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#321 |
Observer of Phenomena
Pronouns: he/him Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Location, Location
Posts: 64,621
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Self-described nerd. Pronouns: He/Him My mom told me she tries never to make fun of people for not knowing something. - Randall Munroe |
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#322 |
Great minds think...
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: North Dakota
Posts: 7,075
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Truer words have not been spoken.
Yeah, doing it across an enterprise would be a nightmare. We have somewhere in the neighborhood of 50ish employees, 40 of them that probably regularly use LastPass, so it was an easy switch. We use it for almost everything too. Network infrastructure notes, domain creds, pretty much anything relevant. |
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"Circumcision and death threats go together like milk and cookies." - William Parcher “There are times when the mind is dealt such a blow it hides itself in insanity. While this may not seem beneficial, it is. There are times when reality is nothing but pain, and to escape that pain the mind must leave reality behind.” - Patrick Rothfuss |
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#323 |
Observer of Phenomena
Pronouns: he/him Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Location, Location
Posts: 64,621
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I dream of working in an environment like that.
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Self-described nerd. Pronouns: He/Him My mom told me she tries never to make fun of people for not knowing something. - Randall Munroe |
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#324 |
Quester of Doglets
Moderator
Join Date: Dec 2009
Posts: 2,031
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I use KeePass because it appears to be utterly platform independent.
(i.e. same software on linux, windows, etc.) I watch my team fumbling with passwords etc. every day, and I just can't persuade them to use it. Even though it is a supported app on our SOE. |
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We would be better, and braver, to engage in enquiry, rather than indulge in the idle fancy, that we already know -- Plato. |
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#325 |
So far, so good...
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: On the outskirts of Nowhere; the middle was too crowded
Posts: 3,363
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I have the same problem with family and friends: Explain KeePass, set it up for them, add a couple of entries, show them the auto-type feature (which is usually but not always wonderful). Then later find that they're still (a) ignoring KeePass and (b) complaining about having to remember sooo many passwords. |
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Over we go.... |
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#326 |
Self Employed
Remittance Man Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Florida
Posts: 21,125
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Dear Users.
Working for a VIP does not make you a VIP. Doing a job for a VIP does not make you a VIP. Our SLA with your company has a number of VIP clients; doctors and higher level executives, who pay more for faster service. That's literally what the SLA does. You don't automatically get faster service you aren't paying for because you're "doing a job for a VIP." Your company has a hierarchical structure. Everybody is doing their job for a VIP. |
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- "Ernest Hemingway once wrote that the world is a fine place and worth fighting for. I agree with the second part." - Detective Sommerset - "Stupidity does not cancel out stupidity to yield genius. It breeds like a bucket-full of coked out hamsters." - The Oatmeal - "To the best of my knowledge the only thing philosophy has ever proven is that Descartes could think." - SMBC |
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#327 |
Penultimate Amazing
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: central Illinois
Posts: 39,699
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I suspect you are a sandwich, metaphorically speaking. -Donn And a shot rang out. Now Space is doing time... -Ben Burch You built the toilet - don't complain when people crap in it. _Kid Eager Never underestimate the power of the Random Number God. More of evolutionary history is His doing than people think. - Dinwar |
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#328 |
Observer of Phenomena
Pronouns: he/him Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Location, Location
Posts: 64,621
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Yup. We have people who are specifically marked for VIP service, and if you don't have the mark, I don't care who you are. We do jobs in the order in which they are received.
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Self-described nerd. Pronouns: He/Him My mom told me she tries never to make fun of people for not knowing something. - Randall Munroe |
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#329 |
BOFH
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: People's Republic of South Yorkshire
Posts: 12,159
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One of the better BOFH tales https://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/0...fh_episode_24/
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#330 |
Self Employed
Remittance Man Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Florida
Posts: 21,125
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Dear Helpdesk:
Southside, Southpoint, and Baptist South are not the same location. I have clients at all three of these. Saying there's a problem "At the South location" isn't overly useful information to put in a ticket. |
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- "Ernest Hemingway once wrote that the world is a fine place and worth fighting for. I agree with the second part." - Detective Sommerset - "Stupidity does not cancel out stupidity to yield genius. It breeds like a bucket-full of coked out hamsters." - The Oatmeal - "To the best of my knowledge the only thing philosophy has ever proven is that Descartes could think." - SMBC |
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#331 |
Observer of Phenomena
Pronouns: he/him Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Location, Location
Posts: 64,621
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Caller: Is a police records check necessary for building and IT access for contractors? I have someone starting tomorrow who doesn't have one.
