Re: Client support, we've heard about it
I'm at an absolute loss as to why ACs comment had so many down votes for that post.
As far as I'm concerned, the lecturer was guilty of being rude and abusive (various verbal abuse and threats). But s/he wasn't an "idiot". New UI (and no mention of training being given) so the mistake is understandable. It's also understandable that the lecturer was irate/worried/upset. However, the abuse was wrong. Period. And that's what the lecturer should be apologising for.
Kind of a bizarre IT setup in that company. Migrate across platforms and have zero ability to go back and get the data from the source (Linux).... I assume that was the case, as the other IT support staff didn't just re-migrate the data (during which process, they'd probably have found the 'hidden' folders).
Other IT support users avoiding an important problem that was causing a user real stress. IT Management allowing that culture to exist in the first place. And Newt - understandably pissed off about the abuse, but s/he lost most of the moral high ground by reacting like a petty child. Sad to see stories like this confirming so many of the negative stereotypes that 'users' have of IT.