California Bar Softest Glitch During PT 1 (Report it) Forum

[Al_band]

I'll PM him. Also, someone made inquiry on what type of redress would be offered if we filed a complaint. Keep in mind that although the bar examiners may not afford any redress, if enough people contact them with the softest issues we faced, they will probably inform the graders who will then be conscious of our issues when they read our essays. In other words, it won't hurt to tell them and they may be a little more liberal on the grading if your essay looks off. Good luck everyone!

[Jim_Stansel]

Wow. The same exact shit happened to me, but I was testing in PA. Only was happening while I was taking the PT too, fine during the essays. Did this happen to people in other states too, or just CA? I assumed it was my computer that was the problem.

[Hoggle]

Wow. The same exact shit happened to me, but I was testing in PA. Only was happening while I was taking the PT too, fine during the essays. Did this happen to people in other states too, or just CA? I assumed it was my computer that was the problem.

Yeah, it makes sense that it happened with other places doing the PT as well.

[Jim_Stansel]

Wow. The same exact shit happened to me, but I was testing in PA. Only was happening while I was taking the PT too, fine during the essays. Did this happen to people in other states too, or just CA? I assumed it was my computer that was the problem.

Yeah, it makes sense that it happened with other places doing the PT as well.

So I just chatted with an Examsoft tech and let him remotely access my computer to open up a file with a history of stuff that was happening while I was taking the exam. Apparently the goddamn malware program on my computer that I hadn't disabled was causing a ruckus. Every so often you could see a message about it. I disabled my antivirus program but didn't think of the separate malware program. The weird thing is I wasn't having the same issue during my essays though (and in PA, the PT and 2 of the essays are all part of one session).

Other people who had problems might want to go contact Examsoft support to see if it was an issue with something running in the background of your computer too.

So I might have failed the most important exam of my life but the important thing is that I didn't allow my computer to be vulnerable to malicious software for even one moment. Zero tolerance.

[a male human]

Wow. The same exact shit happened to me, but I was testing in PA. Only was happening while I was taking the PT too, fine during the essays. Did this happen to people in other states too, or just CA? I assumed it was my computer that was the problem.

Yeah, it makes sense that it happened with other places doing the PT as well.

So I just chatted with an Examsoft tech and let him remotely access my computer to open up a file with a history of stuff that was happening while I was taking the exam. Apparently the goddamn malware program on my computer that I hadn't disabled was causing a ruckus. Every so often you could see a message about it. I disabled my antivirus program but didn't think of the separate malware program. The weird thing is I wasn't having the same issue during my essays though (and in PA, the PT and 2 of the essays are all part of one session).

Other people who had problems might want to go contact Examsoft support to see if it was an issue with something running in the background of your computer too.

So I might have failed the most important exam of my life but the important thing is that I didn't allow my computer to be vulnerable to malicious software for even one moment. Zero tolerance.

I completely uninstalled my antivirus just for this bar exam, and the bug still happened to me (reinstalling it atm because leaving my laptop bare is apparently not doing anything extra for me)

[knickfan]

happened to me in NY on the AM essays. Told soft test guy and he fiddled around with my laptop during the break for 5 minutes and I didnt have any other issues for the PM part.

I asked the proctor for exam books just in case my laptop acted up again and she said that I have to wait until my computer breaks down during the exam for her to give me the books. i LOL'd and said ok thanks.

[Jim_Stansel]

happened to me in NY on the AM essays. Told soft test guy and he fiddled around with my laptop during the break for 5 minutes and I didnt have any other issues for the PM part.

I asked the proctor for exam books just in case my laptop acted up again and she said that I have to wait until my computer breaks down during the exam for her to give me the books. i LOL'd and said ok thanks.

And apparently once you go books, you can't go back even if you get your computer fixed.

I think it's kind of horseshit that you have to just "accept the risk" of your computer blowing up on you. As if handwriting the exam is really a realistic alternative. I don't know how anybody does that under the time constraints.

Then again I don't know what the remedy would be. They're not just going to give you an arbitrary amount of extra points or hold a specially administered exam for you the next week. All I know is if I end up failing by some small number of points that I could have very easily accumulated on the PT if everything ran smoothly, I'm gonna lose my shit.

