If you’ve ever dipped your toe into the world of higher education, you know that some professors can be…less than polite.

And the guy in this story sounds like a real doozy!

Check out how this student got some revenge on this nasty piece of work.

Get YOUR files off MY computer? Okay!

“The Setup

While studying at university, I crossed paths with a hostile professor (let’s call him “Prof. Nastyman”) who absolutely did NOT want to be questioned about anything during class.

You know the type…

“Disruptive”, he’d say. “I’m a 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 blew up 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.

If that’s the way you want to be about it…

Cue the Malicious Compliance

The uni had a surplus barn where unneeded equipment was palletized and sold at bulk rates. I 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 worked.

Hmmm, what’s this…?

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. 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 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.

“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.

Ouch…

“Sorry, sir. But you told me to get those files off my computer, so I did. Your secretary and anyone else 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 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.”

Reddit users shared their thoughts.

This person was shocked.

Another reader had a lot to say.

This individual chimed in.

Another person spoke up.

And this reader shared their thoughts.

If you’re mean to people, it’ll come back to bite you eventually…

If you liked this post, you might want to read this story about a teacher who taught the school’s administration a lesson after they made a sick kid take a final exam.