What little things drive you completely up the wall....?

[stitchygreyanonymouse]

Online forms that have improper validation.

For instance, ones that don’t allow '+' in the email field.

Or worse, newsletter signup forms that allow you to have a '+' in your email address, but whose corresponding unsubscribe forms claim said email address is an invalid address.

Also, forms that require input in a specific format (like dd/mm/yy), but don’t tell you until you’ve typed it in and try to submit.

[EmmaJ.]

Online forms that have improper validation.

For instance, ones that don’t allow '+' in the email field.

Or worse, newsletter signup forms that allow you to have a '+' in your email address, but whose corresponding unsubscribe forms claim said email address is an invalid address.

Also, forms that require input in a specific format (like dd/mm/yy), but don’t tell you until you’ve typed it in and try to submit.

In a similar vein, a co-worker has a surname with only two letters.  Many, many forms she tries to fill out kick back with an error message "we require your name to have at least 3 characters".

Yep, wait one moment, let me go change my name for you.....

[Betelnut]

Online forms that have improper validation.

For instance, ones that don’t allow '+' in the email field.

Or worse, newsletter signup forms that allow you to have a '+' in your email address, but whose corresponding unsubscribe forms claim said email address is an invalid address.

Also, forms that require input in a specific format (like dd/mm/yy), but don’t tell you until you’ve typed it in and try to submit.

In a similar vein, a co-worker has a surname with only two letters.  Many, many forms she tries to fill out kick back with an error message "we require your name to have at least 3 characters".

Yep, wait one moment, let me go change my name for you.....

I had this happen with a required security question answer.  The question could not be changed but it would not let me answer it honestly because the answer was only two letters.  How am I supposed to correctly answer a security question six months from now if I had to make up the answer so that the system would take it?

[Thipu1]

The image of librarians. (Caution.  This may get a bit ranty)

I hadn't thought about this since SIL remarked to another family member that I was anal-retentive because I was a librarian.  I didn't know how to have any fun and didn't want anyone else to have any fun either.  yeah, right.

It happened again today.  A prominent item in the news is the trial of a woman who has admitted to stabbing her lover multiple times and then shooting him.  There was a brief clip of her testimony.

'Ooh!', said one of the news anchors, 'She looks like a librarian'.

(the hackles begin to rise and the organ music is cued)

What is a librarian?  We are you. Librarians  come in every size, shape, color and gender orientation known to humanity. 

Some librarians wear their hair in grey buns.  Other librarians wear their hair in green Mohawks.

Some librarians play the cello in chamber ensembles. Other librarians play bass in reggae bands.

Some librarians enjoy quilting or scrap-booking.  Other librarians prefer sky-diving.  Believe it or not, there are some librarians who like both scrap-booking and sky-diving. 

Casanova was a librarian. 
Walt Whitman was a librarian. 

(Rant over)

[mmswm]

The image of librarians. (Caution.  This may get a bit ranty)

I hadn't thought about this since SIL remarked to another family member that I was anal-retentive because I was a librarian.  I didn't know how to have any fun and didn't want anyone else to have any fun either.  yeah, right.

It happened again today.  A prominent item in the news is the trial of a woman who has admitted to stabbing her lover multiple times and then shooting him.  There was a brief clip of her testimony.

'Ooh!', said one of the news anchors, 'She looks like a librarian'.

(the hackles begin to rise and the organ music is cued)

What is a librarian?  We are you. Librarians  come in every size, shape, color and gender orientation known to humanity. 

Some librarians wear their hair in grey buns.  Other librarians wear their hair in green Mohawks.

Some librarians play the cello in chamber ensembles. Other librarians play bass in reggae bands.

Some librarians enjoy quilting or scrap-booking.  Other librarians prefer sky-diving.  Believe it or not, there are some librarians who like both scrap-booking and sky-diving. 

Casanova was a librarian. 
Walt Whitman was a librarian. 

(Rant over)

My degrees are in math/statistics.  I decided not to finish, but I'm two exams away from being a qualified actuary if I ever decide to take the last two exams.  Different set of stereotypes, but I totally get what you're saying.

[Mental Magpie]

People's verbal tics, although I shouldn't complain because I know I have a few myself.  I have a work friend who adds the words "or whatever" to the end of pretty  much every sentence.  So, a typical statement from her will be "I went to the grocery store or whatever to get some apples or whatever.  So I was standing at the checkout, and there was this lady in front of me who had too many items, or whatever."

I have only noticed this recently, but it happens at work quite often!  I just moved here a few months ago so I thought it was a regional think.  It drives me nuts!

[Free Range Hippy Chick]

Accountant here. If we're manning the barricades against the popular misconceptions, count me in. I'll share with librarians and actuaries. I can bring a practising scientist who objects to the 'total nutcase in white lab coat trying to destroy the world' image too, if there's room?

