I am the Antman

How interesting to bump into this thread. Like going back in time.
Welcome back!

EDIT: It seems your friend has been banned though. I wonder why.
 
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chuckle. The bump served its purpose.

We knew him as Dokie. To the best of my knowledge, he has been banned from every forum he ever joined. Good at heart and well meaning, I suppose. Much like a cheese grater - or a google search for 'cheese grater'.

A mutual 'friend' tricked me into registering just to brighten an otherwise lovely day. Instead of providing a link, she left a trail of breadcrumbs. I do not recall the details, but the 'celery and yam' reference was my signal that I figured out the clues (hence, the remark "LOL You're clever"). School marms and sysadmins are a twisted lot.

In another lifetime, I was quite active in tech support forums. My tongue has been burned of the taste. The time investment is high, the reward lower with each passing year. I am retired and have a 10 year old daughter who occupies more of my than I have. We run with a posse of about 22 other kids. These days, I repair more bicycles than databases.

Dokie was correct in one regard - I prefer the more obscure problems. That's why I search for aging unanswered posts. The difficulty is finding the truly unanswered. Replies are not resolutions.

How do y'all handle the tough threads?
 
The thread makes a bit more sense now.
It depends on the nature of the thread:
  • If it's a very specific problem, I tell the person to go to another forum. A simulation software problem comes to mind, where a simulation was failing for some reason, and I had never even heard of the software before.
  • When it's a problem we should know how to solve, I wait for someone else to answer. If no one does, I try to answer myself. Usually the person that asked the question has moved on to another forum by then, and never returns, which is why I tend not to wait for too long.
  • If it's a problem we can't solve, I tell the person to call tech support or RMA it. For example a flickering screen that doesn't stop malfunctioning even after reinstalling drivers and cleaning the computer from malware, or maybe an evidently defective component.
  • When it's a problem that has been solved over and over, I tell the person to use Google.
It usually doesn't get any tougher than that.
The last thread I had trouble with, I ended up chatting with the person in real-time, since the thread was getting too long and going nowhere. We spoke for a bit and then he left. I still haven't heard back from him.
 
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