bug
First they said it was a bug. A week later they said it was a feature.
A technical problem, such as a coding error or an unexpected issue found in software.
noun
2
bug
First they said it was a bug. A week later they said it was a feature.
”Bug” or "glitch" is often used as an excuse for wrongdoing, and to mislead the public.
For example:
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Instacart counted a $10 tip towards the payment it owed to an Instacart worker, and paid the worker $0.80 for 69 minutes of work. The company referred to this as a “glitch” in their batch payment structure. (source)
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Facebook overreported how long users viewed ads for, and has disclosed multiple glitches and bugs over advertising metrics. (source)
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Computer scientists found that Uber assessed different surge prices for users co-located in the same surge zone. Uber explained this as a bug in the system. As a practice, this may also be referred to as price discrimination.
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See Paris Martineau's attempt to unlink her Facebook account from her Instagram account. (source)
"I asked instagram why users who didn't link FB to IG were being forced to open FB to dismiss IG notifications: first they said it was a bug, then after a week said it was a feature then, they said the notifications were made up to remind users FB exists?!" -- Paris Martineau