It's many years ago, and this pilot fish is acting as sysadmin for a test system at a big company.
"Periodically I would receive a call from someone who had not accessed the system recently, forgot their password and locked themselves out trying to log on," says fish. "I would look up their password and unlock the system for them, and they'd go on their merry way.
"One day I received a call from a young lady in just such a predicament. I looked up her password and informed her that it was 'DOME.' Just to be playful, I told her the price for me being gracious enough to unlock her sign-on was an explanation of the meaning of her password.
"She became very embarrassed over the phone, and insisted that she would never reveal her secret. I, of course, replied that I would not give her system access until she did.
"After negotiating for several minutes, she finally agreed, but she made me promise to never reveal her password's meaning to any of her colleagues.
"Well, what does that mean? I asked.
"She hesitated and then replied, 'It's two words.'
"There was a very long pause. Then I unlocked her system and simply said, 'Have a nice day.'"
Sharky's asking for your true tale of IT life. Send me your story at sharky@computerworld.com. I won't tell anyone where it came from, and you'll snag a snazzy Shark shirt if I use it. Comment on today's tale at Sharky's Google+ community, and read thousands of great old tales in the Sharkives.
Get your daily dose of out-takes from the IT Theater of the Absurd delivered directly to your Inbox. Subscribe now to the Daily Shark Newsletter.