HN Explorer

Do You Have a Name For

8 points by bado ↗ HN
...when you go to look at someone's computer/device/app and it magically is working perfectly when they go to show you? Like when the person is "Oh sure NOW it works..." simply by your presence? (Sorta like how the car stops making The Noise when the mechanic is nearby)

I've always called it "I.T. Person Proximity Location Rectification" and was just wondering if we have a better name for the phenomenon

16 comments

[ 3.0 ms ] story [ 42.5 ms ] thread
theandrewbailey
I thought it was due to +10 points to my computing skill, and possibly to others in close proximity.
talldayo
PEBCAK
lcnPylGDnU4H9OF
That's more like when they show you it's not working after doing almost everything wrong which can possibly be wrong. Then you just show them the right way and suddenly it's "working" even though the only thing that changed is they just started click "save" instead of "cancel".

What OP is talking about is probably the user forgetting some detail about their actions immediately prior to the problem occurring and thereby being unable to reproduce the behavior, which is something anybody can do regardless of their technical knowledge.

muzani
this is a reverse PEBCAK
brudgers
Heisenbug seems related but not exactly right.
jaredsohn
This isn't an effect name but if I see this in a bug report I'd tag it a 'works for me' / 'unable to repro'
mikewarot
I've been told that computers have given their owners tons of grief... right up to the moment they considered calling me (I was their IT support)... then they worked correctly the rest of the day.

I always carried a Leatherman tool, and was unafraid to open a computer at a moment's notice. I ruled the computers by fear. ;-)

On the other hand... one of the people I supported did exactly the right things to her computer as I watched... and it didn't work... I recommended she avoid computers, and she's now a very happy motivational coach.

Jeremy1026
My dad is the 'IT guy' in an office of about 150 people doing general hardware support and in-house server maintenance. He says he has a little button in his pocket that he'll press when he is walking over to fix the problem.
schappim
That phenomenon is often referred to as the "Tech Support Superpower" or "Tech Support Magic." Another popular term is the "Tech Support Effect." These terms capture the idea that technical issues often resolve themselves when an IT person is present.

Your term "I.T. Person Proximity Location Rectification" is quite descriptive and amusing!

toast0
Other people's computers are scared of me. My spouse just asks me to come over because things aren't working, but doesn't need to ask me to help.

No big deal, I like help call where I don't need to do anything. Better than trying to figure out why something doesn't work when it should and I can't influence the responsible people to actually fix it.

yonatan8070
I say the computers have (translated from Hebrew) technician syndrome