• Caffeine (unregistered)

    But he didn't change anything. He clearly just appended. Other acceptable non-changes include deletion and replacement. I am struggling to remember the last time I believed a 'i haven't changed a thing response'.

    Captcha: Facilisi. Fallacy perhaps?

  • SSDD (unregistered)

    Herb is a total idiot.

  • Anonymous (unregistered)

    First rule of debugging: Look at source control, see what changed.

    Second rule of debugging: Always assume what other developers tell you is pure bullshit. Look at the code and see for yourself.

    No source control? Then you failed the first rule of software development: Always use source control.

    If I had a dime for every time I heard, "that interface method never does X," but then it turns out that sometimes it really does do X (and even Y, Z, and washes your windows), I'd have a handful of dimes.

  • (cs)

    "What, Herb? Oh, no I didn't change anything. Can't log on you say... no idea. It says your password is incorrect? I certainly didn't change it, just added a couple of characters at the end."

  • (cs)
    Mike also learned a very different definition for the word “change” that day.
    Hopefully, here's how he learned it. [image]
  • bored (unregistered) in reply to Anonymous

    Herb is smoking the herb.

    We use source control here, this kind. Works well for small teams :)

    captcha: capio - Were those not a brand of jeans in the 80's?

  • morry (unregistered)

    "My team has been doing reconciliations on these numbers for a week now!"

    "noticed a three-day old comment at the top"

    Something don't add up here. And Herb needs an atomic wedgie.

  • (cs)

    Herb's Boss: We're not going to change anything, so we've decided to let you go. Please pack your things.

    Herb: But you said there would be no changes.

    Herb's Boss: Exactly. That's why we're firing you. No changes.

    Herb: Peaches is not going to be happy.

  • HVS (unregistered)

    CHANGE = Modify line DELETE = Remove line ADD = Insert line

  • Anon (unregistered) in reply to morry
    morry:
    "My team has been doing reconciliations on these numbers for a week now!"

    "noticed a three-day old comment at the top"

    Something don't add up here. And Herb needs an atomic wedgie.

    They might have been fine the first couple of days.

  • (cs)

    I didn't know accounts could show emotions.

    [post attempt 3]

  • SR (unregistered) in reply to lolwtf
    lolwtf:
    I didn't know accounts could show emotions.

    [post attempt 3]

    My accounts tend to weep openly.

  • Anonymous (unregistered)
    Will:
    Well a real wtf article on thedailywtf..... Cool after the almost 2 weeks...

    No kidding... long wait.

    CAPTCHA: DAMNUM

  • Bill Clinton is the Man (unregistered)

    I learned that (Herb === aTotalDick)

  • Anonymous (unregistered)

    TRWTF is that the guy was allowed to change code directly on a production server, without passing through Dev/QA first. Especially on something as critical as accounting.

  • Anon (unregistered)

    It's like you opened a portal to my life

  • Lo (unregistered) in reply to HVS
    HVS:
    CHANGE = Modify line DELETE = Remove line ADD = Insert line
    Well, when you append some text to a file, don't you think the file has changed?
  • aBase (unregistered) in reply to SR
    SR:
    lolwtf:
    I didn't know accounts could show emotions.

    [post attempt 3]

    My accounts tend to weep openly.

    I imagine their tears are outputted diffusely, as that's accounts' way.

  • Hubert Humphrey (unregistered) in reply to Anonymous

    It's a mid-sized non-software company. They probably don't have this fabled "QA" that you speak of.

    Anonymous:
    TRWTF is that the guy was allowed to change code directly on a production server, without passing through Dev/QA first. Especially on something as critical as accounting.
  • TMG (unregistered)

    I have to call shenanigans on this story merely by premise...

    Every software developer I know understands what a change is and it's damn-near impossible to get more than half of them to remember to update a change log every time. That's why we use version control. A non-developer just doesn't understand the importance of a change-log; on top of that, if he doesn't think he's changing the file, why would he update it? Anyone who would reliably update a change-log would know what "change" means.

    Captcha - paratus A good thing to be, for certain.

  • Beaker (unregistered) in reply to Hubert Humphrey

    Bull. I've worked in small companies (less than 20 employees TOTAL, a fraction of which are developers) and they've all had source control, local development boxes, and QA environments.

