Offset Bad Code, With Bad Code Offsets

An anonymous reader writes "Two weeks ago, The Daily WTF's Alex Papadimoulis announced Bad Code Offsets, a join venture between many big names in the software development community (including StackOverflow's Jeff Atwood and Jon Skeet and SourceGear's Eric Sink). The premise is that you can offset bad code by purchasing Bad Code Offsets (much in the same way a carbon-footprint is offset). The profits are donated to Free Software projects which work to eliminate bad code, such as the Apache Foundation and FreeBSD. The first cheques were sent out earlier today." Hopefully, they work better than carbon offsets, actually.

Comments

Apache & FreeBSD = bad code?

[sopssa]

which work to eliminate bad code, such as the Apache Foundation and FreeBSD.

Wow, that's a quite direct attack.

Re:Apache & FreeBSD = bad code?

[bsDaemon]

What could possibly be bad in a code base that contains functions such as "void die_you_gravy_sucking_pig_dog(void)"?

Not realistic

[DoofusOfDeath]

I can't really see how Microsoft can afford this...

Re:Not realistic

[Monkeedude1212]

Windows ME alone would probably throw them bankrupt.

Re:Not realistic

[gregarican]

Then Microsoft Bob would put them to the brink of becoming corporate antimatter...

The only possible way this works is...

[Radtastic]

... if the bad-code offset is a penalty after-the-fact for putting out bad code.

And no, I'm not going to RTFA. This is a horrible idea.

Re:...and now for something entirely unrelated.

[SomeJoel]

"Hopefully, they work better than carbon offsets, actually."

Way to ensure this whole thread goes off track, by trolling on an unrelated and politically charged topic. And with an example poorly chosen as proof of anything, at that.

Don't pay any attention to the last line of the summary. If you ignore it, it will go away.

... just like global warming.

Re:You want me to pay what?

[gmuslera]

What about IE6 supporting this? If Microsoft pays they quota just for IE6 this will mean millons in donations to Apache Foundation, FreeBSD and others.

Bad code offsets?

[ozbird]

You mean like this?

JMP 0x0BAD

Re:Bad code offsets?

[clone53421]

That is a goto, so yes.

cyber-indugences

[prgrmr]

From the "Bad Code FAQ":

Offsetting bad code also provides a salve to your conscience.

I wonder how that line would go over in a project plan? Nowhere in the FAQ does it ever mention actually removing or fixing the Bad Code for which they are willing to sell an Offset. Ironically, if they advocated, promoted, and actually assisted in that effort, their market for Bad Code Offsets would diminish. This smells like something that would have been pitched to the VC's back in the mid-90s as a means of generating revenue until a real product was ready.

Lutherans

[Anonymous Coward]

As a Catholic, let me tell all you greens and bad coders that letting people buy their way out of their sins just gets stuff nailed to your door. But good luck with it anyway.

Good thing they aren't mandatory

[damn_registrars]

Or slashdot would go broke in a hurry.

Re:...and now for something entirely unrelated.

[Sir_Lewk]

I really hope Mozilla won't be getting money from this. If anything, they should be contributing...

Re:Put your "oh oh" in my "oh oh."

[Shikaku]

There is no amount of offsets you can buy for Windows ME.

Re:Deliberately bad?

[jimbobborg]

Do you think Microsoft doesn't have any sort of internal code and bug tracking system?

Sometimes I wonder...

Stupidity Offsets?

[jameskojiro]

Maybe we can sell Stupidity Offsets to dump rich people, I can think of a couple dozen people in Hollywood who would qualify to buy these, they would go towards educating people in universities on the subject of physics, chemistry, and biology.

Oh and I get to keep 10% of the money for my own "Operating Expenses".

Re:If you write bad code...

[mcgrew]

I know my code is all peaches and cream!

Typo: You misspelled "patches".

Re:It's like a swear box

[Anonymous Coward]

I guess that's a dollar to the swear box.

why not mangle some climate code?

[Budenny]

I work in the climate science department of a well known university in E Anglia, UK, and am proud to be the owner of a 4 x 4 and also an excruciatingly bad programmer. No, sorry, I got that wrong, I have no car, walk to work, and only write in equisitely structured C++.

You can all assuage your guilt from driving those 4 x 4s and writing all that crap code in Python. Ruby or whatever by sending me large sums of money, and I will continue my low guilt lifestyle as long as the cheques keep coming.

You can carry on shopping at malls in your 4 x 4s, and writing your terrible code.

We will all be happy. I will get rich. Everyone wins. We save the planet. What's the problem?

Re:Deliberately bad?

[MrNaz]

Wrong. The real reason someone would feel bad for writing bad code is because afterwards they'd have to put up with RMS picketing their offices every morning. I can imagine the boardroom now:
Director 1: We're making millions from this closed source software, it's the company's greatest success.
Director 2: Yea, but that scary guy with the beard and the long hair keeps turning up and making my morning miserable.
Director 1: I know, he's really annoying. All in favor of scuttling our revenue in the interests of making him go away, say "aye".
Directors 1 - 20: "AYE!"