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I couldn't submit a PR, so I got hired and fixed it myself

skeptrune.com

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Re: I couldn't submit a PR, so I got hired and fixed it myself

#141

Post by bombela »

stevesimmons wrote: post #53

If Google Maps would like to hire me so the km/miles switch can remember I only ever want to see distances in km, my contact details are in my HN profile. I must have changed that back from miles once a fortnight since Google Maps launched 20 years ago. That's 500 times. Totally ridiculous for a company who core goal is profiling their users...

When I worked at Google; 10y ago!; I used the internal googler feedback form to open an issue for this bug. No replies.

Every year I fill up the feedback form on Google map to complain about this bug. Some years, I even did it twice. For good measure.

This bug is shameful at this point.

Re: I couldn't submit a PR, so I got hired and fixed it myself

#142

Post by cyphar »

cyberax wrote: post #133
hamandcheese wrote: post #123

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> There's a tool I could have used to fix it, but it's accompanied by a message saying that if you use it without permission you'll be fired. Sometimes I name certain APIs/function names/whatever with a "do_not_use_or_you_will_be_fired" suffix. Generally for hacks I don't want people to copy-pasta. I can't actually fire anyone, but it gets peoples attention (especially more junior folks).

React has a bunch of those: https://github.com/facebook/react/blob/ddf8bc3fbac7aefbf557e...

Of course, it doesn't stop people from asking if they can use it: https://github.com/reactjs/react.dev/issues/3896

Re: I couldn't submit a PR, so I got hired and fixed it myself

#143

Post by onion2k »

zac23or wrote: post #67

The software quality is so low that if a bug bothers you, it's easier to get hired to fix it than for the company to fix it! Wow. It reminds me of the programmer who mitigated the GTA 5 loading time problem. If even with a lot of money of GTA 5 the quality doesn't improve...

It's nothing to do with quality. It's prioritization. Companies pick things they think people want (or what the team wants to build) without testing or experimenting with users and data.

This is actually an example of the problem, not the solution. There are probably much more useful things for the team to be doing but they let one guy add the thing he wanted.

Re: I couldn't submit a PR, so I got hired and fixed it myself

#144

Post by mgw »

stevesimmons wrote: post #53

If Google Maps would like to hire me so the km/miles switch can remember I only ever want to see distances in km, my contact details are in my HN profile. I must have changed that back from miles once a fortnight since Google Maps launched 20 years ago. That's 500 times. Totally ridiculous for a company who core goal is profiling their users...

Another Google Maps request: Places I‘ve labelled used to at least sometimes (if inconsistently) show up in search. Now they never shop up, even when I type the exact name of the label.

Re: I couldn't submit a PR, so I got hired and fixed it myself

#145

Post by oasisaimlessly »

codingdave wrote: post #83
makeitdouble wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> violating a contract isn't against the law Being binding is kinda of the whole purpose of a contract. If violating it is void under the law the company should change lawyers. To put your argument under a different angle, there are many written laws you can violate with very limited consequences if any, but they are still laws. Contracts aren't written by the country, and enforcing them is civil matter so there's nu…

There are two types of law. Contracts are civil law. Breaking them does not break criminal law. Civil vs. criminal law has different procedures, different burdens of proof, and different potential consequences. When it comes to contracts, no, there are no "laws", there are agreements between parties that can be enforced if taken to court, and in that sense they are binding. But breaking them does not break any law...…

It's not that simple.

https://www.parzfirm.com/blog/when-does-breach-of-contract-b...

> When Does a Breach Become Criminal?

> For a breach of contract to rise to the level of criminal activity, the act must involve elements of fraud, intent to deceive, or theft. These cases go beyond simple noncompliance with contractual terms—they involve behaviors that violate state or federal laws. Some scenarios where contract breaches may involve criminal activity include:

> * Fraudulent intent: If a party enters into a contract without any intention of fulfilling the terms, this may constitute fraud. For instance, accepting payment for services without any intention of delivering.

> * Pattern of deceptive behavior: When a party repeatedly breaches contracts with the intent to defraud others or engage in fraudulent schemes, it can elevate the breach to a criminal offense. A pattern of deceptive behavior indicates a systematic intent to deceive and defraud, which may result in criminal charges.

Re: I couldn't submit a PR, so I got hired and fixed it myself

#146

Post by johnisgood »

buggy6257 wrote: post #82

I specifically attempted to get a job at Discord so I could submit a PR to make giant emojis be a toggle setting rather than automatic. I know the feeling. (If anyone works at Discord, please me and the rest of my server are begging you)

What are you referring to? You can disable the automatic conversion of :) to an emoji, for example.

Re: I couldn't submit a PR, so I got hired and fixed it myself

#147

Post by undebuggable »

stevesimmons wrote: post #53

If Google Maps would like to hire me so the km/miles switch can remember I only ever want to see distances in km, my contact details are in my HN profile. I must have changed that back from miles once a fortnight since Google Maps launched 20 years ago. That's 500 times. Totally ridiculous for a company who core goal is profiling their users...

> I must have changed that back from miles once a fortnight since Google Maps launched 20 years ago. That's 500 times. Totally ridiculous for a company who core goal is profiling their users...

Similar with "privacy popups" everywhere. Similar with every bank with "remember this device" feature. I add exactly the same device on every login, until it fills entirely the limit of allowed devices.

Re: I couldn't submit a PR, so I got hired and fixed it myself

#148

Post by sudo_chmod777 »

SoftTalker wrote: post #28

> I added an AbortController to the debounced search function, so that it aborts any previous queries when a new one is made. This means that the search results are always relevant to what the user is currently typing. To me one of the most annoying things an application can do is go off and do something before I'm done telling it what to do. Filters that apply themselves without an explicit indication that I'm done…

Datadog if you see this

Re: I couldn't submit a PR, so I got hired and fixed it myself

#149

Post by carlmr »

b8 wrote: post #55

Reminds me when I got banned from Amazon for suspected fraud (had an old account, but deleted my email and number since it was in a lot of DB dumps). After I got hired, I reached out to the guy in charge of the anti-fraud team at Amazon, and got unbanned. Emails to support etc. did nothing before I reached out internally (unbanned by 1am the next day).

My biggest Amazon annoyance. I'm often looking for some product, reading Reddit and other reviews. They usually link to amazon.com.

Then it asks me to switch my profile to American/$. But then in order to order I need to switch back to Germany/€.

It's just super cumbersome. Just let me view stuff from any region without switching profiles. If I order from that region you can tell me to switch profiles. But not just for viewing it.

In the same vein. Why is there no, I want this thing, but from a German seller.

Re: I couldn't submit a PR, so I got hired and fixed it myself

#150

Post by daemin »

yonatan8070 wrote: post #121
ximeng wrote: post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How about allowing you to use Google maps while navigating without two phones or opening Apple Maps as well?

What do you mean?

It would be a very useful feature as on road trips you can have a passenger setup the navigation rather than the driver and then also look around and examine places along the route.
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