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What she describes doesn't sound like a dystopia at all. Some systems that she interacted with weren't able to handle her name change. Ok... having some trouble
by meri_dian 9y ago
What she describes doesn't sound like a dystopia at all. Some systems that she interacted with weren't able to handle her name change. Ok... having some trouble handling edge cases is not dystopian, that's just poorly designed software.
It's not like she was permanantly shut out of society. She was temporarily inconvenienced.
- Danihan 9y agoIt's almost as if she has histrionic traits or something..
- jimktrains2 9y agoName changes aren't an edge case. What's dystopian to me is the unwillingness of people to actually work out and solve issues for their clients, customers, and citizens. "Computer Says No" is used to avoid having to work and avoid having to escalate.
- deleted 9y ago[deleted]
- fusiongyro 9y agoHow's that different from bad customer service in an earlier era? "I don't know what form you need and my manager is at lunch."
- CaptSpify 9y agoHaving worked at a helpdesk: "computer says no" is effectively the same as "my company/boss says no". Most of those systems are intentionally set up so that you can't override them for an edge case. It's not a smart way to do things, but it's the way things are done.
- 2muchcoffeeman 9y agoIt's not just a name change. She was in prison for several years. When she got out, she tries to fix up her accounts. If someone walks up to a bank years after no activity and wants a name change (and maybe a gender change) on an account should the bank just do it? Probably not without 3rd party verification that the customer has to initiate by filling out some forms and providing evidence. I'm just speculating but it could have been reasonable for the bank to have declined the request up front.
- jimktrains2 9y agoSure, but the response shouldn't be "sorry", it should be "here's our process. Thank you for the letter from a judge changing your name, we'll confirm that with the courthouse and should be good to go."
- 2muchcoffeeman 9y agoI am not trying to excuse rudeness. Only trying to point out that this was an extraordinary case. I bet if it was a woman that got married and changed her last name, it would be super simple.
- mmjaa 9y agoWhat parts of any dystopia are well designed?
- trhway 9y agothat is actually the key question here. I'd argue that it is pretty much a definition of dystopia when things are extremely/ultimately/perfectly well designed for the other side of the counter, ie. the side of the counter opposite to the customer/user/citizen's side. Presumption of innocence, citizens' freedoms and rights, etc. are basically inconveniences for that other side, and those inconveniences are designed away in dystopia. It is naturally feels like a bad design for the customers/users/citizens.
- abrown28 9y agothe murder parts
- chc 9y agoA world where poorly designed software denies you access to your property because you are an "edge case," and humans who could help just shrug and defer to the computer? I don't know, it sounds to me like a dystopia that somebody might have written about a few decades ago. Also, I don't think that's the full extent of her point here. She's just offering an example of how our pervasive reliance on computers (which often have poorly designed software) has caused trouble for her personally.
- pfisch 9y agoIs that really so different from them just sending you into an infinite bureaucracy loop where they refer you to each other in a wide circle until you give up.
- graphememes 9y agoNo, but it is still dystopian.
- meri_dian 9y agoIn reality if you are one of those edge cases, you'll still get what you need, you'll just be inconvenienced by having to wade through bureaucratic morass. Temporary inconvenience is not dystopian.
- vec 9y agoA system where everyone has to wade through a bureaucratic mess occasionally is certainly not dystopian. A system where only a handful of people have to wade through a bureaucratic mess with alarming regularity can get very dystopian very fast for those few.
- artorias 9y ago>she Call it what it is, a guy who was so mentally broken by the CIA he thinks a dress will save him.
- XR0CSWV3h3kZWg 9y agoI guess whether it's dystopian or not depends on if you are one of the edge cases or not.
- jorgeleo 9y agoI don't think that you will call it a "temporary inconvenience" if it were you been in jail for some time.
- rhizome 9y agoDystopias do not depend on banishment, I don't even know where you get that. Logan's Run?
- kerno 9y agoI dunno fella bombing the shit out of people on the basis of their data trails seems pretty dystopian to me
- hinkley 9y agohaving some trouble handling edge cases is not dystopian Uh.. Okay. What do you think a dystopia is? In most literature it's a society that has a myopic view of people (ie, not dealing with edge cases) resulting in an oppressive society. One where fairness and free agency have been greatly curtailed by a stubborn insistence on a very simplistic view of the world.
- femto 9y agoTwo observations: 1) The "edge cases" typically change slowly over time. If you are an edge case, it's not your turn this year and someone else's turn next year. Your circumstances define you, and are potentially reinforced by your "edge case" status. It's your turn every year, and your entire life becomes a living hell. 2) It takes only a small proportion of edge cases to get a lot of disenfranchised people. For example, 1% of people being edge cases would draw in over 3 million people in the US alone.
- wyatte 9y agoI agree. I'm fairly sure I was put through the same if not more of a challenge than hers when I moved from one province to another.
- antoinevg 9y agoI beg of you to not assume, because you are not suffering, that the suffering of others is not real.