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Admin
This is not the frist time I've been in the right-but-wrong time zone. At least one server thinks I'm somewhere in Africa. That time zone is correct now, but in a few weeks' time I'll have DST and they won't.
Admin
Lyle, have a look at password managers. This is exactly the problem they solve.
Admin
At least the image upload gave a specific error. Usually I just get generic "Something failed, try again later".
Admin
Telling a Slovakian they have to live in Czech time is probably a bit of a diplomatic faux pas as well
Admin
If the site is designed correctly, that would indicate that the error was something that you can in no way fix, workaround, or anything like that, apart from by just waiting.
Admin
Maybe Google understands that some people may live in one location, but their daily schedule for remote work (or whatnot) is based in another time zone?
Admin
Okay, I re-read it and somehow missed the fact that the offered only one time zone. A gentle reminder that I'm an idiot, sometimes.
Admin
Most of the garbage I have to support doesn't even go to that level of details. Best I usually get is 'There was an error'. Ok. Great. Thanks for that. Really (long list of profanity removed) helpful.
I don't expect a bespoke error for everything that may occur - though developers should know the most common reasons and write appropriate messages for them - and I'm well aware that error message scare the normal users, but at least give us an option to see something technical so we've got at least some faint hope of being able know where to start looking to fix it (assuming that it is something we can fix).
Useless error message are a plague within the industry and developers should be ashamed for writing such drivel.
Admin
Unless it's a stupid vendor that requires that you set up your account with the mobile app, and now you lose your desktop access to uniquely generated passwords and automatic storage of them in your password manager.
All. Too. Often. Please, let me sign up for your service with a real keyboard and password manager. Please.
Admin
I think the problem that got me was a particular website at which my username was (probably) "lyle" and my email was something like [email protected]. The website got hacked and decided to force a reset of all passwords. "Hello, you must choose a new password, please supply your email address here to initiate a password reset". Password manager didn't help.
A related scenario that has afflicted me is a handful of accounts my late mother set up using an email address tied to her ISP's domain. Can't readily get access to that email address again.
I am sensing the possibility of a talk sometime in the next year or two. "New Phone, Who Dis"
Admin
"Useless error message are a plague within the industry and developers should be ashamed for writing such drivel." Microsoft has always (or at least since the 1980's) been the kings of useless error messages. One I encountered ages ago: "Error: Intersegment Self-relative fixups. Explanation: Intersegment self-relative fixups are not allowed." Well gee thanks for that, Batman.
Admin
Not sure whether IANA has to be blamed here, or Google.
The time zone which is used in Slovakia is called Europe/Bratislava, which in the IANA tzdb is an alias for Europe/Prague (the time zone used in Czech republic). The suggested label for display is CET or CEST, so not sure what exactly translated Europe/Prague to "Czechia time". Maybe it was indeed Google.
Admin
Would be curious how the timezone of Denmark is called, since Europe/Copenhagen is also an alias for Europe/Berlin.
Admin
Deutschland Zeit
Admin
Could the nVmE mis-categorisation be due to the fact that sub-100 NvMe devices have been pushed into a higher price bracket by the data-centre goldrush?
Admin
Even without Googling the text of the error, I can guess the this is some sort of linker error. Since it is Microsoft and it is talking about segments, I wonder if it is something calling into or out of a Win16 code module. I'd be looking for weird compiler or linker flags and strange annotations on function declarations as a start.
Admin
It is a security feature: "OWASP emphasizes that error messages should not disclose sensitive information!"
Addendum 2026-03-29 01:27: Edit: I am aware, that some (most?) error messages are only due to laziness.
Addendum 2026-03-29 08:29: test
Admin
I'm wondering what sort of 20th century PW managers you folks are using that don't record the email = userid, the PW, and the URl of the site. And let you add notes for special situations like the email you used when that's not also your login ID. And doesn't work (and sync) across all your devices and all your OSes and all your browser brands and also works with all your mobile apps.
Seriously, all these are totally solved problems 10 years ago. Sure there's gonna be edge cases for folks with truly pathological combos of devices, software, & especially old versions.
Admin
I went back to basics: I use a card index.
Every site I have every visted has a card with the URL, email address used (I have many), the mentally generated long password and any other stupid security question/answer sequence they want answered. Currently have over 400 cards in it.
Can't use it for mobiles, obviously, but I don't do email on my phone and rarely have to log into something else. "Good enough" for me.
Admin
That's why Fastmail has an integration with 1Password to provide "Masked Emails". The Fastmail app works on both mobile and desktop (including Linux) and you can sign up for things with a new random address for each one, which will get saved as an alias in your Fastmail account with the site and password in your 1Password account.
Admin
Are you implying that I have to change my detailed error messages to be more vague? My users find it useful to see: "Characters 2,3,7 of your password is/are incorrect"
Admin
Putting the email used for registration into the passwordmanager's comment field would have been good advice to younger me. Services switching from login names to asking for email address got me in the past
Admin
I use Gmail + aliases for per-site emails, so I do actually receive the emails. So long as I keep the signup email, it'll tell me what address I used for that site.
The downside is that I still get all their spam.
Admin
Why would you write ⋝ instead of ≥? In fact, I think most people tend to write it ⩾ on paper. Then there's those freaks who write it with the full equals sign like ≧ so I really don't know anymore.