'IT Manager' Needed Tech Support Because They Had Never Heard Of A Command Line
The Register, Friday, September 12th, 2025
The very premise on which The Register is built is that our readers know quite a lot about information technology, and that stories featured each Friday in On Call - our weekly tales of your support experiences - therefore reflect your working lives.
We mention the above because this week's On Call, sent by a reader we'll Regomize as "Jack," involves a supposed IT manager who was startlingly ignorant of basic technologies.
Jack's tale comes from his time working at a large western country's tax office.
"I lovingly called it 'Idiots R uS' while I worked there," he told On Call (yes, the odd capitalization in that quote is a clue).
In Jack's telling, this tax office never hired managers from outside the organization. "They rose from new hires, most of whom are only required to have passed high school," he wrote. "Those who learn the 'Survivor Method' - Outwit, Outlast, Outplay - can become a manager in a few years."