
The Worst Interface Ever: The Self-Destruct Switch (2004) - waterhouse
https://asktog.com/columns/065WorstInterface.html
======
yholio
The follow-up post is a must read: in the panic ensuing after a failed switch
flip, they made a series of disastrous mistakes that almost caused a fatal
road accident.

The animality of the human mind is fascinating, all it takes is a small change
in the perception of external threats to drive people utterly bonkers. Puts
all kinds of things from wars to conjugal murder into perspective - what is
utterly nonsensical to a calm and rational individual may appear as the only
way to go for someone who is distressed.

~~~
StavrosK
Where is that post?

~~~
shawabawa3
[https://asktog.com/columns/067PanicCaseStudy.html](https://asktog.com/columns/067PanicCaseStudy.html)

~~~
StavrosK
Thank you!

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ChrisSD
Reminds me of when PCs came with a voltage switch. With one flick of a
switch... goodbye PSU. Of course the difference is it only needed to be set
once.

~~~
kstenerud
I blew up a PSU like that a few months ago after moving to Europe. Didn't
realize it wasn't auto-switching. It actually blows (loudly, and with smoke)
the moment you plug it in.

~~~
Doxin
If you're especially lucky it'll catch fire with the fan running. I've seen
that happen to someone once, panic would be an understatement.

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SigmundA
This is why when I got my RV I also got a Jeep wrangler to go along with. Its
one of the few vehicles left that can be towed "4 down" without significant
modification.

It has no steering wheel lock and you simply put the 4wd transfer case in
neutral, no transmission lubrication issues.

Mopar even sells a wiring harness that ties into the rear lights directly to
properly operate the brake lights from the RV.

The jeep is also a great vehicle for sight seeing especially in remote areas.

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namdnay
Slightly off topic, but in the current context of environmental awareness, let
me get this straight: They're travelling across the continent in what I can
only describe as the vehicle from Meet the Parents, and for what I presume are
short local trips, they bring along... a Lexus RX !?

This is the standard European solution to the same problem:
[https://www.watling-
towbars.co.uk/motorbike_scooter_carrier....](https://www.watling-
towbars.co.uk/motorbike_scooter_carrier.html)

~~~
SigmundA
I have an RV and tow a 4 door Jeep behind it, the difference in gas mileage
towing the jeep vs not is maybe 1 mpg(6.5 mpg vs 7.5 mpg).

I have two kids, towing just a scooter would not be that useful. The jeep
works really well for sight seeing, including off-roading while at the
destination.

A large RV is not the efficient way to get around regardless of towing a
smaller vehicle, but it is a great way to see the country. I am somewhat torn
about the environmental aspect of it, I am not sure how clear cut it is vs air
travel and hotels and related infrastructure.

~~~
namdnay
For those outside the US: 6.5 us mpg = 36 l/100km ... it's funny how different
fuel prices have given radically different local optimisations.

------
mirimir
I was expecting something like [https://www.kali.org/tutorials/emergency-self-
destruction-lu...](https://www.kali.org/tutorials/emergency-self-destruction-
luks-kali/)

------
tabtab
Another anecdote about an arrogant technician and UI's. When Ebay was a young
company, I decided to give it a try. There was an auction status notice that
was supposed to appear on the screen that I missed. My tech support session
went something like this:

Me: I didn't know that such and such occured because the status messages
appear on the right of the screen, and my monitor is too small to show the
right-hand side.

Technician: You are correct. I suggest you adjust your Windows DPI setting so
that more fits on the screen.

Me: I already tried that, but it makes the characters too small in general.
It's hard on the eyes. I'm using a fairly old monitor.

Technician: I suggest you buy a newer and bigger monitor then.

Me: Other users may have the same problem; not everybody has new monitors.
Can't you move the status messages so they are not on the far right?

Technician: Sorry, we can't do that. Please buy a new monitor if you want to
use our site.

I stopped using Ebay for a while. At least back then you could easily talk to
an actual technician who knew the system. Now you'd probably have to go
through middle-ware AI and script-reading minimum-wagers who may be diplomatic
yet useless.

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ams6110
Would seem to me pretty simple to interlock the switch with the starter so
that it would be impossible to start the car with the switch in the wrong
position.

~~~
greenyoda
That still wouldn't stop you from towing the car with the switch in the wrong
position, which also destroys the transmission.

~~~
jacoblambda
Correct me if I am wrong but with the switch off (i.e. in position for
driving) the lubrication does not occur same as if the modification had not
been added. So wouldn't it still be an improvement as functionality is just as
good as before and 50% of the failure modes are eliminated? Obviously you want
to find a solution for that other 50% but at least you've made an improvement
without any regressions.

~~~
greenyoda
Yeah, a 50% solution is definitely better than nothing (but you'd still need
to be very careful since a mistake could still fry your transmission).

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nailer
To read the article:

    
    
        document.body.style.maxWidth = '800px'
        document.body.style.margin = '0 auto'
        document.body.style.font = '14pt Georgia'

~~~
guitarbill
Or reader mode in Firefox. But agree, there's something hilarious about a guy
complaining about bad design interactions - meanwhile his website is almost
unreadable on a desktop PC, with whole paragraphs stretching the length of the
window.

~~~
jl6
I'm willing to cut the website some slack. It's 15 years old and still online.
It's also only 35KB and loads fast. By comparison to the cesspool that is any
modern monetized website, this was a joy to read.

~~~
guitarbill
Yeah, fair enough. In 2004, I think I was still running 1024x768, so this
would have been less of a problem then, and newer articles have a better
layout: [https://asktog.com/atc/principles-of-interaction-
design/](https://asktog.com/atc/principles-of-interaction-design/) (2014)

~~~
nailer
Snake text (ie, copying existing learnings from newspaper column widths) was
already a thing in 1996

> The column was the first example of what the Web magazine Salon
> (www.salon1999.com) dismissed as "snake text," meaning the story ran in one
> long, narrow column. While the reader has to constantly scroll through snake
> text, the narrow width is far easier to read than, say, oh-I-dunno, Salon's
> ripped-from-a-magazine page format.

[https://www.wired.com/1996/11/web-
dreams-2/](https://www.wired.com/1996/11/web-dreams-2/)

------
pjc50
So a key element in this story appears to be the role of _fear_ in switching
off the brain and reverting to old behaviour while skipping the checklist. And
twice it seems to be caused by the human environment: middle America seems to
be a hostile place?

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crystaln
Sometimes we get the interface we deserve.

------
not_kurt_godel
> Calling the company was of no help. The engineer who answered responded that
> nothing was wrong with the design of the switch that extremely careful
> operation would not overcome. He’d been using it for months with no problem.

My blood pressure rose reading this. Absolutely infuriating response. I can't
stand it when engineers fail to recognize how human factors relate to the
systems they build. Makes me want to grab them by the ear like a child and put
them in timeout until they come to their senses.

~~~
michalc
There could be something else at play in the call... they could have been
scared that if a representative of Lexus admitted there was a problem with the
design, they would be admitting liability.

~~~
c22
He didn't call a representative of Lexus.

~~~
mirimir
True. And TFA doesn't name the company:

> ... but it is a real, aftermarket device for Lexus RX-300 series cars being
> sold by a company in Florida.

However, parent's argument applies to "company in Florida".

Also, ironically, to the author of TFA. I'm guessing that it's not an accident
that he doesn't name "company in Florida".

