
The Revised Prehistory of BOFH - weinzierl
http://www.bofharchive.com/BOFH-Prehistory.html
======
mindcrime
Man, I love the BOFH. These columns, along with User Friendly, Slashdot, and
Sluggy Freelance, were some of the first things I latched onto when I got a
'net connection for the first time. And as chance would have it, my first
"real job" was as a System Operator, so these struck a chord with me. It's
probably just sentimentality, but even now I feel like there's something
special about the BOFH columns, a certain "je ne sais quoi", that is lacking
from most of the rest of what's out there.

I still go back and re-read the entire archive (or most of it) from the
beginning once every couple of years or so. To anybody who hasn't had the
experience of entering the world of the BOFH, the PFY, the Boss, the Head, Mad
Ron the Sparky, and the rest of the crew, I can't recommend it highly enough.

~~~
apocrypher
Although the BOFH stories never clicked with me, I hazard that the je ne sais
pas of your reflection could be - I speak for my own recollection of the genre
- the immeasurable catharsis and balm I certainly felt, as a release from
every excruciating situation in which I so dearly would have loved to have
retorted, "Have you switched it off and turned it on again?"[0], toungue
firmly in cheek or not, without fear for my unappreciated job.

[0] The IT Crowd, UK Channel Four, available in whole on 4OnDemand, for anyone
who has been deprived.

------
teddyh
I’ve never liked the BOFH stories, even when I first encountered them in the
early 90’s I never thought they were particularly funny, and as I’ve since
become a more experienced sysadmin I’ve actually come to despise them and the
attitude they symbolize. Sure, the stories are parodies and written in an
exaggerated manner, but the underlying humor seems to be saying “ _Isn’t this
what we all really think? Isn’t this how we would all wish we could behave?_
”, which is an attitude I find deplorable.

I’ve elaborated about this here in the past, first here:

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10320829#10322378](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10320829#10322378)

and later here:

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16724962#16725937](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16724962#16725937)

~~~
vinceguidry
The relatableness of the BOFH seems to rest on what's often called the
"structured violence" of the work world. In the US, someone with the BOFH's
skills would have eventually taken his PFYs and went and started his own
business, and, well of course he wouldn't have been able to be a bastard
anymore.

But no, the BOFH is stuck in a world (the UK corporate world) where he has to
make the most out of the limited opportunity he has. And everyone around him
knows he's stuck there with nowhere really to go. So they give him a ton of
crap just because they can. I can see how this might have gotten missed by
some readers. You're expected to see BOFH as a hero because he beats them at
their own game.

You wouldn't be able to laugh at the stories if you didn't feel like the
victims had it coming. It's a classic morality play.

~~~
teddyh
> _You wouldn 't be able to laugh at the stories if you didn't feel like the
> victims had it coming. It's a classic morality play._

As I recall the stories, it was very hit-and-miss whether the victims of the
BOFH deserved it, or if they were just hapless people who the BOFH thought it
would be funny to be cruel towards. And even if they deserved something, what
the BOFH dealt them was always way out of proportion. Imagine if Judge Dredd
has been played as a comedy, with mostly horribly disproportionate violence
and death for minor offenses.

------
tempodox
> All the power and none of the responsibility.

That tradition still lives on. Look at any TOS, EULA, or standard disclaimer.

I appreciate the BOFH as an entertaining parody. Just don't try any of that at
home.

