Initrode bought a UI widget library from Initech. Years passed, and eventually Initech went under. Initrode kept on keeping on, and kept using the library. Management shuffles happened, IT got downsized, and new development got outsourced.

Merlin B worked for the company that got the contract. Somehow, someone got the source code from Initech's GUI library.

public partial class SomeProcessUserControl : SomeSlightlyDifferentProcessUserControl { protected override void OnLoad(EventArgs e) { base.OnLoad(e); try { } catch (Exception ex) { string logGuid = LoggingService.LogError(ex.ToString(), string.Format("")); } } }

"I immediately thought of Linkin' Park's song 'In the End'," Merlin writes. "He tried so hard, and got so far, but in the end, it doesn't even matter."

It's pretty clear to me how this happened: company standards. One OnLoad somewhere threw an exception, and some pointy-haired-boss made a new standard: "All OnLoads must contain a try/catch and log the error out." It's also pretty clear what finally drove Initech under.

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