29 ms·

The Most Misused SSN of All Time

164 points by polm23 7y ago

jchw 7y ago
> Company Vice President and Treasurer Douglas Patterson thought it would be a clever idea to use the actual SSN of his secretary, Mrs. Hilda Schrader Whitcher. Can someone explain why this would be “clever?” It just sounds like a bad idea to me.
- little_airport 7y ago
  I think they were being sarcastic.
  - jchw 7y ago
    I get this, but I mean, they did actually do it, so apparently the idea didn’t set off any alarm bells in their head. I guess it must’ve just not been well thought out.
    - mirimir 7y ago
      This was in 1938. Just three years after the Social Security Administration had been created. Most people still had telephone party lines. People didn't get how some government number could be really important.
      - klaustopher 7y ago
        Also, at that point it was not this global number that was used to identify you everywhere. It was your registration number in the Social Security system, not more. Well, you could use it to pay into somebody else‘s pension ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Aomebody linked a CGP Grey video above that goes into details.
    - maitredusoi 7y ago
      You are thinking with a 2019 point of view, this was effectivly 1938, people were less aware of consequences of their actions (as history of that dark period shown accross the World ...). Also,probably at that time people thought that a real SSN would shine more than 000-00-0000, as any other number could potentially be a "real" number from an unkown person ...
- qubex 7y ago
  I think it was construed as being ’clever’ in the same sense as inserting an Easter Egg or veiled reference to obscure pop culture is today. So that would make it a Mad Men-era <nod> <nod> <wink> <wink> Easter Egg from more innocent times before identity theft was even remotely conceived of (and before executives learnt the hard way to need to assume that the world is populated by imbeciles).
- Pinckney 7y ago
  The SSN was never intended to be a secret. Nobody in 1938 thought that one day banks and other businesses would use it as a credential to establish identity.
  - masklinn 7y ago
    SSCs even used to have "not for identification" stamped on them before SSA gave up (the note was there from '46 to '72).
    - sverige 7y ago
      My circa 1969 SSC has that printed on it. For GP, actually yes, people did think it would be used as a credential to establish identity, and many feared (correctly, as it turns out) that would happen. The phrase used by those people was "Papers, please!" with a German accent, since it was well known by the mid-40s that identity papers were used by the Nazis to control the population. Later variations by people my age was to use a Russian accent since the Bolsheviks also used papers to control the population. My uncle and aunt never had SSNs for that reason (and no, never paid into or collected social security either.) I have a friend who is now in his late 50s who has never given his SSN to anyone except the IRS and his employer -- which is actually the law, or at least used to be, perhaps it has changed. Rather than assume older people are less privacy conscious, the correct assumption is that younger people are less inclined to protect their privacy. Many millennials don't even believe in privacy. I blame it on the generally poor education in history that most younger people have received.
      - davchana 7y ago
        I was renting an apartment few weeks ago, & If I had refused to not give SSN, tough luck, application will not move forward.
      - nihilist_t21 7y ago
        If it was a law, it has since changed. The IRS has the W-9 form specifically for the requesting of an SSN (or EIN if a company). At my job I require it before issuing a non-employment related payment that will get reported to the IRS on a 1099-MISC.
- aptwebapps 7y ago
  The clever part was using his secretary's instead of his own.
- 7952 7y ago
  It is possible that people were not used to carrying cards around, and didn't know what the pocket was for.
playa1 7y ago
CGP Grey did a great video a few years ago explaining how bad SSNs are. https://youtu.be/Erp8IAUouus https://youtu.be/Erp8IAUouus
- mehrdadn 7y ago
  I've watched this video 5-6 times over the past year or so. It's funny and fantastic.
- mxuribe 7y ago
