Good answer :) Hen
On Sun, 23 May 2004, Marta Edie wrote: > Now Kay, the first thing I learned about computers is that they cannot > essentially be called "dumb",because they have no proper life status, > but have in their inside an enormous amount of data and programs which > very intelligent, often geniuses, but always very dedicated, > persevering and people with a vision have put into them. Therefore > they are marvellous boxes whose secrets, however, need to be unlocked > by us users who might be dumb in unlocking them. But in a maze of so > much information and interplay going on while we play around with the > boxes, just like in our finetuned bodies, things can go wrong and need > to be fixed. If I cut myself severely, well I can hold the flow of > blood for a while with a bandage, but finally I need the thing sewed > up. Good for us if we are clever enough to manage to have a bandaid > available, good for us if we have -in the computer world, a way around > the problem, but if we all just did that, ultimately nothing would get > fixed. Therefore, first I try to fix things myself, that's what my > godgiven intelligence demands from me. If I cannot, then I turn to my > good friends who might be able to help with their suggestions -often > two clicks will fix the matter, and if all fails, I turn to a > professional who will charge me, because he makes his living that way. > But the last action is , due to the help of the many in the group, my > last resort. From your writing ( this is the second one giving the > computer industry and Apple a mouthful) I must deduce you are in a hate > relationship with computers and use them just because they are a fact > of life you don't have much use for. Now for me they are a source of > great joy and while they can give lots of headaches like our beloved > friends in the flesh often do, too, we would never get rid of our > friends for a misunderstanding or while tempers flared, so we don't > throw computers against a wall, either.- You make in your other letter > reference to the patch that Apple ,in your words, FINALLY came up with. > You should instead of getting the digest version, get the mail as it > comes along in our group, for Jerry had already announced the coming of > the patch ( I sound religious here )and gave quick fixes for those who > could not wait. I waited, because I understand from my plumber that > quick fixes are just what they are, quick fixes for temporary relief)- > And would it not be better to wait a bit until somebody had really > tested the fix (here the patch) so that we could be confident it works? > Sometimes we need to get out of our "instant everything mode". As it is > always better to put one's energy in saving a relationship with a > friend, so it is always better to use one's energies to find solutions > for bugs in the computer system, in both endeavors we further our human > interconnectedness.- In my "invalide-mail" search, I have come up with > some answers I shall talk about ia separate mailing. > > Marta > On May 22, 2004, at 18:04, KR'sListMail wrote: > > > Hi- > > > > Marta wrote: > >> > >> Folks, here is my question: Recently, when I want to give my e-mail > >> address, the very same one I use for this account, in filling out a > >> form - like to the Washington Post, or another company, I have not > >> already been established with, it tells me my e-mail address is > >> invalid, I should enter a valid one. I called Insight on this, but > >> they > >> were of no help. Can anybody out there tell me what might be going on? > >> Marta > >> > >> > > Marta, > > > > The most important thing I have learned about computers, > > is that they are basically -->DUMB<---. > > > > There is no reason to think that a computer will work flawlessly on > > everything little thing on the web. Unless you are a webdesigner, or > > administrator, If you try to figure out everything that goes wrong > > with your computer, surfing the web, you will drive yourself crazy, > > (and in turn, everyone around you crazy) for trying to understand hows > > and whys of all the various ways, of the dumbness of a computers. > > > > In the future, Anytime you come across a problem like this? > > You need to trust yourself more. You need to learn when to prioritize > > the importance of the importance of problem-solving a computer issue. > > You need to ask yourself, How big of a problem is this? You need to > > accept, that when things don't go right with a machine > > and and learn to recognize, whether the issue, is this a BIG problem > > or a LITTLE problem? > > You need to determine, if it worth my time to figure it out? Or next, > > is it worth paying someone else to help me figure it out and fix it? > > Or... is there a way to find a workaround which can reach the goal? > > > > Those of us, that use machines all day in business, usually go the > > 3rd route, and look for a workaround, and learn to ignore dumb > > computer things like this. Looking to discover the cause of an error > > like this, takes more time than it is worth. However, if you want to > > be a good internet samaritan about this problem, you can always report > > the error to the webmaster at that website. Because, ultimately, they > > are the one you should turn to in a matter like this... > > > > Ok, given that, is how I approach situations like this... > > if you decide that this situation worth your time in understanding? > > In answer to your question about your email address error, as a > > designer, off the top of my head, here are some quickie reasons, and > > possibilities to what went wrong at this page: > > 1) Maybe the person that coded the webpage or script, made an error in > > code. > > 2) Maybe it is a machine interface problem. Maybe you are using a > > keyboard with a differenet ASCII set than the site needs to have (be > > sure you are using an American keyboard with a Western set, at an > > American input page > > 3) Maybe your java auto-script is adding an additional space or > > character to the > > entry area. (Always hand type in these kind of things...) > > 4) Or Maybe in the past, the website you are dealing with, has had > > problems with InsightBB.com people. Maybe someone was sending spam > > email into their service --and the webmaster decided to block that > > domain from registration at their site. > > > > The reality is--- WHO KNOWS! it could be any number of factors > > contributing to this error. > > > > So therefore, you have to determine, if it is a big enough problem for > > you to spend an extraordinary amount of time trying to figuring out > > the source of the problem -or finding a workaround to resolve it.. > > > > Bottom line, the Good thing is? You have already found a successful > > workaround (by using another email address) --and in the end this is > > all that matters! > > > > So I suggest you forget the webpage you had problems with, (they might > > dump it next week as soon as you get it worked out) and instead, go > > with the flow, and use the other email address you got to work as a > > user name, instead. > > > > Yours, > > Kay > > > > > > > > > > | The next meeting of the Louisville Computer Society will > > | be May 25. The LCS Web page is <http://www.kymac.org>. > > | List posting address: <mailto:macgroup at erdos.math.louisville.edu> > > | List Web page: <http://erdos.math.louisville.edu/macgroup> > > > > > > | The next meeting of the Louisville Computer Society will > | be May 25. The LCS Web page is <http://www.kymac.org>. > | List posting address: <mailto:macgroup at erdos.math.louisville.edu> > | List Web page: <http://erdos.math.louisville.edu/macgroup> > | The next meeting of the Louisville Computer Society will | be May 25. The LCS Web page is <http://www.kymac.org>. | List posting address: <mailto:macgroup at erdos.math.louisville.edu> | List Web page: <http://erdos.math.louisville.edu/macgroup>
