Examples of brain dead software design

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#3300502 23-Oct-2024 14:32

caffynz: A new one for me: I've recently downloaded an app for password-less sign-in, where at the sign-in page, instead of using my email/password, I can use the app to scan the QR code that is displayed.
After scanning the QR code, the app then asks me if it is me that is signing in (with yes/no answer options)..... Um - didn't I just pick up my phone, unlocked the app through facial recognition, toggled the QR scanner, and scanned the QR code? Who else could it have been?

Without knowing the exact workflow involved here it sounds like an anti-phisning/spoofing measure.

KiwiSurfer

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#3300511 23-Oct-2024 14:47

A face-palm worthy one I think I have just figured out today.

My colleague and I occasionally order Subway online and pick up from their shop.

We occasionally run into issues where the Subway website will suddenly throw an 'Access denied' error from what looks like their WAF.

Today I realized that when one of us order for both of us -- this error doesn't appear.

But if we decide to order separately, what happen is one of us will log on with computer #1, and the other log on with computer #2 and we both visit the Subway website around the same time, eventually at some point their WAP will start throwing 'Access denied' to both of us.

My suspicion is the Subway has a WAF that blocks an IP address if it looks like two different computers are trying to access their website at the same time. For example two people at the same company ordering their lunch around the 12:25pm from behind the same NAT router.

Really, did no one at Subway and/or their WAF vendor think of this? Surely this is not an unusual use case.

Aaron2222

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#3300764 23-Oct-2024 23:45

TinyTim: I did all my papers and thesis in LaTeX...

There's also Typst, which is quite new and a fair bit easier than LaTeX to use.

neb

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#3300767 24-Oct-2024 00:03

It can also depend on the publisher you're working with, for example several use Overleaf, which is a WYSIWYG Latex editor. Usually they'll have a corporate account so you get access to the full version at no cost.

geoffwnz

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#3300789 24-Oct-2024 08:30

KiwiSurfer:

A face-palm worthy one I think I have just figured out today.

My colleague and I occasionally order Subway online and pick up from their shop.

We occasionally run into issues where the Subway website will suddenly throw an 'Access denied' error from what looks like their WAF.

Today I realized that when one of us order for both of us -- this error doesn't appear.

But if we decide to order separately, what happen is one of us will log on with computer #1, and the other log on with computer #2 and we both visit the Subway website around the same time, eventually at some point their WAP will start throwing 'Access denied' to both of us.

My suspicion is the Subway has a WAF that blocks an IP address if it looks like two different computers are trying to access their website at the same time. For example two people at the same company ordering their lunch around the 12:25pm from behind the same NAT router.

Really, did no one at Subway and/or their WAF vendor think of this? Surely this is not an unusual use case.

I seem to recall some cases in the early days of online gaming where you couldn't create two accounts in the same household for much the same reason. So it was too bad if you and your family or flatmates wanted to play the same games as you were behind the same gateway IP address. But that was a couple of decades ago.

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#3303136 30-Oct-2024 12:26

I just updated to MacOS 15. I do not use iCloud.

"To use iCloud, you must accept the terms and conditions."

I click the Close button and it displays the T&Cs anyway. I click Cancel.

"To use iCloud, you must accept the terms and conditions."

I click the Close button and it displays the T&Cs anyway. I click Cancel.

"To use iCloud, you must accept the terms and conditions."

At this point I clicked the Accept button (a distinct action from actually reading and agreeing to them!) just to make the thing go away.

Edit: Come to think of it, I do use the iCloud password manager, but my point stands.

MadEngineer

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#3305465 5-Nov-2024 10:18

The root issue with people creating broken or otherwise faulty Outlook rules is always due to the way it uses the display name as the sender combined with the world using noreply email addresses.

If you’re going to create a rule based on an email address, why say the rule is based on the persons name?

I always change them to show the email address so it makes sense … oh and the rule name inherits the same incorrect info.

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neb

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#3305739 5-Nov-2024 22:19

Outlook's handling of this is just braindamaged in general (carrying on the fine MS Mail legacy [0]), for example it also uses the display name to try and block spam, which means you can try and block the same spam an infinite number of times and it never actually gets blocked. I assume it's relying on the spammers to be honest about their names in order to work.

[0] "Every large piece of software eventually evolves the the point where it can send mail" -> "Except MS Mail".

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#3305781 6-Nov-2024 09:33

I did a screen recording the other day. Halfway through Windows produced a big banner blocking most of the screen that squatted there for the rest of the recording. Of course it would have been just as easy to have it appear for a few seconds and then send a tiny icon to a corner as an alert, but that would require actual imagination!

Mod Edit - remove silly name.

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Behodar

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#3306790 8-Nov-2024 08:42

This isn't exactly "brain dead" because race conditions can be hard, but Xenforo. If two moderators open the same locked thread and both click on "unlock thread", then the thread will end up locked. Even though the link is labelled "unlock thread", it actually behaves as "toggle lock state". The first person to click Unlock will unlock the thread, and then the second person will switch it back to locked again.

This would have been better programmed as two separate functions, rather than a single one that toggles it.

freitasm

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#3306854 8-Nov-2024 09:55

Well, it's a good thing I programmed Geekzone, and we have two different functions. I'm glad I passed the @Behodar Test of Brain Dead Software.

But I'm sure @Behodar can find something else on Geekzone. Everyone's got opinions...

Behodar

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#3306855 8-Nov-2024 09:57

freitasm:

But I'm sure @Behodar can find something else on Geekzone.

Like when someone deletes a post and the "last reply by" text still shows it? 😁

SirHumphreyAppleby

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#3306856 8-Nov-2024 09:58

Behodar:

Like when someone deletes a post and the "last reply by" text still shows it? 😁

That's still technically true, so I consider that a feature.

freitasm

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#3306858 8-Nov-2024 10:03

@SirHumphreyAppleby is right..,

It's... a feature. Yes, that's the answer.

Rikkitic

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#3306859 8-Nov-2024 10:07

I still get caught out when GZ says my reply isn't meaningful enough or something like that, and then won't let me post the same reply again after correcting whatever it was complaining about. I have to copy my reply text, refresh, then paste it back. I know there is another way to do this, but I can't remember what it is.

Plesse igmore amd axxept applogies in adbance fir anu typos

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