Good Ideas: Never Again File, or "When You Play It, Say It"

Saw this on Lifehacker: As a means to remember/look up past mistakes in order to avoid them, create a "Never Again" folder. If there's something you've done that you want to remember to avoid, or that someone warned you about, put it in there. And, of course, when you're going to do something, look up or remember it.

I like that. This blog is largely about that. When there's a yay, I post it. When there's a never-again, I post that too. Such as, if you have a data directory on a machine you're going to be reinstalling upon: 

• back up everything of value 
• make sure you have the format-this flag unset
• back up everything of value
• make sure you have the format-this flag unset
• make sure you have the format-this flag unset
• make sure you have the format-this flag unset

(Yeah, that one still burns a little.) Back in the day before radio and record stores had to be replaced by the Internet because they started to suck, you'd see used review copies of CDs, and they'd have a sticker that said if you play it, say it. This is something I try to do here. If I try something and it works, I tell everyone that it is a good thing. If I try something and it doesn't work, I tell everyone that it's a bad thing, or at least something you have to work to make good. The only way experience outlasts us, the only way that humanity makes progress, is if we allow ourselves to learn from the experiences of others.