  • blah (unregistered)

    SHEPPARD: "Outputted"? Is that even a word?

    McKAY: Of course it is!

    RepliMcKAY: We can't both be wrong.

  • redbeard0x0a (unregistered) in reply to Anonymous
    I'd have a handful of dimes.

    You must have not been a developer for very long. I could probably have more than a handful of dimes per year at my place of employ - and it isn't even that bad here.

    As soon as you throw in customer support, then you could probably be doing about a handful a day...

  • Null (unregistered) in reply to Lo
    Lo:
    HVS:
    CHANGE = Modify line DELETE = Remove line ADD = Insert line
    Well, when you append some text to a file, don't you think the file has changed?
    I prefer to think of it as having been improved.

    "Changed" is such a metaphysically contentious concept.

  • (cs) in reply to Lars Vargas
    Lars Vargas:
    Herb: Peaches is not going to be happy.
    Showing your age there, old man.
  • (cs)

    the first paragraph is horrible to read with redundant phrases and grammar errors. I don't expect an article to be perfect, but somebody please read them at least once or twice..

  • Null (unregistered) in reply to pitchingchris
    pitchingchris:
    the first paragraph is horrible to read with redundant phrases and grammar errors. I don't expect an article to be perfect, but somebody please read them at least once or twice..
    Clench a pencil between your buttocks while reading, it helps.
  • nonny nonny (unregistered)

    Wait, I'm confused.

    So the rate calcs are supposed to change every year. It's a few days into January of 2007 and the rate calcs were, therefore, changed.

    And the solution was to roll back that change?!

  • Jabrwock (unregistered) in reply to TMG
    TMG:
    I have to call shenanigans on this story merely by premise...

    Every software developer I know understands what a change is

    You'd be surprised. I've run into the "I didn't change a thing" ranging from "I really didn't change anything" to "I changed a few settings" to "I installed totally different software" from support staff, developers, customers, etc.

  • Null (unregistered) in reply to nonny nonny
    nonny nonny:
    Wait, I'm confused.

    So the rate calcs are supposed to change every year. It's a few days into January of 2007 and the rate calcs were, therefore, changed.

    And the solution was to roll back that change?!

    Yeah. That was a WTF moment for me too.

    So now they have correctly calculated reports, but for 2006 rates...which are completely fscking useless.

    Surely he just debugged the rate change?

  • Null (unregistered)

    Why does every comment take three attempts with the "submit" button?

  • IronMensan (unregistered) in reply to nonny nonny

    When they are running 2006 numbers at the end of the year (they've been at it for weeks), yes the solution is to roll back the new rate calculations.

  • Ryan (unregistered) in reply to TMG
    TMG:
    I have to call shenanigans on this story merely by premise...

    Every software developer I know understands what a change is and it's damn-near impossible to get more than half of them to remember to update a change log every time.

    You have read the stories on this site before, haven't you?

  • (cs) in reply to nonny nonny
    nonny nonny:
    Wait, I'm confused.

    So the rate calcs are supposed to change every year. It's a few days into January of 2007 and the rate calcs were, therefore, changed.

    And the solution was to roll back that change?!

    That part didn't make sense to me either. I think something got lost in translation.

    I was expecting the WTF to be either that the accountants were complaining about some change not going in, hence "I didn't change a thing." The other possibility I considered was that the report was correct but the numbers weren't good, so some finance guy blamed a software bug instead of just saying "yeah, we had a bad month/quarter/year/decade."

  • Null (unregistered) in reply to IronMensan
    IronMensan:
    When they are running 2006 numbers at the end of the year (they've been at it for weeks), yes the solution is to roll back the new rate calculations.
    Gotcha. They wanted year-end reports with 2006 rates, but Herb the Twat had stuffed the 2007 rates in already.
  • Ozz (unregistered) in reply to Code Dependent
    Code Dependent:
    Lars Vargas:
    Herb: Peaches is not going to be happy.
    Showing your age there, old man.
    And therefore, by extension, so are you...
  • (cs) in reply to Beaker
    Beaker:
    Bull. I've worked in small companies (less than 20 employees TOTAL, a fraction of which are developers) and they've all had source control, local development boxes, and QA environments.

    Mine doesn't (though I'm working towards it).

