Talk:Office Assistant/Archives/2023/August

Silicon Valley - Daily Active Users Episode
Parodies Clippit with Pipey. Should be mentioned in the article. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 38.99.39.129 (talk) 05:37, 20 October 2020 (UTC)

Indeed helpful?
Well, it's about time that those last three paragraphs were deleted. I wasn't vandalising! Any tips on how to INFORM the moderators that what I did was indeed helpful?

"Clippy" is not, and has never been the name of the paperclip. The (really lousy imo) comic strip User Friendly is responsible for popularizing the wrong name. The primary reference to the default Office Assistant should be "Clippit" throughout.

Also, I cannot find any reference to Seiko Sensei or the monkey elsewhere on the web. If the name is searchable when presented in its native language (japanese? chinese?) then the native language name should be in the article.


 * "Clippy" is used by Microsoft. A Google search on "site:microsoft.com clippy" gives "about 258" results. "site:microsoft.com clippit" gives "about 50" results. Microsoft themselves seem to prefer "Clippy" - David Gerard 19:16, 23 Jul 2004 (UTC)


 * 'Clippit' was the original name, but Microsoft changed it to 'Clippy' about two or three years ago. I don't know why but my best guess is that 'Clippit' is some sort of trademark infringement. --Smallbone10 16:09, 27 Aug 2004 (UTC)


 * Actually, Microsoft Word still calls it Clippit. Just look at the Office Assistant menu. -WVI


 * Would I be out of line to request that images of the Seiko Sensei and the Monkey be added if possible to complete the set, and as those are the least likely to have been seen by English-speaking readers? - IsaacSapphire 03:09, 28 July 2007 (UTC)

There is a reference link on the article. --190.28.85.251 (talk) 15:32, 13 December 2007 (UTC)

office assist
Rocky was actually inspired by a program not made by microsoft but by Hallmark (the card company). Amazingly rocky used to be a flying (superhero) dog named rover until microsoft saw the dog hallmark (it was software that acted like publisher) had made and decided to buy it. There is also a recent parrot.


 * Have you got any proof, 67.168.99.180? see edit history here --rjcuk 10:27, 8 May 2007 (UTC)

You are very very confused, Rocky is not the superhero dog or Rover. Rover was a different character that provided help in Microsoft Bob and the flying dog is Powerpup, he was an Office Assistant in 97 and isn't related to Rocky. --190.28.85.251 (talk) 15:32, 13 December 2007 (UTC)

International Assistants
The article says that there are some office assistants that are exclusive to the japanese version of office XP multilingual pack. Are there assitants in other languages (like portuguese, greek, arabic, etc.)? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 190.28.252.116 (talk) 20:13, 15 January 2008 (UTC)

True or urban myth?
Remember hearing way back in the late 1990s about religious groups complaining to Microsoft about the anthropomorphic paperclip, but I've never seen any articles... but I can't seem to find any references on Snopes.com to confirm or deny this either. Any truth to this? --I am not good at running 22:31, 7 September 2005 (UTC)

Easter egg
The article currently has an external link to a google search under the title 'Easter egg on a Google search for "Clippy"'. I don't see anything out of the ordinary there. Am I missing something, or should the link be removed? Rufous 18:14, 14 November 2005 (UTC)

User Reaction
Should not the article say how universally detested this egregious, annoying piece of patronising silliness was? Adam 06:35, 31 December 2005 (UTC)


 * Well, that's a non-neutral Point-of-View, but there's no problem in adding a section on customer's reaction, if you can back it up with some good references. Rufous 14:21, 31 December 2005 (UTC)


 * I'm all for it, under a "Criticism" section. 201.37.132.46 03:48, 26 July 2006 (UTC)

I know a lot of people who loved clippy (I'm one of them)

Who's that one guy?
I noticed on that picture showing all the office assistants, there's one that looks like Shakesphere (sp?). He's not listed in the part that describes the characters though. Define? --Red Pooka 18:40, 2 October 2006 (UTC)
 * Oddly enough, before reading your comment (but after you posted it), I added a caption to the picture listing their names. Powers T 02:02, 4 October 2006 (UTC)

He is Shakespeare, he appears as Will in Office 97.--190.28.85.251 (talk) 15:32, 13 December 2007 (UTC)

The Bard must have been turning in his grave after that insult... 88.77.153.160 (talk) 12:01, 14 October 2009 (UTC)

"Office 2004"?
It mentions an "Office 2004" in the page, but there never was an Office 2004... edit: Nevermind. I didn't think of Office Mac. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 66.119.211.30 (talk • contribs).

Download
How do you download Microsoft Word or have Office Assistant on Word Perfect?--Princess Homestar 00:00, 27 November 2006 (UTC)
 * Have you tried the Reference Desk? Specifically, the Computing Reference Desk?  Powers T 15:42, 28 November 2006 (UTC)

Yoiu have to buy Microsoft word, but you can't have Office Assistants in WordPerfect.

