More web order form fail

[unixronin]

You’re ordering auto parts online.  The order form requires a mandatory phone number.  It allows ten digits for the phone number.

You enter your phone number with area code:  xxxxxxxxxx

The scripting on the form automatically reformats the phone number to make it “pretty”, like this:  (xxx) xxx-xxxx

And then it all goes pear-shaped, because NEXT the field length limiting script kicks in and truncates that to ten characters:  (xxx) xxx-

So, you can’t submit your order form without a valid phone number.

And you can’t submit your order form with a valid phone number, because by the time you hit submit, the form has automatically invalidated it.

FAIL.

Comments

[bikergeek.livejournal.com]

I don't call myself a programmer and don't have a CS degree, and yet I can write a simple program like the one referenced in the article. Have been able to for 25+ years, in fact. This is hard? There are people who call themselves programmers who can't write a simple "for" loop and an if/then/elsif/else construct in the language of their choice?

Man.

[unixronin.livejournal.com]

Scary, innit?

[luxobscura.livejournal.com]

From a purely end-user perspective, I've been convinced that the limbo bar for coding is has been set so low progressively that it is now six feet under the sand.

[cipherpunk.livejournal.com]

My Ph.D. advisor once remarked that the script kiddies weren't attacking us so much as they were working for us -- that the majority of web developers and the low-ranking programmer schmucks who were doing most of the dirty work were at the technological skill level of script kiddies.

I am still disturbed today when I remember that conversation, and it was four and a half years ago.