this post was submitted on 01 Aug 2025
132 points (100.0% liked)

Today I Learned

23884 readers
532 users here now

What did you learn today? Share it with us!

We learn something new every day. This is a community dedicated to informing each other and helping to spread knowledge.

The rules for posting and commenting, besides the rules defined here for lemmy.world, are as follows:

Rules (interactive)


Rule 1- All posts must begin with TIL. Linking to a source of info is optional, but highly recommended as it helps to spark discussion.

** Posts must be about an actual fact that you have learned, but it doesn't matter if you learned it today. See Rule 6 for all exceptions.**



Rule 2- Your post subject cannot be illegal or NSFW material.

Your post subject cannot be illegal or NSFW material. You will be warned first, banned second.



Rule 3- Do not seek mental, medical and professional help here.

Do not seek mental, medical and professional help here. Breaking this rule will not get you or your post removed, but it will put you at risk, and possibly in danger.



Rule 4- No self promotion or upvote-farming of any kind.

That's it.



Rule 5- No baiting or sealioning or promoting an agenda.

Posts and comments which, instead of being of an innocuous nature, are specifically intended (based on reports and in the opinion of our crack moderation team) to bait users into ideological wars on charged political topics will be removed and the authors warned - or banned - depending on severity.



Rule 6- Regarding non-TIL posts.

Provided it is about the community itself, you may post non-TIL posts using the [META] tag on your post title.



Rule 7- You can't harass or disturb other members.

If you vocally harass or discriminate against any individual member, you will be removed.

Likewise, if you are a member, sympathiser or a resemblant of a movement that is known to largely hate, mock, discriminate against, and/or want to take lives of a group of people, and you were provably vocal about your hate, then you will be banned on sight.

For further explanation, clarification and feedback about this rule, you may follow this link.



Rule 8- All comments should try to stay relevant to their parent content.



Rule 9- Reposts from other platforms are not allowed.

Let everyone have their own content.



Rule 10- Majority of bots aren't allowed to participate here.

Unless included in our Whitelist for Bots, your bot will not be allowed to participate in this community. To have your bot whitelisted, please contact the moderators for a short review.



Partnered Communities

You can view our partnered communities list by following this link. To partner with our community and be included, you are free to message the moderators or comment on a pinned post.

Community Moderation

For inquiry on becoming a moderator of this community, you may comment on the pinned post of the time, or simply shoot a message to the current moderators.

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
 

A kludge or kluge is a workaround or makeshift solution that is clumsy, inelegant, inefficient, difficult to extend, and hard to maintain. Its only benefit is that it rapidly solves an important problem using available resources.

all 29 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] TootSweet@lemmy.world 4 points 13 hours ago

If you like that, I highly recommend perusing the Hacker Jargon File, home of such gems as:

  • wetware - [prob.: from the novels of Rudy Rucker] 1. The human nervous system, as opposed to computer hardware or software. “Wetware has 7 plus or minus 2 temporary registers.” 2. Human beings (programmers, operators, administrators) attached to a computer system, as opposed to the system's hardware or software. See liveware, meatware.
  • splork! - [Usenet; common] The sound of coffee (or other beverage) hitting the monitor and/or keyboard after being forced out of the mouth via the nose. It usually follows an unexpectedly funny thing in a Usenet post. Compare snarf.
  • bag on the side - [prob. originally related to a colostomy bag] An extension to an established hack that is supposed to add some functionality to the original. Usually derogatory, implying that the original was being overextended and should have been thrown away, and the new product is ugly, inelegant, or bloated. Also v. phrase, “to hang a bag on the side [of]”. “C++? That's just a bag on the side of C ....” “They want me to hang a bag on the side of the accounting system.”
[–] IWW4@lemmy.zip 53 points 1 day ago (3 children)

Yeah, it describes about 99% of all IT solutions and Implementations.

[–] Atherel@lemmy.dbzer0.com 22 points 23 hours ago (1 children)

There's nothing as permanent as a quick and dirty temporary workaround.

