Not that anyone races to the stodgy <i>Wall Street Journal</i> for tech info <i>anyway</i> but it's recent <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118539543272477927.html?mod=fpa_mostpop" target="new">article</a> about how to circumvent a company's IT department policies made lots of people angry, including <a href=http://bmighty.com/ebusiness/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=201800060 target="new">yours truly</a>.

InformationWeek Staff, Contributor

August 17, 2007

1 Min Read

Not that anyone races to the stodgy Wall Street Journal for tech info anyway but it's recent article about how to circumvent a company's IT department policies made lots of people angry, including yours truly.(I tried to read some of the responses to the article at WSJ online. After a lengthy search, I found some, but they were, maddeningly, held just beyond reach behind the "subscribers only" wall. There is no way I'm paying to read a newspaper online.)

Now, WSJ writer Vauhini Vara seems to be eating crow, in a very subtle, dignified, WSJ way, of course. How else to explain her follow up article, a mere two weeks later, titled "Helping the IT Department Help You"? Which one is it, Ms. Vara? Should we mess with the IT department or help it?

Not that there's much in this article that will be of much help. Is there anyone out there that still doesn't know how to create a secure password? (Hint: Don't use the word password.)

And here's the advice on how to get a quick answer from the IT department: "Instead, offer some basic information right when you request help: What were you doing when "X" did something unexpected? Did it give you any error messages? If so, what were they? When did it happen and how long has it been going on? Can you make it do it again? By when do you need the help?"

Hey I read an even better suggestion, and it comes from a commenter on Lifehacker, which links to the original WSJ article. "Don't piss off your IT team. They can make you miserable. Trust me."

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