Explanations

you mispelled haiku
no I meant to write hacku
just think about it

I talk slowly when I have something to say. It’s just the way I am. I’m thinking through what I want to communicate, whom I’m talking to, how best to phrase things, etc. Maybe I had too many patient interlocutors as a child. Users are not patient interlocutors.

So I’ve had a steep learning curve. I’ve tried explaining things in terms non-techies should understand, with lots of mundane analogies and gestural metaphors. Most people find analogies to be either obtuse or condescending, so that has succeeded abysmally. I’ve tried using exactly the terms I use in my head. Most people don’t think like I do. So they follow what I’m saying for maybe two words.

What to do? If you need a boilerplate, here’s what I recommend: Executive summaries for everyone. Everything you say by way of explanation should be a summary. If the user tries to go for details, give them just enough to answer their question. And when you’re done, walk away. Ultimately you compliment their intelligence and save everyone some time.

This approach automatically scales to anyone you speak with, techies or non. If they ask informed questions, then your “minimal” answers, if they are correct, will come across as well-spoken.

First Post

This blog is for sysadmins, by a sysadmin. The topic is dealing with users. See the about page for what I mean by the title.

Basically, I want to give you some ideas on how to deal with people in a positive way. What better way than with counterexamples? My main counterexample is Naldo, or Reginald Millefois, rogue sysadmin. He’s a fictional character, honestly. Maybe counterexample isn’t quite the right word. Let’s just say he’s an example. Of what, I’ll let you decide. He’s not a BOFH. He’s much more nuanced, ethical, and pragmatic, and perhaps that will be his downfall.