[vacations]

I'm one of the people here in Ontario affected by the examsoft glitch during yesterday's PT.

It really didn't bother me too much throughout last night and honestly I didn't give it much thought today since my mind was on the MBEs...

but now that i'm super tired and thinking back on the last two days of effort...I'm kinda stressing about yesterday's PT now. That damn glitch really ruined my motivation and train of thought and honestly like most of you guys, I need to get as many points as I can wherever I can. It just isn't fair I spent every other minute slamming my keyboard trying to space bar something or delete something to no avail...

stressed out.

[nycaligal]

Wow. This happened to me during the last 20 minutes of PT1 in Pasadena. I have a current MacBook Air, no anti-virus stuff, good condition. ExamSoft just froze on me. I powered on and off and then there were a handful of issues. Couldn't see the cursor at all so I had to move using arrow keys. Sometimes I had hit delete a few times to erase a word to see where the cursor was. This wasted most of my time. Formatting and keyboard shortcuts also failed on me. Couldn't bold headings anymore so the formatting was all off. Definitely affected my score. Called ExamSoft last night because I didn't want this happening again on Thursday. They said anti-virus could be the cause but I definitely don't have one. I adjusted all my power settings to be optimal for the exam. They also said I could have powered off again (and again) until the issues went away. I didn't know I could power off multiple times without losing my exam. Anyway, the tech support at Pasadena was non-existent. I passed the bar in NY and I remember there were tech support proctors that came over if anyone had issues. Here, all I had was the handout. I didn't make a big stink about it. Just tried to stay cool and handle it. Will find the site rep tomorrow and see what's up. What a pain.

[vacations]

I did report the situation to the Bar people at Ontario today and they wrote a report, but I guess we'll just have to see where that goes.

Now I'm just hoping my computer doesn't encounter this problem tomorrow...the last thing we need right now besides thinking about tomorrow's essay with whatever energy we have left is stressin about computer problems.

[Hoggle]

Yeah, I called Softest. They can never be sure what the problem is, but they checked the log and saw that my antivirus/system software continue to run during the test. It doesn't mean that this was the reason for the issue. I didn't have any glitches in the morning on day one even though exam soft was running and my antivrius was running.

Anyway, I want to wait until after the bar for really talking recourse, but EVERYONE who had the issue needs to make sure that they are all in the same reviewed complaint. This will make it much more easy for the CA bar to address the issue equitably. One person with an issue is hard to address, many people with the same issue is much easier to provide some kind of meaningful recourse. I personally planned to rely on the PTs to pass the bar, as I am really good at them. Getting a 50 on PT 1 really has basically ended it for me unless I pull like 65, 65, 60 and PT 2: 70 tomorrow.

[vacations]

@Hoggle,

Were you able to finish the PT? Or was your answer just a bunch of mumbled words?


I was able to finish but i was definitely not 100% satisfied with my overall product....spent too much time fixing typos which weren't even my fault and wondering where my cursor was!

[Hoggle]

@Hoggle,

Were you able to finish the PT? Or was your answer just a bunch of mumbled words?


I was able to finish but i was definitely not 100% satisfied with my overall product....spent too much time fixing typos which weren't even my fault and wondering where my cursor was!

No, I basically wasn't able to get facts in or even a fact section. The approach I take to the PTs is to outline in the doc, dropping in all of my black letter law first, and then run throught the facts thereafter. This makes it easy to essentially plug and play the same relevant facts into like four different spots in the document, and not miss anything. Alas, the issue started up as I was trying to get my information into the document. I was typing like 5 or 10 WPMs. In the last 30 minutes, I was like "screw it" and just typed as fast as I could, but that just resulted in words with holes in the middle and huge spaces and illegible text.

[vacations]

@Hoggle,

Were you able to finish the PT? Or was your answer just a bunch of mumbled words?


I was able to finish but i was definitely not 100% satisfied with my overall product....spent too much time fixing typos which weren't even my fault and wondering where my cursor was!

No, I basically wasn't able to get facts in or even a fact section. The approach I take to the PTs is to outline in the doc, dropping in all of my black letter law first, and then run throught the facts thereafter. This makes it easy to essentially plug and play the same relevant facts into like four different spots in the document, and not miss anything. Alas, the issue started up as I was trying to get my information into the document. I was typing like 5 or 10 WPMs. In the last 30 minutes, I was like "screw it" and just typed as fast as I could, but that just resulted in words with holes in the middle and huge spaces and illegible text.

