Comment On Web 0.1 Forms

What's so odd about someone printing out and mailing a form? I've had customers who, to reply to an email, print out the email, write their reply on the email, scan the reply, and then send it back to us as an attachment.

How did the guy confirm is network with a typewriter?

I want to click on paper links. Seems very Charles Stross-ish. OCR, motion sensor... how hard could it be?

CAPTCHA: ingenium, which is what it would take to do something like that.

It's strange that you blur out the website details when googling a phrase from it gets you right there. I guess you are very polite.

when we print this on the paper we make sure to disable the link

But when I got one of those letters the link was still blue and underlined! Which is more than I can say for the links on certain sites these days...

If you go to the site for the first picture, the form actually has some hidden input values. It must have been possible to submit the form in the past, but then it broke and they didn't know how to fix it. But then again, there is no <FORM ...> tag, so who really knows... Definite WTF...

www.central-uk.com/central-uk/form.htm

Who wants to bet that in the third story, the client simply wanted the links to not appear as links (not be blue or underlined), and the WTF is just Stephen's misinterpretation and resultant embellishment?

From the page:

<meta name="GENERATOR" content="Microsoft FrontPage Express 2.0">

says it all really...

blib:

It's strange that you blur out the website details when googling a phrase from it gets you right there. I guess you are very polite.

Polite, or adverse to litigation frenzy. Better the co. in question tries to sue Google for providing a search facility, with all the precedent that goes with it, than TDWTF. Or is it....

Ben:

From the page:

<meta name="GENERATOR" content="Microsoft FrontPage Express 2.0">

says it all really...

Yea, I didn't look at it very closely. Didn't want a migraine, but I think that you correctly identified TRWTF in that one...

The guy:

If you go to the site for the first picture, the form actually has some hidden input values. It must have been possible to submit the form in the past, but then it broke and they didn't know how to fix it. But then again, there is no <FORM ...> tag, so who really knows... Definite WTF...

www.central-uk.com/central-uk/form.htm

A further WTF is that (at least on FF) when you copy and paste the contents, what you typed into the fields doesn't get copied. So not only are the instructions moronic, they're also broken. Actually, they say to "cut and paste" which is even more impossible.

Markp:

The guy:

If you go to the site for the first picture, the form actually has some hidden input values. It must have been possible to submit the form in the past, but then it broke and they didn't know how to fix it. But then again, there is no <FORM ...> tag, so who really knows... Definite WTF...

www.central-uk.com/central-uk/form.htm

A further WTF is that (at least on FF) when you copy and paste the contents, what you typed into the fields doesn't get copied. So not only are the instructions moronic, they're also broken. Actually, they say to "cut and paste" which is even more impossible.

I think they do mean cut and paste. Print it out, cut out the bit you want, paste it to the printout of your email, scan in and send!

Regarding the Recycled computer... I have a feeling someone had one of these recycled computers, and when it finally died (leaving him without computer where he could submit the form from), he asked someone to print the form out to him, so he could fill it out and send it via snail-mail. I guess going to a library (or someone with a working computer and net access) and submitting the form was just too advanced for him.

Markp:

The guy:

If you go to the site for the first picture, the form actually has some hidden input values. It must have been possible to submit the form in the past, but then it broke and they didn't know how to fix it. But then again, there is no <FORM ...> tag, so who really knows... Definite WTF...

www.central-uk.com/central-uk/form.htm

A further WTF is that (at least on FF) when you copy and paste the contents, what you typed into the fields doesn't get copied. So not only are the instructions moronic, they're also broken. Actually, they say to "cut and paste" which is even more impossible.

Geez, what terrible grammar. It's impossibler not more impossible

Even the title of the page makes me puke.
www.central-uk.com/central-uk/form.htm


captcha: suscipit

In their defense, the site is plastered all over with:

"Copyright © 1996. RCAD multimedia "

I do find it rather amusing that the offer courses in MS-Office and video game development.

CAPTCHA: uxor - Emailing in this web form is the uxors!

Hmmm.

