Comment On MAN WALKS ON MOON

Regarding the windows resizing, this may be *somewhat* valid. In the old days, Netscape would reload the content from the server if you resized the window. It looks like the developer was aware of that and did not want the user submitting multiple requests for the same page.

nice

Judging by the background texture, I'd say KC was right, this is an archaic but once-valid warning to Netscape users. Probably because the web application in question is holding some sort of state in a javascript array in a background frame, or similar.

The application will crash. Yes/No?

Bet those burgers went straight to a Jack in the Box...

kc:

Regarding the windows resizing, this may be *somewhat* valid. In the old days, Netscape would reload the content from the server if you resized the window. It looks like the developer was aware of that and did not want the user submitting multiple requests for the same page.

It may also be a poorly written Java applet. Window resizing (or just about any window event) will cause a paint() method call, which they may be using for something besides just repainting.

Michael:

It may also be a poorly written Java applet. Window resizing (or just about any window event) will cause a paint() method call, which they may be using for something besides just repainting.

Hmm, that looks like applet grey all right. Logic in the paint method. Brillant

Way before DHTML, HTML whas rendered only once. So whas somewhat RIGHT that a browser need to request the html file to re-render it again. But done right the request will get the file from the hard-disk, as will be stored. But If something go wrong (like the page is not caches, because is a dynamic page..) can be re-requested to the server, hence the problem... with bad coding on the server, because you have to make it safe to try that (maybe store in the session the sucesfull steps on this process, or make it atomic).

The "Times New Roman" one is funny,.. with a followup about Anibal Sans Serif.

Thank God I prefer Arial burgers......

Reminds me of playing NetHack in Exploration Mode.

You have died. Die? y/n

Google News, which I use and mostly like, seems to FREQUENTLY have a picture next to any random story. The picture will be captioned "Dog Flu Diet and Diseases". Regardless of the subject of the story.

"Dog Flu Diet and Diseases" (www.dogflu.ca) seems to be a catchall Web site (its tagline is "Dog Health and Human Health Information".

The "About Us" page says "Dog and human health are two very important aspects of our society that people need to be kept abreast of at all times". So true. :-)

Weird combination.

What the hell is an Onyen? Do I want it? I think I want it. Sounds tasty.

UNC's Onyon:
https://onyen.unc.edu/cgi-bin/unc_id/services

That first one is a run-on sentence, if I ever saw one, and I have seen many in my time; of course, I have writing skills far in excess of a mere news 'journalist', one who writes news for "the wire" or the Internet and I know when a sentence is poorly structured, but especially, when a sentence is simply too damned long!


The days of good English has went!

Mike Houghton:

Judging by the background texture, I'd say KC was right, this is an archaic but once-valid warning to Netscape users. Probably because the web application in question is holding some sort of state in a javascript array in a background frame, or similar.

I kind of wonder what happens if you abort part way through this process. Do I get a partially created account that can do anything but email? Can I crash the thing after it creates my account, but before it imposes limits on my disk space usage?

Why do I need a running commentary on administrative processes anyway? Security through obscurity is one thing, but boldly describing every information system you're in contact with in real time as you create account entities on multiple systems is another.

If it's a browser-side Java applet...why? Does the thing download database client code (complete with administrative credentials, since the user isn't supposed to know those) then log into all the campus servers from the client's PC to establish all these privileges? Even with a protocol like Kerberos, where the credentials are limited both in time and in capability, the client still has at least a few minutes to run amok with fabulous account creation powers.

Or is it just an unnecessarily complex progress bar (and redundant too, judging from the text just below it on the same page)?

ParkinT:

That first one is a run-on sentence, if I ever saw one, and I have seen many in my time; of course, I have writing skills far in excess of a mere news 'journalist', one who writes news for "the wire" or the Internet and I know when a sentence is poorly structured, but especially, when a sentence is simply too damned long!


The days of good English has went!

Put that in all caps, misspell any words with more than 2 syllables, and throw in some racially derogatory comment and you've got yourself a perfect youtube comment

ParkinT:

That first one is a run-on sentence, if I ever saw one, and I have seen many in my time; of course, I have writing skills far in excess of a mere news 'journalist', one who writes news for "the wire" or the Internet and I know when a sentence is poorly structured, but especially, when a sentence is simply too damned long!


The days of good English has went!

Put that in all caps, misspell any words with more than 2 syllables, and throw in some racially derogatory comment and you've got yourself a perfect youtube comment

DWalker59:

Google News, which I use and mostly like, seems to FREQUENTLY have a picture next to any random story. The picture will be captioned "Dog Flu Diet and Diseases". Regardless of the subject of the story.

