Enraged student eagerly complies with entitled professor’s misguided instruction, wiping out three years' worth of research

Author image for Sienna Varady
Sienna Varady
Aug 26, 2024 10:00 AM EDT

It's a commonly overlooked reality that being kind is easier than being unpleasant. Besides, the impolite individual is the only one who will eventually suffer the consequences.

The story that follows is from a displeased student. The original poster (OP) describes his encounter with a lecturer who exudes entitlement. As a student, OP gained expertise in handling a variety of personalities. But nothing had prepared him for the smug professor who was unwilling to give his students the time of day.

After a long class with the entitled lecturer, OP visited the university's surplus barn, where unwanted equipment was palletized and for sale at a reduced cost. That's where he found a used computer. As luck would have it, the computer had previously belonged to the entitled professor. So, he contacted the professor and inquired about what should happen to the last few files that were still present on the computer. The lecturer, in response, lost his cool and demanded that he immediately wipe the entire computer.

He would, however, come to regret his choice greatly two days later. That's why you should read the story below if you want to know what happens next! When you're done, don't forget to read the story about the employee whose bonus and promotion were taken away!

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  • 01
    "Get those files off the computer NOW!"
    via canva
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    Get YOUR files off MY computer? Okay!
    via u/Illuminatus-Prime
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    *** Warning: Long *** tl;dr: I bought a surplus PC. The HDD had some important-looking files on it. The former owner told me to delete them. Later, he needed the files back. The Setup While studying at uni, I crossed paths with a hostile prof (let's call him "Prof. Nastyman") who absolutely did NOT want to be questioned about anything during class. "Disruptive", he'd say. "I'm a
    via u/Illuminatus-Prime
  • 04
    researcher with a Ph.D.", he'd say. "You're wasting my time", he'd say. "Study harder", he'd say. Some of the other things he'd say would likely get this post deleted if I repeated them here. The Trigger I missed a lecture, so just before the next class started, I asked him if I might have a copy of his lecture notes from the class I'd missed. He b w up
    via u/Illuminatus-Prime
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    at me, slammed his papers down and started ripping me a new one, saying that if I was not serious about his class, then I shouldn't be in it and that I should just drop it. This went on until about 5 minutes into the class. Nobody else said a word, and the class continued. Cue the Malicious Compliance The uni had a surplus barn where unneeded equipment was palletized and sold at bulk rates. I
    via u/Illuminatus-Prime
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    got there first thing in the morning and spotted a pallet with a bunch of computer junk on it. For $50 (US), I ended up with a dot-matrix printer, a few 1200 baud modems and an "Extended Technology" PC, monitor and keyboard setup. Of course, I also got a receipt. My place wasn't far, so I borrowed a wheelbarrow and brought it all home in two trips. The printer was beyond repair. Only two of the modems still
    via u/Illuminatus-Prime
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    worked. The PC system booted up on the first try. I looked through the directory and saw what looked like drafts of a research paper and a whole lot of data files as well. The HDD's volume name was the same as Prof. Nastyman's, so I rang up his office. His secretary (a sweet grandmotherly type) answered the phone. I explained what I had found. She asked me to hold.
    via u/Illuminatus-Prime
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    A minute or two later, Prof. Nastyman himself was on the line telling me to get those files off the computer NOW. Sir! Yes, sir! I did it the right way, too. I deleted all the data and document files. Then I overwrote the empty drive space with a huge file full of random bytes of data, deleted the file, and repeated the process 6 more
    via u/Illuminatus-Prime
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    times. Then I reformatted the HDD with a new OS. The PC booted right up to the DOS prompt, and I was happy with my "new" PC. The Fallout At the next class session, Prof. Nastyman greeted me by my name, and politely asked if I had removed the files from my computer yet.
    via u/Illuminatus-Prime
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    "Of course, sir! I removed those files from MY computer, just like you told me to! Why, were they important?" He told me how important the files were, something to do with 2 or 3 years of research data for a corporate-backed project. "Sorry, sir. But you told me to get those files off my computer, so I did. Your secretary and anyone else
    via u/Illuminatus-Prime
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    listening in will verify that. Those files are gone, and there is nothing anyone can do about it." The Epilogue Prof. Nastyman had to default on his project, which looked bad for his department and the university as well. Rumors suggested that he had
    via u/Illuminatus-Prime
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    made no backups because he feared plagiarism. I had a few discussions with the dean and some others about this, but it always came down to Prof. Nastyman's own carelessness. I finished the class, got a decent grade, and never saw him again.
    via u/Illuminatus-Prime
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    bexu2.22 hr. ago How careless do you have to be in the first place to get rid of a computer containing the only copies of research data?? I'd be overjoyed if I was him and got a call saying someone "found some files with my name on it"
    via u/bexu2
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    Illuminatus-Prime OP · 21 hr. ago I really don't know what was going through his mind. He was an arrogant reactionary bl hard who shot from the lip and asked questions later. All I care about was that I passed his class and that Flight Simulator ran great on my PC.
    via u/Illuminatus-Prime
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    verminbury - 22 hr. ago If he wasn't serious about his research project, he should have just dropped it earlier.
    via u/verminbury
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    PurpleWomat 21 hr. ago. Some academics can be incredibly careless with their notes. I knew a very hippy professor (long flowing dresses, open toed sandals, the works) who liked to hand write all of her research notes. She would keep them in a pretty wicker basket on her bike as she rode to and
    via u/PurpleWomat
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    from her home each day. In Ireland. They were destroyed so many times to such dramatics that her department head had to force her to digitise them all and back them up. How some academics even survive to adulthood is beyond me.
    via u/PurpleWomat
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    atombomb1945 · 20 hr. ago I work IT for a college and this kind of thing happens all the time. Nasty professors who don't know a back up from the recycle bin. Had a professor once with a failing hard drive. We were close to losing it so I told her to make a backup before the drive
    via u/atombomb1945
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    became unusable. An hour later I get to her office and run my own back up, verifying that she had one as well. The drive failed as I ran my backup tool and that was it. New drive, new Image, and where is your backup? "Oh, I didn't make one. I just deleted a bunch of pictures so you wouldn't have to back up so much." Oh
    via u/atombomb1945
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    the anguish when she found out the only copy of her dissertation was gone. Years of work down the drain.
    via u/atombomb1945
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    gbroon 21 hr. ago • I remember from my uni days that lecturers ranged from fantastic with a passion to teach their subjects through to p d that classes took them away from their research work. Sounds like this guy was firmly in the latter.
    via u/gbroon
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    TheHorizonLies · 21 hr. ago Who gives away their computer without removing the files from it? Wouldn't he have had a new computer that he would need the files to be on? If he was using those files for his research, seems strange to just get rid of them
    via u/TheHorizonLies
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    ReactsWithWords · 20 hr. ago Yeah, that's the part that doesn't make sense to me, either. However, I've worked with my share of professors so I have no doubt the story is true.
    via u/ReactsWithWords
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    Zarjaz1999 20 hr. ago Can't help feeling a bit sorry for the guy losing years of his research work. Speaking as a former Research Fellow, I carefully made backups of my backups! But I know some eccentric profs never really understood how computers worked and how easily files got corrupted in the early days of PCs. Once you had it happen, you learn!
    via u/Zarjaz1999
  • 25
    FixinThePlanet - 21 hr. ago Did you somehow know you'd find his computer there or was it a coincidence? Were you a regular at the computer gr eyard?
    via u/FixinThePlanet
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    Illuminatus-Prime OP · 20 hr. ago I used to go there whenever I had the time and a few dollars to spend. Too bad I could never afford the scanning electron microscope.
    via u/Illuminatus-Prime

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