  • (cs) in reply to Null
    Null:
    nonny nonny:
    Wait, I'm confused.

    So the rate calcs are supposed to change every year. It's a few days into January of 2007 and the rate calcs were, therefore, changed.

    And the solution was to roll back that change?!

    Yeah. That was a WTF moment for me too.

    So now they have correctly calculated reports, but for 2006 rates...which are completely fscking useless.

    Surely he just debugged the rate change?

    The way I read it, they removed the change and ran the program, which then returned correct values (for the previous year), thus establishing that it was in fact that change that was at fault. We're left to assume that Herb looked over his code, found the error, and then made the changes again, this time with correct code.

  • y0da (unregistered) in reply to nonny nonny
    nonny nonny:
    Wait, I'm confused.

    So the rate calcs are supposed to change every year. It's a few days into January of 2007 and the rate calcs were, therefore, changed.

    And the solution was to roll back that change?!

    The result of that error is now known as the world financial crisis ;)

  • teh jav (unregistered) in reply to Null
    Null:
    Why does every comment take three attempts with the "submit" button?
    The code for this forum was written by Paula.
  • (cs) in reply to Ozz
    Ozz:
    Code Dependent:
    Lars Vargas:
    Herb: Peaches is not going to be happy.
    Showing your age there, old man.
    And therefore, by extension, so are you...
    Wow, nothing slow about you but your name, and that's Lightning.
  • @Deprecated (unregistered)

    I have added to a file without 'changing' anything... if you think of 'anything' as 'any existing thing'.

    For example, adding a new function to a class, that is not called by anything yet. It's new and uncalled, and so therefore no existing code should be affected. Unless it's a SOAP method or something...

  • Deviod (unregistered) in reply to Code Dependent
    Code Dependent:
    Mike also learned a very different definition for the word “change” that day.
    Hopefully, here's how he learned it.

    ['img] White redneck with gayishly small bat and racist context/text[/img]

    Yepp, that is really relevant to the story and context. Funny--.

  • JoPoser (unregistered)

    Does anyone else have a hard time reading this website on a large screen (mines 1650px wide)? I know this is a "simple" design but CSS is there for a reason...

  • Vjg (unregistered) in reply to morry
    morry:
    "My team has been doing reconciliations on these numbers for a week now!"

    "noticed a three-day old comment at the top"

    Something don't add up here. And Herb needs an atomic wedgie.

    Never trust a time span given to you by an accountant.

    CAPTHA: immitto, as in "I immitto this comment"

  • JoPoser (unregistered) in reply to Vjg

    Not if it's Wednesday.

  • Zach (unregistered) in reply to Null
    Null:
    pitchingchris:
    the first paragraph is horrible to read with redundant phrases and grammar errors. I don't expect an article to be perfect, but somebody please read them at least once or twice..
    Clench a pencil between your buttocks while reading, it helps.

    Nope, still painful to read. But I did get a nice colored pencil out of the deal!

  • grizz (unregistered)

    Early on I learned two important lessons:

    1. Your first 3 questions when handed a problem should all be, "What did you change?"; and
    2. The first 2 answers are bald-faced lies.

    Typical interaction:

    co-worker: "The {application that interacts with my area of responsibility in some (possibly imaginary) way} doesn't work. Your stuff broke it!" me: "What did you change?" cw: "Nothing! It just stopped working! You must have done something." me: "Right. What did you change?" cw: "I told you, nothing!" me: "Uh huh. Really, what did you change?" cw: "Well, I made a little update to foo, but that couldn't possibly be the problem!"

    Nearly invariably, the "little update" to foo ends up being the problem.

    But I'm preaching to the choir here, aren't I?

  • Adam V (unregistered)

    After Herb removed the newly added lines, the situation all-of-a-sudden resolved itself, and the accountants were able to go back to running the year-end financials.

    After the company removed the newly-discovered-to-be-stupid Herb, the situation resolved itself, and the company was able to hire someone who understood the real definition of "change".

  • (cs) in reply to Deviod
    Deviod:
    Code Dependent:
    Mike also learned a very different definition for the word “change” that day.
    Hopefully, here's how he learned it.

    ['img] White redneck with gayishly small bat and racist context/text[/img]

    Yepp, that is really relevant to the story and context. Funny--.

    I agree completely!

    [image]

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