General Discussion

accounts.

I worked supporting a research university system wide adaptation of unique scientific data into an accessible library intended to allow people all over the world to look at the original data and how it had been produced. A large portion of the experiments and data predated desktop computing by decades. It took 3 years to accomplish and involved accurately converting pre-DOS languages and sequences into UNIX friendly forms which could be viewed remotely across the then new internet. I saw first hand the difficulties faced at that time by the programmers and scientists in building this library.

I cannot imagine how the millions of lines of fragile COBOL based SSA system language could be replaced by JavaScript in only a few months by a couple of hackers.

I have worked alongside people who imagine that because they can hack an existing system, and cull out the data THEY believe is important, that they are wizards of code and IT who can magic anything into being over a few cups of coffee on the weekend. They have enormous contempt for anything made by anyone else at all, whether that is an operating system, or a diplomatic network which keeps the world from blowing up through miscommunication, or a hand made artifact from an era older than they are.

They exist to satisfy their personal greed and their pathetic desire to prove that they are the most powerful people on the planet. They intend to die with the most toys by stealing them from everyone else. If this results in the death of everyone else that just goes to prove their own superiority.