Supporting the Short Bus

Has anybody heard of Bookmarks Synchronizer? It's a handy little gadget that allows you to keep, say, your work Firefox bookmarks synced with your home Firefox bookmarks. Great. Wonderful. How's it work? It automatically uploads and downloads your bookmarks from a central server. Okay.

What if your work doesn't allow you to use FTP? Well, they came out with a version of the Synchronizer that uses HTTP or HTTPS. Excellent.

What if you couldn't find any way at all to connect to your online storage space via HTTP? What would you do? Contact tech support, right? Of course!

What if your tech support couldn't support their way out of a paper bag?

Sean > Thank you for contacting Comcast. My name is Sean. May I have
your name please?
welgin > Hi, my name is Wayne
Sean > What can I do for you today?
welgin > I'm trying to use my online storage folder for synchronizing
my bookmarks with Mozilla Firefox, and the synchronizer that I'm using
asks me for either an HTTP, or HTTPS host so that I can upload my
bookmarks file to it. What is a host address that I can use for
Comcast with my userid and password?
welgin > I have already tried using upload.comcast.net, but that isn't
working. I also tried home.comcast.net and webauth.comcast.net.
Sean > The address you need in order to upload your files using ftp
is: ftp://upload.comcast.net
welgin > I cannot use FTP from work because we have firewall. Is there
an address I can use for HTTP or HTTPS?
Sean > Well that http uploader.
Sean > Login to the www.comcast.net website,
*** somehow, my cursor focus moves over to the End Session button
before I can stop his idiotic answer and we get disconnected ***
Sean > Because you've left the chat room, I will now close this chat
session. Thank you for contacting Comcast.
Sean > Analyst has closed chat and left the room

*** I connect to Live Chat Support again ***

Anna > Thank you for contacting Comcast. My name is Anna. How may I help you?
welgin > Hi Anna, I was just talking with Sean and my cursor focus
somehow changed and accidentally ended our session...
Anna > Hello, am I chatting with Wayne?
welgin > Yes
Anna > Unfortunately, we do not have the ability to transfer chat
sessions, so I will be unable to reconnect you with that agent. How
can I assist you?
welgin > I am looking for a way to upload files into online storage
via HTTP or HTTPS. I cannot use FTP because of a work firewall issue.
I am trying to automate the file transfer, similar to how FTP can be
automated, but using HTTP only. I do not wish to use the HTTP file
loader because it doesn't allow me to automate the transfers using a
userid and password.
Anna > You can upload files to your webspace by using Internet
Explorer. Type ftp://upload.comcast.net into the address bar. You
will then be prompted to enter your username and password. Once
you've signed in, you can simply drag and drop the files into that
window.
welgin > Unfortunately, even that method uses FTP to upload files.
And, as I mentioned, the entire FTP protocol is being blocked by my
work's firewall.
Anna > Unfortunately, I'm not aware of any other method of
transferring files to your webspace without using FTP. If you're
unable or resticted from using FTP at work, contact your company's IT
department or wait until you're home to upload files.
welgin > Ok, thanks for your time.
Anna > Thank you for contacting Comcast. Have a nice evening.

Argh! Am I the only decent tech support left on this entire planet?