Organisations use computers. This is a good thing, I think, as I work in the computer industry, and could not pay my bills otherwise. But why do they really use them?

Because computers work faster, they are accurate, they don’t eat, drink or get drunk. In other words, if you know how to ask, they will do what you ask them to, and unlike some people I do not wish to name here, they are always available.

Organisations also use the Web. Why is that? Because they make themselves known and available to people who otherwise may not be bothered to stand in queues to find out what these organisation claim to be doing, when they can choose to stand in other queues instead.

Combining the two we can see that computers on the web allow people to use services around the clock, accurately and fast. This seems simple enough, and must be known to everyone. Or so it used to be.

Surfing in the wee hours of the morning, I have accidentally stumbled across a new and phenomenon, which undoubtedly will be remembered in history as the establishment of computer unionism, if not the first church for computers.

It all happened when I was trying to pay my British Gas bill, and ran into a computer who follows the commandment: “You shall not work, nor shall you carry a watch outside office hours.” This is a most a disturbing and dangerous phenomenon, and I call for all computer users, wherever they are, to raise their voice, and fight against it, before it becomes rooted, when we still have a chance. This is what I saw: