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curtmack

@TechConnectify An interesting case study in user experience and error design: if a Linux computer interacts with a real, legacy line printer - which is still possible, because of course it is - it might sometimes display the error message "lp0 on fire." This message was originally written for Linux in 1992 (but still exists today - again, of course it does), but dates back to very early versions of Unix in the 1950s.

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curtmack

@TechConnectify
The error occurs if the printer says "something is wrong, but I have paper" - possibly a paper jam.
Nobody is sure whether this was actually possible, but it was thought that a high-speed impact printer, given a long enough paper jam, could actually set the paper on fire. The hope was that "printer on fire" would inspire the user to actually check on the printer - likely in a different room at this point - rather than sit and hope the operators take care of it.

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