Me: Yes, a police records check is necessary. Caller: But they're starting tomorrow! Me: No, they're not. |
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Self-described nerd. Pronouns: He/Him My mom told me she tries never to make fun of people for not knowing something. - Randall Munroe |
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#332 |
Penultimate Amazing
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: central Illinois
Posts: 39,699
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__________________
I suspect you are a sandwich, metaphorically speaking. -Donn And a shot rang out. Now Space is doing time... -Ben Burch You built the toilet - don't complain when people crap in it. _Kid Eager Never underestimate the power of the Random Number God. More of evolutionary history is His doing than people think. - Dinwar |
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#333 |
Penultimate Amazing
Join Date: Aug 2007
Posts: 39,570
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USER: I need you to provide me with X, via your Service.
ME: As you know from administering your own instance of Service, I can't provide X until you give me the details for Y and Z which are contained in X. And as you also know, I can't provide Z until you give me the details for A, B, and C, which are contained in Z. [time passes] USER: I'm still waiting on Z. Contrast with: UNICORN: I know from my own time as a Service admin that the following information will ensure you provide me with X via your Service: - A, B, and C contained in Z - Y and Z contained in X Thanks in advance! ME: Done and done! |
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#334 |
Observer of Phenomena
Pronouns: he/him Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Location, Location
Posts: 64,621
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We've been having an interesting series of calls over the last week that has destroyed one of our standard narratives.
Caller: Hi, I'm getting [x problem]. Is it Russian hackers? Agent: *sigh* No, it's not Russian hackers. Well, we've been having a problem where some people are seeing their Intranet home page firewalled, displaying a Cyrillic address. It's totally Russian hackers. |
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Self-described nerd. Pronouns: He/Him My mom told me she tries never to make fun of people for not knowing something. - Randall Munroe |
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#335 |
Philosopher
Join Date: Nov 2014
Posts: 6,431
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...our governments are just trying to protect us from terror. In the same way that someone banging a hornets’ nest with a stick is trying to protect us from hornets. Frankie Boyle, Guardian, July 2015 |
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#336 |
Observer of Phenomena
Pronouns: he/him Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Location, Location
Posts: 64,621
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Tell that to the person who is convinced that every computer problem is the fault of Russian hackers.
It used to be viruses. I still get the occasional call from someone who says "I can't get into Outlook. Have I got a virus?" * arthwollipot goes into Task Manager, ends the stray process, restarts Outlook. "No, you don't have a virus. First, viruses don't do this. Second, we're protected against them by multiple layers of security. This was just a crash." |
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Self-described nerd. Pronouns: He/Him My mom told me she tries never to make fun of people for not knowing something. - Randall Munroe |
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#337 |
Philosopher
Join Date: Nov 2014
Posts: 6,431
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You can always say "Yes, it's Russian hackers. And remember, 1000 Russian rubles is only AUS$20. So the easiest way to fix this is for you to send me the ransom money and I will pay them to take the hack off."
Quote:
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...our governments are just trying to protect us from terror. In the same way that someone banging a hornets’ nest with a stick is trying to protect us from hornets. Frankie Boyle, Guardian, July 2015 |
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#338 |
Observer of Phenomena
Pronouns: he/him Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Location, Location
Posts: 64,621
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__________________
Self-described nerd. Pronouns: He/Him My mom told me she tries never to make fun of people for not knowing something. - Randall Munroe |
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#339 |
Quester of Doglets
Moderator
Join Date: Dec 2009
Posts: 2,031
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__________________
We would be better, and braver, to engage in enquiry, rather than indulge in the idle fancy, that we already know -- Plato. |
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#340 |
Master Poster
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Blackstone River Valley, MA
Posts: 2,298
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Nope, three are Microsoft originals, one was bought 20 years ago and the other 7 years ago.