[Elfmama]

TV people who don't know a word on the teleprompter and substitute a word that they do know.  One of the Baltimore newscasters was talking about the foal in the Superbowl Budweiser commercial; she evidently didn't know the word 'foal' because both last night and tonight she called the poor baby horse a 'foul'.

[diesel_darlin]

People's verbal tics, although I shouldn't complain because I know I have a few myself.  I have a work friend who adds the words "or whatever" to the end of pretty  much every sentence.  So, a typical statement from her will be "I went to the grocery store or whatever to get some apples or whatever.  So I was standing at the checkout, and there was this lady in front of me who had too many items, or whatever."

My husband has a friend who uses "whenever" rather than when.  Drives me up the wall!

I have a friend that uses "and everything". It makes me want to hit him.

[hobish]

Tax season is here in the US. I had mentioned to my mom that DH and I are going to owe money back to the IRS, but we were still waiting on a few miscellaneous forms to arrive. My mother told me that she and my dad specifically picked an accountant that always gets them a refund.

So, no matter what changes year to year, according to my mom, there will be a refund.

So ... um ... can I have his number? 

[ladyknight1]

Tax season is here in the US. I had mentioned to my mom that DH and I are going to owe money back to the IRS, but we were still waiting on a few miscellaneous forms to arrive. My mother told me that she and my dad specifically picked an accountant that always gets them a refund.

So, no matter what changes year to year, according to my mom, there will be a refund.

So ... um ... can I have his number? 

The whole issue makes me wonder how sharp their reasoning is.

[turtleIScream]

People who leave worthless comments on webpages.

I was recently helping my sister hunt down instructions for a specific DIY home project. She wanted to take up Underwater Basket Weaving. Currently, Freshwater Basket Weaving is very popular and there is a ton of information available to help someone get started. However, my sister needed help with Seawater Basket Weaving. After a very tiresome, frustrating search process, she finally found a website devoted exclusively to the study of SBW. Yay! In reading the comments on the page, though, she came across this gem - "I love, love, love baskets, and want to learn UBW! But, I really need instructions on FBW, not SBW. Can you change your page to have FBW instructions?"

[o_gal]

Speaking of US taxes, it's time for all the tax prep companies and prep software companies to trot out their commercials. These are the ones about how they will get you the maximum refund. Then you see lots of people holding up signs or talking about how they got a refund of $2400, or $3350, or $5500, etc.

There's no wonder they had to use a prep company, they can't do simple math. If they're getting a refund from the IRS for $5500, divide it by 12. That's the amount they are giving each month to the IRS, interest free, and letting the IRS hold for the year. Money that could have been available to them in their own bank accounts during the year.

We had a perfect year in 2008 - we owed $6 

[siamesecat2965]

Speaking of US taxes, it's time for all the tax prep companies and prep software companies to trot out their commercials. These are the ones about how they will get you the maximum refund. Then you see lots of people holding up signs or talking about how they got a refund of $2400, or $3350, or $5500, etc.

There's no wonder they had to use a prep company, they can't do simple math. If they're getting a refund from the IRS for $5500, divide it by 12. That's the amount they are giving each month to the IRS, interest free, and letting the IRS hold for the year. Money that could have been available to them in their own bank accounts during the year.

We had a perfect year in 2008 - we owed $6 

And the fact there is an assumption that EVERYONE gets a refund. NOt everyone does. I've owed before. The first year I had my second job I owed big time. even though my deductions were where they should have been; apparently having two jobs you still don't have enough withheld. So I figured out what I owed, divided that by the number of paychecks I get, and have that additional amount withheld. But now I've gotten money back for the last few years. Oy vey. I'm still working on that balance.

And don't get me started on those that say you can have your refund instantly. They are loans, plain and simple, with exhorbitant interest rates. My dad worked a couple years for a major tax prep co., and he HATED those. He also hated the company policies which is why he then went to volunteering for AARP doing taxes.

[BabyMama]

People who leave worthless comments on webpages.

I was recently helping my sister hunt down instructions for a specific DIY home project. She wanted to take up Underwater Basket Weaving. Currently, Freshwater Basket Weaving is very popular and there is a ton of information available to help someone get started. However, my sister needed help with Seawater Basket Weaving. After a very tiresome, frustrating search process, she finally found a website devoted exclusively to the study of SBW. Yay! In reading the comments on the page, though, she came across this gem - "I love, love, love baskets, and want to learn UBW! But, I really need instructions on FBW, not SBW. Can you change your page to have FBW instructions?"

I no longer read the comments at the bottom of recipe/craft blogs because of the inevitable stupid questions. I was checking out a recipe a few weeks ago for some kind of brownie/bar--very simple recipe, everything was in whole cups/teaspoons/tablespoons and the number of eggs was even. There weren't many ingredients either, probably 6 or 7. Someone of course asked, "Can I cut this recipe in half, and if so, how?" Uh. How about simple division? Made me sad for humanity.