When Helping Hurts: The Saga of 'I Know More Than You' in Tech Support
If you’ve ever offered tech support—whether as a seasoned IT pro, a helpful mod on Discord, or just “the computer person” in the family—you know there’s one challenge greater than any blue screen or cryptic error log: the user who’s convinced they know more than you. And nothing brings out this dynamic quite like the wild, wonderful world of open-source gaming communities.
Recently, I stumbled across a post on Reddit’s r/TalesFromTechSupport that perfectly encapsulates this age-old struggle. Let’s just say, if you’ve got a soft spot for tech drama and a high tolerance for facepalms, you’re in for a treat.
The Scene: A Discord Server, A Modded Game, and a Battle of Wits
Picture this: a small open-source game, a Discord server bustling with friendly folks helping each other navigate the treacherous waters of installation, modding, and troubleshooting. Most interactions are positive—until one user enters the support channel, ready to spar with anyone who dares suggest they might need help.
It starts innocently enough. The user reports a mod (which, after some confusion, turns out to be “source,” not “spruce”—an honest typo, but one they won’t let slide) isn’t working. The game launches fine with other mods, but with this one, a terminal window flashes for a second and then disappears. Classic crash behavior, right?
Not according to our protagonist.
Them: There’s no error, it just opens a window for a second then closes
Moderator: What’s the error message?
Me: That means it’s crashing
Them: No it doesn’t, it’s opening a terminal window, not the game. It would open the game if it was crashing
Ah, the sweet sound of denial! In tech support, there’s nothing quite like being told your years of experience are no match for someone’s gut feeling. But our support heroes persist, asking for logs, suggesting running the game in a terminal, and gently steering the conversation toward productive troubleshooting.
Error? What Error?
As the conversation goes in circles, it becomes clear: the user is convinced there simply can’t be an error—because they haven’t seen one. As if errors politely wait for us to notice them before causing chaos.
Me: Can you run it in the terminal just in case an error pops up?
Them: I’m not on my computer right now so I can’t
Me: Then we can’t assist you further until we have an error message
Them: There is no error, stop implying there is one.
At this point, any veteran of tech support knows the real error here is a classic case of PEBKAC—Problem Exists Between Keyboard And Chair.
The Tech Support Tango
What makes this exchange so relatable—and hilarious—is how universal it is. Whether you’re troubleshooting Python mods or helping grandma with her email, you’ll run into people who are certain they’ve already diagnosed the problem, and any suggestion to the contrary is just noise.
The irony? The user is so fixated on not losing data or breaking other mods (“Reinstalling Python will ruin everything!”) that they’re paralyzed into inaction. All the while, the support crew is left doing the dance of the doomed: asking for logs, suggesting safe troubleshooting steps, and getting nowhere fast.
Lessons from the Front Lines
Here’s the thing: tech support isn’t just about technical know-how. It’s about patience, empathy, and sometimes, knowing when to step back and let someone figure it out on their own. This story is a masterclass in all three.
- Empathy: Remember, for many users, computers are magic boxes that sometimes work and sometimes don’t. They’re not being difficult on purpose (well, usually).
- Boundaries: You can only help as much as someone lets you. If a user refuses to provide info or try suggestions, it’s okay to say, “We need more to go on.”
- Humor: If you don’t laugh, you’ll cry. And sometimes, you can do both at once.
The (Un)Happy Ending
So, did our stubborn user ever fix their mod? We’ll never know—the conversation ends, as so many do, with a sigh and a shrug. But the lesson remains: next time you’re offering support, remember, you’re not just fighting software bugs—you’re wrestling with human nature.
Have you ever faced a user who refused to believe their own eyes (or error logs)? Share your funniest, strangest, or most exasperating tech support tales in the comments below! And hey, remember: if you ask for help, be ready to accept it—even if it means admitting the error isn’t just in the code.
What’s your most memorable “I know more than you” tech support moment? Let’s commiserate!
Original Reddit Post: People who think they know more than you