"I think our customers would be too clueless to realize what happened."

Wisdom of the Ages, sir.

Wisdom of the Ages.

Anonymous:

I want to click on paper links. Seems very Charles Stross-ish. OCR, motion sensor... how hard could it be?

CAPTCHA: ingenium, which is what it would take to do something like that.

Sorry but we're all out of "ingenium". You'll just have to make do with "dumbasseon".

That we've got in abundance. Rather more common than hydrogen really.

Never tried to click a link on a piece of paper, but I definitely have tried to hit CTRL-Z while I was in my high school art class. Was doing a lot of photoshop work at home, and I made a mistake on my "beautiful" painting of a red pepper, and my left hand instinctively tried to hit undo on my desk.

campkev:

Geez, what terrible grammar. It's impossibler not more impossible

I believe the most correct term here would me morer impossibler. If it's even less possible than that, you'd use mostest impossibler.

In their defense (again), W3C only found 1 error and 2 warnings when doing a Validate. Quite a few sites don't comply to the standards that often. Especially no html from 1996 (and no Front Page crap!). Even TDWTF has more errors!

The real WTF in the last one is really the fact that the link gets highlighted at all.

Richard:

Markp:

The guy:

If you go to the site for the first picture, the form actually has some hidden input values. It must have been possible to submit the form in the past, but then it broke and they didn't know how to fix it. But then again, there is no <FORM ...> tag, so who really knows... Definite WTF...

www.central-uk.com/central-uk/form.htm

A further WTF is that (at least on FF) when you copy and paste the contents, what you typed into the fields doesn't get copied. So not only are the instructions moronic, they're also broken. Actually, they say to "cut and paste" which is even more impossible.

I think they do mean cut and paste. Print it out, cut out the bit you want, paste it to the printout of your email, scan in and send!

You guys. You're forgetting the most important steps: lay the printout on a wooden table, take a photograph (not a digital camera, mind you, real film for the best quality), have it processed into an 8x10 glossy, and then fax it.

Hmmm.

"You guys. You're forgetting the most important steps: lay the printout on a wooden table, take a photograph (not a digital camera, mind you, real film for the best quality), have it processed into an 8x10 glossy, and then fax it."

You forgot the Singing Telegram. I always wanted to quit a job via Singing Telegram. No idea why but the idea intrigues me.

Hey if you're going to be burning bridges then, by God, -burn- those bridges!

"when we print this on the paper we make sure to disable the ink."

FTFY

> I don't want them to be able to click on that link to go to our site.

Um... why not?

Cv:

The real WTF in the last one is really the fact that the link gets highlighted at all.

Agreed. What kind of content entry system highlights links? At least in Word you can turn it off permanently, or hit Esc just after entering for a one-time-disable.

Actually, if you look at the Recycled Computer image, everything is typewritten except for the x in "Chair Approved this Request" which is inked in, and then it looks like the dept chair initialed it. Think of all the WTFs on this site where we all laughed heartily at people not willing to lift a finger unless *all* the paperwork was completely in place. Seems to me that the individual wanted to make sure there would not be questions about the Chair approval.

On 3: Why would the application convert web addresses into links to begin with if your business is printing to paper....

From the site:

Please fill out and then cut and paste into an email to:

info @ central-uk .com

Nb: to avoid spam type this address into your email software

and then, further down:

RCAD multimedia

which is generated by:

<a href="mailto:rcad@central-uk.com"><font color="#800080" size="2" face="Arial">RCAD multimedia</font></a>

Duh!

Skizz

Edward Royce:

You forgot the Singing Telegram. I always wanted to quit a job via Singing Telegram.

Here's another way you could do it:

http://www.thatguywiththeglasses.com/videolinks/thatguywiththeglasses/sketches/64-how-i-quit-my-job

Honestly, it's hard to say which method would be more awesome.

Anon:

What's so odd about someone printing out and mailing a form? I've had customers who, to reply to an email, print out the email, write their reply on the email, scan the reply, and then send it back to us as an attachment.