  Wow, i had never seen this video. I've been somewhat familiar with some of the topics depicted in the video...But seeing them all in one place - and of course the brilliantly cute and funny method - taught me lots more....Which lead to me remembering that this is all true and not fictitious...which instantly makes me a sad panda. :-(
- 013a 7y ago
  In fact, the number he used on the card in the video is the number shown in the article.
jedberg 7y ago
> They started using the number. They thought it was their own. I can't understand how people can be so stupid. I can't understand that." Based on the number of emails I get because other people think my email address is their email address, I too can't understand how people can be so stupid.
- meuk 7y ago
  While we're talking about thing we don't understand: I never understand the need to scoff at people who make such a small mistake. If you have a need to call people unbelievably stupid, there are lots of better alternatives. Looking at the pictures, there is no name or picture on the fake card. The card looks exactly the same as a normal one. The only difference is the word 'specimen', which doesn't even cover the whole card and to me does not convey the meaning 'fake, don't use'.
- cm2187 7y ago
  There is a guy who thinks he owns my mobile number. It generates all sort of nuisances for me (quotes for insurance) but also for him (his bank is now sending me notifications by txt). I called that bank to let them know but they did nothing about it...
  - 2rsf 7y ago
    > think what do you mean by "think" ? I understand that mishaps can happen when numbers are canceled and moved to another person, but the old number is still registered in certain places, but why would someone want someone's else number ?
    - cm2187 7y ago
      I am not suggesting it is voluntary but no, it is not a matter of an old number. I had this number for over 13 years and the problem only started to occur 2-3 years ago.
      - anonymfus 7y ago
mohsinmehmood 7y ago
The National Prize Bonds (Bearer) of Rs.40,000/- denomination can be converted to Premium Prize Bonds (Registered) through the 16 field offices of SBP Banking Services Corporation, and six commercial banks i.e. National Bank of Pakistan, Habib Bank Limited, United Bank Limited, MCB Bank Limited, Allied Bank Limited and Bank Alfalah Limited. The documentary requirements for the purchase of Premium Prize Bonds (Registered). https://prizebonddraw.pk/ https://prizebonddraw.pk/ https://saving.com.pk/ https://saving.com.pk/ https://bondresult.com https://bondresult.com
- snoshy 7y ago
  scam, please don't click.
darshan 7y ago
I don't know if I'm having one of my hyper-literal moments, or if this is some other neurodiversity thing, but I can't make sense of the last paragraph... Can someone help explain it to me? The way I read it is: * 219-09-9999 is a made-up number that was never issued to anyone. * The woman thought it was her number for unexplained reasons. * She used the pamphlet as evidence that it was her number. I must be missing something important. Is it a joke, with the punchline being that she thought the pamphlet was her social security card? If so, how was this the fault of the Board? Was it her SSN somehow? If so, how did the pamphlet prove it?
- lvturner 7y ago
  I think the joke was she tried to use the pamphlet as evidence and thought the pamphlet was personally addressed to her - "how silly!" I too had a hyper literal moment on this too, so I'm glad you asked. My conclusion is that the joke just isn't that funny or well written (everyone's a critic!:))
- kgwgk 7y ago
  She was given a pamphlet with the image of a card. She thought pamphlets had different numbers and were used to attribute SSNs. Twenty years later she tried to use it and when it wasn’t accepted she said “look, this is the number you gave to me”.
- tux3 7y ago
  >The way I read it Looks right to me. She received a document from the Social Security Board with a made up SSN on it, and thought it was hers. It's not a joke, just an example of how people can get confused by real-looking fake numbers. This can be said to be the fault of the board in the sense that after dealing with the 1938 incident they could have learned that this is confusing to some people, and for example printed 219-09-XXXX instead.
burfog 7y ago
