A one-word magical spell. Several years back, that’s exactly what Joseph Tartaro thought he’d discovered. It was a spell that, if used properly, promised to make one’s problems disappear. And so he crossed his fingers, uttered the word and cast the enchantment on himself. The result, however, was anything but magical.
Unbeknownst to Joseph, by unleashing this spell, he’d earned a lifetime membership into a cursed community. A clan made up of folks who, through no fault of their own, had become nameless and invisible. Today, the story of these unfortunate souls, the dark digital arts that took so much from them and the wizardry needed to give them new life.
Special thanks to Sarah Chasins, Tony Hoare, Brian Kernighan and to Patrick McKenzie for writing that wonderful list of assumptions programmers believe about names. And also to all the folks who spoke to us and emailed us with stories of their own ‘problematic’ names.
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The Internet Dilemma
Right to be Forgotten
Little Black Holes Everywhere
The Right Stuff
The Fellowship of the Tree Rings
Man Against Horse
The Cataclysm Sentence
Americanish
Beware the Sand Striker
Eye in the Sky
The Seagulls
On the Edge
Family People
The War on Our Shore
Ologies: Dark Matters
The Golden Rule
Corpse Demon
Abortion Pills, Take Two
The Library of Alexandra
The Good Samaritan
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