While the majority of the feedback we get about Computer Stupidities is positive, semi-frequently we get email from people who are offended at the idea of a web site devoted to laughing at people just because they aren't proficient with technology. One email said, sarcastically, "I enjoyed your stories that make fun of and belittle people who haven't devoted their lives to mastering every aspect of the computer world."

This concern is, I believe, misapplied here. Computer Stupidities is not about making fun of people who are earnestly trying to learn about computers and technology. The stories about such people are not intended to be derogatory at all, though there are derogatory stories about people who have committed much greater offenses than mere ignorance.

The majority of the anecdotes on Computer Stupidities fall into one of four categories, which I will discuss individually below.

• Learning Mistakes

  Nobody is born with innate knowledge of computers and technology. But let's face it: sometimes things that occur during the learning process are humorous. If nobody tells you what it means to "right click," nobody should expect you to know. But if you misinterpret the meaning in a comical way ("write 'click'"), hey, it's funny. Laugh. If people take themselves so seriously that they can't laugh at themselves now and again, they deserve the affront when others do. Not convinced? At least one of the anecdotes on Computer Stupidities (I seem to remember there is more than one, but I don't remember for sure) is about me. And while most of the anecdotes admittedly come from exasperated tech support personnel, several -- most not explicitly marked as such -- were related to me by the perpetrators themselves.

  Frequently, I receive submissions for Computer Stupidities come off to me as snide and elitist. A submitted anecdote might, for example, ridicule a novice computer user for not understanding an advanced concept, or for asking a perfectly legitimate question. I do not accept these submissions.

  But most of the submissions I receive are from tech support personnel who understand that the people who call them with problems are the ones that keep them employed. They might be amused or exasperated, but neither equates to haughty superiority.

• Professional Mistakes

  Other stories on Computer Stupidities, though are about people that should know better: professionals in the industry. Whole pages are devoted to stories about clueless tech support personnel, salespersons, and computer programmers. Many of these stories are about ignorance of things the average layperson doesn't need to know, but they're perpetrated by people that should know better. If someone is hired by a retail store as a salesperson of computers, he darn well better know something about the products he's selling. If someone is hired by a company as a computer programmer, he darn well better know some basics about programming. It may not be funny if a regular old Joe Schmoe doesn't know he can't initialize memory off the end of an array, but if someone who is paid money to know better does it, it's much more of an ignominy.

  A derogatory slant on these types of stories would not be undeserved, particularly in cases where such people negatively impact others with false information and poor service. But most of the stories about such people on Computer Stupidities are more aghast in tone than blatantly insulting.

• Common Sense Lapses

  Other stories are about people who are not merely ignorant but lack common sense. Most of the section entitled The Bleeding Obvious is made up of these types of stories. There's no excuse for cleaning a keyboard by washing it in the tub, nor is there an excuse for installing hardware by forcibly wedging it somewhere it clearly does not fit, especially if you're breaking off pins or sanding away circuitry to do so.

  For these stories too, a derogatory tone would not be undeserved, but on Computer Stupidities, astonishment and/or exasperation tends to prevail over derision.

• Belligerent Ignorance

  By far the most derogatory stories are about people who are ignorant and belligerent about their ignorance. There are a lot of stories about people who are not simply clueless but insist that they are not. When things go wrong that are their own faults, they call up tech support personnel and yell at them and threaten to sue and insist that everybody in the world is at fault but themselves. I have no respect for such people. They aren't on the road to learning; they're actively refusing to tread upon it. Worse, they are insulting and disrespectful to others in the process. Any derogatory slant in these stories, I am utterly unapologetic about.

Most of the stories, though, fall into the first category of relatively innocent but humorous misunderstandings. Let's not take ourselves so seriously that we can't laugh at some of the steps we take on the road to enlightenment. Life is short.