It's not a caption - it's a source. It just means the picture came from dogflu.ca, which Google has apparently decided is called "Dog Flu Diet and Diseases".

Searching Google for the phrase "Dog Flu Diet and Diseases" seem to suggest that Google made this up all on its own.

CynicalTyler:

What the hell is an Onyen? Do I want it? I think I want it. Sounds tasty.

Onyens are tasty on burgers.

Zygo:

Why do I need a running commentary on administrative processes anyway? Security through obscurity is one thing, but boldly describing every information system you're in contact with in real time as you create account entities on multiple systems is another.

If it didn't provide that running commentary, you might mistakenly think it was doing unnecessary bookkeeping.

The beauty is that it takes about 5-10 minutes of 100% cpu usage to offer you the error in configuration.

The resize warning is valid if the web page has Javascript that re-acts to window re-sizes. I've had to code pages like that where a browser re-size forced a page refresh. It was using J2EE and we weren't doing AJAX like stuff.

ParkinT:

That first one is a run-on sentence, if I ever saw one, and I have seen many in my time; of course, I have writing skills far in excess of a mere news 'journalist', one who writes news for "the wire" or the Internet and I know when a sentence is poorly structured, but especially, when a sentence is simply too damned long!


The days of good English has went!

...and you wonder why nobody calls you.

We has seen the enemy, and he is us!

Some CLASSIC Newspaper Headlines:

GATORS TO FACE SEMINOLES WITH PETERS OUT -The Tallahassee Bugle
MESSIAH CLIMAXES IN CHORUS OF HALLELUJAHS -The Anchorage Alaska Times
GOVERNOR'S PENIS BUSY [should be "Pen Is"] -The New Haven Connecticut Register
THANKS TO PRESIDENT CLINTON, STAFF SGT. FRUER NOW HAS A SON -The Arkansas Plainsman
CLINTON PLACES DICKEY IN GORE'S HANDS -Bangor Maine News
STARR AGHAST AT FIRST LADY SEX POSITION -The Washington Times
CLINTON STIFF ON WITHDRAWAL -The Bosnia Bugle
LONG ISLAND STIFFENS FOR LILI'S BLOW -Newsday
ORGAN FESTIVAL ENDS IN SMASHING CLIMAX -San Antonio Rose
PETROLEUM JELLY KEEPS IDLE TOOLS RUST-FREE -Chicago Daily News
TEXTRON INC. MAKES OFFER TO SCREW COMPANY STOCKHOLDERS -The Miami Herald
MARRIED PRIESTS IN CATHOLIC CHURCH A LONG TIME COMING -The New Haven Connecticut Register
GOVERNOR CHILES OFFERS RARE OPPORTUNITY TO GOOSE HUNTERS -The Tallahassee Democrat
Lansing Residents Can Drop Off Trees
Man Minus Ear Waives Hearing
Deaf College Opens Doors to Hearing
Air Head Fired
Steals Clock, Faces Time
Prosecutor Releases Probe into Undersheriff
Old School Pillars are Replaced by Alumni
Bank Drive-in Window Blocked by Board
Some Pieces of Rock Hudson Sold at Auction
Sex Education Delayed, Teachers Request Training
Include your Children When Baking Cookies
4-H Girls Win Prizes for Fat Calves
Dead Bassist Receives Transplant - [referring to a member of the band "Grateful Dead"]
Would She Climb To The Top Of MR. Everest Again? ABSOLUTELY! -The Houston Chronicle
Include Your Children when Baking Cookies
Something Went Wrong in Jet Crash, Expert Says
Police Begin Campaign to Run Down Jaywalkers
Drunk Gets Nine Months in Violin Case
Iraqi Head Seeks Arms
Is There a Ring of Debris around Uranus?
Prostitutes Appeal to Pope
Panda Mating Fails; Veterinarian Takes Over
British Left Waffles on Falkland Islands
Teacher Strikes Idle Kids
Clinton Wins on Budget, But More Lies Ahead
Plane Too Close to Ground, Crash Probe Told
Miners Refuse to Work after Death
War Dims Hope for Peace
If Strike Isn't Settled Quickly, It May Last a While
Cold Wave Linked to Temperatures
Enfields Couple Slain; Police Suspect Homicide
Red Tape Holds Up New Bridges
Typhoon Rips Through Cemetery; Hundreds Dead
Man Struck By Lightning Faces Battery Charge
New Study of Obesity Looks for Larger Test Group
Astronaut Takes Blame for Gas in Spacecraft
Kids Make Nutritious Snacks
Chef Throws His Heart into Helping Feed Needy
Local High School Dropouts Cut in Half
New Vaccine May Contain Rabies
Hospitals are Sued by 7 Foot Doctors
Eye Drops off Shelf
Squad helps Dog Bite Victim
Shot Off Woman's Leg Helps Nicklaus to 66
Enraged Cow Injures Farmer with Ax
Stolen Painting Found by Tree
Two Soviet Ships Collide, One Dies
Two Sisters Reunited after 18 Years in Checkout Counter
Killer Sentenced to Die for Second Time in 10 Years
Deer Kill 17,000
Arson Suspect is Held in Massachusetts Fire
British Union Finds Dwarfs in Short Supply
Ban on Soliciting Dead in Trotwood

