mis·no·mer
noun \ˌmis-ˈnō-mər\Definition of MISNOMER
1
: the misnaming of a person in a legal instrument
2
a : a use of a wrong or inappropriate name
b : a wrong name or inappropriate designation
Lately I have been thinking about different service providers whose names are really misnomers. One example readily comes to mind: WebDirect. What is WebDirect? It is a pointless third party you have to go through to publish any web content (or send any email to the student body) at BYU Law School. WebDirect's Mission Statement?
"The J. Reuben Clark Law School WebDirect webpage delivery service is designed to provide professional quality webpage consultation, design and editing services for the faculty, administrative and student organizational needs of the law school."This is a commendable aspiration. But as far as descriptions of WebDirect go, nothing could be further from the truth. The service does not provide consultation: it exerts absolute control over all things web-related at the law school. The only part of the name that is accurate is Web, as in website (and it's often a stretch to say that this part is accurate). Other than that, Direct is a complete misnomer. I have started calling the service WebIndirect, WebMisdirect, or WebRedirect. You literally cannot publish any of your own content for a student-run organization. You have to tell WebDirect what you want to publish, and then you wait for WebDirect to go about doing the very thing that you yourself could have done.
Take for instance the BYU Law Review's "new website." It has been stuck in limbo since the school year started in August 2011. It is a
Another example of a service provider whose name is a misnomer is BYUI Connect. BYUI Connect is a website BYU-Idaho maintains for its alumni to remain connected and to make new connections. I recently had a frustrating collision with the site’s use of outdated technology on its seemingly new web design. And yes, I am a BYU-I alumnus. The Alumni Association had asked me to update my profile, so I tried to log on to the site. No luck. I forgot my password. Not to worry though—the newly updated site has the "I forgot my password" option. I had to enter my social security number, last name, date of birth, and gender (on the off-chance that I stole the person's identity but did not know his or her gender?). I also had to fill out a reCAPTCHA.
I hit the Next button, and this is what I got:
Did that really just say, "You cannot reset
your password because you have not selected a security question and created a
secret answer. Please contact the help desk."? Well, I now wish I would
have done what any rational person would do if he or she has ever had to "contact [a] help desk": give up;
take the blue pill; end it quickly before the painful experience even begins.
 |
| Morpheus Offers Neo the Red Pill and the Blue Pill. The Matrix (1999). |
In other words, I clicked help desk. But I wasn't expecting what came up next: 404 Error: Page not Found (?!).
At that point
it seemed fairly reasonable to click Launch AskBYUI (Live Chat). There
was no obvious phone number for the help desk. This next screen shot shows the
proportional size of the Live Chat window compared to the rest of the blank
space in my web browser:
After quite an eventful chat, I still cannot log on because the help desk could not actually help me. That means I cannot connect with my fellow alumni. BYUI Connect is therefore more accurately named BYUI Disconnect.
The following is a word-for-word
transcript of my chat session with two students (presumably) at BYU-I. Enjoy!
Please wait for a site operator to
respond.
You are now chatting with 'Michelle'
Michelle: Welcome to Ask BYU-Idaho, how may I help you?
Cory Clements: I do not know
my password and I need to know whom I should contact to reset it for me.
Michelle: You can contact the computer help desk. Would you like
me to transfer this chat to them?
Cory Clements: Please do
Michelle: Their number is 208.496.9000
Michelle: I will transfer it right now.
Cory Clements: thank you,
Michelle
Michelle: My pleasure Cory.
Please wait while I transfer the chat
to 'Jake Hann'.
You are now chatting with 'Jake Hann'
Jake Hann: Thank you for contacting the Help Desk, this is Jake, how
may I help you?
Cory Clements: Jake, I would
like for you to help me reset my password. I have not set up a secret question
(so the system tells me) and I cannot reset my password on my own.
Jake Hann: I can help you with that, in order to reset your password I
need to verify your personal information. I need your social security number,
last name, and date of birth
Cory Clements: Well I will
give you my information up to anything short of my social security number. I
have never used this service before so I don't trust its security yet.
Cory Clements: Cory
Clements, 06/13/1985, user name: coryclem
Jake Hann: Unfortunately without your social I am unable to reset a
password. If you would feel more comfortable talking to us on the phone you
could call us at (208) 496-9000
Cory Clements: I entered my
social security into the system when trying to reset my password on my own
Cory Clements: Why can I not
reset my own password if I entered my last name, social security number, and
birth date?
Jake Hann: They changed campus security in regards to passwords a few
years ago. All users now require a security question. Any users who did not set
one up are unable to reset their passwords until they have one.
Cory Clements: That does not
explain why I cannot create a security question if I know all my personal data
and I entered it into the system.
Jake Hann: Security question's are attached to your account. They are a
field that is set within your campus profile. If you can log into your account
that the security question cannot be created.
Cory Clements: MY user name
is the exact same as it is for BYU.edu and I can log in to my account on
BYU.edu. Can I set it from there?
Jake Hann: No, our system is independent from BYU.
Cory Clements: By choice or
were they unwilling to associate their system?
Jake Hann: I do not know, I could find out, but it would take time to
get the answer.
Cory Clements: No matter.
Next question.
Jake Hann: Okay.
Cory Clements: How is this
scenario helping enhance campus security? I verified that I am who I say I am,
but I have to use a third party (you) to help me. And you won't help me unless
I divulge my social security number.
Cory Clements: Doesn't that
seem more of a security risk than a security enhancement?
Jake Hann: I'm sorry for the delay. I'll be right with you.
Jake Hann: We are not a third party, we are a department at BYU-Idaho,
we are in charge of resetting passwords on user accounts. Those three pieces of
data are required before the resetting of a password because usernames are
changed on occasion, and campus ID numbers were not issued until recently, so
not everyone has one. The only way we can ensure we are releasing this
information to the appropriate user is by verifying their Social security
number, last name, and date of birth
Jake Hann: Sorry about the automated message, it took me too long to
type
Cory Clements: Which one was
automated? The long paragraph in the middle?
Jake Hann: No, the one that says "I'm sorry for the delay. I'll be
right with you."
Cory Clements: Oh, that's
interesting.
Cory Clements: well I have a
campus ID number
Cory Clements: So you can
verify that.
Jake Hann: The password reset system is not designed to accept campus
ID numbers at this time.
Cory Clements: So what is
the real reason for this security-question anomaly? Technological backwardness?
Jake Hann: Somewhat, you could blame bureaucracy too.
They have wanted to change the system for a while, but it hasn't happened yet.
For now we are using the system that was originally set up, which is still
using the only information available at that time.
Cory Clements: So my options are the following (and please correct
me if I misunderstand anything):
Cory Clements: 1) Give you my social security number
Cory Clements: 2) Guess at my password until I finally figure it
out
Cory Clements: 3) Never use this system again
Cory Clements: Correct?
Jake Hann: Unfortunately, that would be a correct
analysis of the situation.
Cory Clements: Well, thank you. I do appreciate your compliment.
Jake Hann: You are welcome.
Cory Clements: Well, please send my regards to the bureaucrats at
BYU-Idaho. Tell them that this system is atrocious, that their customer service
is pleasant, and that I chose option three.
Jake Hann: I will attempt to get the message for
enough up the chain, being a grunt and what not. I hope you have a great rest
of your day.
Cory Clements: Thank you, Jake. You too.
Chat session has been
terminated by the site operator.
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