• Tractor (unregistered)

    So... the real WTF is leaving your cat alone, or having one in the first place?

  • $$ERR:get_name_fail (unregistered)

    I am really curious how different applicants will interprete this task. Could you maybe post a few of the submissions when the application process is over?

  • Larry Lard (unregistered)

    The real WTF is a job ad that doesn't say how much you get paid...

  • (cs)

    I'd prefer that any "funny" come from the horrible reality of the WTF, not some writer trying to force his wit upon us, often to the detriment of relating what actually happened. For example, I consider the just-the-facts writing style of Shark Tank to be pretty much ideal. That's what people visit here for-- reality, not creative writing.

  • (cs)

    Is the WTF the "well done" joke at the end?

  • Bob (unregistered) in reply to Larry Lard
    Larry Lard:
    The real WTF is a job ad that doesn't say how much you get paid...

    If there's a job ad which doesn't say how much you get paid, then the answer is "not much".

  • Arete (unregistered)

    The computer got baked?

  • Thanks But No (unregistered) in reply to Larry Lard
    Larry Lard:
    The real WTF is a job ad that doesn't say how much you get paid...

    No, that's pretty typical.

    TRWTF is that it doesn't say how they would like to be contacted. That's not exactly an indicator of good communication skills. I am a writer and that turned me off. I wish them the best, but they may want to rethink their job posting.

  • Thanks But No (unregistered)

    Ah, I stand corrected. I didn't realize there was more to posting under the "full article" link.

  • (cs) in reply to Thanks But No
    Thanks But No:
    Thanks But No:
    TRWTF is that it doesn't say how they would like to be contacted. That's not exactly an indicator of good communication skills. I am a writer and that turned me off. I wish them the best, but they may want to rethink their job posting.
    Ah, I stand corrected. I didn't realize there was more to posting under the "full article" link.
    So you're a writer, just not a reader?
  • F (unregistered) in reply to Thanks But No
    Thanks But No:
    Ah, I stand corrected. I didn't realize there was more to posting under the "full article" link.

    First rule of job applications: read the job ad / spec / invitation. ALL of it. Twice (at least).

  • (cs)

    I would love to get some side money, but my writing skills are not that good. Well, not good enough for this type of job.

  • (cs)

    not sure what got cooked there, the turkey, the goose or the cat.

  • (cs)

    One morning, while Brad was on his way to the office, he noticed that his phone was steadily counting more and more unread text messages. Since Rob didn't think texting while driving was a bad idea, he kept driving, trying to focus on the road. When Brad at the office, the counter on his phone had reached Spinal Tap levels: 11 unread messages. Slightly panicled, Brad opened his inbox, only to notice that he had forgotten his own birthday.

    Of course, I can string together words. But can I make the right spelling errors? Omit words? Mix up names? Make up an unnecessary introduction? Introduce confusing metaphors? Subtly reinforce good behavior in the readers?

  • (cs)

    Submit before finishing?

  • (cs) in reply to Thanks But No
    Larry Lard:
    The real WTF is a job ad that doesn't say how much you get paid...
    In my experience, writing for TDWTF is a fun hobby that has a nice side effect of making truly extra money. I write because I want to, not because of the money.

    That said, one article is roughly the equivalent of going out for dinner.

    Thanks But No:
    TRWTF is that it doesn't say how they would like to be contacted. That's not exactly an indicator of good communication skills. I am a writer and that turned me off. I wish them the best, but they may want to rethink their job posting.
    Ummm....FTA:"Send your results to [email protected] with "Writing WTFs" in the subject line."
  • Meh (unregistered) in reply to TGV
    TGV:
    Since Rob didn't think texting while driving was a bad idea, he kept driving, trying to focus on the road.

    Well, you managed to write something completely backward there, so you've got that going for you.

  • (cs) in reply to Mark Bowytz
    Mark Bowytz:
    That said, one article is roughly the equivalent of going out for dinner.
    Dinner at the Olive Garden or somewhere actually nice?
  • (cs) in reply to TGV
    TGV:
    Submit before finishing?
    You've got skills, kid, but can you do the unicorns?
  • (cs)

    Let's see... Employee takes computer home... Not a WTF... Cat knocks over lamp and starts fire... Not a WTF... Computer survives the fire... Not a WTF... This entire article, being an ad for Apple... WTF?!

    This doesn't need much writing. An introduction to an image is needed, but other than that the image is in itself the WTF. Without the image, you would only be talking about how ridiculous the image was - it's like CodeSOD without a snippet! Or maybe the WTF is that somebody decided to make an ad out of it.

    I would potentially have made a submission, just for fun, had there been a WTF to write about. But maybe this just means I'm not cut out for the job. I'm looking forward to seeing what other people made out the WTF to be, and how they word it...

  • low flying plane (unregistered) in reply to Meh
    Meh:
    TGV:
    Since Rob didn't think texting while driving was a bad idea, he kept driving, trying to focus on the road.

    Well, you managed to write something completely backward there, so you've got that going for you.

    Whoosh!