Ah, the Times they are New Roman.

> Regarding the windows resizing, this may be *somewhat* valid. In the old days, Netscape would reload the content from the server if you resized the window. It looks like the developer was aware of that and did not want the user submitting multiple requests for the same page.

Then you make sure to use POST not GET for the web page. It will warn you about not submitting POST data twice. With GET, you're telling the web browser it doesn't matter.

Of course, lazy web developers use both, don't care about the difference, and don't seem to mind that they're making it easy and convenient to screw up the application by accident.

Note that I say 'by accident' because anyone who wants to can screw with POST data deliberately; you cannot trust anything that's user submitted, there are very easy ways to manipulate every single thing sent from the web browser.

Anon:

DWalker59:

Google News, which I use and mostly like, seems to FREQUENTLY have a picture next to any random story. The picture will be captioned "Dog Flu Diet and Diseases". Regardless of the subject of the story.

It's not a caption - it's a source. It just means the picture came from dogflu.ca, which Google has apparently decided is called "Dog Flu Diet and Diseases".

Searching Google for the phrase "Dog Flu Diet and Diseases" seem to suggest that Google made this up all on its own.

how very odd. also www*snugglepie*com/health*html ( replace the wildcard with Paula's favorite - i ain`t no astroturfer. )

CAPTCHA: gotcha!

MagikSlinger:

The resize warning is valid if the web page has Javascript that re-acts to window re-sizes. I've had to code pages like that where a browser re-size forced a page refresh. It was using J2EE and we weren't doing AJAX like stuff.

function doImportantStuff(){
// 9/21/2007 - Fix this crap.
//alert("Please don\'t resize the window.");
//

safeResize = true;
}

function onResize(){
if(!safeResize){
location.reload();
}
}

Just thank God it wasn't Comic Sans MS.

The wacky headline is a really common quirk of Google news. I'm surprised the submitter thought this was anything unusual. I've seen stuff like "Click here to comment" as a headline. As news sites change their layout Google's article parser is going to get thrown for a loop. Usually they fix things like this fairly soon. It's common. Doesn't really deserve a "worse than failure" status.

Actually that "Error in configuration" dialog text is truncated. The full text reads:

Full text:

Error in configuration is preventing nuclear missile strikes on defense installations and large civilian populations. Load default configuration and resume launch?

[ Yes ] [ No ]

Now what kind of user would click Yes? Seriously.

P.S. Yes, Sony Ericsson is really that evil. ;-)

Anonymous Coward:

The application will crash. Yes/No?

You jest, but the application I work on has this in almost every error trap. I wrote an elegant error reporting routine with a debugging feature -- set a global, and the message boxes give "OK" and "Cancel" options. "OK" would do something test-only, like Resume Next (go ahead and laugh at my 1337 VB skillz). Flip the global, and "OK" (without the "Resume") is the only option.

By the time it went live:

* Almost every form used the standard error reporting routine. That's good, but...

* The global never got flipped to turn off OK/Cancel. That's bad, but...

* Nobody implemented the debug mode. That prevents the OK/Cancel from causing any problems. Of course, that's a classic WTF -- it works, but it would have been better if it didn't.

Perfect timing... I was just installing the SonyEricsson PC Suite today and got the following great dialogs:

ParkinT:

Some CLASSIC Newspaper Headlines:

Best ever, hands down - SuperCaleyGoBallisticCelticAreAtrocious (when Celdonian Thistle scored a massive upset against Celtic in the Scottish FA cup).

my favorite headline ever:
WHO WANTS TO SEE A WILLY ON AIR?

(after a full-frontal gameshow aired in the UK)

kc:

Regarding the windows resizing, this may be *somewhat* valid. In the old days, Netscape would reload the content from the server if you resized the window. It looks like the developer was aware of that and did not want the user submitting multiple requests for the same page.

The real WTF is that web developers still take Navigator into consideration. I mean, at least IE has the pressure of a horde of unwitting users behind it...

