THE SOUL is shaped by words, images, & experiences.

THIS BLOG is about those things that have left their impression on me. I'd love for you to comment on what affects you.
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Saturday, January 5, 2008

Techspeak

2B/-2B=? ?/? tz NBLR in the MND 2 SUFR the )) & -> -> of #*! 4tune.


For over two weeks, we've not been able to send any emails from our Bigfoot address. After contacting our internet server provider ("ISP" in their jargon) I've been ping-ponged between them and our mail server, hit with advice in the form of acronyms I cannot decipher. They use terms such as SMTP, SPF, and TXT. (STP, I know. It is a brand of motor oil.) I've pleaded with these people to give us the solution to our problem in simple lay terms, but expressing themselves in anything other than their lingo seems beyond their capability. There lies a gulf of knowledge between us, and neither party can cross over to the other side. I'm waiting on my programmer son to bridge the gap.

In the meantime, see if you can decipher the two abbreviated lines of a famous play (in red, above).



4 comments:

dot said...

This is the famous line from Shakespeare's Hamlet.

Another, almost comical, "gulf" to this frustrating techspeak is when technical assistance is outsourced to "offshore" companies— When I call the MacHelp desk at work, I'm connected to someone with a thick accent in India!

Anonymous said...

You guessed it. But only because you already know the soliloquy. If Hamlet were an obscure play, you probably would not be able to decipher the code. Proving my point. How can I know what an SMTP is, if I don't know what it stands for?

Anonymous said...

Yay! Email problem fixed. Simple solution that took less than a minute. A solution supplied by Alex. (Even he was appalled at the runaround & gobbledygook our server gave us.)

Answer to my riddle:
"To be or not to be, that is the question. Whether tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune." From Shakespeare's Hamlet.

Lori said...

Yeah, I've had go-rounds in the past that have nearly driven me to gouge various electronic devices with dull steak knives. A recent call to Apple Care was great though. They told me what to do ("Click the _____ under the menu________. Type in AKJ3495JGWOI5650 etc.), I followed instructions and YAY! Problem solved. :) Step-by-step is lovely!