This wouldn't be possible if we were serious about stopping identity theft. The usage of inconsistent identity would trigger an alert, immediately dispatching law enforcement to deal with the problem. Most identity thieves would find themselves in jail within hours, so there wouldn't be many people willing to risk it.
- mxuribe 7y ago
  Yeah, sadly there's just no incentive for anyone - neither U.S. government or U.S businesses - to alter their behavior. Even sadder, any pain of identity theft/fraud are felt by the victims/citizens, and not felt by businesses or government. Unless/if/when this changes, identity theft/fraud won't really go away.
anilakar 7y ago
SSN misuse will stop the moment companies are made responsible for all actions that result from using SSN as an authentication token.
- dsr_ 7y ago
  Designating the liability like this is why credit cards became useful, despite the ease of stealing them.
- parsimo2010 7y ago
  SSN misuse will stop once the USA has a secure national ID that is free and easy to get (don’t have to go to a DMV). Driver’s licenses aren’t a good enough solution. Less than 10% of Americans have a passport. But somehow the idea of a national ID has opponents everywhere. The right thinks it will create a surveillance state, the left thinks it will be used for voter suppression. So we are stuck with the misuse and abuse of SSNs because they weren’t designed as an ID number.
  - cshimmin 7y ago
    More than 40% of Americans have a passport. The 10% figure hasn't been accurate since the early 90s: https://www.forbes.com/sites/niallmccarthy/2018/01/11/the-share-of-americans-holding-a-passport-has-increased-dramatically-in-recent-years-infographic/ https://www.forbes.com/sites/niallmccarthy/2018/01/11/the-sh...
  - deleted 7y ago
    [deleted]
  - SilasX 7y ago
    >SSN misuse will stop once the USA has a secure national ID that is free and easy to get (don’t have to go to a DMV). What does that even mean? There will definitely be a bureaucracy with offices that administers it, which will be functionally a "DMV".
    - crooked-v 7y ago
wycy 7y ago
> Even though the card was only half the size of a real card I'm confused by this statement. The card appears to be the same size as a real card in the picture of her holding up the two cards, and for the purposes of showing people that the card would fit in a wallet, it'd have to be regular-card-size.
- lepton 7y ago
  Half the thickness?
- yial 7y ago
  Maybe they mean that the card was physically the same size, but the printing was scaled down to only fill half?
- mikestew 7y ago
  Accurate statement or not, how many people in 1938 had seen a “real card” with which to compare? Having been born several decades later, I think I’ve seen one real SS card in my life: my own. And I lost that years ago.
- polm23 7y ago
  Maybe the real cards were printed on one side of paper and you folded it in half? I remember having a card like that, though it may have been for the Selective Service. Otherwise I would guess it's just a mistake.
tyingq 7y ago
Guessing the LifeLock CEO might be the distant #2 on the list. https://www.wired.com/2010/05/lifelock-identity-theft/ https://www.wired.com/2010/05/lifelock-identity-theft/
- ashleyn 7y ago
  Almost 15 years later I can still remember that number from the TV commercials.
- droidist2 7y ago
  Wow! I guess LifeLock doesn't work after all.
parsimo2010 7y ago
“ Programming today is a race between software engineers striving to build bigger and better idiot-proof programs, and the Universe trying to produce bigger and better idiots. So far, the Universe is winning.” -Rick Cook I’m sure that this sentiment isn’t exclusive to programmers, but applies to anyone who has to consider how the general population will handle their product.
- mikestew 7y ago
  The arrogance and tone-deafness of such statements astounds me when they come supposed professionals. Those “idiots” you so frequently run into? Yeah, polite people call them “your customers”, or “your boss”, or “people who will complain to your boss”. Or just “people who look at the world differently than you do”. If you consider the “general population” to be idiots, you: a. Don’t know how intelligence measurement works. (Hint: they cant all be idiots. Maybe it’s you.) b. Are still an amateur who will hopefully someday mature into a professional who works with the circumstances at hand rather than complaining that conditions aren’t right for the world to appreciate your genius.
  - diggan 7y ago
