Sysadmin summoned to explain italics – to a user with at least two degrees
What an idiot
In this edition of On Call, we feature Darwin, once a sysadmin for a prestigious Wall Street law firm. Darwin was updating a PC when a secretary called, informing him that the lawyer required immediate assistance with Outlook. The secretary returned, explaining that the lawyer insisted on Darwin's presence. Darwin quickly made his way to the lawyer's office.
The lawyer described the issue: "All of these letters are slanted." Darwin responded, "That's called italics," only to witness the lawyer's frustration. The lawyer, who held Ivy League and business degrees, demanded to know the cause of italics. Darwin showed him the italics icon, but later noticed the lawyer's secretary hiding her laughter.
The story highlights the unexpected reactions of highly educated individuals when faced with technical issues.
Written by urgent.news from The Register Software's reporting — not their text. Machine-written; read the original for the full account.
