Editing something in the middle of a discussion about it seems counterproductive to me. Now that I have read this comment I am uncertain whether my own other comment makes sense.
At least leave the original in place but struck out.
At least leave the original in place but struck out.
For reference, at the end the original read:
It was apparent on the faces of the staff that this was most unexpected ... members of the public weren't supposed to know how the system worked ... how could I possibly have known ?!?
But it was a real-life example of a finite-state machine, beautifully designed, and extremely effective.
Until I did something unexpected, of course. But they didn't seem to mind too much.
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Edit: I wish people didn't down-vote you, I think your comment is perfectly reasonable.