  • Shark8 (unregistered) in reply to PedanticCurmudgeon
    PedanticCurmudgeon:
    Mark Bowytz:
    That said, one article is roughly the equivalent of going out for dinner.
    Dinner at the Olive Garden or somewhere actually nice?
    Nice. As in Burger King's "Value Menu" nice.
  • Just Another (unregistered) in reply to Larry Lard
    Mark Bowytz:
    you're going to need to invent characters, and fill in the details

    This, in case anyone was unclear, is TRWTF.

  • bc (unregistered)

    I started and got bored:

    Jacob works in an Apple store as a repair technician. Some years ago a customer came in lugging a big cardboard box that he dropped on the table. "Hi, could you have a look at my computer please, I've got a bit of a problem", he said. He opened the cardboard box and started pulling out a monitor. Or at least, what was once a monitor, but was now a black, scorch-marked box with a melted screen that stank of burnt plastic. Jacob looked at the monitor in disbelief as the customer pulled out the main unit of the computer, which was also covered in burns and melted plastic. "My cat knocked a lamp on it while I was out and it started a fire. How much will it cost to fix?", the customer said. Jacob stared at him, not sure if he was just playing a joke, and replied while trying to keep a straight face, "I believe this machine is beyond repair. The data might still be recoverable however so if you purchase a new machine..", "No no", the customer interrupted him, "It still switches on and works fine, can you just fix it?" In disbelief jacop plugged in the blackened, smelly box into the mains and plugged a monitor into the surprisingly unharmed port on the back of the machine. With a deep breath he switched it on and sure enough, everything was working fine.

    Like other commentors, I think the original ad is fine on its own and doesn't need embellishing.

  • (cs)

    So you still have the worsethanfailure.com domain? Or will my email wind up in some random sap's spam bucket?

  • (cs) in reply to Evo
    Evo:
    Let's see... Employee takes computer home... Not a WTF... Cat knocks over lamp and starts fire... Not a WTF... Computer survives the fire... Not a WTF... This entire article, being an ad for Apple... WTF?!
    I disagree...except yes, that is a vintage ad for the Apple //e. (Go buy one!)

    With that said, let's say the guy took his work computer home and the cat, instead of trying to destroy it in a fiery inferno, urinated all over it instead.

    http://thedailywtf.com/Articles/Oh,-so-THATs-whats-wrong!.aspx

    25+ years separate the two, but same basic story is 'cat ruined take home computer'. Worse than failure indeed!

  • (cs)

    I vote for snoofle.

  • (cs)

    I wanted “Money!” to be clickable for unicorny goodness, but it was yet another missed opportunity…

  • 2.068e+57 3.322e+43 (unregistered)
    Can you string words together and form a sentence?

    sentence me form together string? no. job anyway please me give?

  • (cs)

    I'm going to give this a shot. However, I'm not too happy about the reference 'WTF'. I would have preferred a generic statement of the facts, then allowed us to run a little bit with the story part of it. Hrmph.

    Editor:This is not what we would consider a "good" submission. That's part of the reason that we use it as our screening test- it's not exactly a worst-case scenario, but it's definitely a hard one to turn into a good story.

  • (cs) in reply to bc
    bc:
    I started and got bored:
    snip

    Like other commentors, I think the original ad is fine on its own and doesn't need embellishing.

    This one is highly representative of what lands in the TDWTF inbox. However, other topics for submissions will be accepted.

  • (cs) in reply to Mark Bowytz
    Mark Bowytz:
    With that said, let's say the guy took his work computer home and the cat, instead of trying to destroy it in a fiery inferno, urinated all over it instead.

    http://thedailywtf.com/Articles/Oh,-so-THATs-whats-wrong!.aspx

    25+ years separate the two, but same basic story is 'cat ruined take home computer'. Worse than failure indeed!

    I didn't like that article you're referring to at all either. A WTF requires a screwup, and a cat pissing somewhere, or throwing over a lamp starting a fire is not a WTF in any way. Next we'll be reading about WTF's about a PC that stops working because it was caught in a hurricane. Accidents happen, and this isn't a site about accidents it's a site about screw-ups. Asking for people to write something about an accident isn't a good "job interview".

    So maybe this WTF should be a "Tales from the Interview" article. That could work...

  • (cs) in reply to Larry Lard
    Larry Lard:
    The real WTF is a job ad that doesn't say how much you get paid...
    If you have to ask how much they are paying, then it is too little. Duh.
  • (cs) in reply to Just Another
    Just Another:
    Mark Bowytz:
    you're going to need to invent characters, and fill in the details
    This, in case anyone was unclear, is TRWTF.
    Seconded. How can TDWTF staff so consistently not grasp this?
  • CommentReader (unregistered)

    "It's more like beer/pizza money"

  • wyz (unregistered) in reply to PedanticCurmudgeon
    PedanticCurmudgeon:
    Mark Bowytz:
    That said, one article is roughly the equivalent of going out for dinner.
    Dinner at the Olive Garden or somewhere actually nice?
    Alone? Or will it cover the wife and kids also?
  • (cs) in reply to Evo
    Evo:
    Let's see... Employee takes computer home... Not a WTF... Cat knocks over lamp and starts fire... Not a WTF... Computer survives the fire... Not a WTF... This entire article, being an ad for Apple... WTF?!

