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By way of contrast, the National Transportation Safety Board does a pretty thorough investigation of aircraft crashes and records results in a public database [

By way of contrast, the National Transportation Safety Board does a pretty thorough investigation of aircraft crashes and records results in a public database [0]. The software industry has, so far, managed to avoid this level of scrutiny and liability. The jaded part of me says that it will take a crisis to get software to be taken that seriously, but the crises so far haven't been large enough. [0] http://www.ntsb.gov/_layouts/ntsb.aviation/index.aspx http://www.ntsb.gov/_layouts/ntsb.aviation/index.aspx

dopamean 10y ago
This is a really interesting point. I think when software starts killing people 100 at a time (like a plane crash) we'll get that kind of oversight.
- pjmorris 10y ago
  As the other poster indicates, right now it's more like software wounds by the thousands or millions, and, so far, that's not been enough.
TuringNYC 10y ago
There have already been crises, it is just that some crises are more subtle (though still quite devastating.) Consider the crisis of the Washington Mutual post-merger system integration. They purchased dozens of banks in the hopes of becoming a super-bank, but the details after the deal closes are often neglected. I was a Dime Savings Bank customer. My beneficiaries (upon death) on the account magically got converted into account holders, though only in the 1099 system, not on the reporting/statement system. We didn't even know until the next year when my brother's student aid was declined -- they noted he had ~$17,000 in his bank account, which was curiously about how much I had. He didn't even have a bank account! Something like this can literally kill a semester/year of college if you arent savvy enough to deal with it. Luckily for us, tens of thousands of other customers had the same issue and the school was inundated with similar cases -- they realized something was amiss. Incidentally, Washington Mutual refused to help -- they noted that the statement did not show my brother's name. They also noted that they cant talk to my brother since he isnt a customer!!!
- pjmorris 10y ago
  I'm so sorry for your troubles. I think there's a huge price individuals are paying for these kinds of things. A much easier case than yours, I once spent months trying to convince a phone company that they'd applied my payment to the wrong account. It took a letter to my state's Public Service Commission to get them to pay enough attention to solve it.

dopamean 10y ago

This is a really interesting point. I think when software starts killing people 100 at a time (like a plane crash) we'll get that kind of oversight.

pjmorris 10y ago
As the other poster indicates, right now it's more like software wounds by the thousands or millions, and, so far, that's not been enough.

TuringNYC 10y ago

There have already been crises, it is just that some crises are more subtle (though still quite devastating.) Consider the crisis of the Washington Mutual post-merger system integration. They purchased dozens of banks in the hopes of becoming a super-bank, but the details after the deal closes are often neglected. I was a Dime Savings Bank customer. My beneficiaries (upon death) on the account magically got converted into account holders, though only in the 1099 system, not on the reporting/statement system. We didn't even know until the next year when my brother's student aid was declined -- they noted he had ~$17,000 in his bank account, which was curiously about how much I had. He didn't even have a bank account! Something like this can literally kill a semester/year of college if you arent savvy enough to deal with it. Luckily for us, tens of thousands of other customers had the same issue and the school was inundated with similar cases -- they realized something was amiss. Incidentally, Washington Mutual refused to help -- they noted that the statement did not show my brother's name. They also noted that they cant talk to my brother since he isnt a customer!!!

pjmorris 10y ago
I'm so sorry for your troubles. I think there's a huge price individuals are paying for these kinds of things. A much easier case than yours, I once spent months trying to convince a phone company that they'd applied my payment to the wrong account. It took a letter to my state's Public Service Commission to get them to pay enough attention to solve it.