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The Scream Test (eviltoast.org)

I work for a company that works for a company that works for a company.
We have clients that are clients of clients, and may be direct clients in some other aspect.
We host services for these entities.
That is all fine until they don't pay us.

When they don't pay us, there are multiple rounds of contacting someone who will contact someone who will contact someone. Someday.

Sometimes, someday does not arrive.
At that point, we conduct the Scream Test.

The essence of the Scream Test is:

  • This thing is theoretically not needed.
  • Let's turn it off.
  • And see who screams?

We shut down some stuff today. Waiting on the cacophony...

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[-] Deconceptualist@leminal.space 2 points 8 minutes ago

This post feels like poetry.

[-] The_Che_Banana@beehaw.org 2 points 31 minutes ago* (last edited 30 minutes ago)

The difficulty in this structure is that someone, somewhere along the chain is laid off, fired made redundant and that person may have been in charge of the invoice.

That type of disconnect can be exploited: billing for services not rendered intermittently, etc.... We used to receive thermal printing paper at random times from a random company because they knew the invoice was sent to a different address and...who really commits fraud for printer paper? It could have just been a mistake because we received that paper....Right? Such a low key crime thats hard to spot and prove mal intentions.

[-] DokPsy@lemmy.world 16 points 1 hour ago

Love a good ol scream test. Only problem is you have to make sure to keep the disconnected thing or the data within for a solid year in case it's only used once annually by "very important process that makes sure the doors stay open" and no one realizes that thing you disconnected is where it's pulled from. Learned that one the hard way

[-] dbtng@eviltoast.org 7 points 1 hour ago

In this case, all we did was disable some ACLs. The machines are still running.
But ya. The point is to preserve whatever is actually needed. So don't nuke it before they can scream.

[-] DokPsy@lemmy.world 7 points 1 hour ago

But that urge to nuke it can really make some good arguments

[-] dbtng@eviltoast.org 5 points 1 hour ago

My boss designed a whole decomm system with wait periods and shit built into an app.
He still tells me, "You can just shut that down and delete it".
I don't. I make that jerk use his own system. "Put in a decomm, and I'll take care of it."

[-] slazer2au@lemmy.world 5 points 1 hour ago

With scream tests I unusually unplug the nic or whatever the equivalent is in a VM because a server can always have weird startup requirements that no one knows anymore while an unplugged nic doesn't change the running state if you need to bring it back online.

[-] dbtng@eviltoast.org 5 points 1 hour ago

We left that shit running and blocked it with ACLs on the switch.
The guests are kinda black-box stuff to us. Don't want to mess with em.

[-] tpihkal@lemmy.world 3 points 1 hour ago

Anxiously waiting for a follow up.

[-] pdxfed@lemmy.world 3 points 1 hour ago

Is the official name for this "the scream test"?

I do this in lots of jobs; I tend to come in on cleanup jobs after gross incompetence, sometimes for many years. In addition to fixing problems, I have to help companies learn what should be happening and realign them to normal operating practices. Stopping pointless, worthless, outdated and redundant practices are something I do, and sometimes I apply the method above, though with many fewer degrees of separation than you have to those who may be affected. I find cutting pointless stuff to be one of the best ways to focus energy on things that do matter, get people to a better place and sometimes even save money doing it.

[-] dbtng@eviltoast.org 3 points 1 hour ago

Ya man. Google it. I'm not that creative. Did not make it up.

this post was submitted on 05 Sep 2026
48 points (100.0% liked)

iiiiiiitttttttttttt

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