I'm sorry to hear that. I definitely had my fair share of words with holes in it as well...to a point where I just had to let it be and move on.

[MollieMoe]

I had an exam soft problem on the WA bar. Thankfully it didn't happen until the last essay. WA was nice about it, but doesn't take computer/software problems into consideration. (You sign a waiver to that effect before you sit for the exam.) I hope those affected (including me) don't end up having to retake.

[Hoggle]

Take notice that I added a contact email at the top of the document-- I'll get your emails added to the list of people who had the issue that are all corresponding. The email is hoggle7910@gmail.com

[Hoggle]

I saw at least two people that had the problem after PT 2 today. Anyone else have the issue?

[squirtle]

I'm sorry to those who had the exam glitch…I can't even imagine what that would feel like, especially during stressful testing conditions.

But I'm curious, is there any way to confirm if individuals' softest had errors during the PT? Maybe the softest guys? The more I think about it, I feel like I had trouble finding my cursor at times during the PT. But I might just be tripping out because so many people complaining about it has got me all paranoid. I probably did not have an error or glitch during the test.

Also, what's to stop someone from fraudulently filing a claim saying that they had an error? I feel like a claim like this would open up a window for everyone to complain that they had an error in hopes of getting a few points.

In the past day, people who didn't mention anything about having softest errors the first day are suddenly starting to come out and claim that they, too, suffered these glitches.

How would the State Bar resolve something like this? I'm genuinely curious. Would they award points to those who filed claims or just downgrade the scores for all Bar takers for that particular PT or essay.

Someone enlighten me.

[LegalReality]

Not trying to be a jerk but the instructions explicitly state that you assume the risk for all software and hardware failures, widespread or not.

The directions during the exam also explicitly state that if your software or hardware fails for any reason you must request a bluebook and handwrite

Part of taking the laptop exam is that you assume all risks that come with taking it on a computer. I do not understand how people think that's ambiguous?

Edit: feel terrible for those effected but the only resolution I can foresee through these complaints is california determining to make things fair by having everyone handwrite.

[DwightSchruteFarms]

I'm gonna be brutally honest with everyone in this forum: the chances the CA Bar will even read any petition you file or take into consideration any complaint about the software is close to zero. As a point of reference, one of my best friends took the bar in CA three years ago. the man next to him suffered a seizure during the last day PT and my friend stopped what he was doing to administer aid. That took 30 minutes and he ended up not finishing the PT. What did the bar say? Too bad. You're not getting those minutes back. I've heard from former Directors of the Committee that they almost never award points or worry about tech problems unless there was a natural disaster that caused the average score of the entire test site to fall significantly below the state average of other locations. The Bar then awards points based on the difference. That's the only time I've heard the Bar give a crap.

[a male human]

I'm gonna be brutally honest with everyone in this forum: the chances the CA Bar will even read any petition you file or take into consideration any complaint about the software is close to zero. As a point of reference, one of my best friends took the bar in CA three years ago. the man next to him suffered a seizure during the last day PT and my friend stopped what he was doing to administer aid. That took 30 minutes and he ended up not finishing the PT. What did the bar say? Too bad. You're not getting those minutes back. I've heard from former Directors of the Committee that they almost never award points or worry about tech problems unless there was a natural disaster that caused the average score of the entire test site to fall significantly below the state average of other locations. The Bar then awards points based on the difference. That's the only time I've heard the Bar give a crap.

This is probably true, but that almost makes it sound like luck of the draw is a large component in passing the bar.

[Hoggle]

Not trying to be a jerk but the instructions explicitly state that you assume the risk for all software and hardware failures, widespread or not.

The directions during the exam also explicitly state that if your software or hardware fails for any reason you must request a bluebook and handwrite

Part of taking the laptop exam is that you assume all risks that come with taking it on a computer. I do not understand how people think that's ambiguous?

Edit: feel terrible for those effected but the only resolution I can foresee through these complaints is california determining to make things fair by having everyone handwrite.

Yeah, you a probably right, it was my fault, I feel terrible.

