I- I- DON'T YOU GET PAID FOR THIS??

[bedlam14.livejournal.com]

Hi! New poster. I don't work in the field, but somehow I end up doing all the tech help for everybody- and then some. Just as frustrating, just as impossible to say something that'll get you fired uh killed uhmmmm- in an uncomfortable position, only without getting paid.

So, the 'everybody' part isn't so bad. The 'common people' are loyal and kind to their valiant knight that destroys the scourge of tech illiterates.

I'm tech help for my school paper. I also write articles and help out with page layouts. Pointless info for the lose. Whatever.

So, our 'adviser'- basically our boss, except she gets paid and we don't- got four, count them four brand-new, beautiful macs for the school paper. (For my sake, let's call our paper E!?, okay?) So, I join E!? this year, look at the macs, and feel bliss. It Will Be Good.

WRONG. Apparently I hadn't taken into consideration the fact that our boss adviser... hates computers. So I'm talking to my friend, Chief Editor M, and she says something along the lines of 'i need to use this horrible awful five-year-old mac to get onto our school server, wah ;-;'. Reasonably so- this THING, this monstrosity, this hatewad of DOOM1, is so old its keyboard is sticky. I go, 'eh? what are you talking about? why can't you use your New Shiny Loves to do what you need?'

Our adviser shouts back, 'YOU CAN'T GET ONTO THE SERVER FROM THEM, I TRIED, DON'T BOTHER' and then goes back to recording her grades by hand. I'm a little puzzled, because... um, why? So I get on, try to get onto the server, and: 'okay, i mounted the server.'

CEM is, obviously, overjoyed. So she then asks me if I can to to our Applied Media lab and get some pictures cropped by the school Tech High Honcho Godly Man W. I'm naturally a little puzzled. 'Uhm, don't all macs come with some kind of photo editing software pre-'

'WE DON'T HAVE ANY, DON'T BOTHER, I CHECKED' comes the sonorous tone of our adviser from her desk in the corner, along with the rickety skritching of a pencil on an old-fashioned gradebook. Having heard that song before, I go into applications and- ah! Glory! We won't have to bother the Great W. after all. Or go through insane contortions to get the pictures into our newspaper.

So, having solved these insane problems, most of which stemmed from a clueless teacher, I teach Chief Editor M. how to edit photos. She does well, obviously, not having, I don't know, I just- I don't know. So M. wants to save a picture. Asks me to do it, since she's scared to mess anything up. I find the file she wants it to be saved into, and-

WHAT

Okay. So. The school paper, E!?, started using digital images approximately five years ago. We come out with roughly four publications a year. The images were all uploaded into the same folder. Of course, right? NO. When I say the same folder, I mean- they're just dogpiled in there, from '02 to wonderful year '07 right now. That file is MASSIVE, and everything is crammed in there like some kind of sick Third World Exploitation Porno flick. Meanwhile, M. is fretting about making the file name memorable, so she'll be able to FIND IT. O_____O??? So I'm like, 'okay, errrr, you as an adviser fail at life so let's make a new file for this YEAR'S pictures, m'kay?'

At this point, apparently, the Regal and Terrible O. stands up for her stupidity? ignorance? god knows what! and insists that 'NO, IT WOULD MESS OUR ORGANIZATION UP'.

I'm like, 'what? how? these files are alphabetically order-'

'WE CAN DEAL WITH IT LATER, IF WE MUST' pronounces O., and it is done. Following that, I spent the two hours I could have used to organize the files by year and publication ...playing Orisinal games and eating a cookie. There was 'no job' for me, but god help me if I either tried to leave for home or

I could excuse the whole EPIC FAIL ADVISER thing, if not for the fact that O. is often seen interacting with Super Mac Expert Applied Media Master King Man, A., and he loves telling people how to do stuff. ANY stuff, especially mac 'stuff'. O. gets PAID for OUR work at the end of the year, while we get- what? I dunno', maybe a bonus point on our college apps?

I won't ask people to be gentle, since that always seems to rouse the great bloodlust of Teh Intarwebz. However... god, am I insane or is this a serious wtf? I mean, O. was sending her newspaper crew literally to the other side of our HUGE school (think Wayside Elementary, only the way it was SUPPOSED to be built) to get pictures digitally cropped. And those new macs were not getting used at all for an entire year, due to the staff's impression that they were broken and couldn't connect to the server. It's a mystery to me, personally, how the paper even got out in the first place! I- I- OH GOD WHAT.

Comments

[agilebrit.livejournal.com]

o.O

That "advisor" should be fired.

[bedlam14.livejournal.com]

Unfortunately for us and the munchkins younger incoming kids, she's also head of our English department.

