We’re all familiar with software applications and web sites that require us to enter a password: type in an obscure string of masked characters to proceed to the promised land.

So I was amused by the TV-based hotel room message system I recently encountered:

It reads: “To check your messages, please enter your room number (419)”. And it’s followed by our well-known password entry box – with the characters masked.

I was staying in Room 419.

Whether or not the room number should be masked is beside the point, although there has been some debate recently about the usefulness of masking, but it’s clearly ridiculous to show the room number when the entry box hides it.