On Wed, Apr 19, 2006 at 01:00:39PM -0400, Khepri wrote:
>
> Also, Windows users are coming from a world of support that was paid for
> and in which every question is answered. This is what they are
> conditioned to expect. True, there are Linux distros out there that have
> support, but it must be acknowledged that most Windows users attempting
> to switch are probably going to try a free (AIB) distro first...The
> point being that paid support doesn't answer question with RTFM or look
> it up yourself.
That's a common misconception -- that paid support answers all
questions.
>From a conversation with Comcast tech support yesterday:
"My emails are bouncing because the IP address Comcast has assigned to
me is being spam-blacklisted. I want to know why."
[snip]
"No, I can't install the free McAfee Security Suite you offer, and don't
need it in any case. I'm running Linux here."
[snip]
"I'm sorry, we only support Windows."
"You mean to tell me that if there was a break in the fiber trunk
running under the street, you'd only fix it if everyone affected by it
was using Windows?"
Okay, so that's not directly relevant -- but it does illustrate the
point: support services will actively look for excuses to get out of
providing support. "Oh, we don't support that configuration." "No, I
can't help you because you're not using Internet Explorer." "You'll
have to pay $40 to submit a bug report, and we'll include the fix in the
next Windows version."
You're right, though: Microsoft support will never tell you RTFM.
Instead, they'll tell you it's user error and hang up, tell you how you
can spend yet more money to get no more help, or tell you that you'll
have to deal with the PC vendor instead -- who in turn will tell you
that's a Windows problem, not a Dell problem.
I'm not saying that RTFM is always the "right" answer. I'm just saying
that these unfavorable comparisons to Microsoft and its ilk are usually
nothing but wishful thinking.
-- Chad Perrin [ CCD CopyWrite | http://ccd.apotheon.org ] "A script is what you give the actors. A program is what you give the audience." - Larry Wall
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