"Hands off working COBOL code" –protest sign in NYC

[edgineer]

I see two meanings: 1. He's protesting DOGE's reignition of the SSA codebase overhaul 2. He's making a joke that you don't dare touch a running legacy system because you'll break it

He probably means the second, but the first was my initial thought (I hear COBOL programmers make upwards of $1000/hr). Fixing these old systems has been on my mind.

[benzado]

That’s me in the photo. I don’t trust the guy behind recalled Cybertrucks and exploding rockets to oversee a total rewrite of a functioning, mission critical system.

[jpfr]

Given the context he means the first.

[FooBarBizBazz]

Why not 1 because 2?

[cafard]

Not a sign I ever expected to see. I heartily endorse the sentiment, though.

[sorcerer-mar]

> Update it, it has to be done, these archaic systems are already continuously hurting people.

This is a very strong claim. Do you have citations for it? (I mean for SSA, not an unrelated system that happens to be written in the same language)