So the next time you see elif 979 , don’t delete it. Document it. Give it a comment: # TODO: Ask Dave what 979 meant. He left in 2009.
Today, if you search internal logs at that original company, 979 still appears. Not often. Just often enough to remind the next generation: someone was here before you. They were tired. And they never came back to explain this. elif 979
Some ghosts are better left with their mystery intact. So the next time you see elif 979 , don’t delete it