inside though, and it's the part of me that sees the shortest path to the goal… even in the smaller jargonistic issues brought up here. Minor communication speed bumps, and deep down you know it, but a big part of you is just like 'gah, who put that speed bump there?!'
@joelmw Can't disagree. I don't bring out the inquisition just because of nomenclature misuse; especially if it's not even their field. It's just one of those things like a stepping on a lego.
@medz I knew someone was gonna get me on that and I said, "fuggit, that actually makes my point." Way to be that guy, @medz. ;-)
@DrunkCat @brhfl I do group this all with the broader language and grammar issues. And I should probably say that I used to lean prescriptivist but, after years of frustration--and, in fact, partly informed by the love of dumb users that I developed doing business analysis, systems implementation and integration, technical support, et al.--I've become more forgiving and more of a descriptivist. "Download" for "upload" is actually patently imprecise, but if you make your eyes all fuzzy, you realize that all the user knows is that stuff is being transferred and, oh, hey, didn't I hear a nerd call that kind of thing a "download"?
All that being said, don't get me started on the death of "literally."
@joelmw My peeve is when people lump all IT folks together -- I am a mainframe person, I can read most code languages, and I have built pcs in the past, but I have little knowledge of how the internet or even networks work. Don't ask me why your browser has stopped working or how to fix the margins in word, or how to make your presentation work seamlessly :) (ok, some of that I do know!)
@joelmw Blame Mark Twain.
@mikibell I actually took a mainframe course in college (in the 2000's), and we got to work on real IBM mainframes (remotely). How did you end up in the mainframe field?
Yeah, my Dad says "Memory" when he's talking about the hard drive. He's old, though, so he gets a pass. I just have to remember not to roll my eyes and just keep him talking until I figure out what it is he's trying to say.