Melinda Gates
Nobody is going to mention that the PM of microsoft BOB was Bill Gates future wife, and that her product ended up being shoved into Office against the wishs of the Office team? 67.168.20.28 18:38, 23 February 2007 (UTC)


 * Nobody should mention it because the facts don't line up. Melinda French was the General Manager of several products in Microsoft's Consumer Division in 1993 through early 1995, including Microsoft Bob, but also Creative Writer and Encarta.  My recollection was that she retired from Microsoft with the release of Bob 1.0.  The "PM" (which is known as Program Manager at Microsoft) was Karen Fries.  Microsoft Bob was her brainchild.  Product Managers were called PDM's.  I do not recall the PDM for Bob.


 * I would argue that Melinda had very little (if none altogether) influence in Microsoft Office getting social user agents. Melinda left Microsoft in early 1995, Office Assistant didn't appear in Office 95, but did in Office 97.   Ed Fries, Karen Fries' husband was a senior manager for Microsoft Word in 1995-1996.  Finally, I would also argue that Office ignored many of the tenants around social agent interaction that Microsoft Bob had adopted.


 * Charles Oppermann (talk) —Preceding undated comment added 15:26, 23 October 2015 (UTC)

"Overview"
The "Overview" section shouldn't just jump into criticizing the Office Assistant right off the bat like it does now. All the stuff about its negative reception should be completely separate from a neutral description of the program itself and, more importantly, come afterwards. It doesn't necessarily have to be a whole new criticisms section, but it should at least be separated out into its own paragraphs. --Foot Dragoon 06:16, 11 March 2007 (UTC)


 * I agree. I think it has it's own paragraph now. --rjcuk 10:27, 8 May 2007 (UTC)

Education
I recall an older version of this article mentioned that in one version of word Clippy's credentials were present and indicated he studied at Brown University. Anyone know anything about this?

That F***ing Clip
I have no idea if it's true or not, but apparently Clippy goes by a different name within the Office development team: http://apple.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=340399&cid=21122885 Richard W.M. Jones 13:29, 26 October 2007 (UTC)


 * Re: "TFC"
 * The article mentions this and cites a MSDN blog. The MSDN blog doesn't explicitly say what "TFC" stands for, but the ./ article does.
 * Not feeling bold today. Here, you do it. jdstroy (talk) 19:31, 17 October 2008 (UTC)


 * RE: "TFC"
 * Excuse me... Could somebody please remove the beep word. Innapropiate. Please remove within 24 h Firefoxcub (talk) 23:26, 2 May 2011 (UTC)

NPOV!
This article is very anti-Clippit. Surely there is some good things about the Office Assistant? At the moment it is "clippism"! microchip08 14:55, 11 November 2007 (UTC)


 * How is the article itself anti-clippit? The article mentions what the software is for, has a cited line stating the overwhelming public hatred (I just added a quote and another source to this effect), a section on the fact that Microsoft themselves had an advertising campaign which basically acknowledges the fact that everyone hates Clippit, and various references to him in other media.  All of these things are factual.  What else is there to say?  If you can find something else that he's good for not covered, or reliable sources to cite showing that there are those who feel differently about him, Be bold and edit the page.  If there's another side to the story, I've yet to hear it. 76.204.78.104 02:35, 14 November 2007 (UTC)
 * It's just there's nothing pro-clippit. It's all "annoying", blah. microchip08 07:19, 15 November 2007 (UTC)
 * I agree the article is quite biased but I find it be humourous.Djskein79 (talk) 18:15, 19 November 2007 (UTC)
 * If there isn't anything pro-clippit out there, there doesn't need to be anything pro-clippit in the article. Indium (talk) 04:07, 10 December 2007 (UTC)

I think it's safe to close debate on this one. I'm going to remove the tag. Maury (talk) 20:13, 5 May 2008 (UTC)


 * Without tagging the article, it does seem that Clippit is presented as entirely negative. (And perhaps, by extrapolation, the technology, itself.) Comparing it to the enormously popular (and earlier) Talking Moose suggests that *some* aspects, at least, of Clippit were useful. On a subjective note, I read through the MS book on the subject, and felt the underlying technology was viable and even well-considered. I.e., even knowing Clippit's terrible reputation, I was thinking of using the technology.


 * Alpha Ralpha Boulevard (talk) 14:51, 6 May 2008 (UTC)


 * The difference between good idea and good implementation is key. Consider Balloon Help on the Mac, which was (IMHO) an excellent idea but nevertheless derided due to it's annoying implementation. Or AOCE. The problem with OA wasn't the concept, it was the implementation. And that it was widely derided, which is amply supported in references, is simply a statement of fact, regardless of whether or not the idea itself was a good one. Maury (talk) 20:08, 7 May 2008 (UTC)


 * The tools that sticks out in my mind as the worst were the early versions of the Windows Troubleshooting Wizards. Not because rule-based systems are flawed, but because, as with OA, the implementation was flawed. The troubleshooting always seemed to be fixated on a different problem than the one I had, and invariably failed to provide help.


