Basic Trope: A system shuts down if a wrong password is entered.
- Straight: Bob enters an incorrect password while attempting to access Alice's database. The computer shuts down.
- Exaggerated:
- Bob types the wrong key, and the computer crashes.
- Bob must type several passwords one at a time in the correct order. If one of them is incorrect, the computer shuts down.
- Bob enters an incorrect password. This triggers a Self-Destruct Mechanism that destroys the database.
- Bob is shot immediately after entering an incorrect password.
- Downplayed:
- Bob enters an incorrect password, and the program closes.
- The computer only shuts down if the password attempt is nowhere near correct. This is done to avoid locking out someone who knows the password and accidentally hits the wrong key a time or two.
- The computer shuts down after Bob's second or third incorrect password attempt.
- Bob enters an incorrect password. This sets off an alarm that sends Alice's guards into the database room to check for intruders.
- Justified: There are sensitive documents in the program that should not be in the wrong hands.
- Inverted: Bob is able to log on with an incorrect password.
- Subverted: The program warns Bob that attempting to log on with an incorrect password will have "consequences". Bob enters an incorrect password, and the program prompts him to try again.
- Double Subverted:
- The second attempt prompt was a Red Herring. The computer shuts down seconds later.
- The second attempt prompt is a Red Herring. No matter what password Bob enters, the computer will shut down as soon as he hits Enter.
- After Bob's second attempt fails, the computer shuts down.
- Parodied: The program says "WARNING: THE COMPUTER WILL BLOW UP IF AN INCORRECT PASSWORD IS ENTERED". Bob enters an incorrect password... and the program just displays a crappy explosion effect that was obviously drawn in MS Paint.
- Zig Zagged: Programs warns Bob that entering incorrect password would result in computer blowing up. When he enters incorrect password, however, prompt to try again shows up and Bob manages to log in. Few minutes later Alice's guards go for Bob and it turns out that he triggered alarm by his successful attempt to enter password and computer was Red Herring to catch ones who know password and therefore might be able to access real data.
- Averted: There's no arbitrary limit to password attempts.
- Enforced: The director wanted to create tension for the viewers in a segment involving passwords.
- Lampshaded: "What the hay? It just shut down on me! And all I did was try to guess a password I didn't know."
- Invoked:
- The programmers decide on this as a security measure.
- Alice tells the programmers to add this as a security measure.
- Exploited: Bob wants to shut down the machine to sabotage Alice's plan, so he enters an incorrect password on purpose.
- Defied:
- The programmers think the practice is harsh, so they decide to allow more attempts.
- Alice, fearing that such a harsh mechanic will get her locked out too, forces the programmers to allow unlimited password attempts - or at least set the limit high enough that it won't cause her any problems while still preventing brute-force attacks.
- Discussed: "Now, make sure no unauthorized personnel accesses these files." "What should we do? Make it shut down if the wrong password is entered?"
- Conversed: ???
- Deconstructed:
- When Alice is in dire need of access to her database, she accidentally hits an incorrect key and is locked out.
- Alice is an ordinary office drone for happens to work for an evil company. While doing a routine job, she mistypes her password and is locked out.
- Reconstructed: To unlock her account, all Alice has to do is wait for Bob the Security Guard to come down, confirm her identity, and unblock her account so she can type it in the right way. If someone unidentified mistypes the password, Bob will shoot them.
- Played For Laughs: It turns out that the whole "shut down the system if a wrong password is entered" thing causes Alice a lot of trouble too. She ends up having to change her password to "123456" and making the password hint "the first 6 numbers" just to avoid getting locked out.
- Played For Drama:
- Bob desperately needs access to the database, but knows that if he gets the password wrong, he'll never see it...
- Entering an incorrect password triggers a trap.
You have one chance to enter a password to return to One Password Attempt Ever. If incorrect, the page shuts down.