    The saying is generally not used to look down at people but more try to understand that whatever is very clear to you, might not be clear to others and you should do your best to make yourself understandable to as many people as possible. I don't think it was meant to "the user is using it wrong!" but instead make you (as the creator of something) think that the user will for sure try to use it in ways you didn't intend it to.
  - nefitty 7y ago
    I was on board with your comment until the mean-spirited "maybe you're the idiot or unprofessional". I don't like how people are calling some people idiots and stupid over dumb mistakes. It definitely gives a bad vibe about developer culture that is only detrimental. Developers and tech professionals exist to serve users... Without them we would be shit out of luck. I don't think turning that mean-spiritedness back on them helps either, though. Tone-deafness all around here.
bitwize 7y ago
I thought for sure it'd be 123-45-6789.
JohnFen 7y ago
I was really expecting the most misused SSN to be Richard Nixon's. Whenever someone asks me for my SSN without having a legal need for it, I give them Richard Nixon's instead. I know first hand that I'm not nearly the only one.
- whatshisface 7y ago
  Who does or doesn't have a legal need for your SSN? How do you tell?
  - JohnFen 7y ago
    You are legally required to supply your SSN for the following reasons: Credit applications Cash transactions over $10,000 Applications for certain federal benefits, including Medicare and Medicaid Military paperwork Interactions with the Department of Motor Vehicles Social Security business You also need to supply either your SSN or a taxpayer ID number to companies that are required to report about you to the IRS. Under all other circumstances, there is no legal requirement to provide your SSN.
    - polm23 7y ago
      Great list! Do you have an official source we can reference?
Sandr 7y ago
I was going through terrible times with my partner. I suspected he was cheating and I needed proof of this to back my claims. I couldn't continue with this. All I wanted was to be sure of what was going on before I make any decision. I don't make blind conclusions; I always want to see the proof for myself. I took the pain of searching for a professional hacker who can help me hack all communication applications on his phone ( WhatsApp,Text messages, Facebook, Viber, Instagram and email). I was able to meet an amazing hacker his hack services was professionally executed. All the hack was done remotely. He didn't need physical access to the phone before it was hacked. Under 6 hours, the hack was done. Between these 6 hours, I was given updates about the progress of the hack. This gave me rest of mind; it was very easy to trust his work. Contact him Via the following bellow…..EMAIL:Jamesethicalhacker@gmail. com TEXT,CALL and WHATSAPP ON :+1(775)374-4344 If you are interested in any of any services which ranges from phone hacking to social media account hacking, you can get through to him via his email address OR phone number and he will deliver a perfect job for you.
Sandr 7y ago
I was going through terrible times with my partner. I suspected he was cheating and I needed proof of this to back my claims. I couldn't continue with this. All I wanted was to be sure of what was going on before I make any decision. I don't make blind conclusions; I always want to see the proof for myself. I took the pain of searching for a professional hacker who can help me hack all communication applications on his phone ( WhatsApp,Text messages, Facebook, Viber, Instagram and email). I was able to meet an amazing hacker his hack services was professionally executed. All the hack was done remotely. He didn't need physical access to the phone before it was hacked. Under 6 hours, the hack was done. Between these 6 hours, I was given updates about the progress of the hack. This gave me rest of mind; it was very easy to trust his work. Contact him Via the following bellow…..EMAIL:Jamesethicalhacker@gmail. com TEXT,CALL and WHATSAPP ON :+1(775)374-4344 If you are interested in any of any services which ranges from phone hacking to social media account hacking, you can get through to him via his email address OR phone number and he will deliver a perfect job for you. iui
RickJWagner 7y ago
Nice of Treasurer Douglas Patterson to use his secretary's number and not his own!