 * When a person needs help, and the tool solves their problem, they're all for it. I remember people using OA, even while complaining about it, even while occasionally getting good information. The wrong answers seem to stick in people's minds. What would be nice is if there was sentence or two in the article regarding something it did well.Alpha Ralpha Boulevard (talk) 07:06, 10 May 2008 (UTC)

Fair use rationale for Image:WordHelpers.PNG
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BetacommandBot (talk) 06:26, 21 January 2008 (UTC)

Copyedit
Since so many folks have edited this, there were many different styles and typos, etc. I've done a standard copyedit, with one exception in meaning, which is the sentence describing why the Clippit character is seen most often. It's not, as the original said, because users were trying to activate a different Office Assistant (that doesn't make sense, why would one end up with default if trying to install a different one). It's because using the CD for other Office changes is liable to set the character back to default — would that be right?

Alpha Ralpha Boulevard (talk) 14:43, 6 May 2008 (UTC)


 * No, the default character is Clippit. But in earlier versions of Office (will have to look it up exactly when that changed), selecting/activating a different character required users to insert the original Office disc. Without the disc, it could not be activated. By activated, I mean it copied another character file from the disc to the HDD. (.ACS or ACG) So most users (who either didn't like inserting the CD or didn't have access to the CD at that point) were stuck with Clippy. This behavior was present even if the Office Assistants were set to "Run from My Computer" in Office setup. That's how he became the most popular. - xp  client  talk 02:11, 7 May 2008 (UTC)

Removing potentially harmful link
I'm removing the link to "Customizable Clippy Simulator," (http://www.rjlsoftware.com/software/entertainment/clippy/), as Google Safe Browsing and McAfee Site Advisor report the URL as potentially harmful. Both advisory sites report the presence of Trojan horses. Comments on the McAfee page describe the attacks as "pranks," but I'm pulling the link to be safe. ColorfulNumbers (talk) 15:13, 17 September 2009 (UTC)

Redirect?
I'm only kind of serious about this, but what if "stupid paperclip" redirected here? Aang94479 (talk) 19:27, 25 June 2010 (UTC)

Clarification needed?
What is the clarification need on "It used technology" in the lead. The objection is to the word "technology"? This talks about Clippy using Bob code: "The Office group was looking to address the challenge of a rich feature set and an increasingly overburdening interface of cascading menus and dialogs. Looking for a solution, they adopted the Bob code and integrated it into Office’s help interface."

Clippit makes a comeback in Word Crimes by "Weird Al" Yankovic
Clippit, the animated paperclip Microsoft Office Assistant, makes an appearance in the music video at the lyrics, "Just keep in mind that 'be', 'see', 'are', 'you' are words, not letters. Get it together.  Use your spellchecker."

DaDoc540 (talk) 02:18, 20 July 2014 (UTC)

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Explain criticism
This article mentions widespread criticism and has a section about it. However, it does not (or, to be correct, only very superficially) explain what was actually criticized about it. Since many of the younger readers probably didn't have joy to experience it themselves it would be great to include this as well. When I read an article stating all the time that something was widely criticized and badly received, I would really like to know why. 129.16.41.192 (talk) 09:45, 7 November 2018 (UTC)

A valid argument. Let us expand it somehow. Zezen (talk) 15:59, 8 November 2019 (UTC)

Found this And a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research, recently highlighted by Vocativ, has identified one more reason why that little paper clip sent so many people into rage spirals: Digital assistants tend to make us feel powerless. It’s not just Clippy, in other words — it’s his entire species. [...] The mainstream may never be ready for this particular social user interface. People value autonomy at work above all else, but it’s a hard thing to achieve when a smiley face (or a pixelated paper clip) won’t stop telling you what to do.

https://www.thecut.com/2016/05/people-hated-clippy-because-he-made-them-feel-powerless.html Zezen (talk) 16:03, 8 November 2019 (UTC)

Names in other languages
[It’s not in the article yet, but I’d second it:] Is there any point in listing some foreign names for the main character (like, for instance, with Thomson and Thompson)? In German, for example, Clippit is called Karl Klammer, a combination of an older male name and “[paper] clip”. It’s mere trivia, and not particularly English-related, but it may illustrate a droll diversity in translation works. -- Gohnarch░ 07:49, 21 October 2020 (UTC)

Mascot Suit
Microsoft owns a full size Clippy mascot suit. They bring it out for special occasions, mostly employee parties. Blurrr2 (talk) 17:58, 19 June 2023 (UTC)

Paperclip maximizer


The term "clippy" has long been used, in reference to the office assistant, as an anthropomorphic personification of the AI safety concept of a paperclip maximizer. See, for example, Gwern's fiction "It Looks Like You’re Trying To Take Over The World", or the many uses of the term in this manner on LessWrong, a rationality forum often used for the publication of AI safety research. (including this demonstrative novelty account, for example /users/clippy)

I think this warrants some reference on the page, though I'm not sure how to integrate it personally as I'm not experienced with wikipedia writing. Paperclip petter (talk) 18:48, 8 August 2023 (UTC)