support (idea)

support n.

After-sale handholding; something many software vendors promise but few deliver. To hackers, most support people are useless -- because by the time a hacker calls support he or she will usually know the software and the relevant manuals better than the support people (sadly, this is not a joke or exaggeration). A hacker's idea of `support' is a tête-à-tête with the software's designer.

--The Jargon File version 4.3.1, ed. ESR, autonoded by rescdsk.