Yeah, it describes about 99% of all IT solutions and Implementations.
this post was submitted on 01 Aug 2025
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There's nothing as permanent as a quick and dirty temporary workaround.
Oh my God, YES. I Am aware of two proof of concepts that have been running for at least 10 years
Also about half the industrial electric gigs i see, its either installing a bunch of new shit or several days of kludge
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.
That’s awesome!!!
Or, as my dad told me, "There's the right way, and the right now way."
Now that I think of it, the Finnish translation for this is "purkkapatentti" which translates to "chewing gum patent"
I can't say I've ever heard anyone use that, but sure.
My whole life is a kludge
Well TIL my Royal Kludge RK61 keyboard is aptly named! I hate the bloody thing
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.
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 🤔
We call that a bodge.
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.
TIL what 90% of my job is
Also called a hack.
It'll be fine. Just don't touch it. Or look at it.
In german we call this a "Krücke" which translates to the english word "crutch".
Pretty close to the "kludge" 🤔
And if the Krücke doesn't really work, we call it Verschlimmbesserung.
I love that word.
Happens way to often.
Then you build a Krücke for the Verschlimmbesserung 😄
"crutch" is used too, but it's a little different: more something someone relies on too much; it might be a fine option, but the person doesn't look further for something better
In Spanish is a ñapa
In Dutch it's called 'de Franse slag' or 'the French method'.
It's a bit culture-ist but it's not often wrong.
Similar to redneck engineering, possibly? Although, despite appearances, redneck engineering is sometimes known to be surprisingly sturdy.
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."
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.”
Interesting. Didn't know the etymology was that muddy; always thought the German origin was widely accepted.
"Mexicanada"