# I don't know this board sysadmin Jerry, but.. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 7, 2008, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-know-this-board-sysadmin-jerry-but/462437 "2008-09-07T01:52:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![DudleyGarrett](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d9b06d/32.png) [@DudleyGarrett](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DudleyGarrett)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2008, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-know-this-board-sysadmin-jerry-but/462437/41 "2008-09-07T16:21:17Z")
> [@Q.E.D](#): > > In order, the answers to your questions are: > > Because that’s what Ed told us. No. And no. > > Only that first one really matters. No, the last two matter just as much, because you’re acting like you know every fucking thing about this place and ecommerce in general. Stop it. ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2008, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-know-this-board-sysadmin-jerry-but/462437/42 "2008-09-07T16:22:09Z")
Let’s wait and see how board performance is after [fine tuning](http://www.vbulletin.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=14), template tweaking, user status restoration, and restoration of features such as searching, links to threads beyond the most recent 200, and user groups. As others in this thread said, our complaints were well-justified before the upgrade. Since then, Jerry has been doing a decent job keeping us informed of the status of the upgrade, what’s causing performance issues, and so on; it’s a lot more transparent than in the past. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2008, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-know-this-board-sysadmin-jerry-but/462437/43 "2008-09-07T16:22:14Z")
> [@Merkwurdigliebe](#): > > I’m so goddamned sick of these arguments by people who don’t know a goddamned thing about technology. How about from people who _do_ know a goddamned thing about technology? As a matter of fact, I have set up several vBulletin forums and also worked on tweaking and coding addons for a freeware forum system called tForum. I’ll say it one last time because you people obviously have too much crap in your ears to listen properly: This message board is NOT the business. It’s not a priority for Jerry nor his bosses at Creative Loafing. They’ll get it done when and if they get it done and if you don’t like it, you can suck it. Clear enough? I don’t like it either, but that’s the way it is. ---
**Author:** ![rayh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@rayh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rayh)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2008, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-know-this-board-sysadmin-jerry-but/462437/44 "2008-09-07T16:26:45Z")
> [@DudleyGarrett](#): > > Are you serious? > > I didn’t say Jerry was in charge of the Straight Dope. > > I said he was the Director of IT. > > By pointing that out, I implied that he had a lot more say in technical decisions that he was originally stated by QED. > > What you just linked to was a very vague declaration by Ed Zotti that he’s in charge of the Straight Dope, as a whole. At the same time, and not contradicting what I wrote, he may have very well delegated all technical responsibility (including the priority in which problems are solved) to Jerry. If I were in charge of a web operation, and I had a Director level employee working for me, I’d do the same. Would you? > > Do you understand now? It is Ed’s job to see that the board makes money. If Jerry is doing something that causes the board not to make money it is Ed’s responsibility to adjust Jerry’s priorities. The priority is to get the board stable and improve performance so people SEE THE ADS, and they generate money from that. The revenue stream from missing subscriptions for a week or so is not the priority. Do YOU understand now? ---
**Author:** ![DudleyGarrett](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d9b06d/32.png) [@DudleyGarrett](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DudleyGarrett)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2008, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-know-this-board-sysadmin-jerry-but/462437/45 "2008-09-07T16:30:22Z")
> [@rayh](#): > > It is Ed’s job to see that the board makes money. If Jerry is doing something that causes the board not to make money it is Ed’s responsibility to adjust Jerry’s priorities. The priority is to get the board stable and improve performance so people SEE THE ADS, and they generate money from that. The revenue stream from missing subscriptions for a week or so is not the priority. > > Do YOU understand now? Of course I understand that. If things were properly run, the message board would have been flying, displaying ads and accepting subscriptions out of the box. Since Ed is in charge of the Straight Dope product as a whole, he failed woefully here by putting it in Jerry’s hands. What makes you think he didn’t drop the ball in regards to redirecting Jerry appropriately? ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2008, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-know-this-board-sysadmin-jerry-but/462437/46 "2008-09-07T16:41:57Z")
> [@DudleyGarrett](#): > > Well, no shit, Sherlock. > > Even if the subscriptions are a tiny piece of the company’s revenue as a whole, it should change the fact that the credit card system should be operational immediately after the site itself is publicly available. In Jerry’s little IT world where he’s considered overhead, his business sense needs to be sharper. His priority list is skewed if he puts erratic performance above revenue, no matter how small of the percentage it is. > > I can’t see how this is even arguable, unless of course you’re choosing to be obtuse for sport. Maybe. I have several friends who work for [BestBuy.com](http://BestBuy.com) - during one upgrade - this was a few years ago - the BUY feature of one of the biggest eCommerce sites on the internet with a staff of hundreds was turned off for several days. They decided to forego revenue generation from a website whose primary goal is revenue generation for a few days in order to make sure they had long term stability. ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2008, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-know-this-board-sysadmin-jerry-but/462437/47 "2008-09-07T16:46:29Z")
