The Case of the Missing Terminator: 1980s Tech Support and the “Ether” Panic
If you think IT support is wild today, imagine being a tech wrangler in the late ‘80s—armed with a trunk full of cables, a Radio Shack loyalty card, and nerves of steel. Today’s story, plucked from the nostalgia-fueled halls of r/TalesFromTechSupport, proves that some tech headaches are truly timeless.
Let’s set the scene: It’s 1988. The Mac SE is Apple’s hot new thing, shoulder pads are big, and Thin Ethernet (10BASE2 to the cool kids) is the backbone of school district networks—literally. Our protagonist, u/jasondbk, embarks on a 4-hour odyssey to save a small office from the brink of network oblivion. Why? Because one tiny piece of hardware—about the size of a large grape—keeps going missing. And the reason? Pure, unfiltered user logic.
When “Ethernet” Gets Too Literal
Imagine: You’re a tech in 1988. You’ve just installed a network of Mac SEs for a school district. Everything’s humming along until—panic!—the network goes down. You drive four hours (no GPS, just vibes and a glove box full of paper maps) to discover the problem: a missing terminator.
No, not the Arnold Schwarzenegger kind. In the world of Thin Ethernet, a “terminator” is a small plug that caps off the end of the coaxial cable. Without it, the entire network can go haywire—think of it as the period at the end of a very important sentence.
Our tech hero finds the culprit: a secretary whose desk faces away from the wall, leaving the back of her Mac exposed to passing traffic—and, apparently, to spontaneous hardware modifications. She noticed the terminator “didn’t have a cable,” so she did what any reasonable person might do: she took it off and threw it away.
A Crash Course in 1980s Networking
For those who didn’t come of age wrangling BNC connectors, here’s the quick version: Thin Ethernet (10BASE2) used coaxial cables to connect computers in a daisy-chain. Each device needed to be connected properly, and the two ends of the chain required terminators to prevent signal reflection, which could bring the whole network crashing down. Lose a terminator? Welcome to Chaos Town, population: your network.
Back to our story. The hero, lacking spare parts (remember, this is pre-Amazon Prime), MacGyvers a solution with a Radio Shack terminator and BNC plug. Problem solved! He tells the secretary firmly: “Never remove this part.”
Deja Vu All Over Again
One week later: another emergency. Same office, same network, same missing terminator. By now, our tech has spares ready in the car. But how to convince the serial terminator-remover to leave the cable alone?
Here’s where things get delightfully mischievous. The tech, channeling his inner Bill Nye, asks the secretary, “Do you feel okay? Not lightheaded or anything?” When she says she’s fine, he delivers the killer line: “Well, it’s called Ethernet. They use Ether to insulate the wires. I don’t want you to inhale too much and pass out!”
Was it entirely accurate? Not even close. Did it work? Like a charm. The secretary never touched the terminator again.
Lessons from the Land of Lost Terminators
What’s the moral of this retro-tech fable? A few gems for modern IT pros and nostalgia junkies alike:
- Physical Networks Are Only as Strong as Their Weakest Link (or User): All it takes is one curious hand and your carefully built system crumbles.
- User Education Matters: Sometimes, technical explanations bounce right off. A little creative storytelling—like imaginary ether fumes—can go a long way.
- Always Carry Spares: Whether it’s terminators or USB-C dongles, your trunk should rival a hardware store.
- Tech Support Is a Human Art: Solving problems isn’t just about wires and code—it’s about reading people, adapting, and occasionally, stretching the truth for the greater good.
The Real “Ether” in the Room
Of course, Ethernet has nothing to do with the chemical ether—it’s a play on the idea of transmitting data through the “ether” of space. But in the grand tradition of tech support, sometimes a little white lie is just what the network doctor ordered.
Did you ever have a “missing terminator” moment in your tech career—or a user who just couldn’t resist “fixing” things? Share your best retro tech stories in the comments! And if you’re a fan of vintage computing hijinks, stick around—there’s plenty more where that came from.
Happy networking, and may your terminators always stay put!
Original Reddit Post: Thin Ethernet