LOL: CNN employee`s own mistake crashed Obamacare Web page

[kpete]

Americablog:

In a rather embarrassing revelation for CNN, their own “expert” crashed the Obamacare Web site yesterday by doing something that every child in America knows you simply do not do on the Internet: Refreshing the Web page while your transaction is processing.

Yet, an examination of the video reveals that that is exactly what CNN did – their expert refreshed the Affordable Care Act federal exchange site while their application was “processing.”

And what happened as a result? The page crashed. As it does on every single Web site in the world when you’re dumb enough to refresh the page while a transaction is in progress.

http://americablog.com/2013/12/video-shows-cnns-mistake-crashed-obamacare-web-page.html

[Voice for Peace]

1. d'oh!

[robbob]

2. Yes but they dont admit they made a mistake

so to anyone watching, it looks like the web site is still glitchy

[markpkessinger]

12. Web Design 101: Error Handling

Proper error handling is a very basic, fundamental skill for any web developer. It is simply not true that one can "never" hit refresh while a transmission of information transaction. Informational transactions can be handled differently from purchase transactions.

With purchase transactions, the reason one doesn't hit "refresh" while the transaction is not that doing so will crash the page, but rather that the credit card authorization may have already been transmitted to the credit card company, and there is thus a danger that it will be submitted and reauthorized a second time, resulting in a double charge to your credit card. If a "refresh" command is issued while the purchase transaction is processing, appropriate error handling would return a message to the user, reminding him or her that the purchase transaction has already been submitted, and that resubmitting could cause the user to be charged a second time. It should then give the user an option to resubmit, or not.

With the transfer of information, where there is no danger of double-billing, a simple message asking if the user wants to resubmit the data will suffice. If the user then chooses to resubmit, the web server cancels the prior request, and resubmits the data as a new transaction.

In NEITHER event, however, should hitting "refresh" result in the page crashing. If it does, it is reflective of very poor design.

[DallasNE]

3. Obviously, Their Computer "Expert" Would Know This

So the assumption has to be that CNN wanted to say "see, the ACA web sit is still broken" so this was a sure way to get the result they were looking for. Highly dishonest but that is how MSM operates any more.

[NBachers]

4. Intentional sabotage

[lostincalifornia]

5. It should not crash the website regardless.

[hueymahl]

6. Correct

A properly constructed site would not be phased by a refresh. Worst case you would have to reenter some information. Clearly it is not yet tracking "state" properly.

Glad to see the site is getting better, but it is still a massive POS.

[FourScore]

9. Ha! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! ... And welcome to DU!...Ha! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA!...No, seriously...

Ha! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! Ha! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! Ha! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! Ha! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! Ha! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! Ha! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA!

[pacalo]

11. Do you know of any website that would allow a refresh in the middle of a transaction?

[markpkessinger]

13. Most, actually...

... the exception being transactions involving purchase, where resubmission could result in double-billing. See #12 for a fuller explanation.

[hueymahl]

15. Virtually any modern web site

American Ezpress, Geico, citibannk, state farm, amazon, walmart, USPS, USPTO, NewEgg are just a few I am familiar with and are as complicated or more complicated, with higher volumes, than what healthcare.gov is trying to do. At WORST you lose the information on the page you refreshed. It does NOT result in kicking you out or "crashing" whatever process you are in.

The knee-jerk reaction by some around here screaming conspiracy at every turn is pretty worn out. We have plenty of things worth fighting for. It doesn't hurt to acknowledge the truth that a program we back and is backed by fellow democrats needs to be fixed.

[lostincalifornia]

18. Any well written web page should not crash, especially on a reset. Perhaps the definition of "crash

is not being used properly.

[Bongo Prophet]

8. It didn't "crash the website"

It just "crashed" the viewer's page. which is true of any site that you purchase items from, or other times when you submit data. While it is working, you do not refresh. Many sites will have that warning in text during that time.

Maybe they should do that, to help "idiot-proof" the thing.
And of course the tech guru should know that, and probably does...

[markpkessinger]

10. It shouldn't crash the page . . .

. . . instead, any well designed site that handles an information transaction should, if a "refresh" command is received while a prior transmission of information is still processing, prompt the user as to whether or not the user wishes to resubmit the data. Any well-designed website will have built into it a mechanism for handling errant clicks or refresh commands. That is like web design 101. The fact that this website couldn't handle it reflects extremely poor QA.

[hourglass1]

14. i was thinking the same

thing ... it only crashed the user's web browser (most likely explorer) page not the healthcare website ...

[lostincalifornia]

17. That isn't what the first sentence said, so the OP should correct it. In addition, it should not

crash the web page either.

Here is the line from the OP which said it crashed the web site:

"In a rather embarrassing revelation for CNN, their own “expert” crashed the Obamacare Web site yesterday"

If that is not the case they should correct it

[Lordquinton]

7. If he's an expert

Then why isn't he telling us why it's happening?

[weissmam]

16. why

Why if the web site said it was processing his info did he hit refresh?

[lostincalifornia]

19. The point is, a user can and will do anything, and that is why a programmer codes for those

Last edited Tue Dec 3, 2013, 06:04 PM - Edit history (1)

situations.

[markpkessinger]

20. Exactly -- see #12 above . . .

. . . re: error handling 101!

[lostincalifornia]

21. Try/catch. Perspective is very important. You are right