Rodent Regatta

Time was you just called somebody on the phone when you had a problem. Talking a bit, your problem might be solved over the phone. Otherwise, dispatching began and help was on the way.

Rev. 2.0 of this phenomenon involved a call center. With a call center came two things to help the call center—not the customers. Hold queues lined your call up in a straight line, no talking. Voicemail said, “talk now, but make it snappy, we’re very busy.”

Rev. 3.0 emerged from the bowels of the world wide web. We have trouble tickets and we have a forum. Type your problems and perhaps some kind soul will be watching. If you’re lucky, the spectator will be someone who has experienced something similar or knows the answer to your problem. Otherwise, you wait.

I’m snarled in the tangles of three hosting companies, five forums, three trouble ticket systems and six domains with email addresses. I have successfully created a condition in which none of the email addresses will work, none of the hosts can send me email and from roughly 3a.m. this morning (we’re now at 1p.m.) the condition has only grown worse.

Isn’t technology progressive!