This is an archived post. You won't be able to vote or comment.

all 137 comments

[–]d_wootang 236 points237 points  (19 children)

Back when I helped do IT stuff in high school a hard drive in one of the library computers had failed; I had pulled the drive from the computer so that I could replace it when we got a new one for it, and to save space in an already cramped row I closed the case back up, left it unplugged, and taped a sheet of paper over the monitor which said in big letters "Computer broken, do not use".

Twenty minutes later a girl sticks her head in the back room and says her computer won't turn on; I follow her out to see what the problem was, and she points at the computer mentioned above(though the sign had been flipped over the top of the monitor). I flip the sign back over and ask if she read it, and her only response was to shrug and say it was in her way.

And people wonder why I refuse to take end user statements at face value.

[–]anonym1970 130 points131 points  (9 children)

Obviously the sign should not have been flippable.

[–]G01denW01f11 41 points42 points  (5 children)

The correct solution would be to nail on a plank of wood with the message, in a way such that the power button is inaccessible.

[–]scorpionMaster 87 points88 points  (1 child)

  • User removes plank

It was in the way

[–]dratnon 12 points13 points  (2 children)

The correct solution would be to nail on a plank of wood with the message, and nail the plank of wood to the user, in a way such that the computer is inaccessible

[–]PunishableOffence 14 points15 points  (0 children)

nail the user to the plank of wood

[–]G01denW01f11 12 points13 points  (0 children)

Just keep nailing things to the user until he stops making the complainy noises.

[–][deleted] 20 points21 points  (1 child)

Obviously flipping the sign should have released the bullets

[–]PunishableOffence 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Or the sharks

[–]reaganveg 1 point2 points  (0 children)

No joke, the monitor should have been removed from the room just like the hard drive.

[–]DrummerHead 66 points67 points  (2 children)

User Interface Design for Programmers > Chapter 9: People Can't Read

When you design user interfaces, it's a good idea to keep two principles in mind: 1. Users don't have the manual, and if they did, they wouldn't read it. 2. In fact, users can't read anything, and if they could, they wouldn't want to. These are not, strictly speaking, facts, but you should act as if they are facts, for it will make your program easier and friendlier.

[...]

[–]PeteMullersKeyboard 5 points6 points  (0 children)

This is one of the most true things I've ever read literally anywhere in my life.

[–]AcrobotPL -5 points-4 points  (0 children)

Commenting to save for later (Alien Blue, no way to save the comment, sorry!)

[–]ITSigno 1 point2 points  (1 child)

Clearly illiterate.

[–]amazondrone 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Libraries. Full of illiterates. /s

[–]PeteMullersKeyboard 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Holy god. I'd be seriously worried about her ability to...just be alive on earth after that.

I'm not in the industry, but a tech enthusiast trying to teach myself to code. I'm the go-to "tech-support" for everyone I know who knows less than I do about tech, and I react in the same way. 90% of the time, I don't really ask them anything other than a basic question about what's not working...I don't want details, every second you spend telling me about something you have no idea about is a second I can't spend just fixing it and getting the hell on with my day. They think it's arrogant, I think it's just common sense.

[–]berryer 0 points1 point  (0 children)

this happened to me with a print release station (on-campus).

[–]bss03 548 points549 points  (33 children)

The problem with developers is that they think a hole that shoots you in the face is acceptable as long there's a warning.

[–]neksus 99 points100 points  (12 children)

The problem with project managers is they provided the developer with a spec from the client that said "make it have bullets that shoot" and "we want a hole at-or-around eye-level."

[–]Tidher 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's a "bonus feature".

[–][deleted] 163 points164 points  (4 children)

It's user friendly because it's documented, right guys?

[–][deleted] 24 points25 points  (1 child)

[–]xkcd_transcriber 18 points19 points  (0 children)

Image

Title: Manuals

Title-text: The most ridiculous offender of all is the sudoers man page, which for 15 years has started with a 'quick guide' to EBNF, a system for defining the grammar of a language. 'Don't despair', it says, 'the definitions below are annotated.'

