NO Limit to ANnoyingness

(NO LAN)

This is a story. A story of today, the day the LAN cable of my computer was flicked.

After one month of being an employee of CG-BoreEl I can proudly say that I am a survivor. You have already heard (rather read) stories of me having nothing to do here before. Well today I have another story to tell you.

After the weekend I arrive all fresh and rejuvenated. Ready to do some rain storming and finishing up the work that I had been assigned (Yes, Finally I have been given work. Most of it is reading though but lot fun).

I come to my office, start with my morning ritual (actually every software professional’s ritual as soon as he/she reaches office). I switch on my computer, wait for it to boot up, have a sip of water, key in my password and wait for the thing to start up. Suddenly I read a message on the bottom right corner of my screen that generally doesn’t show up during start up. It reads “LOCAL AREA CONNECTION: A NETWORK CABLE IS UNPLUGGED”. I think it’s just a loose connection and look under the table to set it right and surprise surprise – my computer has no network cable at all. Then I take myself back to last Friday. I remember that the thing was intact when I left last week. Where is it now? I look around. Everyone’s busy with their work. One of the guys looks relatively free so I ask him –“My LAN cable is missing. Do you know if someone was working here?” he simply shrugs his shoulders and gets back to his work. (Looks like he remembered an all important assignment all of a sudden).

I look around for help. No one’s even noticed me. So I continue looking around and see that they have setup a new PC in the office. So I walk up to it and see that it’s covered with post its saying –“Do not disturb this PC”, “Do not format this computer” etc. then I look below and find my LAN cable attached to it. (I know it’s mine because I was the only one having a blue LAN wire on the entire floor). I ask the others around if they know whose PC is that and no one has a clue. Being a fresher (1 month is not really an experience you see) I decide not to disturb the computer. I go up to a friend and ask him if I can use his computer to lodge a complaint. He obliges. I put up a request with the IT department for a new cable. And then I wait. It’s time for coffee. Still no one has showed up so I go to the IT team’s floor and lodge a complaint personally. I am assured that I will be fixed within no time. I come back and wait. It’s time for lunch. I finish up with lunch and lodge another complaint and wait some more. No response yet. It’s almost time to leave and guess what I am still waiting and writing this piece.

PS: I know lot of you must be wondering why I couldn’t work all this time. The reason is twofold. One all my study material is obtained through online tutorials and two the tool I work on has al it’s licenses loaded in the server which I can access only through the LAN.

What’s in a name?

Of late a new phenomenon seems to have struck the World Wide Web. With the coming of public discussion forums like Orkut and Hi5 we have seen the rise of a menace called “ANONYMOUS POSTING”.

I guess originally anonymous posing was meant for people to express views they couldn’t normally do with their names being attached to it. (I would have liked putting up my last post as anonymous if I could). But what it has turned out into is a way that people can attack others in a forum.

Anonymous posting instead of being a way of expressing ones view has become a source for people to express their expertise in the dictionary of abusive language (Not necessarily in English).

Once a person sees a post contradicting his/her views in a public discussion forum he/she forgets that why he/she is there for and instead of posting a valid reply or putting forward his/her views starts abusing the person in front. And what follows is barrage of words that I won’t like to put up here since this not an anonymous post. And the person does make himself anonymous so that the one on receiving end doesn’t even know by whom is he being treated to the feast of not so proper language. (I wonder if these guys posting anonymously go back to the same place to check if somebody has replied to them).

I am relatively new to the blogsphere but I am surprised at how anonymous posting has found it’s way here too. (Before you start telling me that I can turn off anonymous posting in my blog let me tell you that I know that but I have kept it open so that my close friends can comment on how bad a blogger I am without fearing that I would get back at them). But what surprises me is that none of the anonymous comments have anything to do with my posts but are direst attacks on me. I never thought a person’s own blog could be used for that. (If you are still wondering do check out the comments for my previous posts).

I had to stop posting in many of my favorite communities in Orkut because I didn’t know what names would I be called the next time I open the page. I join such forums to express my views and not to get abused.

What’s in name? – For those who would like to justify what they do anonymously saying this, I have one piece of advice. If you want to be anonymous and post something meaningful about a particular discussion please do so but if you want to attack some one personally come out of the cowardly mask you wear of anonymity and then do it. Because if you like to dish it out to others you must also be ready to face a reply.