With the help of our readers and GuardianWitness, we've compiled some handy tips on how to avoid everlasting shame in the modern world – where reply all, browser history and autocorrect just seem out to get you
Technology may have introduced us to a brave new world where anything is possible. Unfortunately, it's also increased our capacity to make utter fools of ourselves.
We asked you for your worst tech mishaps – and boy, did you deliver. From forgetting the all-important step of clearing your browser history to the classic dropping your phone down the loo, our readers certainly weren't short of red-faced technological mishaps.
Using your submissions, here are the 10 tech commandments you should follow if you want to avoid eternal shame online. All we need to do now is carve them into some stones.
1. Thou shalt clear thy browser history
It's a simple step to take, but all-important. Especially as you never know when someone will want to borrow your laptop. One Guardian reader, who contacted us under the pseudonym LarsvonT on the condition we wouldn't reveal their identity, found out the hard way:
2. Thou shalt not mix up thy contacts
Plenty of our readers have been burned by this one, especially now plenty of phone have pesky touchscreens where the slip of your thumb is basically the difference between texting something funny to your mate and eternal shame.
3. Thou shalt double-check that Google search
This is an especially important rule if you're about to show the results of said search to a class full of pre-teens.
4. Thou shalt remember: thy phone doesn't belong in the toilet
This happens to our readers a lot. What is it with phones and loos?
5. Thou shalt not open that dodgy email
6. Thou shalt take care on Facebook
When it comes to social embarrassment, Facebook seems to be the social network of choice.
7. Thou shalt reply all at thy peril
Oh it seems handy at the time, but reply all can be the devil in disguise. One slip and suddenly you've sent your entire office including your boss that embarrassing anecdote from your weekend's antics. Or, like randomangles, you've accidentally invited your entire office to a small get together:
Worse still, you could have ruined someone's chances of promotion. We're looking at you, John Gibbons.
8. Thou shalt turn off autocorrect
Autocorrect is meant to be a godsend, yet somehow it causes more hassle than it's worth.
9. Thou shalt not throw hardware across the room
Because you never know, you might just need to turn it off and back on again.
10. Thou shalt not print weird things on thy work printer
There's a reason Christian Grey used his own printer...
You can read the rest of our readers' submissions on GuardianWitness. Want to share your own tech fails? Feel free to add them in the comments below.
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