Posts RSS
Subscribe via Email
First Shelfware, now Liarware
Posted June 18th, 2007 by rybolov
We used to call it “shelfware”–the documents that people write once and throw up on a shelf where nobody touches it until the next audit.
I humbly propose a new linguistic creation: “Liarware”. This is the documentation that has no grounding in reality because it was written by people who were paid to create documentation to check a box that the document exists.
Similar Posts:
Posted in Rants | 
7 Comments »
June 18th, 2007 at 5:35 pm
I think that is an appropriate term for some. I know a company I worked for did/does that with not just their audit/security policies, but also DR. These things don’t live by themselves, and they certainly didn’t pay enough for something robust enough to work over the years without review.
June 18th, 2007 at 5:38 pm
You could include buried and/or non-reported incidents in there too… “We have not had an incident in years!” *quickly use hand to cover the mouths of protesting techies*
June 18th, 2007 at 5:39 pm
So why would a company pay the money just to have liarware written?
The only thing that I can think of is for a compliance purposes. From where I stand, I would rather not have a DR/Coop plan than one that is wrong.
June 18th, 2007 at 6:02 pm
Sounds like patent-medecine mentality — “Cures rickets and brightens teeth!”
June 18th, 2007 at 9:41 pm
Yes, they did it for compliance and just to be able to check a box for clients. “Sure, we have a DR plan! Moving on…”
June 19th, 2007 at 12:55 am
I see this fraud going on in my current environment. How can you call a “live” contingency plan test even remotely valid to recover a general support system when all you are allowed to do is move a CAT V cable from one CISCO 2600 switch to another and call that a recovery capability for a site that is “VERY REMOTE”. (Ahem… ends of the earth remote.)
Honestly if the site were knocked offline (loss of power, fire, volcano) no one would even know what the maximum tolerable outage time would be!!! So I say “hell yeah” we need the ammo and more importantly whistle blowing protections to get the liars out in the open. BOFH who think that having a “live test” means that you “fail” (power down) one switch and boot another up 2U’s above it are frauds! Worse yet are the contractors who look the other way and take the check from the COTR.
MY EYES ARE BLEEDING… Make the bad man stop.
November 12th, 2007 at 10:48 am
[…] a bunch of lies because it never gets […]