Strange things happen when you let people choose their own name, part 2

re: Strange things happen when you let people choose their own name, part 2

Nathan_works — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 17:18:17 GMT

El conquistator because he oppresses, defeats and enslaves native americans ? Did he find a fountain of youth ? Lost city of gold ?

re: Strange things happen when you let people choose their own name, part 2

John — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 17:20:58 GMT

You must be using a definition of hilarious that I am not familiar with.

re: Strange things happen when you let people choose their own name, part 2

BOFH — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 17:33:14 GMT

Wow, I don't think Raymond was expecting the Spanish inquisition for that remark...

re: Strange things happen when you let people choose their own name, part 2

Anonymous Coward — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 17:43:12 GMT

Just because you do not get the joke, does not mean the joke is not funny.

re: Strange things happen when you let people choose their own name, part 2

Neil (SM) — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 17:43:52 GMT

>>"Also, call my phone and listen to how the autobot says my name."<<

On the other hand, I think my company phone system uses a Decepticon for its voice.

re: Strange things happen when you let people choose their own name, part 2

Art — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 18:26:31 GMT

Personally I like Pat Smith's (o)(o). She decided to qualify that she was in fact a she since her name was so ambiguous.

re: Strange things happen when you let people choose their own name, part 2

John — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 18:29:44 GMT

I didn't say it wasn't funny; I said it wasn't hilarious.

re: Strange things happen when you let people choose their own name, part 2

Will — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 18:39:46 GMT

If you've got a self appointed guru try and convince him to change his to John Doe (_?_) because everyone comes to him for questions. If he's not really a guru he won't know this is a chat dumb butt.

Was the big G's differentiator used? I wouldn't think so, but it would've been hilarious to see him use (_$_) since he has so much money coming out of his.

re: Strange things happen when you let people choose their own name, part 2

John — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 19:33:24 GMT

SteveB should use a flying chair for his differentiator.

re: Strange things happen when you let people choose their own name, part 2

Nicole DesRosiers — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 20:29:15 GMT

I get many questions about my (???) differentiator; it's actually supposed to be ズーン, but Exchange (or somewhere in between) doesn't love the Japanese so much.

re: Strange things happen when you let people choose their own name, part 2

bob — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 20:48:16 GMT

does the El Conquistador have anything to do with the bob and tom sketch by the same name.

re: Strange things happen when you let people choose their own name, part 2

/ls — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 21:49:26 GMT

How do you get the underscore to blink?

re: Strange things happen when you let people choose their own name, part 2

Maurits — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 22:23:44 GMT

> listen to how the autobot says my name

Am I the /only/ person that updates the voice recording of my name?

re: Strange things happen when you let people choose their own name, part 2

Robert Hensing — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 22:26:49 GMT

The El Conquistador part of my name DOES in fact have to do with the Bob and Tom sketch - I suppose an explanatory blog is in order now that I've been outed. :)

re: Strange things happen when you let people choose their own name, part 2

Maurits — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 22:28:13 GMT

> How do you get the underscore to blink?

use Unicode Character 'INTERMITTENT LOW LINE' (U+31337)

re: Strange things happen when you let people choose their own name, part 2

GeoBlank — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 22:52:04 GMT

I am not John Doe but he may have been my inspiration :)

My differentiator currently is (o||||o)

re: Strange things happen when you let people choose their own name, part 2

The Spanish Inquisition — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 00:02:07 GMT

> Wow, I don't think Raymond was expecting the Spanish inquisition for that remark...

Sorry I'm late.

NOOOOOOOOOOONE expects The Spanish Inquisition!!!! Our chief weapon is surprise

re: Strange things happen when you let people choose their own name, part 2

tragedy of the commons — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 03:45:15 GMT

So just to clarify, we've plumbed a new low - someone has nitpicked Raymond's description of the level of funniness of the joke. It was not funny enough to warrant being described as, "hilarious" but merely, "funny."

I wish someone could invent a CAPTCHA that would stop posts from pingbots with funny wallpaper and people with sticks up their asses. Jeez.

re: Strange things happen when you let people choose their own name, part 2

Cheong — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 03:58:17 GMT

> How do you get the underscore to blink?

By removing the underscore manually then add back at later time, loop infinately.

re: Strange things happen when you let people choose their own name, part 2

bcthanks — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 06:27:32 GMT

> How do you get the underscore to blink?

With a PowerShell script interfaced to the Exchange server, naturally.

And since the differentiator accepts HTML punctuation, the next obvious choice is <blink>_</blink>

Oops, there goes the honor system.

re: Strange things happen when you let people choose their own name, part 2

Worf — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 08:47:22 GMT

Now I feel like emailing the few Microsoft contacts I know and ask them what their differentiators are. But I did a quick scan of my inbox and I see one, maybe two with the differentiators listed - the rest are showing up as boring "John Doe" and such. What gives? Sometimes they leak out, but mostly not...

Then again, I doubt they have anything interesting.

I also may have to ask them to find out what Raymond's differentiator is.... *grin*.

re: Strange things happen when you let people choose their own name, part 2

Worf — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 09:39:36 GMT

Alright, I can't let the following quote from the story go unaddressed with a nice Yusheng or Igor or snarky comment. Sorry - fan of Transformers. Skip to the next comment if you rather not read such inanity.

> "Also, call my phone and listen to how the autobot says my name.""

Snarky/Igor/Yusheng Comment: You'd think it would be Decepticons who work at Microsoft... then again... maybe they really did capture an Autobot.

(Sorry, couldn't resist!)

re: Strange things happen when you let people choose their own name, part 2

DysgraphicProgrammer — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 17:15:11 GMT

Of course they captured and autobot! They have had Optimus Prime locked up in their basement for years! Where do you think all the advanced computer tech comes from, anyway?

re: Strange things happen when you let people choose their own name, part 2

Rob — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 19:00:37 GMT

Worf: differentiators are optional. Most people don't use them.

re: Strange things happen when you let people choose their own name, part 2

Required — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 19:45:21 GMT

Surely this is a reference to the Conquistador Coffee Company mentioned in the Monty Python sketch

re: Strange things happen when you let people choose their own name, part 2

Another Rob — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 23:12:11 GMT

Once I saw a Jeep Wrangler with an "olllllo.com" sticker on the back. The only problem is remembering how many l's are in the URL.

re: Strange things happen when you let people choose their own name, part 2

Worf — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 08:45:31 GMT

@DysgraphicProgrammer: Megatron, aka NBE-1, actually.

Ref: http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Transformers_%282007%29

re: Strange things happen when you let people choose their own name, part 2

Doubt — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 06:26:53 GMT

My favorite is someone who has something like John Doe (+1).

re: Strange things happen when you let people choose their own name, part 2

KC Lemson — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 07:48:08 GMT

My differentiator is:

KC Lemson (UX Jedi Master)

Although I've had that for about six months now, so I think it's time for a change. UX Ninja, perhaps? Although that would basically just be copying the xbox emulation ninjas...