/reader

This lines up with what Brandon has said before: Mistborn as a feature, hopefully a theatrical release, and Stormlight as a series. Also:

Sanderson will be the architect of the universe, will write, produce and consult, and have approvals. That’s a level of involvement that not even J.K. Rowling or George R.R. Martin enjoy.

But I don’t like when the Internet rallies a brigade
To pick apart a character flaw I have, but hate,
Or to attack something I’m not, and expect me to defend.

So perhaps next time, start with “yes, and”, “yes, but”,
Or even “no, because”… or just say nothing, and
Remember what it means to connect with a human.

🧡 I love RSS feeds. And I love you for using them. 💙

It’s true. This is how the proverbial sausage is made. I’ve been there. I’ve seen these decisions handed down. Which means, like Chan, I know how to read between the lines of most “Contact Us” pages on the internet.

I’m not sure about you, but as a user, when I see [these kinds of pages], knowing that whatever my original query was, [I know] I’m going to have to solve it unassisted.

My process follows this arc:

• I have a question.
• Go to the company’s “Contact Us” page.
• Immediately intuit from the design of the page whether I’m actually going to be able to contact someone and get help, or if I’m on my own.

A direct line to a human is the ultimate luxury in today’s world.

The project finished on time, everyone got paid, and the client was happy with the end result, but I still felt very disappointed in the whole thing.

So it goes.

There’s a scene from The Matrix that kept echoing in my head while reading Chan’s post.

There are contact pages, my friends. Endless “Contact Us” pages.

Where human beings no longer exist.

For a long time I probably wouldn’t have believed it, and then I saw the pages made with my own eyes. Watched them remove the ability for human beings to contact one another.

And standing there, facing the pure, automated precision of it all, I came to realize the obviousness of the truth.

What is the “Contact Us” page?

Cost savings.

The “Contact Us” page is a computer-generated dream world, built to keep us from contacting another human in order to save cost and turn a human being into this: a source of revenue.

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It all turned into a hundred line automated test to mock SharePoint and demonstrate the problem… followed by a tiny two-line fix to the actual code. And probably the most-satisfying part of my workday!

💖 RSS is fantastic, and so are you for using it. 🎆