I've had a customer who, when asked for a list of changes to make to a website's layout:

- used printscreen to get captures
- printed those snapshots
- highlighted the areas and penciled the changes to make
- scanned the result
- sent that to me via email

That day we laughed a lot. Before the crying started, that is.

As far as I know, the Danish Police are still entering data from one system to the next by hand.

You can report crimes etc. electronically using an official website, but when they receive the information they have to enter it again in another system.

But at least I don't think they print it out and put it on a wooden table.

The guy:

Ben:

From the page:

<meta name="GENERATOR" content="Microsoft FrontPage Express 2.0">

says it all really...

Yea, I didn't look at it very closely. Didn't want a migraine, but I think that you correctly identified TRWTF in that one...

But it worked flawlessly in IE 1.0

TRWTF is that Central-UK offer 3D *WEB* design

Adriano:

Anon:

What's so odd about someone printing out and mailing a form? I've had customers who, to reply to an email, print out the email, write their reply on the email, scan the reply, and then send it back to us as an attachment.

I've had a customer who, when asked for a list of changes to make to a website's layout:

- used printscreen to get captures
- printed those snapshots
- highlighted the areas and penciled the changes to make
- scanned the result
- sent that to me via email

That day we laughed a lot. Before the crying started, that is.

So what? Perhaps the customer doesn't know HTML or how to develop a web site, doesn't have image editing software, (insert other reasons here...), etc. Maybe it would be a good thing for customers to focus on what they *think* they need or want instead of how to actually design the underlying implementation.

The guy:

Ben:

From the page:

<meta name="GENERATOR" content="Microsoft FrontPage Express 2.0">

says it all really...

Yea, I didn't look at it very closely. Didn't want a migraine, but I think that you correctly identified TRWTF in that one...

Maybe TRWTF is that the site says copyright 1996, but FrontPage Express 2.0 was released in 1997?

blindio:

Seems to me that the individual wanted to make sure there would not be questions about the Chair approval.

Having worked someplace that took six months to get approval to buy me a chair, I can sympathize. What, not that kind of chair? Never mind.

Mike:

The guy:

Ben:

From the page:

<meta name="GENERATOR" content="Microsoft FrontPage Express 2.0">

Maybe TRWTF is that the site says copyright 1996, but
FrontPage Express 2.0 was released in 1997?

Probably made the site by hand in 1996, & loaded the site into FP for a small modification later.

The site is pretty awful, but some people here should cast their minds back to the web of 1996/7 (if they're old enough). It was pretty spartan, the era of IE4 & netscape 2-3. Digital's Altavista was still a king of search engines and google was nowhere to be seen. Javascript was slow and had minimal features.

Adriano:

Anon:

What's so odd about someone printing out and mailing a form? I've had customers who, to reply to an email, print out the email, write their reply on the email, scan the reply, and then send it back to us as an attachment.

I've had a customer who, when asked for a list of changes to make to a website's layout:

- used printscreen to get captures
- printed those snapshots
- highlighted the areas and penciled the changes to make
- scanned the result
- sent that to me via email

That day we laughed a lot. Before the crying started, that is.

If the customer knew how to do it themselves they wouldn't be paying you. What the hell is wrong with you people?

Adriano:

I've had a customer who, when asked for a list of changes to make to a website's layout:

- used printscreen to get captures
- printed those snapshots
- highlighted the areas and penciled the changes to make
- scanned the result
- sent that to me via email

That day we laughed a lot. Before the crying started, that is.

What did you expect them to do? Modify the HTML themselves? Do you out of a job?

If they paid you to do their website, then that's what you should do, not expect them to do it themselves!

Annotating a screen shot is a good way to specify small changes. Doing it on a hard copy,as opposed to editing the graphics file of the captured image, might be lame or might be very efficient. I suspect, given the quality of image-editing software available to most users, the hard-copy route is quicker, easier and more exact.

