AN ILLEGAL OPERATION

Ongoing theme of poems and digital life

"YOU HAVE PERFORMED AN ILLEGAL OPERATION."

To the Microsoft engineer who penned this

My pop-up says

"Objection!"

Illegal?

Cite me the law, cite me the case

Sounds like

I've hired mercenaries

to covertly assassinate a foreign leader

The program you wrote

is no law

no police officer could enforce

with a court to pass sentence.

Have you ever seen lawyers on TV

argue whether the defendant violated a computer program?

Not to mention

the tone is so accusatory

"You" is so personal, so deliberate.

I just pushed

ENTER

J'accuse you!

Please say instead,

The program is not working

(for whatever reason you might add to be helpful)

And leave that fancy law talking to

lawyers.

Reviews

[Michael G. Smith]

Bravo! I have gotten mad in the past when the city threatens me with a nasty letter for a trivial matter. I always wonder why they just can't knock on my door and ask nicely. (I live in a relatively small city).

[Rita L. Sev]

God forbid they would ever admit that the program wasn't working... No, it must be you, the user - breaking one of their "laws"... Another enlightened poem about this less than enlightened age of technology, John!

[rutherford]

It always struck me as such an inhuman statement. No understanding that it would be read by humans.

[Tam Warink]

Engineers when crafting code are in a state of constant disassociation. They invoke a state of mind that projects personality into their "creations." They are both parent and child at the same time and thus, using the abstract notion of parent guiding child between the constraints of logic and the whimsy of irrational narcissism, create these phrases from the lexicon of the Auto-bots; mostly to adhere to their inflexible desire for a more humane and pliant description of self chastisement.

[rutherford]

Tam,
Yes, how their disassociation is changing language. Thanks for adding your insights -- makes it a richer conversation.

[Joyce S. Greene]

How I hate those error messages! You Google them and run into unintelligible gibberish. (Probably written by a Pakistani school boy.) You've got me grinning here. Have a great day!

[rutherford]

Joyce, thanks for the review. Glad your grinning.

[OTownPete]

You tell em man. The perpetration of keyboard crime is punishable and you shall be judged by a jury of poets...oh s**t, what a fate! Your friend in words, Pete

[rutherford]

Pete, you said it more concisely. Thanks for stopping by.