Man Asserts Rights At Border. Wins.

[Fletch]

...it never occurred to them that if everyone was having trouble understanding their system, it was their stupidity at the poor construction of the system, and not those who failed to understand it.

In one of those bizarre coincidences of the universe, this is also Microsoft's problem.

 

[jsgolfman]

lol

 

[dross]

In one of those bizarre coincidences of the universe, this is also Microsoft's problem.

I'm not a Microsoft hater. I actually think that overall they offer some pretty good products and have probably done more for overall productivity than any other company I can think of.

 

[Fletch]

I'm not a Microsoft hater. I actually think that overall they offer some pretty good products and have probably done more for overall productivity than any other company I can think of.

Believe it or not (and I'm sure you don't), I'm not either. But after spending 5 years studying user interface design in a professional capacity, I'm fairly confident that they suck at it.

And as a professional software developer, I have had more than my share of migraines induced by what they consider "easy to use" API's.

 

[PatriotPride]

Excellent find! I'm glad to see that there are still people in this country who take a stand and deal with Law Enforcement the correct way.

 

[O2guy]

Great find, Truly enjoyed both articles..just goes to show us that though they are our rights we must stand firm on our beliefs and bear out the sometimes annoying circumstances.

 

[jdmack79]

I went to China for a few weeks earlier this summer and suffered in customs in Chicago for what seemed like eternity. They asked question after question about why I was there and what I was bringing back.

 

[Blackhawk2001]

A small but very telling point that comes through reading this and other threads about interaction with the leading edge of the government is how often they bristle at the slightest brusque manner, but yet many of them are consistently rude.

I was getting on a flight once at DIA, and approached a huge maze of posts and tape to guide the human cattle to the security lines. I stopped to look, because at first I couldn't figure out where to go. There were arrows and a couple of ways you could go, but I couldn't tell what they were trying to indicate. While I was standing there trying to figure it out, I watched as several people approached and went the wrong way. The two TSA ladies standing there rudely redirected them. I saw this happen three times in a row. After they directed the people to the correct entrance, they laughed and talked about how stupid all the people were.

I thought how that incident was a microcosm of the problem of government. They had the power to be rude without retribution, but of course if a citizen is rude in return, they have the power to inconvenience that citizen. Also, it never occurred to them that if everyone was having trouble understanding their system, it was their stupidity at the poor construction of the system, and not those who failed to understand it.

I think every government worker who interacts with the public should have to present each person with whom they interact with a grade sheet. Grade on a curve. If their statistics are out of whack with their fellows, they enter a disciplinary process that should eventually lead to loss of pay, then loss of job. I'd bet we'd see a politeness upswing real fast.

I worked in our local government for about 13 years in a capacity that allowed me to frequently interact with irate citizens (I was responsible for the installation, operation, and maintenance of the county Outdoor Warning Sirens). Sometimes I would catch myself being short or brusque with citizens' complaints - because I was in a bad mood or I'd heard the complaint numerous times that day, or because the citizen complaining was just so nasty about it. Then I'd remind myself that I worked for them, not the other way around.

 

[dross]

I worked in our local government for about 13 years in a capacity that allowed me to frequently interact with irate citizens (I was responsible for the installation, operation, and maintenance of the county Outdoor Warning Sirens). Sometimes I would catch myself being short or brusque with citizens' complaints - because I was in a bad mood or I'd heard the complaint numerous times that day, or because the citizen complaining was just so nasty about it. Then I'd remind myself that I worked for them, not the other way around.

I commend you for remembering to be polite, for whatever reason.

The real problem is systemic. If you work for a private company and are treated rudely, as often as not, you have recourse. The system, in general, rewards politeness and punishes rudeness.

In the government, the system is neutral when it comes to politeness. If I go to the DMV (I guess it's the BMV in Indiana) there is no incentive built into the system naturally to reward politeness. Those folks would be just as happy if I never came in to use their services. If I were to ask for the manager to complain, the reaction would likely be that I was the troublemaker, not the other way around.

It's even worse when the agency is one of law enforcement. They are already there to ensure the rules are being enforced. They quite rightly understand that politeness is secondary to that mission. This leads too often to an us and them attitude that comes out very strongly.

When a system doesn't naturally encourage the desired behaviour, an artifical incentive must be designed into the system. Without that, only the exceptional will do the unrewarded or not do the unpunished action, especially if that action is beneficial to the person acting.

 

[indyjoe]

In one of those bizarre coincidences of the universe, this is also Microsoft's problem.

In all fairness, the geek leaders of Unix also have the problem of blaming the users when their totally non-intuitive UI is not understood. It took quite a while before that was [STRIKE]solved[/STRIKE] helped and mostly by the influence of Ubuntu.