Word written by Microsoft 1983. Excel written by Microsoft 1987. Powerpoint purchased in 1987. IE written by Microsoft 1994. (some code licensed from Spyglass Mosaic.) Skype purchased in 2011. |
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#341 |
Observer of Phenomena
Pronouns: he/him Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Location, Location
Posts: 64,621
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__________________
Self-described nerd. Pronouns: He/Him My mom told me she tries never to make fun of people for not knowing something. - Randall Munroe |
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#342 |
Lackey
Administrator
Join Date: Aug 2001
Location: South East, UK
Posts: 88,436
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I wish I knew how to quit you |
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#343 |
Lackey
Administrator
Join Date: Aug 2001
Location: South East, UK
Posts: 88,436
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I wish I knew how to quit you |
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#344 |
Penultimate Amazing
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: central Illinois
Posts: 39,699
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__________________
I suspect you are a sandwich, metaphorically speaking. -Donn And a shot rang out. Now Space is doing time... -Ben Burch You built the toilet - don't complain when people crap in it. _Kid Eager Never underestimate the power of the Random Number God. More of evolutionary history is His doing than people think. - Dinwar |
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#345 |
Philosopher
Join Date: Nov 2014
Posts: 6,431
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Seems all these apps/programs have one thing in common...
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...our governments are just trying to protect us from terror. In the same way that someone banging a hornets’ nest with a stick is trying to protect us from hornets. Frankie Boyle, Guardian, July 2015 |
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#346 |
Observer of Phenomena
Pronouns: he/him Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Location, Location
Posts: 64,621
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Yeah, they run on Windows.
Honestly, we have some 8000 users across something like 14 government agencies. I am one of twelve to fifteen agents (depending on the day), and I get a call like this maybe once a day at most. On average, that's not too bad. Sucks when it happens to you, though. |
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Self-described nerd. Pronouns: He/Him My mom told me she tries never to make fun of people for not knowing something. - Randall Munroe |
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#347 |
Observer of Phenomena
Pronouns: he/him Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Location, Location
Posts: 64,621
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Me: Do the thing, and it will produce this result.
Them: But what if it doesn't? Me: It will. Them: But what if it doesn't? Me: IT WILL. Them: ... Me: ... Them: But what if it doesn't? |
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Self-described nerd. Pronouns: He/Him My mom told me she tries never to make fun of people for not knowing something. - Randall Munroe |
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#348 |
Thinker
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Bern, Switzerland
Posts: 179
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This strikes me as a bit weird.
Your customer is asking a perfectly legitimate question IMO and you're just refusing to answer it. Have you never been wrong? To me that just does not look like the behaviour of a competent helpdesk operator. I think I would get angry if you did that to me. |
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#349 |
Master Poster
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Blackstone River Valley, MA
Posts: 2,298
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#350 |
Philosopher
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Central City, Colorado, USA
Posts: 9,164
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If I'm the customer, I think I would try what the helpdesk person recommended and see if it works, rather than worry about, "What if it doesn't work?". Unless of course, I had good reason to believe that the recommended action would be harmful. Once I do it, it either works or it doesn't, and I don't need to worry about "what ifs".
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#351 |
Penultimate Amazing
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: central Illinois
Posts: 39,699
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I hope Arthwollipot is exaggerating for effect, the standard answer is 'then we can see what can be done to fix it".
However I do know the feeling as a help desk person, part of the experience is in helping people cope with an anxious situation, even if the anxiety is unwarranted. I have in remote sessions spent 15 minutes watching some one demonstrate to their satisfaction that the issue is resolved. Even after the evidence of the first minute would indicate that the issue is resolved, they have wanted me to stay on the line while they repeat steps that continue to confirm that the issue was resolved. |
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I suspect you are a sandwich, metaphorically speaking. -Donn And a shot rang out. Now Space is doing time... -Ben Burch You built the toilet - don't complain when people crap in it. _Kid Eager Never underestimate the power of the Random Number God. More of evolutionary history is His doing than people think. - Dinwar |
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#352 |
Self Employed
Remittance Man Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Florida
Posts: 21,125
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The problem is people are just... well scared of computers in a way they aren't of cars or their washing machines or whatnot.