Markp:

The guy:

If you go to the site for the first picture, the form actually has some hidden input values. It must have been possible to submit the form in the past, but then it broke and they didn't know how to fix it. But then again, there is no <FORM ...> tag, so who really knows... Definite WTF...

www.central-uk.com/central-uk/form.htm

A further WTF is that (at least on FF) when you copy and paste the contents, what you typed into the fields doesn't get copied. So not only are the instructions moronic, they're also broken. Actually, they say to "cut and paste" which is even more impossible.

And if someone did do a cut from the form, then when the next user came along, all the fields would be gone!

Adriano:

Anon:

What's so odd about someone printing out and mailing a form? I've had customers who, to reply to an email, print out the email, write their reply on the email, scan the reply, and then send it back to us as an attachment.

I've had a customer who, when asked for a list of changes to make to a website's layout:

- used printscreen to get captures
- printed those snapshots
- highlighted the areas and penciled the changes to make
- scanned the result
- sent that to me via email

That day we laughed a lot. Before the crying started, that is.

So what? So they don't have FireFox with Snapshot, so they didn't want to do a Ctrl + Alt + Print Scrn and paste it into Paint. So you made fun of a non tech person who gave you the desired changed, but it wasn't in the form you wanted? Pathetic. I hope they are reading this and decide not to do work with you anymore.

carlo:

On 3: Why would the application convert web addresses into links to begin with if your business is printing to paper....

Simple: the underlying control is an embedded web browser, so the links automatically get highlighted whether you want them to or not. Why is the underlying control a web browser? Because the easiest way to format the output was HTML. Simple.

[Post #2]

Adriano:

Anon:

What's so odd about someone printing out and mailing a form? I've had customers who, to reply to an email, print out the email, write their reply on the email, scan the reply, and then send it back to us as an attachment.

I've had a customer who, when asked for a list of changes to make to a website's layout:

- used printscreen to get captures
- printed those snapshots
- highlighted the areas and penciled the changes to make
- scanned the result
- sent that to me via email

That day we laughed a lot. Before the crying started, that is.

Err, so the WTF here is that your customer is a lot smarter than you, right?

the real wtf fool:

Mike:

The guy:

Ben:

From the page:

<meta name="GENERATOR" content="Microsoft FrontPage Express 2.0">

Maybe TRWTF is that the site says copyright 1996, but
FrontPage Express 2.0 was released in 1997?

Probably made the site by hand in 1996, & loaded the site into FP for a small modification later.

The site is pretty awful, but some people here should cast their minds back to the web of 1996/7 (if they're old enough). It was pretty spartan, the era of IE4 & netscape 2-3. Digital's Altavista was still a king of search engines and google was nowhere to be seen. Javascript was slow and had minimal features.

Altavista is still king!

Wouldn't it be great to click links on paper?
Or do a CTRL+F? Man what would I give to be able to do that...

Captcha: vindico

Easiest way to format printed output is HTML?
Really? wtf are you smoking.

Highly correlated with incompetence, I stop reading whenever i see the word "bespoke

TJ:

Adriano:

Anon:

What's so odd about someone printing out and mailing a form? I've had customers who, to reply to an email, print out the email, write their reply on the email, scan the reply, and then send it back to us as an attachment.

I've had a customer who, when asked for a list of changes to make to a website's layout:

- used printscreen to get captures
- printed those snapshots
- highlighted the areas and penciled the changes to make
- scanned the result
- sent that to me via email

That day we laughed a lot. Before the crying started, that is.

Err, so the WTF here is that your customer is a lot smarter than you, right?

To be fair, this isn't an intelligence test. (Few things on the Web qualify even as tests for evolutionary suitability.)

The customer is obviously a clueless moron, but not for the "obvious" reason.

You can't write your own design requirements in HTML? N00b! Hee hee hee.

We don't understand how to convert wooden table photographs into a wire-frame and phone you back with a quote? Sob sob sob.

It amazes me that people like Adriano can find a client without bending over and greasing up.

It also amazes me that potential clients can't spot utter functional incapacity from thirty paces.

But then ... we live in strange times.

i think they meant to cut and paste each input box into the email, one at a time