Weekend Update
We've all been following the Post Office Scandal, but I wanted to dig into what was the actual problem with the Computer Software.
The answer comes back that there were hundreds of coding errors and there has never been a published list.
Just two examples here:
What sort of bugs resulted?
As early as 2001, McDonnell’s team had found “hundreds” of bugs. A full list has never been produced, but successive vindications of post office operators have revealed the sort of problems that arose. One, named the “Dalmellington Bug”, after the village in Scotland where a post office operator first fell prey to it, would see the screen freeze as the user was attempting to confirm receipt of cash. Each time the user pressed “enter” on the frozen screen, it would silently update the record. In Dalmellington, that bug created a £24,000 discrepancy, which the Post Office tried to hold the post office operator responsible for.
Another bug, called the Callendar Square bug – again named after the first branch found to have been affected by it – created duplicate transactions due to an error in the database underpinning the system: despite being clear duplicates, the post office operator was again held responsible for the errors.
Friday 12th January 2024
A reminder that there are still 11 seniors still to pay for their Polo Shirts. Please can you do so by Monday. Please check that the size you have ordered is correct with the list below.
The order will go in Tuesday.
Many thanks. Andy
Wednesday 10th January 2024
