# What are your computing bad habits? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 24, 2009, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-computing-bad-habits/494226 "2009-04-24T15:41:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2009, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-computing-bad-habits/494226/61 "2009-06-13T06:42:26Z")
> [@Kyla](#): > > Dear NY Times, > > Next time I want to look up what a word means, I will go to [dictionary.com](http://dictionary.com). Please remove your stupid “helpful” software and let me click on everything compulsively without filling my screen with popups. > > Thanks! > > Me. I hate them for doing that. It drives me up the wall. But yes, I compulsively highlight things, too. I also save everything to the desktop - in theory, I understand about files and folders and paths and stuff, but in practice, if I can’t see it, I can’t find it so if there’s a chance I’ll need that file in the forseeable future, I save it to the desktop. (Of course I treat physical objects like that, too. So it is just the computerized manifestation of not putting things in their proper place) ---
**Author:** ![dwc1970](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a183cd/32.png) [@dwc1970](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dwc1970)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2009, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-computing-bad-habits/494226/62 "2009-06-13T15:38:51Z")
> [@lolagranola](#): > > I also save all my old emails. If I ever need to know what spam I got in 2003… oh dear lord what am I saying. I’m scared to go all the way back in my email. You actually save spam? That would be like never flushing your toilet. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2009, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-computing-bad-habits/494226/63 "2009-06-13T18:20:35Z")
I want to butcher whomever came up with the idea of changing the keyboard shortcuts when localizing Microsoft programs. While using shortcuts is a Good Thing in my book, our society frowns upon murdering morons. I save stuff to _folders_ in my desktop. My coworkers whose desktops are covered in icons have a problem with this because it means you actually have to _gasp_ click on a folder to find the stuff. The guys from IT Support have a problem with it because they don’t like folders on the desktop. Microchof has a problem with it too, apparently, it periodically wants to clean up “unused icons” (it’s there cos I want it there, damnit, you’re not my mother). I had a problem with my last client because the Pitworthy control freaks did not allow saving to the desktop. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2009, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-computing-bad-habits/494226/64 "2009-06-13T18:42:11Z")
> [@JerseyFrank](#): > > I run way too many apps. > > Right now my taskbar is 2-high and has 45 active windows. Thank goodness for tabs in browsers. I easily run 20+ tabs at any given time. > > oh! And some of those 45 windows are virtual PCs that themselves have a handful of apps going at any given time. :eek: How much memory you got on that thing? ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2009, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-computing-bad-habits/494226/65 "2009-06-13T19:14:13Z")
> [@lolagranola](#): > > I also save all my old emails. If I ever need to know what spam I got in 2003… oh dear lord what am I saying. I’m scared to go all the way back in my email. [QUOTE=dwc1970] You actually save spam? That would be like never flushing your toilet. [/quote] I’ve saved mine since freaking 1991, but no, NOT the spam. That is seriously weird. Why would you want to preserve the spam? ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2009, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-computing-bad-habits/494226/66 "2009-06-13T20:34:20Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > I want to butcher whomever came up with the idea of changing the keyboard shortcuts when localizing Microsoft programs. > > While using shortcuts is a Good Thing in my book, our society frowns upon murdering morons. > > I save stuff to _folders_ in my desktop. My coworkers whose desktops are covered in icons have a problem with this because it means you actually have to _gasp_ click on a folder to find the stuff. The guys from IT Support have a problem with it because they don’t like folders on the desktop. Microchof has a problem with it too, apparently, it periodically wants to clean up “unused icons” (it’s there cos I want it there, damnit, you’re not my mother). I had a problem with my last client because the Pitworthy control freaks did not allow saving to the desktop. I never, ever save to the desktop or to folders on it. I don’t even keep the icons visible. I’m somewhat obsessive about keeping things in the proper place. Anything I save off the 'Net, f’instance, goes into the Pix, Dox, of Vids subfolder in my downloads folder, and I sort those into the proper destination once a week. ---
**Author:** ![manx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/65b543/32.png) [@manx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/manx)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2009, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-computing-bad-habits/494226/67 "2009-06-14T15:21:24Z")
> [@Kyla](#): > > Count me in this club, too. And you’re right about the NY Times being bastards re: this habit. > > Dear NY Times, > > Next time I want to look up what a word means, I will go to [dictionary.com](http://dictionary.com). Please remove your stupid “helpful” software and let me click on everything compulsively without filling my screen with popups. > > Thanks! > > Me. And me! click. click. _clickclicklclick_ ---
**Author:** ![Silver\_Tyger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/fbc32d/32.png) [@Silver\_Tyger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silver_Tyger)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2009, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-computing-bad-habits/494226/68 "2009-06-14T15:41:05Z")
I save too many things to the desktop. Not to the degree where it’s full, but random short-use things get saved there and sometimes not deleted. I also have a very large folder of random stuff just called ‘To Organize’ It’s got everything from pictures off my camera, to comic scans, to old projects. I tend to let my email get really full. I read it, but I don’t deal with it. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2009, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-computing-bad-habits/494226/69 "2009-06-14T17:22:25Z")
I am not familiar with the _New York Times_ online (there’s a well-known bug in their registration cookies that makes it an intolerable annoyance so I seldom go there) but it can’t possibly be worse than what they’ve done at [Monster](http://www.monster.com). I like to do a search and then open a plethora of relevant job ads in background windows. I most vehemently _DO NOT_ want a damn popup coming up to hide 5-6 lines’ worth of results to describe the one I am momentarily hovering over, and not going away until I click the damn button in the upper right corner! ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2009, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-computing-bad-habits/494226/70 "2009-06-14T17:37:20Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > I never, ever save to the desktop or to folders on it. I don’t even keep the icons visible. I’m somewhat obsessive about keeping things in the proper place. Anything I save off the 'Net, f’instance, goes into the Pix, Dox, of Vids subfolder in my downloads folder, and I sort those into the proper destination once a week. Well, the computer is mine. Therefore, if I define “the proper place for this month’s work files” as being “Desktop/June 2009”, it is. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-computing-bad-habits/494226.md?page=3)