You may not fully understand just how much work they're asking him to do, some of which may not even be possible, because of their own fault; and on top of this

You may not fully understand just how much work they're asking him to do, some of which may not even be possible, because of their own fault; and on top of this their refusal to help him fix their mistake at all. This is not "bad luck". This is "extreme cruelty". Also, since you like conventions, grandfathering in decisions made before a convention became reality is also a convention.