Tech Support Comedy
 | The topic of this article may not meet Wikipedia's general notability guideline. (September 2009) |
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Type of site | Humor, Message Boards, Online virtual community |
|---|---|
| Owner | Hawk |
| Created by | Hawk |
| URL | http://www.techcomedy.com/ |
| Commercial | No |
Tech Support Comedy, or TSC, is a website dedicated to frustrated tech support workers from all over the world and the customers they deal with constantly. It was created by member Hawk, an ex-Tech Support worker, in March of 2000, originally as a web comic, but quickly grew into a bulletin board for reader submissions, and soon added the ability for members to comment on the submissions. Since then, the site has grown in both membership and content daily, with over 9,000 members and more than 60,000 story submissions. To date, TSC is the largest online community of IT workers found anywhere on the web.
Submissions to TSC include Tech Stories, Customer Misconceptions, Tech Support Rules, Customer Types, Co-worker Types, Customer E-mails, End User Phrase of the Day (or "EUPOTD"), Tech Songs, Cool Links, SoapBox, and finally Tech Calls, where actual calls to tech support can be heard. Also, an IRC chatroom exists: channel #TSC on the Nightstar IRC network. Membership in the IRC channel is open to all; it is not restricted to members of the site.
Access to most TSC content is unrestricted. Everyone may view it, but only members may add comments, or submit content. What you can submit, and how you can submit it is determined by your level of membership, which is separated into two levels. These levels are Regular Membership (a free membership), and Star Membership (given to members who have made a monetary donation to the site). While all members may post stories, tech support rules, customer misconceptions, customer and co-worker types, e-mails, EUPOTD's (End User Phrase of the Day), and cool links (see below for further details on each type) only Star Members may use HTML formatting when doing so. Star members also gain the ability to post Tech Songs, full access to the complete archive of Tech Calls and ability to post to the SoapBox, a specific area on the main page that everyone can see.
Star members
Star Members have special privileges:
- Ability to
- Post to the SoapBox
- Post Tech Songs
- Post a Cool Link of the Day
- Include a signature in each post
- Use HTML code in posts
- Access to
- Full Tech Calls archive
Also, Star Members' nicknames are preceded by a small yellow star icon.
One-year Star Memberships are granted to members who give a monetary donation to the site. These donations help to maintain the site. After a year has passed, a Star Member reverts to a Regular Membership. There are two levels of Star Memberships:
- USD$20
- Includes all Star Member benefits
- USD$35
- Includes all Star Member benefits
- Includes most recent TSC Star Member T-shirt
However, the T-shirt option has recently been temporarily suspended.
TSC Submissions
The following is a list of the various types of submissions.
Cool Links
Links can be posted on TSC to be shared. These often consist of items to be discussed, new and different technologies, cartoon strips that showcase techs, or anything else the tech might find interesting and worthy of posting. The most recent post in this category appears below the other postings of the day on the front page. Only star members are allowed to post in this category.
Co–worker Types
This section holds descriptions of co-workers who fall into a particular, and often very irritating, category. The most vexatious, unendurable and thoroughly vile, earning no respect, are called "co-irkers," a reflection of their power - which they often show - to irritate one.
Customer Misconceptions
As the name implies, these are misconceptions that the customers have regarding tech support, which are often vastly different than the reality or possibility of a given situation.
Customer Types
Similar to the Co-Worker Type, these are customer types that tech support often finds irritating or otherwise difficult to deal with.
E-mails
E-mails that are (often unintentionally) funny, or only give the tech support personnel the most generic information or problem description, such as "my printer has a problem," without providing any information whatsoever about the printer or the problem, or "I can send, but not receive e-mail. Help!" without an alternate form of contact.
EUPOTD
EUPOTD stands for "End-User Phrase of the Day". These are usually short posts (traditionally only a few lines), consisting of things that were said to the tech that are usually unintentionally hilarious.
SoapBox
Only the most recent soapbox post is shown on the front page. When a new soapbox post is made, the previous one is permanently deleted. Also, soapbox posts do not have a comments system, so usually when a member wants to comment on or expand the current post, they copy the contents, append to it, and submit a new post. Only star members can post to the soapbox.
Stories
Traditionally longer stories that involve a humorous or unexpected ending. These include some elements of the other types of submissions, but in greater detail.
Tech Support Rules
Usually short, to the point, rules that techs often would like to post in a public and conspicuous place, for customers to read and follow.
Tech Songs
These are lyrics to songs written by TSC members, usually tech-themed parodies of well-known songs. Only star members can submit a post in this category.
TSC Community
Tech Support Comedy members pride themselves on being a strong, close knit community. To this end, they have not only provided tech support to each other, but also emotional support when needed (see karma request section below), whether through submissions, comments, the TSC Forum, chat rooms, or even real world meetings, including group "BBQ's".
Murphy's Law
Murphy's Law states "If something can go wrong, it will, and at the worst possible time." Virtually all members of TSC have come to learn about Murphy's Law and all its numerous derivations, either through experience, or through the stories of others. There are other deviations that have been added through the years, such as:
- "If there are several things that can go wrong, the one that will cause the worst damage will occur."
- "A person's printer will always jam the morning something important is due."
- "If a system is built that is foolproof, then only fools will use it."
- "The chances of a problem occurring are inversely proportional to the proximity of the person who can fix it." (Alternatively: "The one day an expert on a problem is out sick will be the same day that problem occurs")
- "There is never such a thing as 'just one more question.'"
These laws, and all corollaries, variations, etc., are considered required reading for anyone entering Tech Support. Many people who have several years of experience often add different laws or corollaries when they have had several years of experience.
Privacy on TSC
It should be noted that when users submit anything to TSC, they make it a point to alter any names, e-mail addresses or other identifying information on the posting to something generic. This is done to guard the privacy of those concerned in the post. For example, techs that post to TSC often change their own names to their usernames, replace the name of other parties to starfish, or EU, and obliterate the e-mail address and/or phone numbers to something that deliberately leads nowhere. Place of employment is often purposefully omitted or otherwise altered into something very basic and unidentifiable, since a number of companies frown upon any discussion of internal events, and doing so can potentially result in disciplinary action should the company discover and identify the person making the post.
Karma Requests
Occasionally, a tech may be going through difficulties in their life or job in one form or another, and put in a karma request. These requests provide a show of support and solidarity for fellow techs, since at other times, that tech may have given karma to another in a previous request that was made. Often each person has their own unique way of providing karma, and can also provide any advice or assistance as requested/needed. Not only does it show the aforementioned support, but it can also help serve to cheer up the tech who posted the request, since the karma delivery can often be done in a very humorous way. Traditionally, after the trouble passes, the tech makes a follow-up post, thanks all who helped, and symbolically returns any unused karma.