In utter seriousness, though, I'm deeply concerned for the kids that will be in charge of the paper next year. We're all seniors- the Chief Editor, M., the page layout girls, S., K., and myself- and the new girls aren't showing up to learn how to do any of this. So... they don't know how to do any of the stuff they need to- especially given our adviser doesn't help and is in fac a hindrance. 9__9

[hopefulnebula]

From a cannon. Into the sun.

[bedlam14.livejournal.com]

=D sounds fun! My physics class can help with the calculations, if you so desire!

[canray.livejournal.com]

I like Schlock's definition of Fired.

[lihan161051.livejournal.com]

It's amazing what people can talk themselves out of when they convince themselves that what they want to do can't be done. Even if it's not pure laziness with a little bit of Luddite impulse thrown in.

This gets very close to the people who spend more time telling me how passionately they hate the product I'm trying to get working for them than they do actually condescending to follow instructions, and refusing to follow half of *those* because "I already tried that and it didn't work." Sometimes I wonder why they bought the system if they hate it with such a passion (and are such experts that they can second guess me on every single troubleshooting step!), sometimes they answer that question for me by telling me "that no good of mine gave me this thing for Christmas" or similarly delightful tales.

Occasionally I can get past that and get them to realize that it is actually functioning properly and they're just going about fixing it a completely bass-ackwards way that's not systematic at all and doesn't tell them squat about what's actually going on .. or, alternatively, get them to realize that the machine is in fact *not* functioning the way it's supposed to and if they just work with me it will soon be working better than they'd ever think it would. Most of the time it's pretty much hopeless if they've convinced themselves a major vendor would actually go out of their way to make their lives miserable.

A lot of people with this attitude seem to save up a particularly vicious type of hatred for Macs. For what that's worth. I'm sorry to hear your adviser is that effective at avoiding getting any useful service out of what's from most accounts a relatively decent OS/platform .. and likewise, firmly believe they should be fired but suspect they probably won't be ..

[canray.livejournal.com]

If they didn't buy the system, they wouldn't get the budget for the system.

If they didn't get the budget for the system, they wouldn't get a larger budget.

If they didn't get a larger budget, they wouldn't be able to have a "Whose Bigger" contest in the whereever.

[bedlam14.livejournal.com]

Ah, I don't know.... Applied Media, possibly THE smallest department EVER, consisting of one teacher, probably gets the biggest budget, especially for professional-quality programs, and equipment, and happy funtimes. Which is nice, for those of us interested in graphic design. XD

Don't get me wrong, though! The G3s we had to work with previously (when I refused to join) were utter and deeply terrible crap. Simply because they were so old, mind. It's a good thing that we have new computers, and I'm deeply glad of the fact. It's just the adviser that's the problem. ;-;

[bedlam14.livejournal.com]

I was going to say that she's just lazy, with no real malice, but we found out today that she cut a sentence out of somebody's article that was vital to her point, being, you know, the main point. Without even mentioning it to us, and leaving us to find it the day of publication and release. So. I don't know why she's so- resistant? Angry? Helpless? Maybe all three?

But yeah, she's always talking about how much she hates her brand new laptop the school gave her, and how she likes to do everything on paper, etc.,... I think she might actually just be technophobic, which is fine, as long as she gtfo's our tech issues and such. I mean, like you, I would be fine with her being helpless, if she would just let me do my 'job'. I particularly don't understand why she acts that way towards me if she's the one that got M. and S. to recruit me.

Case in point for "not systematic"- the menu systems, as I'm sure you're aware, totally changed from the G3s (what we had) to our new macs, which are G5s. She said she looked "in the same place"- but... there's no such thing. I'm just so frustrated with her, and M., our editor, is too.

I really think it's a mac thing too, because they are very nice computers. I agree with you on the hatred- I'm a fan of Macs, though I was 'raised' on Windows. The inane responses I'll get to my simple statement of "I love macs," are... my GOD. You'd have thought that I'd just said I like to watch Pokemon for three hours before coming to school. There's mingled pity and disgust, buuut- the clincher- is when I ask if they've actually ever used any macs. I'm sure you know that the general response is either 'no' or 'once about five years ago to check my e-mail'.

Thanks for your kind words. It's nice to know I'm not alone in dealing with such utter madness. Since we're packaging our newspaper, too, and sending to the printers all ready, macs are really the best tool for the job, so at least we have that small mercy.
As for firing her.... ha, fat chance. She's also the head of the English department, and has been for going on ten years. I wish.

[the-s-guy.livejournal.com]

Given that there's no pay involved, there's no real downside to being 'fired', right?