[off-topic] JDT must have bought ad space here. I’ve got this Google ad: \*Undo Circumcision Damage - The Your-Skin Cone will make you supple and sensitive like uncut men \* [/off-topic] ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2008, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-know-this-board-sysadmin-jerry-but/462437/48 "2008-09-07T17:32:33Z")
Okay, looking at this from a business standpoint Creative Loafing is a corporation based in Atlanta, Georgia which makes money by distributing alternative weekly newspapers in major U.S. markets. **Free** newspapers – they make money by selling advertising… Display ads for everything from IKEA to the local concert venue. Classified ads: “Middle aged WM bear with interests in computer gaming, ska, watercraft desires to hook up with slinky young otter (M or F) with similar interests. Write Box #694U2, c/o this paper.” The flagship paper, Create Loafing, services the Atlanta market. In the Reearch Triangle, they own the Independent Weekly (having driven the Spectator out of business). In Chicago, they own the Reader, having bought its ownership, Chicago Reader, Inc., which I’m presuming continues as a wholly-owned-and-operated subsidiary, since nobody’s changed any of the legalese referencing “Chicago Reader, Inc.” Jerry Davis is presently Director of IT for the Chicago Reader. Not for the parent corporation, for the subsidiary. I believe this is a relatively new promotion, as when the Reader’s staff list was online, Jerry was one of three IT guys under someone else. ( **Ed** was not listed at all.) Among the Reader’s revenue sources is syndication of a column written pseudonymously by someone using the name “Cecil Adams” (perennially thought to be **Ed Zotti** ). In connection with this column, the Reader eight years ago began a website, with a supporting message board, for Internet fans of Cecil Adams. This was a cost center, not a revenue source. It was worth it to them for the interest it produced in the column. Four years ago, in an effort to offset costs, the Reader instituted subscriptions to the SDMB – post for a month, free, to try it out, once per person per lifetime, then pay to continue posting. From what was said at the time, subhscriptions did **not** make the SDMB profitable; it merely subsidized operating costs to the point where **Ed** was able to argue successfully for the board’s continuation. Distributing a free newspaper, with sole major revenue source from ads (the minimal income from syndicating columns, subletting unused office space, etc., can be considered negligible in the overall picture) is a very tricky business. My assumption from the buyout is that the Reader had either begun losing money or was not producing adequate income to meet executives’ expectations – hence it was sold to Creative Loafing. Both the Reader and Creative Loafing exist due to their ability to sell ads. Bottom line: ads pay for the papers. The papers pay for the columns and the website. Jerry’s job is to make sure that Doris and Heather in AR (or whoever) have the ability to generate and record income from the major advertisers, to ensure that Sam the BDSM guy’s classified ad is in a database where it can be answered by the submissives who might be interested in hooking up with him – and to maintain the Reader’s websites and servers when not dealing with IT issues related to major revenue sources. **Ed** has apparently been successful in arguing that the SDMB is a valuable asset to Creative Loafing, one they should sink some more money into. We owe him a lot of thanks for that. SDMB membership subscriptions rank well below 1/16-page ads for personal trainers and private-showing models in the back pages of the Reader, in the corporate scheme of things. Humbling thought, isn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2008, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-know-this-board-sysadmin-jerry-but/462437/49 "2008-09-08T00:10:33Z")
> [@Risha](#): > > Er. No. I’ve fucked up plenty of computer systems - everyone who has ever programmed / administered / was generally responsible for one of them has. And guess what, it takes as long as it takes to fix it. Unlike most jobs, demanding that something on a computer be fixed this second has fuck all to do with whether or not it can be done. If companies fired everyone that has ever had to put off a lower priority fix for a week or two (or twelve), they wouldn’t have anyone to do any of the work. > > My current assignment is to write SQL queries running daily to monitor major issues so that they can be fixed manually before they hurt anyone’s account. I’m doing this full time at the moment because this particular client currently has more that 400 known issues, and has no available resources to fix any of them until the current major projects are finished in November. I’m sure that the three people affected by cosmetic issue #162 are unhappy to have to wait, but that doesn’t change the fact that they’re going to have to. As I said, my bitching is over, but I must take issue with this. I have fucked up systems and well, but when that happens you pull all-nighters until you are at least up and functioning. And I have never known a client who considered the online credit card payment system being down as an acceptable situation. It is money for them that is being lost. I don’t know the financial situation of this board, and don’t really care, but whatever, even if meager, percentage of funds that the board is losing due to people not being able to pay would be enough to drive every client I’ve had out of their head.. ---
**Author:** ![Risha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/5fc32e/32.png) [@Risha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Risha)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2008, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-know-this-board-sysadmin-jerry-but/462437/50 "2008-09-08T01:26:27Z")
> [@jtgain](#): > > As I said, my bitching is over, but I must take issue with this. I have fucked up systems and well, but when that happens you pull all-nighters until you are at least up and functioning. I’ve pulled my share of all-nighters, but as well you know, a computer is fixed when a computer is fixed. Sometimes you can do it in an hour or a day, and sometimes you can’t, no matter how many people and hours you throw at it. Also, the board is currently up and functioning. What’s broken is the credit card system, which appears to be less of a priority than having the board itself working. If it were my call, that’s how I would have prioritized them too. > [@](#): > > And I have never known a client who considered the online credit card payment system being down as an acceptable situation. It is money for them that is being lost. > > I don’t know the financial situation of this board, and don’t really care, but whatever, even if meager, percentage of funds that the board is losing due to people not being able to pay would be enough to drive every client I’ve had out of their head.. Well, then, obviously you don’t work for Creative Loafing. If it was a more urgent priority to Creative Loafing to get the credit cards working, then someone would have told Jerry to fix it first. (IT manager or no, he’s not working in a vacuum, and neither is Ed.) Just because you care and your clients would have cared and fired someone if it were their system (which would be stupid and wasteful of them, but _shrug_)… well, apparently Jerry doesn’t work for those companies. It’s not your call, and it’s not your company, and it’s not your employment policies, and it’s not your problem, and therefore your bitching is stupid. ---
