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> “The Hart eSlate machines are not malfunctioning, the problems being reported are a result of user error — usually voters hitting a button or using the select
by cesarb 8y ago
> “The Hart eSlate machines are not malfunctioning, the problems being reported are a result of user error — usually voters hitting a button or using the selection wheel before the screen is finished rendering,”
That reminds me of the Therac-25: "They determined that data entry speed during editing was the key factor in producing the error condition: If the prescription data was edited at a fast pace (as is natural for someone who has repeated the procedure a large number of times), the overdose occurred." (http://sunnyday.mit.edu/papers/therac.pdf http://sunnyday.mit.edu/papers/therac.pdf)
- Jtsummers 8y agoI was going to say something similar. In the Therac case, at least part of the fault fell with the operators who should have known what to look for (if things had been well documented and they'd been trained). But this is a rare event, every year (at most) or every 2 or 4 years, for most voters. You expect computers to work these days and to be responsive so the idea that users are at fault for crappy UI/UX is absurd. If something seems to be working then the user in this case has no reason to doubt it because they haven't used these systems with sufficient frequency to be aware of its poor quality and how to respond to it.
- ASalazarMX 8y ago> In the Therac case, at least part of the fault fell with the operators who should have known what to look for (if things had been well documented and they'd been trained). This. Even a humble accountant usually reverses entry errors immediately, yet this critical input was harder to double check.
- inlined 8y agoAs I recall correctly, when the technician typed too quickly a subsystem crashed. There was no training for that and no obvious feedback mechanism.
- 08-15 8y agoBut note the crucial difference: In the case of the Therac-25, this was merely the explanation, and explaining what causes an issue is crucial to fixing it. It was treated as a software problem, and the vendor was liable. Here it's used to inappropriately blame the user. The state of Texas should sue Hart eSlate and cite the Therac-25 story to argue that 30 years later, anyone halfway competent should know how to avoid race conditions in a user interface.
- croon 8y agoIf it's not finished rendering, it should not have a value set to begin with. Why is it populated with the wrong (opposite?) candidate? Preset values AND slow updates can't be excused like this.
- taralx 8y agoI believe it is the case that no vote is considered a vote for the incumbent. So it's initially no vote, and then it is defaulted later.
- creamyhorror 8y agoIf that's actually the case, then it seems very biased - it should just be a blank vote. Is that even legal?