Photo credit: Dunechaser

Whilst implementing a hotfix for a well known UK payroll solution for NAV, I came across a new field which had been added to a table.

Nothing too unusual about that, but the name of this field half made me smile, and half made me think it was quite inappropriate.

The field was called: Is Dead

You can probably guess it was a Boolean field, there being no in-between when it comes to kicking the bucket.

The main thing which struck me was that surely with a little more thought, a more suitable title could have been given to this field.

Is Dead just seems a little cold.

Maybe Deceased would have been better. A little more dignified.

Or how about Gone to Heaven or At the Pearly Gates

What do you think?

In fairness the actual caption on the form itself has been changed to something a little more palatable.