So why not take the advisor aside into a small room and quietly let her know that while you are happy to assist the school paper and provide occasional training and assistance to its personnel, if she continues to interfere with the technical side of the publication, you will be charging her, personally (not the paper or the school) standard industry rates for your time in fixing the damage she is causing.

Mention that standard industry rates for people with your level of knowledge about the school paper's computer systems are $90 an hour or any part thereof.

The worst she can do is 'fire' you, in which case you can simply advise the staff and head of the school of the new situtation, that you will no longer be providing free support, free service, free training etc, at the insistance of the advisor. After all, it's only fair to keep people up to date on such things. As a last free service, you might want to mention the standard industry rates that other people will be likely to charge from this point onwards. Don't say which of the paper or the school would be paying this (after all, that's not your decision); let them assume the worst.

You might be surprised to find that shortly afterwards, you're asked to come back and reassume all technical roles for the paper. Make sure to hold out for absolute local authority in all matters technical, such that the advisor cannot overrule you at their whim (but allowing for the higher school authorities to retain the impression that they can do so).

The worst that can happen is that you're out of a bad situation - it's not as if you're going to lose any pay over it, and either way you'll no longer be subjected to the advisor in that capacity.

[bedlam14.livejournal.com]

I agree with everything you say, and it sounds well-though-out and professional- but the sad fact is that I'm a high school senior and I will be losing something from being 'fired'- that is, an additional perk on my college apps. In the current cut-throat college 'industry', as a student, you have to grit your teeth and bare an awful lot- all for the sake of what you want to do with your life. I have high ambitions- vet school- and literally no money to get there with. The only way I'll get there is if I subjugate myself to this kind of misery. It's a sad fact of life, but for low-income students like myself, we have to take a lot more than other students would. I can't afford any of the SAT/SAT2 prep courses, I have to get free vouchers to take the test at all- if I don't have some insane references and roles on my app, I'm going to be a very sad girl come mailing time. (Also: I'm kind of thinking you're overestimating my tech skills, but thanks! $90/hr is a mind-boggling sum- is that really industry standard? =_=;;??)

However, that's not to say that I'm ungrateful for your generous and very professional-sounding advice. If I were in even a slightly better position, I would take it in a heartbeat. I also appreciate the fact that you took all the time you did to write it out and post it. I'm going to try and keep it in mind for situations where I'm not in such a tight squeeze. I think you've given me a very wise and multi-applicable piece of information, and for that, I thank you a great deal.

I do think I'm going to take a bit of your advice and insist on at least having a hand in future photo organization and such. I'm going to try and find out what process M. and S. are using so far- god only knows what technical shortcuts can be provided, given they didn't even know they had photo cropping available to them.

(Another sad bit is the fact that she's perfectly happy to simply cut out the technical bits of the paper, leaving her staff to work countless more hours with paste and paper blanks while she breezes in and out. M., S., and the others are all close friends- though O. asked me to come and help, I did it for their sakes.)

[jenny-islander.livejournal.com]

I've been in a similar fix, so my sympathies. Here's what I'd do:

1. Write a manual. Make it clear, easy, and step by step. DO NOT PUT YOUR NAME OR ANY IDENTIFYING INFO ANYWHERE ON IT.
2. Print multiple copies and put them somewhere where your Luddite advisor won't be likely to look. Also save it electronically, but call it something innocuous.
3. If this is at all easy in a Mac setup (of which I know nothing), type a short, frank explanation of the advisor problem, call it "Students Read This First," and save it in a Wingdings font. (I am referring to the special fonts that produce letter-sized smiley faces, weather symbols, etc., when you type.) Anybody who has ever played around with the fonts in their word processor will figure out how to translate it. This precludes your advisor figuring it out. (I went one step further, hiding an explanation of my crazy boss's nutso behavior and advice to GET OUT FAST in what looked like a typographical border around the title page.)
4. When you have gotten everything you need from these people, you can start putting "Wrote production manual for high school newspaper" on your resume.

[bedlam14.livejournal.com]

XDDDD I swear to god, this made me laugh so hard.
However, the problem with this is this: my entire high school has 1000 students in it. The senior class knows everybody else in it by name, first and last, and in the very rare instances when they don't, their friend does. So, then, while I think I WILL write a 'production and organization' manual- great advice, thanks!- I don't think anonymity is a possible route for me (most likely because, on our current newspaper staff, I very well might be the only one to know about wingdings. =__=). Also, if everybody quits, there will be no more E?! paper. Which also makes me a sad girl, but not as sad as a girl without a college to call her own.

However, thanks so much for the laugh, and the great idea about a production manual! Please don't laugh at me when I show up next week with my tail between my legs, having been thoroughly debased, ready to take both pieces of advice offered from both persons. TT____TT