Epic Fail: Selective Service and MM/DD/YY

Well, apparently in Pennsylvania there was a file transfer of personal records between their Department of Transportation and Selective Service. Then, when it came time for Selective Service to send out the letters demanding enrollment to those men who had not already registered, the clerk culled the database looking for all records with a DOB between '93 and '97.

Unfortunately, the "clerk" did not specify if he wanted eighteen-93 or nineteen-93. As a result, a whole lot of people born in the 1890's received the threat letter from Selective Service. That is, their grandchildren got the letters [!].

Here's the story on Fox: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2014/07/11/were-really-sorry-us-sends-14000-draft-notices-to-men-born-in-1800s/

The story is funny and it's not. You see, "we've" known about Y2K issues since the '80s (that is, the nineteen-80's) and significant work had been done to prepare for the event. So, it's bemusing that here we are in the middle of the second decade of the 21st century, and there are still file structures in existence which can succumb to this kind of error. Seriously, this should give all of us pause.

And, while a letter from Selective Service to one of your ancestors might produce a serious "face palm", I'm actually quite glad it was Selective Service who caused the error. Here's why. First, the error demonstrated clearly a vulnerability in the file structure. This is good. You want to expose structural errors whenever possible. And second, there is not much damage that can be done with a draft notice sent to someone 117 years old beyond the clerk's pride and maybe several thousand postage stamps.

Imagine if a similar error was revealed by, oh say, the IRS? or any other agency or business. It could have resulted in serious trouble. But, because it was Selective Service, it did not. And that is also a good thing.

So, as we face what could be the warmest July weekend in nearly a year, we can take a moment to reflect on the poor clerk in some cubicle someplace who will never live this down.

At least they will have a great story to tell for the rest of their lives.