Why you can't visit that website

My general IT philosophy is that IT should be as unobtrusive as possible. Who am I to restrict what someone is and isn't allowed to do or go on a work computer? My job, as I see it, is to protect the computer infrastructure that I manage; I let the individual managers in my company decide a user's job roles and what they should and shouldn't access on the internet.

I don't actively block YouTube, or Facebook, or Twitter, or Hulu, or (insert time consuming website here). There are some employees at my company that benefit from accessing these websites on a regular basis through research, customer outreach, or training. When a manager approaches me about blocking a website for an employee I first explain to them my philosophy and stress the need for them to approach the user. If the issue is addressed and the problem still exists I will then actively block a website for a user. I have never had to block a website due to a request of this nature.

We subscribe to a content filtering service through our hardware firewall. It is set to only block a website if it is pornographic, hateful, or containing questionable content in regards to viruses/malware. However, I will occasionally get an email or phone call from a user asking why the web page they want to download wallpapers from or view motorcycles for sale is blocked. I tell them that despite the fact they think the website is harmless to them our firewall has detected viruses or malware and won't render the site. I then have to reinforce the fact that viruses and malware don't lurk in 'dark' places on the internet anymore. (As an aside, I'm always amazed that people still think viruses can only be found on pornographic web pages. Viruses are everywhere people… you have got to be careful where you're clicking).

I do have colleagues that believe the opposite approach is the best; which is to restrict all internet traffic except that deemed acceptable by themselves or a higher authority. I understand why this is necessary for certain environments but mostly feel this inhibits creativity, is a case of someone desiring too much control, or that a company doesn't trust its users.

The thing about my job is that I work only with adults. Think about that; everyone I work with is responsible for their own actions. I (and my company) allow mostly uninhibited access to the positive things the internet has to offer. If they abuse this privilege, they are held accountable by their superior.

I don't feel it's up to me to control the productivity of a user. That is their supervisor's job. I am responsible for keeping the integrity of our network and computer systems operational. And if that means you can't look up kitty-cat wallpapers then so be it.

Why we're a bunch of jerks

It's not uncommon for me to fix the same problem several times in a given time frame. For example, I might have several engineers install a software patch that requires a video driver update before it will work properly. Or I might be asked to fix the computers of several family members that all received the same virus through their email.

It's easy to see that my job can be repetitive by nature and I don't enjoy repeating myself if I don't have to. So when one of my users asks me a question that I've answered before, or submits an issue to me that I've already fixed I can get frustrated. I know what you're thinking… 'well maybe THEY have never had that problem before; you shouldn't be upset with them.'  I'll give you that one but it's not uncommon for a user to come to me with the same problem several times. Sometimes they cause the problem and they seem to forget how to prevent it. Sometimes I tell them how to fix the problem when it arises but they will often can't remember what I told them.  One of the most frustrating situations is when I take the time to explain an issue and how to fix it in an email and send it out but the users don't read the email. One such example happened to me after a system upgrade…

I upgraded a system one Friday evening so I wouldn't disrupt everyone during normal working hours. I documented in an email the details of how the users need to access the system (the email was a bulleted list of what needed to be done). Monday morning, an engineer calls me with an issue… you know, the one I emailed everyone about and told them how to fix. When I asked him if he read my email he told me "Two things… One, email isn't an effective form of communication. Two, I rarely read your emails anyway. Why would I take the time to read them when I can just call you?"

That is why we are a bunch of jerks.

We often forget that we are providing a service and we should do so with patience and a smile. But you also need to realize that we deal with a lot of things on a daily basis. When we take the time to 'teach you how to fish' it's frustrating when you keep asking us for food. But IT guys should always remember to' teach people how to fish' with a smile.

I'm not a magician but perhaps I can be of service

I truly wish I knew the answer to every question asked of me by my users. The truth is that there's a good chance I've never heard of your issue and don't know how to fix it. But there's also a good chance that I can figure out how to solve the problem.

