The Time Someone Actually Broke The Internet

Chaos Lever Podcast

Explore the story of how 11 lines of code disrupted the internet, the battle between open-source ethics and corporate power, and the fragile nature of our digital world.

Technology, power, and unexpected consequences

In this episode, Ned and Chris take us through the dramatic story of a single code change that temporarily crippled the internet, emphasizing the delicate web of dependencies in software development. They explore the ethical dilemmas and power dynamics at play when open-source contributions clash with corporate interests. It's a revealing look at the unexpected consequences that arise from the interconnected nature of modern technology.

Highlights:

• (00:00) Introduction & parental clichés
• (02:48) A Story about the Internet's Past
• (06:02) The Incident of Breaking the Internet with 11 Lines of Code
• (07:45) JavaScript, Node.js, and the Impact of NPM Packages
• (10:44) The Complexity of Dependency and Package Management
• (15:37) The Dramatic Deletion of Left-Pad and Its Consequences
• (22:19) Where the NPM crisis came from
• (26:16) The Aftermath and Reflection on Modern Software Development
• (32:48) Closing Remarks

Links:

• Have you ever noticed how many times someone has allegedly broken the internet? One time, a dude actually did.
• Azer publicized the story, and what he did, on medium in a post called “I’ve Just Liberated My Modules.”