[–] IWW4@lemmy.zip 7 points 19 hours ago

Oh my God, YES. I Am aware of two proof of concepts that have been running for at least 10 years

[–] A_Union_of_Kobolds@lemmy.world 10 points 23 hours ago* (last edited 23 hours ago)

Also about half the industrial electric gigs i see, its either installing a bunch of new shit or several days of kludge

[–] NaibofTabr 9 points 23 hours ago (1 children)

The first modem just transmitted data over the analog phone network as a series of beeps, a function which the phone system was never designed for.

Computer networking is kludges all the way down.

[–] IWW4@lemmy.zip 2 points 19 hours ago

That’s awesome!!!

[–] Nougat@fedia.io 41 points 23 hours ago

Or, as my dad told me, "There's the right way, and the right now way."

[–] hellfire103@lemmy.ca 5 points 16 hours ago (1 children)

Similar to redneck engineering, possibly? Although, despite appearances, redneck engineering is sometimes known to be surprisingly sturdy.

[–] Gustephan@lemmy.world 2 points 12 hours ago

I think they might be contrapositives. To me, redneck engineering roughly means "surprisingly good and durable solution made in spite of limited materials and or knowledge" where kludge roughly means "surprisingly shit solution barely good enough to work 1 or 2 times despite having the money/ability to produce a much better solution."

[–] Perspectivist@feddit.uk 29 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Now that I think of it, the Finnish translation for this is "purkkapatentti" which translates to "chewing gum patent"

[–] Dasus@lemmy.world 1 points 19 hours ago

I can't say I've ever heard anyone use that, but sure.

[–] TomMasz@piefed.social 11 points 21 hours ago

It'll be fine. Just don't touch it. Or look at it.

[–] ileftreddit@piefed.social 13 points 22 hours ago

TIL what 90% of my job is

[–] tisktisk@piefed.social 20 points 1 day ago

My whole life is a kludge

[–] Akasazh@feddit.nl 5 points 18 hours ago

In Dutch it's called 'de Franse slag' or 'the French method'.

It's a bit culture-ist but it's not often wrong.

[–] jaybone@lemmy.zip 11 points 21 hours ago

Also called a hack.

[–] Diddlydee@feddit.uk 14 points 23 hours ago

We call that a bodge.

[–] matelt@feddit.uk 16 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Well TIL my Royal Kludge RK61 keyboard is aptly named! I hate the bloody thing

[–] SolOrion@sh.itjust.works 8 points 23 hours ago (1 children)

What's wrong with it? I don't at all doubt that something is- it's a $50 wireless mechanical keyboard, I'm just curious.

[–] matelt@feddit.uk 9 points 22 hours ago

No I mean it works perfectly fine but - it's absolutely my fault for getting a 60% - I cannot deal with all the shortcuts and hotkey combinations. Like, the up arrow is the same key as ?, and when I was on Minecraft trying to ask a question I'd end up repeating myself because I'd hit enter as soon as I finish typing my ?. But of course the blasted thing thought I wanted the up arrow (loading the previous message sent).

Anyway that's just me being a plonker, there's nothing inherently wrong with Royal Kludge keyboards. Except the name maybe 🤔

[–] klugerama@lemmy.world 3 points 17 hours ago

Interesting. Didn't know the etymology was that muddy; always thought the German origin was widely accepted.

[–] ChonkyOwlbear@lemmy.world 12 points 23 hours ago

This is my specialty. Once my friends and I BBQed at a park but forgot the spatula and tongs. I smashed an empty soda can flat with a rock and wedged it on the end of a stick to make a spatula. I also sharpened and split a stick to make a sort of two pronged fork. It did the job.

[–] Botzo@lemmy.world 10 points 23 hours ago
[–] quediuspayu@lemmy.dbzer0.com 6 points 22 hours ago

In Spanish is a ñapa

[–] TheBat@lemmy.world 3 points 22 hours ago
[–] RedIce25@lemmy.world 2 points 22 hours ago
[–] criticon@lemmy.ca 1 points 21 hours ago

"Mexicanada"