What’s a Web Site?

Today I received an email from a woman in her 50s who has worked in IT at our company for over 20 years. In the email she said that she wanted a link to “IT Documentation” in an existing links list on our IT Portal, and under that she wanted “Change Management Documents” and about twenty other words which are meaningless to me. So I shot her back an email that said “I’m not really sure what you’re asking for here. If these are links, please send me the URLs.”

She caught me hurrying along in the hall later and stopped me, asking “What is it you need to know about my request?” The following conversation ensued.

Me: I need to know the URLs to those links you wanted posted.

Her: What do you mean?

Me: The URLs. The addresses.

Her: I’m not sure I’m following you.

Me: What is this stuff you want posted? Are these links?

Her: Well, the idea is to give visitors one central location to access documents related to [slow hum of lengthy explanation about business purpose of shit I could care less about... hum... hum...]

Me: I don’t know where that stuff is, and I need to know that, if you expect me to create links to it.

Her: What stuff?

Me: I don’t know… Change Management Docs, any of it, all of it. I don’t know where it is, you have to tell me.

Her: I guess I’m not following you.

Me: What is it exactly that you’re asking for?

Her: Do you want me to send you some screen shots?

Me: Are they screen shots of browser windows with an address bar at the top with an address in it?

Her: Uh…

Me: Sure, send me the screen shots.

Her: [More rambling which illuminates the fact that she only wants one link on our portal, to an existing site that I happen to know about, and the rest of the stuff on THAT site.]

Me: OH. You just want one link, out to IT Documentation. And then the rest of your stuff will be on that site?

Her: I guess I’m not sure what you mean by “site”.

Me: Forget it. I’ll put a link out to Greg’s site, but you’ll have to talk to Greg about posting that other stuff on his site.

Her: Are you sure? I don’t know if he knows how.

Me: I don’t give a flying fuck whether he knows how or not, that seems to be your problem, and possibly his. BUH BYE.