Imagine being a mechanic and have a car owner nervously stand over you asking over and over if you're sure, I mean 100% sure that changing your radio presets won't make the gas tank explode and you're in the ballpark. "I demand you fix this problem I'm having without touching or doing anything because I'm afraid if this one Window is closed it will never come back ever" is a thing we have to deal with. |
__________________
- "Ernest Hemingway once wrote that the world is a fine place and worth fighting for. I agree with the second part." - Detective Sommerset - "Stupidity does not cancel out stupidity to yield genius. It breeds like a bucket-full of coked out hamsters." - The Oatmeal - "To the best of my knowledge the only thing philosophy has ever proven is that Descartes could think." - SMBC |
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#353 |
Nitpicking dilettante
Deputy Admin Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Berkshire, mostly
Posts: 43,991
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The thinking I'm assuming is that they've probably had to wait for this suggestion, and if they try this action and it doesn't work, they're back at the end of the queue again; they want to know how to deal with any failure of the action plan immediately.
I've been in the middle of this situation many times; an action plan from the lab team which assumes the fix will work, while the customer (or often a field engineer) has experience that suggests it may well not, and they don't want to wait the couple of days or more to know what to do next. Often we're talking about a remote site with significant travel time, so any delay is a real pain. This probably doesn't fit what arthwollipot is talking about, but it is a real concern in some cases. |
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The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, and wiser people so full of doubts.Bertrand Russell Zooterkin is correct Darat Nerd! Hokulele Join the JREF Folders ! Team 13232 Ezekiel 23:20 |
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#354 |
Observer of Phenomena
Pronouns: he/him Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Location, Location
Posts: 64,621
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Yes, I was, but the thing I was referring to was receiving an autoreply when sending email to the Service Desk. It's a purely mechanical response that happens automatically. It just doesn't not work. If you don't get an autoreply, you've sent your email to the wrong address.
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Self-described nerd. Pronouns: He/Him My mom told me she tries never to make fun of people for not knowing something. - Randall Munroe |
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#355 |
Observer of Phenomena
Pronouns: he/him Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Location, Location
Posts: 64,621
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Here's one that annoys me. We receive an email - which is already not a good idea for urgent jobs - saying that they have a particular problem. I have a fix, which they can perform themself, and I also know that I (or another agent) will need to remote access the workstation if it doesn't work. So I send them an email reply saying "Please do [blah], and if you're still having a problem after doing this, phone the service desk on the following number". Almost immediately another email arrives saying "Yes, I've already done that."
So now my question becomes - do I send another email saying "Please phone the service desk on the following number"? I really want to. I really really want to. But I won't. I'll phone them. Because of course I will. |
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Self-described nerd. Pronouns: He/Him My mom told me she tries never to make fun of people for not knowing something. - Randall Munroe |
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#356 |
Penultimate Amazing
Join Date: Aug 2007
Posts: 39,570
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#357 |
Self Employed
Remittance Man Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Florida
Posts: 21,125
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__________________
- "Ernest Hemingway once wrote that the world is a fine place and worth fighting for. I agree with the second part." - Detective Sommerset - "Stupidity does not cancel out stupidity to yield genius. It breeds like a bucket-full of coked out hamsters." - The Oatmeal - "To the best of my knowledge the only thing philosophy has ever proven is that Descartes could think." - SMBC |
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#358 |
Observer of Phenomena
Pronouns: he/him Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Location, Location
Posts: 64,621
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__________________
Self-described nerd. Pronouns: He/Him My mom told me she tries never to make fun of people for not knowing something. - Randall Munroe |
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#359 |
So far, so good...
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: On the outskirts of Nowhere; the middle was too crowded
Posts: 3,363
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__________________
Over we go.... |
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#360 |
Observer of Phenomena
Pronouns: he/him Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Location, Location
Posts: 64,621
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__________________
Self-described nerd. Pronouns: He/Him My mom told me she tries never to make fun of people for not knowing something. - Randall Munroe |
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