Re: a good mail server

[Peter Hessler <phessler@theapt.org>]

On Sunday 02 June 2002 07:22 pm, Joshua Steele wrote:
> Not a 100% blown sys admin, but they need to be aware of certain
> things like opening attachments from strangers, etc. and keeping
> there virus definitions up to date (not too offten seen in the corp.
> environment anymore)  Most things can be prevented if the person is
> somewhat aware of what they are doing, which alot of people do not,
> and basically just blunder around on the computer using WORD and
> EXCEL.  This also goes back to the whole password guessing issue's
> that stil plage most networks oneway or the other, but thats not
> really email related.  One thing that really does get on my nerves is
> tech support personnel who only fix the problem, and don't explain to
> the reg. users how to avoid the problem in the future.
>
> To sum it up:
>
> "Knowledge is to share, not to hoard."  -nick holland
>
/snip/

I do tech support.  Both internal, and phone.  There are some complete 
/retards/ on both sides.  The only way that we can get some points 
across is to threaten people with baseball bats.  We've only had to do 
it twice.  Both times people were causing file locks and database 
corruption, regardless of how many times we tell them to stop.  It's 
simple things.  Do "A" and the server will bomb.  They keep doing "A".  
We talk to them with the fires of hell burning in our eyes, while we 
hold a baseball bat, and they get the picture.

I try to educate my users, but sometimes they just don't get the 
picture.

For fragile systems (such as the one I work with), you don't want the 
users to try anything.  You want them to follow instructions.  If your 
system does "A" do the following.  If it does "B" /STOP/ and get one of 
us.  As long as the user can follow instructions, and not try to be 
smarter than the sysadmin, life is grand.

-- 
Peter Hessler
<phessler@theapt.org>