**Author:** ![leander](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/bcef8e/32.png) [@leander](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leander)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2008, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-know-this-board-sysadmin-jerry-but/462437/51 "2008-09-08T02:05:09Z")
> [@Q.E.D](#): > > No. The board is not a business, it is a business _tool_. Subscriptions barely offset its own operating cost, let alone put any money into the pockets of the parent company. > [@Some questions for Ed Zotti (re Barn House)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-questions-for-ed-zotti-re-barn-house/462165/10): > > My relationship with the SD is I’m in charge of it. CL reorganized it as a separate business unit, which I manage, and my job is to make money on it as soon as possible. Does that answer your question? ?? ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2008, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-know-this-board-sysadmin-jerry-but/462437/52 "2008-09-08T02:21:47Z")
That could just mean, “if it doesn’t pay for itself, lose it.” ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2008, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-know-this-board-sysadmin-jerry-but/462437/53 "2008-09-08T02:22:00Z")
> [@leander](#): > > ?? **Leander** – source for the Zotti quote? I’m not skeptical of it; I want to read it!! Thanks. (Just pasting the URL of the thread into your response is fine if you don’t want to futz around with formatting a link.) ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2008, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-know-this-board-sysadmin-jerry-but/462437/54 "2008-09-08T02:22:07Z")
> [@leander](#): > > ?? Simple **Q.E.D.** is wrong this time. It happens occasionally. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2008, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-know-this-board-sysadmin-jerry-but/462437/55 "2008-09-08T02:30:25Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > Simple **Q.E.D.** is wrong this time. No. When Ed refers to the SD, he’s referring to The Straight Dope. That’s the column, the books and everything else, not just this board–you see I used the word “board” there in my post, right? This **board** is just a teeny tiny part of the whole Straight Dope entity; it is NOT a business in and of itself. Get it now? ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2008, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-know-this-board-sysadmin-jerry-but/462437/56 "2008-09-08T02:44:07Z")
> [@Q.E.D](#): > > No. When Ed refers to the SD, he’s referring to The Straight Dope. That’s the column, the books and everything else, not just this board–you see I used the word “board” there in my post, right? This **board** is just a teeny tiny part of the whole Straight Dope entity; it is NOT a business in and of itself. Get it now? I disagree, I think Ed made it pretty clear the board is now a major part of his business unit and that he needs the board to become a money maker. That is how I interpret his recent posts in a variety of threads from the last 10 days and from a few earlier on. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2008, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-know-this-board-sysadmin-jerry-but/462437/57 "2008-09-08T02:51:29Z")
You must live a troubled life, JT, having to pull all-nighters at $15 per. ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2008, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-know-this-board-sysadmin-jerry-but/462437/58 "2008-09-08T03:53:21Z")
> [@Muffin](#): > > You must live a troubled life, JT, having to pull all-nighters at $15 per. ?? ---
**Author:** ![leander](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/bcef8e/32.png) [@leander](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leander)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2008, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-know-this-board-sysadmin-jerry-but/462437/59 "2008-09-08T06:17:16Z")
> [@Polycarp](#): > > **Leander** – source for the Zotti quote? I’m not skeptical of it; I want to read it!! > > Thanks. (Just pasting the URL of the thread into your response is fine if you don’t want to futz around with formatting a link.) Sorry about that – here you go: > **[Some questions for Ed Zotti (re Barn House)](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=481859)** > > You have, I guess, seen the comments in this forum and in the pit about your new forum. I’d be interested in what you think about what has been said. As most of it has been negative, were you expecting that? Did you think it would create as much... I think it’s pretty clear he’s talking about the board, since his later posts relate _only_ to the board (and presumbably the column _has_ been making money all these years - otherwise how the heck did he buy that mansion ;)). ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2008, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-know-this-board-sysadmin-jerry-but/462437/60 "2008-09-08T06:23:48Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > I know we are in the pit, but as I demonstrated, there was a polite way to say the same thing and no need to act like an ass. Do you really just enjoy pissing people off? Well he cracks me up, anyway, kind of like the slightly loopy great-aunt at Thanksgiving who says what everyone is already thinking but doesn’t have the guts to say. Stranger [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-know-this-board-sysadmin-jerry-but/462437.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-know-this-board-sysadmin-jerry-but/462437.md?page=4)