[Hoggle]

I'm gonna be brutally honest with everyone in this forum: the chances the CA Bar will even read any petition you file or take into consideration any complaint about the software is close to zero. As a point of reference, one of my best friends took the bar in CA three years ago. the man next to him suffered a seizure during the last day PT and my friend stopped what he was doing to administer aid. That took 30 minutes and he ended up not finishing the PT. What did the bar say? Too bad. You're not getting those minutes back. I've heard from former Directors of the Committee that they almost never award points or worry about tech problems unless there was a natural disaster that caused the average score of the entire test site to fall significantly below the state average of other locations. The Bar then awards points based on the difference. That's the only time I've heard the Bar give a crap.

Makes sense. This situation may be different because it was a uniform issue and Softest has a record of the issue and exactly what happened and when. Also because media has covered the issue and a lot of impacted people have unified in a group to seek redress. When I talked to the bar, they said they were aware of the problem and the program administrator was going to review the problem after the complaint window has closed. So, hopefully they were serious about this.

[fl0w]

I'm gonna be brutally honest with everyone in this forum: the chances the CA Bar will even read any petition you file or take into consideration any complaint about the software is close to zero. As a point of reference, one of my best friends took the bar in CA three years ago. the man next to him suffered a seizure during the last day PT and my friend stopped what he was doing to administer aid. That took 30 minutes and he ended up not finishing the PT. What did the bar say? Too bad. You're not getting those minutes back. I've heard from former Directors of the Committee that they almost never award points or worry about tech problems unless there was a natural disaster that caused the average score of the entire test site to fall significantly below the state average of other locations. The Bar then awards points based on the difference. That's the only time I've heard the Bar give a crap.

Makes sense. This situation may be different because it was a uniform issue and Softest has a record of the issue and exactly what happened and when. Also because media has covered the issue and a lot of impacted people have unified in a group to seek redress. When I talked to the bar, they said they were aware of the problem and the program administrator was going to review the problem after the complaint window has closed. So, hopefully they were serious about this.

sadly it isn't uniform though. from all of the descriptions, while a "number" of people were impacted it kind of seems like a small percentage as opposed to a uniform issue with softtest. like some kind of combination between their software fuckup and something common with the computers of the users.

It's like something like ... if A B and C are true about your computer, then softtest gave you the finger. Even if A B and C are totally normal things to be true about your computer.

I was fortunate enough to not have any issues, but this is seriously a shitty situation. I saw several people just handwrite in Oakland because of the issue.

[Hoggle]

I'm gonna be brutally honest with everyone in this forum: the chances the CA Bar will even read any petition you file or take into consideration any complaint about the software is close to zero. As a point of reference, one of my best friends took the bar in CA three years ago. the man next to him suffered a seizure during the last day PT and my friend stopped what he was doing to administer aid. That took 30 minutes and he ended up not finishing the PT. What did the bar say? Too bad. You're not getting those minutes back. I've heard from former Directors of the Committee that they almost never award points or worry about tech problems unless there was a natural disaster that caused the average score of the entire test site to fall significantly below the state average of other locations. The Bar then awards points based on the difference. That's the only time I've heard the Bar give a crap.

Makes sense. This situation may be different because it was a uniform issue and Softest has a record of the issue and exactly what happened and when. Also because media has covered the issue and a lot of impacted people have unified in a group to seek redress. When I talked to the bar, they said they were aware of the problem and the program administrator was going to review the problem after the complaint window has closed. So, hopefully they were serious about this.

sadly it isn't uniform though. from all of the descriptions, while a "number" of people were impacted it kind of seems like a small percentage as opposed to a uniform issue with softtest. like some kind of combination between their software fuckup and something common with the computers of the users.

It's like something like ... if A B and C are true about your computer, then softtest gave you the finger. Even if A B and C are totally normal things to be true about your computer.

I was fortunate enough to not have any issues, but this is seriously a shitty situation. I saw several people just handwrite in Oakland because of the issue.

Yeah, and while not jumping to any conclusions about the cause, the cause that Examsoft related to me (and showed some evidence for) suggests that they knew about the issue, the bar probably knew about the issue, they didn't notify anyone in any of the materials about the issue, and the students who had certain conditions going on with their computer just got screwed. Also, unlike a complete comp meltdown, it was confusing because the instructions seemed to suggest that you might want to keep trying.