    This doesn't need much writing. An introduction to an image is needed, but other than that the image is in itself the WTF. Without the image, you would only be talking about how ridiculous the image was - it's like CodeSOD without a snippet! Or maybe the WTF is that somebody decided to make an ad out of it.

    Other than a business using an Apple II, I don't see any WTFs here.

  • Tristram (unregistered) in reply to Zylon
    Zylon:
    Just Another:
    Mark Bowytz:
    you're going to need to invent characters, and fill in the details
    This, in case anyone was unclear, is TRWTF.
    Seconded. How can TDWTF staff so consistently not grasp this?
    This is why the sidebar is generally a better read than the main page. Maybe there's no quality control, but at least most of the posts are real. If I want to read fiction, I'll pick up a book.
  • (cs) in reply to Tristram
    Tristram:
    Maybe there's no quality control...
    Which is ironic, since the Side Bar posts (the good ones, anyway) tend to have fewer typos than what hits the main page.
  • boog (unregistered)

    "thedailywtf is looking for writers"

    ...why start now?

  • (cs) in reply to boog
    boog:
    "thedailywtf is looking for writers"

    ...why start now?

    Obviously they had a change in requirements:

    Article:
    Can you sometimes be funny?

    Just kidding guys, I do love this site ;-). Mostly.

  • (cs) in reply to SteamBoat
    SteamBoat:
    I vote for snoofle.
    Heh heh - I submitted one just to see...
  • AGray (unregistered) in reply to Zylon
    Zylon:
    reality, not creative writing.

    What's more, awful reality, not virtual reality (though, virtual reality can sometime cause WTFs in reality that are awful, thus forming said awful reality...)

    CAPTCHA: amet - Amet sit absurdum, lorem ipsum est.

  • (cs) in reply to El_Heffe
    El_Heffe:
    Evo:
    Let's see... Employee takes computer home... Not a WTF... Cat knocks over lamp and starts fire... Not a WTF... Computer survives the fire... Not a WTF... This entire article, being an ad for Apple... WTF?!

    This doesn't need much writing. An introduction to an image is needed, but other than that the image is in itself the WTF. Without the image, you would only be talking about how ridiculous the image was - it's like CodeSOD without a snippet! Or maybe the WTF is that somebody decided to make an ad out of it.

    Other than a business using an Apple II, I don't see any WTFs here.

    You're all missing it. TRWTF is living in Cincinnati.

  • (cs) in reply to Zylon
    Zylon:
    Which is ironic, since the Side Bar posts (the good ones, anyway) tend to have fewer typos than what hits the main page.
    As the site's greatest critic I would love to see an article submission from you, Zylon.
  • Harald (unregistered)

    I agree that a real WTF is not someone having goofed up during his/her IT work. We all make mistakes more than enough. A WTF also isn't something damaged or destroyed by accident.

    A real WTF needs failure, yes, but it is even worse than failure and, thus, also needs some kind of mental WTFery in the brain of the one failing/destroying/causing the damage. A mentally straight but technically unpleasant cat (because it urinates into a computer) is not a WTF at all.

    Im my opinion, the best WTFs are those about the work of people who are really good at being awfully bad. Artistic botching as a divine gift raised to genius level - that's a WTF.

    So, I think there is no need for a writer to embellish otherwise tediously normal stories but there is a need for a greater amount of actual WTFs.

    This all, of course, is only my humble opinion.

    All the best, Harald

  • (cs) in reply to Mark Bowytz
    Mark Bowytz:
    Zylon:
    Which is ironic, since the Side Bar posts (the good ones, anyway) tend to have fewer typos than what hits the main page.
    As the site's greatest critic I would love to see an article submission from you, Zylon.
    Have y'all actually understood any of the criticism?
  • Bridget (unregistered)

    As much as I like writing, I don't think think I've got the breadth of knowledge in IT necessary for this. The real WTF would be my attempt to elaborate a submission about something like PERL or any other language I've not used and am familiar with.

    That and I'd probably cry myself to sleep the first time I botched an article and got flamed in the comments as a result. Tears, runny mascara, and an entire pint of icecream.

  • dogmatic (unregistered)

    Alright I'll give it a shot...

    One time I was browsing this website that hosted a library of programming antipatterns, stupid mistakes and IT buffoonery. They said they were hiring writers and wanted submissions of how a writer would creatively interpret the WTF provided. However, said WTF was actually an antique ad for Apple computers and contained no WTF at all. TRWTF was that people actually spent time on this implausible task without knowing what they would even get paid if they were hired.

    So how did I do?

  • Anon (unregistered) in reply to Bridget
    Bridget:
    As much as I like writing, I don't think think I've got the breadth of knowledge in IT necessary for this.

    Well that's not surprising. What with being a girl and all. That's TRWTF!

    j/k

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