Electronic BDSM. There is a small sub-culture of individuals in the
electronics business that is dedicated to torturing test equipment. I
don't pretend to understand the motivation, but there is ample
evidence of it on the authors blog:
<
http://www.eevblog.com>
under the thinly disguised cover of "testing". The practice is
apparently widespread, as shown by the condition of used test
equipment found at flea markets and surplus sales.
Unfortunately, electronic BDSM sites are flourishing on the internet.
Many technicians and test equipment users apparently find some
perverse pleasure at watching their daily tools flogged into eWaste.
This must end as the next generation will certainly presume that such
abuse is the normal method of operation. We learn by example and such
sites are certainly a bad example of proper behavior.
While it is socially unacceptable to inflict pain on humans, there is
no such stricture to not do the same to test equipment. I suspect
that the Humane Society will eventually expand its scope to include
test equipment and other devices that are unable to protect themselves
from abuse. Meanwhile, the best I can suggest, to avoid repetition
and possible expansion, is to demand that test equipment be produced
and tested in a non-violent manner.