altivo

First some good news: FurRag.com has been updated to a new shiny look and is no longer Beta. All the same authors and stories are still there for your enjoyment, but framed in a new and shinier site.

Now the nuisances: Got to work to find almost immediately that something glitched in our public internet access control system. The usage tracker database didn't turn over last night, so people who had used up their maximum daily time allotment (generally an hour) on Thursday were not being allowed to log on. Naturally, those who use their maximum time every day are the ones most likely to be obnoxious and obstreperous about something like that. Turned out to be a bug introduced by the vendor when they installed an upgrade yesterday, but it took them until noon to correct it. I have to ask, though, where the notion come from that an hour of internet access on public equipment is somehow a god-given right? Yes, we put computers with internet access into the libraries (against my strong inclinations and recommendations) but it was to allow use of the internet for information gathering, not game playing, chat rooming, and looking at you-boob videos. And before you start screeching at me about "taxpayer money" let me point out that the computers and software in this particular library are paid for by a private foundation, using money from bequests and endowments, and NOT by taxpayer money at all. Your taxes bought all those stupid books by Tim LaHaye and the dumb kung fu movies, but not the computers. So if you aren't satisfied with the quality of internet access here, tough, kid. Go buy your own computer and pay for your own phone line or whatever. And don't start in on me about your taxes paying my salary either. I'll be happy to refund the ten cents that is your share of what I made last year. If you want my sympathy, give me a raise. Or better yet, some time off.

The snow and ice is gone from the roads now, so of course the idiots are back to their usual stuff. Like the jerk who tailgated me for five miles out of town tonight as I was going home, since I was only traveling at the legal speed limit and not ten mph over it. He waited to pass me until he was in a double-yellow striped no passing zone, with a semi coming toward us in the other lane. By that time he was approaching the flashing red light at Kishwaukee Valley Rd. anyway and still had to stop. Total jerk.

Current Mood: discontent
Current Location: Home in the oak grove

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

alexfvance.livejournal.com

You beat me to the announcement :)

And after a Friday like that, I wish you a nic weekend. Take it easy!

From:

kakoukorakos.livejournal.com

There's always downgrading all the browsers to Lynx!

If library internet usage could be shaped a bit better, it would be in-line with the purposes of public libraries. As nice as printed books are to handle, electronic information is easier to keep current and (arguably) harder to destroy if managed well. Nothing pissed me off more than finding missing books or ones that had missing/clipped pages or other damage. Disseminating the information electronically makes it more accessible and more impervious to destructive/selfish/careless whims of patrons, while allowing libraries to keep the gems of their collections safer in archives. I guess there's just a balance to be achieved, but I would like to see more technology to keep libraries at the bleeding edge of information technology.

From:

songdogmi.livejournal.com

Whoever invented the phrase "the customer is always right" and then drilled it into everyone's heads for several decades really should've been ... well, quashed. It only unleashed a tyranny of ungrateful boobs on the people trying to serve them.

And if their tax dollars bought Left Behind books, then they deserve non-functional Internet. <evil grin>

From:

altivo.livejournal.com

I only wish I could take it easy. But at least I don't have to think about work for a day or two.

From:

altivo.livejournal.com

Oh would I ever love to downgrade the browsers to Lynx. Or maybe just on particular accounts...

The trouble with the bleeding edge is that, well, it bleeds. And it doesn't always work. And that makes people even harder to deal with, because it's always MY fault. Frankly, I would chuck all those computers right into the trash without any hesitation for that precise reason. I'm a librarian because I love and respect the printed word and the effort of those who write it. I'm a librarian because I am good at organizing and categorizing information. I'm a librarian because I enjoy doing those things, and also have a capacious memory that helps me to quickly answer questions or find the answers.