164 points by polm23 7y ago

jchw 7y ago

> Company Vice President and Treasurer Douglas Patterson thought it would be a clever idea to use the actual SSN of his secretary, Mrs. Hilda Schrader Whitcher. Can someone explain why this would be “clever?” It just sounds like a bad idea to me.

little_airport 7y ago
I think they were being sarcastic.
- jchw 7y ago
  I get this, but I mean, they did actually do it, so apparently the idea didn’t set off any alarm bells in their head. I guess it must’ve just not been well thought out.
  - mirimir 7y ago
    This was in 1938. Just three years after the Social Security Administration had been created. Most people still had telephone party lines. People didn't get how some government number could be really important.
    - klaustopher 7y ago
      Also, at that point it was not this global number that was used to identify you everywhere. It was your registration number in the Social Security system, not more. Well, you could use it to pay into somebody else‘s pension ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Aomebody linked a CGP Grey video above that goes into details.
  - maitredusoi 7y ago
    You are thinking with a 2019 point of view, this was effectivly 1938, people were less aware of consequences of their actions (as history of that dark period shown accross the World ...). Also,probably at that time people thought that a real SSN would shine more than 000-00-0000, as any other number could potentially be a "real" number from an unkown person ...
qubex 7y ago
I think it was construed as being ’clever’ in the same sense as inserting an Easter Egg or veiled reference to obscure pop culture is today. So that would make it a Mad Men-era <nod> <nod> <wink> <wink> Easter Egg from more innocent times before identity theft was even remotely conceived of (and before executives learnt the hard way to need to assume that the world is populated by imbeciles).
Pinckney 7y ago
The SSN was never intended to be a secret. Nobody in 1938 thought that one day banks and other businesses would use it as a credential to establish identity.
- masklinn 7y ago
  SSCs even used to have "not for identification" stamped on them before SSA gave up (the note was there from '46 to '72).
  - sverige 7y ago
    My circa 1969 SSC has that printed on it. For GP, actually yes, people did think it would be used as a credential to establish identity, and many feared (correctly, as it turns out) that would happen. The phrase used by those people was "Papers, please!" with a German accent, since it was well known by the mid-40s that identity papers were used by the Nazis to control the population. Later variations by people my age was to use a Russian accent since the Bolsheviks also used papers to control the population. My uncle and aunt never had SSNs for that reason (and no, never paid into or collected social security either.) I have a friend who is now in his late 50s who has never given his SSN to anyone except the IRS and his employer -- which is actually the law, or at least used to be, perhaps it has changed. Rather than assume older people are less privacy conscious, the correct assumption is that younger people are less inclined to protect their privacy. Many millennials don't even believe in privacy. I blame it on the generally poor education in history that most younger people have received.
    - davchana 7y ago
      I was renting an apartment few weeks ago, & If I had refused to not give SSN, tough luck, application will not move forward.
    - nihilist_t21 7y ago
      If it was a law, it has since changed. The IRS has the W-9 form specifically for the requesting of an SSN (or EIN if a company). At my job I require it before issuing a non-employment related payment that will get reported to the IRS on a 1099-MISC.
aptwebapps 7y ago
The clever part was using his secretary's instead of his own.
7952 7y ago
It is possible that people were not used to carrying cards around, and didn't know what the pocket was for.

playa1 7y ago

CGP Grey did a great video a few years ago explaining how bad SSNs are. https://youtu.be/Erp8IAUouus https://youtu.be/Erp8IAUouus

mehrdadn 7y ago
I've watched this video 5-6 times over the past year or so. It's funny and fantastic.
mxuribe 7y ago
Wow, i had never seen this video. I've been somewhat familiar with some of the topics depicted in the video...But seeing them all in one place - and of course the brilliantly cute and funny method - taught me lots more....Which lead to me remembering that this is all true and not fictitious...which instantly makes me a sad panda. :-(
013a 7y ago
In fact, the number he used on the card in the video is the number shown in the article.

jedberg 7y ago

> They started using the number. They thought it was their own. I can't understand how people can be so stupid. I can't understand that." Based on the number of emails I get because other people think my email address is their email address, I too can't understand how people can be so stupid.

meuk 7y ago
While we're talking about thing we don't understand: I never understand the need to scoff at people who make such a small mistake. If you have a need to call people unbelievably stupid, there are lots of better alternatives. Looking at the pictures, there is no name or picture on the fake card. The card looks exactly the same as a normal one. The only difference is the word 'specimen', which doesn't even cover the whole card and to me does not convey the meaning 'fake, don't use'.
cm2187 7y ago
There is a guy who thinks he owns my mobile number. It generates all sort of nuisances for me (quotes for insurance) but also for him (his bank is now sending me notifications by txt). I called that bank to let them know but they did nothing about it...
- 2rsf 7y ago
  > think what do you mean by "think" ? I understand that mishaps can happen when numbers are canceled and moved to another person, but the old number is still registered in certain places, but why would someone want someone's else number ?
  - cm2187 7y ago
    I am not suggesting it is voluntary but no, it is not a matter of an old number. I had this number for over 13 years and the problem only started to occur 2-3 years ago.
    - anonymfus 7y ago

