How does it feel when an app or software you trust totally disappoints?

So I had written a short story earlier today – took me roughly two hours to write, by the way. Edited, published, shared. I had just thought to do a bit of housecleaning on my new blog (get rid of the default post that shows up on WordPress blogs) on the mobile app (WordPress mobile app). So there I was, modifying my profile, deleting the default post and all when I suddenly realized – the short story I had just published was gone.

My heart skipped several beats. This was not happening.

Usually, I first type my stories on Microsoft Word before copying to WordPress (this is not my first WordPress blog, in case you were wondering) but I’ve used WP (I’ll be using that to mean WordPress from now, can’t be typing all that abeg) for a fair bit and I’ve gotten rather comfortable with posting directly from the blog back-end or the mobile app. Why it had to be today of all blessed days that the WP app would decide to delete a story I had no backups of is completely beyond me. The story just disappeared. Poof! Like it never existed. It’s not in the bin (where deleted posts are for thirty days or till you delete them from there too), it’s not anywhere. So basically, I spent two hours giving the WP app something to delete without my permission.

I am still shook because I think I have come to rely a lot on technology and I’ve come to see it as sort-of, well, inerrant. So I guess this is a bit of a back-to-earth reminder to:

1) Always have several backups – especially for writers. One app might go crazy one day and delete all your everything. Yes, including your stash of carefully curated 70 gigabyte porn.

2) Remember that technology isn’t perfect. I mean, I’m pretty sure the developers of the WP app did not intend for it to randomly delete people apps. Except, of course, if one day, the app blogs all the nudes on your phone to your followers, then that is totally intentional.

3) Refer to number 1)

4) I’m too tired and a bit too pissed to think of a number four. I’m going to sleep. If the guys at WordPress know how to restore my post, they should please do so let it not be like I could have better spent those two hours watching NTA.

https://elpigrafa./2018/03/10/when-tech-disappoints/