big awoo notationMar 19
reverse engineering is the process of finding out after somebody else fucks around
Show threadvriska, thief of light 
@lofty the description i've heard is that engineering is the art of solving problems, and thus reverse engineering is the art of causing problems
Mar 19 at 1:31amWeb
Show threadbig awoo notationMar 19
@leo whoever gave that description has never had to reverse engineer a thirty-year-old FPGA toolchain. plenty of problems were caused in that codebase...
Show threadTathar is dragons! (public)Mar 20
@lofty @leo after trying to use a thirty-year-old FPGA toolchain as an IDE, I can imagine
Show threadKat SMar 20

@leo Whoever said that hasn't had to reverse-engineer the half-assed work of a foot-dragging contractor with an attitude problem and half a clue.

The purpose of engineering is to solve problems, but much of the art lies in not creating more of them in the process. Not all engineers are artists of that calibre.
@lofty