mohsinmehmood 7y ago

The National Prize Bonds (Bearer) of Rs.40,000/- denomination can be converted to Premium Prize Bonds (Registered) through the 16 field offices of SBP Banking Services Corporation, and six commercial banks i.e. National Bank of Pakistan, Habib Bank Limited, United Bank Limited, MCB Bank Limited, Allied Bank Limited and Bank Alfalah Limited. The documentary requirements for the purchase of Premium Prize Bonds (Registered). https://prizebonddraw.pk/ https://prizebonddraw.pk/ https://saving.com.pk/ https://saving.com.pk/ https://bondresult.com https://bondresult.com

snoshy 7y ago
scam, please don't click.

darshan 7y ago

I don't know if I'm having one of my hyper-literal moments, or if this is some other neurodiversity thing, but I can't make sense of the last paragraph... Can someone help explain it to me? The way I read it is: * 219-09-9999 is a made-up number that was never issued to anyone. * The woman thought it was her number for unexplained reasons. * She used the pamphlet as evidence that it was her number. I must be missing something important. Is it a joke, with the punchline being that she thought the pamphlet was her social security card? If so, how was this the fault of the Board? Was it her SSN somehow? If so, how did the pamphlet prove it?

lvturner 7y ago
I think the joke was she tried to use the pamphlet as evidence and thought the pamphlet was personally addressed to her - "how silly!" I too had a hyper literal moment on this too, so I'm glad you asked. My conclusion is that the joke just isn't that funny or well written (everyone's a critic!:))
kgwgk 7y ago
She was given a pamphlet with the image of a card. She thought pamphlets had different numbers and were used to attribute SSNs. Twenty years later she tried to use it and when it wasn’t accepted she said “look, this is the number you gave to me”.
tux3 7y ago
>The way I read it Looks right to me. She received a document from the Social Security Board with a made up SSN on it, and thought it was hers. It's not a joke, just an example of how people can get confused by real-looking fake numbers. This can be said to be the fault of the board in the sense that after dealing with the 1938 incident they could have learned that this is confusing to some people, and for example printed 219-09-XXXX instead.

burfog 7y ago

This wouldn't be possible if we were serious about stopping identity theft. The usage of inconsistent identity would trigger an alert, immediately dispatching law enforcement to deal with the problem. Most identity thieves would find themselves in jail within hours, so there wouldn't be many people willing to risk it.

mxuribe 7y ago
Yeah, sadly there's just no incentive for anyone - neither U.S. government or U.S businesses - to alter their behavior. Even sadder, any pain of identity theft/fraud are felt by the victims/citizens, and not felt by businesses or government. Unless/if/when this changes, identity theft/fraud won't really go away.

anilakar 7y ago

SSN misuse will stop the moment companies are made responsible for all actions that result from using SSN as an authentication token.

dsr_ 7y ago
Designating the liability like this is why credit cards became useful, despite the ease of stealing them.
parsimo2010 7y ago
SSN misuse will stop once the USA has a secure national ID that is free and easy to get (don’t have to go to a DMV). Driver’s licenses aren’t a good enough solution. Less than 10% of Americans have a passport. But somehow the idea of a national ID has opponents everywhere. The right thinks it will create a surveillance state, the left thinks it will be used for voter suppression. So we are stuck with the misuse and abuse of SSNs because they weren’t designed as an ID number.
- cshimmin 7y ago
  More than 40% of Americans have a passport. The 10% figure hasn't been accurate since the early 90s: https://www.forbes.com/sites/niallmccarthy/2018/01/11/the-share-of-americans-holding-a-passport-has-increased-dramatically-in-recent-years-infographic/ https://www.forbes.com/sites/niallmccarthy/2018/01/11/the-sh...
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
- SilasX 7y ago
  >SSN misuse will stop once the USA has a secure national ID that is free and easy to get (don’t have to go to a DMV). What does that even mean? There will definitely be a bureaucracy with offices that administers it, which will be functionally a "DMV".
  - crooked-v 7y ago

wycy 7y ago

> Even though the card was only half the size of a real card I'm confused by this statement. The card appears to be the same size as a real card in the picture of her holding up the two cards, and for the purposes of showing people that the card would fit in a wallet, it'd have to be regular-card-size.

