The difference between 'rm -rf /home/bob/dir' and 'rm -rf / home/bob/dir' appears subtle but it really isn't, that space makes the world of difference!
Petrified, I went to the administrator and explained what I had done. I never got the impression he thought much of me, after all, next to him I knew nothing. I knew I had messed up big time and I was sure my access was about to be removed and any thoughts of being a linux admin were down the drain. Thoughts of all the nasty things coming my way raced through my head.
He smiled. Literally, his first response was to smile. Calm before the storm I feared. He reassured me that such things happen and that there were backups. He 'punished' me by making me help build a replacement, an opportunity I'm sure he knew I would have loved to have had anyway.
Now I'm a team lead, leading a team of six linux administrators in one of the countries larger IT providers. Our team do great work that enables world changing work. From time to time someone will make a mistake in the team, and I get the opportunity to smile and help people grow.
If I had never made that mistake, or if that mistake had been dealt with differently, I wouldn't be where I am now. It's incredible the difference good people can make with just a little positivity.
I'm happy to say that the scary admin is now someone I consider a good friend, and an all-round great person. When I left that team he gave me this gift, something I treasure to this day.
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