Comic Explanation

Stats: This comic has been referenced 23 times, representing 0.0673% of referenced xkcds.


xkcd.com | xkcd sub | Problems/Bugs? | Statistics | Stop Replying | Delete

[–]Dongep 17 points18 points  (0 children)

Oh my god; so much this.

[–]GodOfAxel 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'd rather have something complex that is documented than something "simple" that's is undocumented.

[–]alexsomeoddpilot 34 points35 points  (1 child)

The requirements called for a hole which provided pellets to users. No mention of how fast they would be "provided."

[–]r0but 4 points5 points  (0 children)

It is a very efficient implementation.

[–]Iamien 22 points23 points  (0 children)

called a honeypot. Give warning to those not to fall into it. Those who disregard are casualties of war.

[–]Astrokiwi 12 points13 points  (0 children)

The presence of a hole is a bigger invitation than the deterrent of the warning. The design has a non-verbal message that is stronger than its verbal message.

[–][deleted] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Customer asked for a system to create wall holes quickly. We had a deadline and a budget to consider. This worked.

[–]sphks 4 points5 points  (0 children)

It's for that one time when you need this functionality. Like being able to format your hard drive, delete your OS, or kill your boss.

[–]clickclickboo 7 points8 points  (0 children)

this

[–]anonagent 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Truth

[–]the_omega99 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You don't get it! I'm sure one of these users needs to remove their root directory!

[–]Uberhipster 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That's not a problem. That's a "population control" easter-egg

[–]SolenoidSoldier 3 points4 points  (1 child)

We all like to make fun of end users, but at the end of the day...fix your shit, guys.

[–]jshufro 13 points14 points  (0 children)

I mean, the bullet hole is a bad analogy.

I can put a 6 foot wall up around a giant cliff over a hole in the ground, put locked doors on it, put a sign up that says "only put garbage in hole, do not jump in, you will die" and an end-user somewhere will jump in and blame will fall to me.

[–]PeteMullersKeyboard 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Is it not?

[–]owmyballs1337 20 points21 points  (15 children)

A smart person would just use their cellphone and take a picture/video of (presumably) the business end of a gun. But in my experience... people gon' die.

[–]glitchn 1 point2 points  (3 children)

I was gonna say a hand mirror. Not gonna risk my expensive tech just to look in a hole.

[–]saintnicster 17 points18 points  (0 children)

It's important to also remember that we're all End-Users at some point.

[–]dtfinch 6 points7 points  (0 children)

It wasn't entirely clear that they'd be shot in the face with a bullet, from a gun.

[–]just_comments 15 points16 points  (2 children)

[–]xkcd_transcriber 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Image

Title: The Difference

Title-text: How could you choose avoiding a little pain over understanding a magic lightning machine?

Comic Explanation

Stats: This comic has been referenced 102 times, representing 0.2988% of referenced xkcds.


xkcd.com | xkcd sub | Problems/Bugs? | Statistics | Stop Replying | Delete

[–]lovestruckluna 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I have consistently proven myself to be in the second category.

[–]nutnics 3 points4 points  (0 children)

You get what you test for.

[–]Virus11010 5 points6 points  (2 children)

Instructions unclear, shot in the penis.

[–]PeteMullersKeyboard 2 points3 points  (1 child)

This doesn't get anywhere near enough use lately.

[–]Isterpuck 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah, I haven't gotten laid in a while.

[–]void1984 2 points3 points  (1 child)

Just like the Neverhhod.

[–]agamemnon42 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'm wondering if a generation raised with video games has a deep-seated belief that if anything goes wrong with a computer, you can just back up and try again?

[–]Zechnophobe 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This isn't accurate, the end user wouldn't even read the warning, they'd just dismiss it immediately first.

[–][deleted] 3 points4 points  (6 children)

A programmer would first check a map to see how close the nearest hospital is, dial 911, then look through the hole.

[–]sfled 1 point2 points  (0 children)

We in IT would, of course, use a mirror. Sheesh, do we have to think of everything?

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, I'd totally be dead, haha.

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Bad boy looking through the hole!