lepton 7y ago
Half the thickness?
yial 7y ago
Maybe they mean that the card was physically the same size, but the printing was scaled down to only fill half?
mikestew 7y ago
Accurate statement or not, how many people in 1938 had seen a “real card” with which to compare? Having been born several decades later, I think I’ve seen one real SS card in my life: my own. And I lost that years ago.
polm23 7y ago
Maybe the real cards were printed on one side of paper and you folded it in half? I remember having a card like that, though it may have been for the Selective Service. Otherwise I would guess it's just a mistake.

tyingq 7y ago

Guessing the LifeLock CEO might be the distant #2 on the list. https://www.wired.com/2010/05/lifelock-identity-theft/ https://www.wired.com/2010/05/lifelock-identity-theft/

ashleyn 7y ago
Almost 15 years later I can still remember that number from the TV commercials.
droidist2 7y ago
Wow! I guess LifeLock doesn't work after all.

parsimo2010 7y ago

“ Programming today is a race between software engineers striving to build bigger and better idiot-proof programs, and the Universe trying to produce bigger and better idiots. So far, the Universe is winning.” -Rick Cook I’m sure that this sentiment isn’t exclusive to programmers, but applies to anyone who has to consider how the general population will handle their product.

mikestew 7y ago
The arrogance and tone-deafness of such statements astounds me when they come supposed professionals. Those “idiots” you so frequently run into? Yeah, polite people call them “your customers”, or “your boss”, or “people who will complain to your boss”. Or just “people who look at the world differently than you do”. If you consider the “general population” to be idiots, you: a. Don’t know how intelligence measurement works. (Hint: they cant all be idiots. Maybe it’s you.) b. Are still an amateur who will hopefully someday mature into a professional who works with the circumstances at hand rather than complaining that conditions aren’t right for the world to appreciate your genius.
- diggan 7y ago
  The saying is generally not used to look down at people but more try to understand that whatever is very clear to you, might not be clear to others and you should do your best to make yourself understandable to as many people as possible. I don't think it was meant to "the user is using it wrong!" but instead make you (as the creator of something) think that the user will for sure try to use it in ways you didn't intend it to.
- nefitty 7y ago
  I was on board with your comment until the mean-spirited "maybe you're the idiot or unprofessional". I don't like how people are calling some people idiots and stupid over dumb mistakes. It definitely gives a bad vibe about developer culture that is only detrimental. Developers and tech professionals exist to serve users... Without them we would be shit out of luck. I don't think turning that mean-spiritedness back on them helps either, though. Tone-deafness all around here.

bitwize 7y ago

I thought for sure it'd be 123-45-6789.

JohnFen 7y ago

I was really expecting the most misused SSN to be Richard Nixon's. Whenever someone asks me for my SSN without having a legal need for it, I give them Richard Nixon's instead. I know first hand that I'm not nearly the only one.

whatshisface 7y ago
Who does or doesn't have a legal need for your SSN? How do you tell?
- JohnFen 7y ago
  You are legally required to supply your SSN for the following reasons: Credit applications Cash transactions over $10,000 Applications for certain federal benefits, including Medicare and Medicaid Military paperwork Interactions with the Department of Motor Vehicles Social Security business You also need to supply either your SSN or a taxpayer ID number to companies that are required to report about you to the IRS. Under all other circumstances, there is no legal requirement to provide your SSN.
  - polm23 7y ago
    Great list! Do you have an official source we can reference?

Sandr 7y ago

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Sandr 7y ago

RickJWagner 7y ago

Nice of Treasurer Douglas Patterson to use his secretary's number and not his own!