There's nothing magical about what I do. However, it does take some logical thinking, some experience, and a lot of patience. Google is every IT guy's best friend (or Bing if you’re a Microsoft fan). Although the possibility of me running across something I've never seen before is good, chances are that someone out there has not only seen my issue but has written about how they solved it. When I receive a call about somebody's problem I attempt to gather all of the details about it as possible. I walk through a checklist in my mind and attempt to iron out anything the user could've done differently to achieve the desired result. If this doesn't resolve the issue, I look at what's happening on the computer itself. Are there any rogue processes? Do I need to find an update? Is it a virus or malware? Are there any software conflicts occurring? All of this happens in just the first few moments of a call. I then turn to Google.

I search for the problem; I reword my search. I use synonyms and I rewrite the search with antonyms. I search for error messages, I search for issues with versions of software. I look for Microsoft Updates and I look for other software updates as well. I look for updated drivers, software patches, even software downgrades. I click on links that spark new subjects to search for and the cycle starts all over again. I check forums, wikis, I use search modifiers, change the search parameters… then that EURKEA moment inevitably finds me. This process might take a few minutes, it might take a few weeks.

Occasionally, Google won't have the answer I'm looking for.  I then turn to the software developers and make them aware of the issue. You know what those guys do?  The SAME THING that I just did!!! Granted, they have a few more tools as it relates to their product, but the process is the same. The gather information and do a whole lot of searching. If they come up short then they get with their programming team and write code to fix the problem.

People at work give me a hard time because all I do is 'sit and Google all day'. To which I respond 'that means you'll Google your own problem next time and leave me out of it, right?' You see, although the process is relatively simple, few people have the experience or the patience to struggle through it and find the solution.

I am more than happy to teach someone to fish if it will reduce my workload as I have plenty of other things I can focus my energies on than your printer not working. But often my job is to fish for people and just hand over the goods. Which I really don't mind since I get paid to surf Google all day.

What's with the IT guy?

Did he sit on a pinecone? Is he unmotivated or just lazy? Why does he drone on and on about details that no one cares about? Why hasn't he fixed my computer yet? Why doesn't he get out more? I wish he wouldn't talk down to me.

When someone gripes about the 'IT Guy', everyone can relate. We are a quirky bunch who often like power and control. We are often stubborn and unwilling, crass and sarcastic. We often know what's best for you and are unafraid to let you know. We often have the latest toys and love to tell you why yours is inferior.

Psychologists would say that we are 'type A personalities'.  Our colleagues often say that we are douche bags. Is this stereotype accurate? Is it fair to put all IT guys in the same category? I would like to say emphatically that the answer is no but what examples are there to prove otherwise? Why is the 'nice' IT guy so elusive?

Ben Parker was right when he said "With great power comes great responsibility" but I don't feel that the average IT guy takes that phrase to heart. Our breed is often taught from early childhood that we are weird and inferior to most people. We had few friends in school because we were different. We didn't relate to 'normal people'. Social situations and interactions made little sense to us because we were forced to look for subjective clues which we didn't understand. We didn't like abstract or subjective details; give us the facts, tell us what happened then go away.

This is why we are drawn to technology. Technology is easy for us to understand. We can harness it and make it work for us. We inevitably discover that those who used to call us weird are interested in our newfound skills. They need our help. What comes easy to us doesn't come easy to everyone else. They need us. We learn that we can hold this over you; have power over you. What we once found solace in has now made us drunk with power. We can control it, we can control you.

A little bit of resentment and a little bit of skill can do a lot to a budding IT guy. Many of us also lack formal education or lack the drive to learn what we deem unnecessary. Because technology comes easy to us, we can latch onto it with little effort. If this goes unchecked and we work for a company where knowledge of technology is sparse, it's easy to see why the IT guy is the way he is. But just because it's understandable doesn't mean it's right.

There are a few in this industry that give the rest of us a bad rap (just as there is in any population). I hope that my musings might at least get you to think twice about us. And to you IT guys out there, I hope my musings can get YOU to think twice about 'them'.