System Administrator Appreciation Day -- Redmondmag.com

System Administrator Appreciation Day

You rescue the network from a server failure and what do you get? Maybe a pat on the back...

By Elizabeth Hoyt
07/27/2001

You rescue the network from a server failure and what do you get? Maybe a pat on the back before you go on to the next network or user problem. It seems like everyone takes the role of the systems administrator for granted.

Ted Kekatos, a systems administrator for 20 years, has started a grassroots Web-based campaign to change that, if only for a day. What started out as "Ted's Party," a software company picnic on the outskirts of Chicago, has turned into a worldwide effort to recognize overworked sysadmins on the last Friday in July, dubbed Systems Administrator Appreciation Day by its creator. This year, the holiday falls on July 27.

"Let's face it, System Administrators get no respect 364 days a year," Kekatos states on his Web site. Much in the same spirit of Secretary's Day, Systems Administrators Appreciation Day is a day to shower your sysadmin with techie gifts (as suggested on the Web site), but Kekatos hopes that more employees will take time out on this day just to express their gratitude.

"Remember the time your SysAdmin recovered the file that you accidentally deleted? Go and stop by your SysAdmin's desk and leave them a gift of appreciation, or give them a pat on the back, or a thank you."

Since his site first went up, Kekatos says it has received hits from all over the world. Many people send him feedback, with suggestions for gift ideas, or just to say, "It's about time. I work really hard." Last year Kekatos' site received so many hits that the server (his company's server) was overloaded. This year he transferred the site to Lycos, but with approximately 1,000 hits a day, the Web site-hosting company shut down the site. Another company now hosts the site, and Kekatos has his fingers crossed. "I just want to see how far I can get the word out."

So far his attempts to get Hallmark and BlueMountain.com to publish greeting cards for the occasion have been fruitless.

To learn more about Systems Administration Appreciation Day, go to http://www.sysadminday.com.
—Elizabeth Hoyt, Assistant Editor

About the Author

Elizabeth Hoyt is an Assistant Editor at MCPmag.com.

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