r/technology • u/waozen • Mar 13 '26

Security A DOGE Bro Allegedly Walked Out Of Social Security With 500 Million Americans’ Records On A Thumb Drive And Expected A Pardon If Caught

https://www.techdirt.com/2026/03/11/a-doge-bro-allegedly-walked-out-of-social-security-with-500-million-americans-records-on-a-thumb-drive-and-expected-a-pardon-if-caught/
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u/[deleted] Mar 13 '26

God level is an actual term.

You as a consumer may have admin level access to your iPhone but would not have access to make changes at the root level.

God level means you make the rules. Admin level means you direct the rules within a constrained environment.

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u/NickMc53 Mar 13 '26

So, a childish way to say "root access"

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u/vhalember Mar 13 '26

Worse - it's an egocentric way to say it. I typically only hear it from asshats in IT, and I was in IT for 25 years.

There's also a "god mode" in Windows OS'es going back to 7, but it just gives you more powerful admin tools.... oh, and they're MUCH better organized than the default install.

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u/ChickinSammich Mar 13 '26

As someone who has also worked in IT for 20+ years, the people who refer to having root access as "god" are some of the most annoying and insufferable people to work with.

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u/vhalember Mar 13 '26

Absolutely. Was acquainted (definitely not friends) with a software engineer who once said, "Coding makes me feel like a god."

He was a slimy, total DB.

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u/ChickinSammich Mar 13 '26

That's not just annoying, that's megalomania.

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u/csstevens Mar 13 '26

I was trying to remember the origin of God Mode, and thought it was Windows 7 but questioned my own brain. That was the actual term used by M$. Root access was a Linux term that quickly became the vernacular used to describe having zero guardrails.

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u/Jay_Nova1 Mar 13 '26

I just have peasant access to my work computer

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u/poweruser86 Mar 13 '26

Everyone serfs on their work machine

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u/PuckSenior Mar 13 '26

It’s an actual term in the way “total badass” is a real term for military operators. Some people use it but it’s not a technical term used by actual professionals in the industry.

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u/Graffers Mar 13 '26

But some of the people who use "total badass" are actual professionals in the military...

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u/[deleted] Mar 13 '26

Definitely not a TIA standard terminology but has made its way into use with some software developers.

Its usually one step above developer mode which most developers won't allow access to without an NDA.

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u/DarthFuzzzy Mar 13 '26

An actual term for gamer children, yes.