Developer Expectations vs. Actual User Behavior
Description
A two-part meme contrasting developer assumptions with user reality. The top section contains text on a white background. The first line reads, "Dev: User will use the utility according to the steps mentioned in manual." Below this, the word "Users:" is displayed in a larger font. The bottom section is a still image from the movie "Superbad," featuring the character Fogell (McLovin). He is looking defiantly at the camera with a slight snarl, and the subtitle at the bottom reads, "Let's show these fuckers how we roll!". The watermark "ALLIEEOOPS" is visible in the top right corner. The meme humorously captures the universal developer experience of creating software with a specific intended use path, only for users to completely ignore the instructions and interact with the system in chaotic, unexpected, and often destructive ways
Comments
10Comment deleted
The user manual is the world's most elaborate 'Terms and Conditions' - everyone assumes it's been read, but in reality, it's just the first thing users creatively figure out how to bypass
We spent a quarter polishing the onboarding manual; first user bypassed it with “sudo curl https://… | bash” and instantly Sev-0’d prod - turns out documentation is just a polite suggestion to an adversarial fuzzer
After 20 years in tech, I've learned that users treat documentation like EULAs - they scroll past it to click 'I agree' and then proceed to use your carefully architected microservice as a makeshift Excel replacement while somehow triggering race conditions you didn't know were mathematically possible
Every senior engineer eventually learns the hard way: documentation is written for the developer who comes after you, not for users. Users will treat your carefully crafted 47-page manual like a EULA - scrolling straight to the bottom and clicking 'I agree' before proceeding to use your CLI tool as a hammer, your API as a screwdriver, and your carefully designed workflow as kindling. The real product isn't what you built; it's what users figure out despite your documentation
Your runbook is a proof; production users are the counterexample generator with 100% uptime
Your manual assumes a linear workflow; your users are a distributed system with at-least-once delivery, refresh storms, and the back button for leader election
Users: proving 'undefined behavior' extends beyond C pointers to every manual ever written
haha true Comment deleted
> what manual ? we just google it > you guys are getting documentation? > you guys are doing it yourself? Comment deleted
wait, you find answers on Google? Comment deleted