--

"Would you like an error with that?"

Dan:

Put that in all caps, misspell any words with more than 2 syllables, and throw in some racially derogatory comment and you've got yourself a perfect youtube comment

Don't forget to post it twice.

And you will die if you read this comment. And if you already did, you must post it to at least 5 boards within 24 hours and then you'll meet the love of your life next Friday.

ParkinT:

Some CLASSIC Newspaper Headlines

The German news magazine Der Spiegel has a weekly column for funny headlines or news articles called Hohlspiegel which literally means concave mirror, but it's more of a pun since "hohl" (hollow/concave) also informally means stupid.

Here are some translated examples:

From a birth announcement: "The happy parents Stefanie, Matthias and Johannes ..." (I guess the fatherhood test is still pending.)

"There were 700 noses in the room, who heard a compelling, unconventional, partially inconvenient and entertaining speech."

Headline: "In Porz, more people are buried than die"

Headline: "Hunger strikers cook for themselves"

Headline: "Peace prize consternated about dead laureate"

From a news article: "Women don't live longer than men, they just die later."

Phillip Pearson:

Perfect timing... I was just installing the SonyEricsson PC Suite today and got the following great dialogs:

I literally fell off my chair laughing at the second dialog. That's the best Error'd I've seen since GIVE CONES CHANGE THE MACHINE.

Zygo:

Actually that "Error in configuration" dialog text is truncated. The full text reads:

Full text:

Error in configuration is preventing nuclear missile strikes on defense installations and large civilian populations. Load default configuration and resume launch?

[ Yes ] [ No ]

Now what kind of user would click Yes? Seriously.

P.S. Yes, Sony Ericsson is really that evil. ;-)

Do you want to play a game?

[Yes] [No]

Or White Castle! Yum. :)

I'll have some Onyens on my burgers please

or Waffles

Onyen seems to be another campus-wide WTF.

From https://onyen.unc.edu/cgi-bin/unc_id/services et al.:

"Every Onyen is associated with a particular person via his or her PID."

No shit, I say. I've got, lemme see,

$ ps axh|wc -l

108

that'd be 108 PIDs, please.

"Although Onyens are managed by one department (ITS), they are available for use as authentication keys to any campus department or group."

Cuz, ya'now, the only names you'll ever need are very good as authentication keys.

"UNC requires that people creating and using an Onyen have an active personal identification (PID) number."

Obviously, Onyen is not. You need more!

"For security purposes, Onyen passwords expire every ninety days."

Obviously, they had way too many Onyens for lunch. If my current school introduced such a policy, I'd write a letter to the head of their IT (copied to the COO), stating that either they abandon that in a week, or they lose a student.

"August 1, 2007 - Termination of access to Onyen, files, web pages, and ITS research computing services.

June 1, 2008 - Files and data deleted."

Yeah, because there's a point in terminating the access first, and deleting the files later. You know, files are very useful even if you can't access them.

It's not WTF University anymore, it's UNC Chapel Hill!!

Cheers!

Kuba:

Onyen seems to be another campus-wide WTF.

As a UNC alum, I'll second that. They really do make you change your password every 90 days, and enforce all sorts of password strength rules (special characters, no repeating previous passwords, etc) that make it basically impossible for you to ever remember what your password is. And their website doesn't seem to have changed since 1996, which explains the Netscape-ish warnings at least.

As a further WTF, I graduated over two years ago, but my UNC email account is still active and forwarding (mostly spam) to my gmail. Can't turn it off because, go figure, I can't remember my password.

One of my favorite headline, from back in 1996:

BUFFALO SIGNS DEAL WITH SATAN

Of course, it was Miroslav Satan signing on with the Buffalo Sabres NHL team...

I'll take Onyens on my burger, but no serifs. They give me the trots...

No Java applet, and at the time it was written, no javascript either. Just a simple form submission with vanilla HTML. The older browsers would resubmit on resize, which really stunk. Played havoc with my session state mechanism.

That CGI script was my first Perl program, so I'm really getting a kick out of these replies. :)

From the Onion (not the Onyen), the absolute best headline ever in history. Bad language ahead, but other than that, similar to our current title.

They ran my submission! The ran my submission!

...and, it's been said, but man, they DO have a backlog. When I first saw that, I thought, 'David W... what are the odds! Wait a minute, this is familiar...' I'd completely forgotten about ever seeing it.

kc:

Regarding the windows resizing, this may be *somewhat* valid. In the old days, Netscape would reload the content from the server if you resized the window. It looks like the developer was aware of that and did not want the user submitting multiple requests for the same page.

And the developer hadn't heard of transaction based data management.