I do not have the patience to teach people how to use a mouse or how to read the attachments on their e-mail. I do not enjoy spending my time trying to build computer systems that total idiots can use without learning anything and without breaking them. I am not interested in having to devote money and hours to protecting systems from malicious people who build spyware and viruses or who try to take control of parts of my network to use them as launching pads for their misdeeds. I utterly hate wasting my time on that stuff. It's bad enough that I have to hand out Tim LaHaye's garbage novels or Sean Hannity's ravings on request. I draw the line at helping people to use MySpace or YouTube. Popular culture is crap. (I don't believe it is my job to teach people to read, either, so why should I have to teach them to use a computer? I deliberately chose NOT to be a teacher.)

From:

altivo.livejournal.com

Unfortunately we have to spend their tax dollars on the things they ask for repeatedly, and LaHaye is one of those things, along with Ann Coulter and Tim O'Reilly. The large numbers of people who demand that those trash items be kept on the shelves are often also dedicated to keeping Darwin and innumerable children's authors off the shelves and out of the hands of anyone who might want to read them. It's a constant battle.

From:

kakoukorakos.livejournal.com

Probably the best solution to that is to do what the tiny county public library here handles the situation...they have a local guy who teaches computer literacy classes. Now they might also have someone on-staff who helps on the fly, but that shouldn't be necessary...just hang a big sign that makes it clear to patrons that the computers are for their convenience and computer activities are unsupported by staff, but if they need help they can sign up for classes.

From:

altivo.livejournal.com

We tried that a couple of years ago. The only people who signed up for lessons were the utterly unteachable ones. Signage and policy statements don't help. People only read what they choose to, and pay attention to even less. For instance, we have signs all over stating that cell phones are not to be used in the library itself, but may be used in the lobby or the rest rooms. Result? Totally ignored, with hostility and threats made to staff who try to enforce it.

During tax season, large signs over all internet connected computers advise people that they should NOT try to file their taxes on those machines. It isn't secure enough, and most will run out of time before they finish the job and get logged off. Results: 1) They still come to the desk and say "I heard I can do my taxes on the internet and I want someone to show me how," and 2) When they persist in the attempt after being told that we don't support it and the reasons why, their time runs out in the middle and they throw a fit and make threats.

It's like the constant battle over library cards. We are funded by taxes imposed only on city residents. People from outside the city limits are contributing nothing to the operating costs of the library, and therefore if they want a library card they have to pay for it. That's a state law in fact. The pricing is even set by state law, and is based on the average taxes paid for library service by a city homeowner. If they pay that amount, they and all residents at their address can have library cards for a year. Somehow this is just incomprehensible. "Libraries are FREE! How dare you try to charge me money? This is a rip-off. You're robbing my children of their rights. I pay taxes." No amount of explanation makes any difference to them. Some become physically abusive and have to be removed by the police even.

From:

songdogmi.livejournal.com

Believe me, I've been lamenting that sort of thing for a long time. We thought it was bad when the worst examples were authors like Judith Krantz. Now, those look like the good old days.

"Now now," I tell myself, "Remember Rosenberg's first law of reading: Never apologize for your reading taste." I'm not sure Ms. Rosenberg would've been able to stand by that for LaHaye and Coulter and O'Reilly, though.

From:

octatonic.livejournal.com

I sent something to Furag about ten million years ago and I guess they
still have it somewhere.

This is why Furry isn't exactly a big wheel in publishing.

*facepaws*

I'll confine my submissions to Harper Collins or my agent or
TOR or such from not on.

I love furry but...geeze, you can make more money picking
up cans on the side of the road than any kind of furry work.

From:

altivo.livejournal.com

Um??? FurRag isn't a publisher. It's just a web site for sharing stories.

Sofawolf and BadDogBooks are publishers.

Yeah, I agree you aren't going to make money on furry stuff. Or at least, you aren't likely to yet, though I suspect a few writers might be starting to get a little side income.

From:

cabcat.livejournal.com

Ahh it's been one of those days I see. The bane of all people working for public organisations. As to the jerk dude, try not to get worked up, for me its an everyday occurance.