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Why NoClue?

It seems that my choice of the nickname ‘NoClue’ has caused some trouble from time to time. Peter Cook used to get a few emails from people who didn’t get the joke. He took the opportunity to forward one of these letters to me. I can’t seem to find the original message, but I have my reply, and as it explains why I chose the name, I’ll reproduce part of it here. I hate having to explain a joke.

The woman that wrote to Peter took offense to the ‘NoClue’s Question’ link on the CompuDudes website. The link went to a page that contained the transcripts of my ‘NoClue’s Question of the Week’ section of the CompuDudes radio show.

She apparently worked at a help desk, and took offense because she thought we were using my name in the phrase to mean ‘Newbie’.

Here is my reply:

I am genuinely sorry that you have "taken exception" to the name of my little section of cyberspace, the ‘NoClue’s Question’ page on the CompuDudes’ website.

Your suggestions to Peter regarding the service, training and support roles of the CompuDudes radio show and Forum are views shared by Peter, Scott and I...as well as most of the folks who post answers to questions in the Forum.

I can only assume from your initial reaction that you have:

Never heard my ‘NoClue’s Forum Question of the Week’ portion of the Compududes radio show.

While I don’t pretend that I am very good at talking on the radio and am sometimes embarrassed by the uneven quality of my segments, I am nonetheless very proud of what I do each week. I like to think that my ‘weekly chats’ help to generate discussions in the Forum, and help the people that post there get the answers they need.

I hope that you listen to the CompuDudes Show, either on WHYY 91FM, or via the web from http://www.whyy.org. The show airs on Thursday night at 9PM (I’m on around 9:40 :)). There are also archived shows available on WHYY’s website.

Never visited the Compududes Forums.

I have posted quite frequently (some might say too frequently :)) to questions asked on the board. I have also posted a few informative (I hope) threads in the ‘Computers and Technology 101’ Forum.

I invite you to join our little community. We try to keep the mood light and the data-to-noise ratio high. You won’t find a lot of ‘flame wars’ or ‘RTFM’ posts.

Never clicked on the ‘NoClue’s Questions’ link to see if it was, indeed, offensive.

I can’t help you with this one, I’m afraid.

I think I should explain a little bit about myself and why I chose the name NoClue.

I have been involved with computers since the late 1980’s. It started as just a hobby, but developed into a career path about 6 years ago. I have been a system assembler/integrator, help desk/support tech, network administrator, etc. I am currently the Director of Information Service for a small financial firm here in South Jersey. I also, with a partner, own a company that specializes in custom-built and -configured computers for a select list of clients. Many of these clients include those with special needs, the blind and disabled.

Although what I have learned about computers is a result of my own fascination with them (I am ‘self-taught’), I have had numerous friends and acquaintances who have helped me to grasp this knowledge. What I do on the Compududes Forum (among other places) is my way of ‘giving back’.

The name? In poking around on the Internet, I would come across too many people who acted as if they were ‘all knowing’ about certain subjects. Many times these people thought they knew more than they did, or were just rude and condescending. I also found many folks who took themselves and what they had to say much too seriously.

I started using the name NoClue on a few bulletin boards to approach this from the other extreme. I’ve often been known to say, “If it ain’t fun, why do it?”  The name also self-deprecatingly highlights the fact that I have the amazing ability to remember that I had fixed a certain problem, but not be able to remember exactly what I did to fix it.

So here I was, a guy with ‘NoClue’ posting a lot of valid opinions and advice on quite a few boards. I had known Peter and Scott since the early days of their show at WXPN, and would quite often surf over to the Compududes website to see what was happening with them. A little over a year go, I saw something new...the Compududes Forum. I checked it out...”Hey! A question that I know the answer to!” I registered as NoClue and answered it.  I began checking the Forum on a regular basis, and answering questions whenever I could. After a while, Peter must have gotten curious and looked at my profile. He saw the name of my company’s website and thought it he remembered it...that we had helped sponsor the show on ‘XPN for a while. I replied that he was correct, and to tell a mutual friend that I said, ‘Hi’.   That’s when he realized that he knew me.

The Forum has grown considerably since those early days. In fact, we currently have 589 Members. While some of them know me personally, I have never met most of them. I have been able to keep my anonymity.

In closing, is it unfortunate that you were offended by something you thought you saw on the CompuDudes website? Indeed.  Will I change my username to avoid confusion in the future? Not a chance. :)

<Ed. Note: My how time flies! Some of this is fairly dated, including the fact that the CompuDudes radio Show has, sadly, ended. On the other hand, we've got lots more Members!>