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I would argue that this case also demonstrates the aforementioned problem. Apparently, an older version of the Windows OS was tolerant to this specific bug, and

I would argue that this case also demonstrates the aforementioned problem. Apparently, an older version of the Windows OS was tolerant to this specific bug, and the game worked just fine. Future users might not be even aware that an updated release of the game fixed this bug, or they might not have access to the update. You can't blame the user for the fact that the old software contains something that is, technically, an invalid use of the API, meaning the software shouldn't have worked, even in the past. The only way to reliably make the old software work as intended is to have an OS version from that time available.

layer8 1y ago
Just to be precise, the bug isn’t about invalid use of an API. The software uses uninitialized values on the stack, which under older Windows versions happen to be preserved from earlier calls to the same application-level function, despite intermediate calls to other functions, which happen to also involve Windows API calls. In newer Windows versions, these latter functions happen to use more stack space, leading to the old values not being preserved on the stack anymore. I won’t argue about your other point, as there are arguments either way. I just don’t think this particular example makes a good case, and I suspect that it wouldn’t have been made if the full workings of the bug had been properly understood.