Yes, it’s possible. Well, probably most things are possible, but this one really is possible. I know because I’ve seen it.
Here’s the scenario. You’re using Internet Explorer (IE) as your web browser. You need to start a rule filing, so you visit the eRules web site, click on “Proposed Rule Types” and start entering data in your form like noboby’s business.
You’re feeling particularly fine and invulnerable that day. You don’t listen to the little voice that says “Shouldn’t you save as draft? Shouldn’t you save as draft?” “No, I don’t need to,” you say. “I just need to do a little bit more and then I’ll be done, and then I’ll save the form. I promise!”
And you go on. Paragraphs of priceless prose proceed to populate the data entry fields. And then it happens…
You look at the Admin. Code Ref. fields. You notice that there’s an extra character in the rule number field. You click in the rule number field, but because you’re in a hurry, not paying attention, and invulnerable, you don’t notice that you clicked next to the field, not in the field. You press backspace, and then, you scream. You scream because you suddenly see the Rule Filing List, not your practically perfect form with paragraphs of priceless prose. They have vanished. They can’t be recovered.
The backspace key in IE performs two functions. The first, and the one you expect, is the delete function if used within a data-entry field. If the cursor is in the field, the field is said to have focus.
The second function, and the one you probably don’t expect, is the “move backward one page in the browser history” function. In other words, if your cursor is not in a data-entry field, if a data-entry field doesn’t have focus, then pressing backspace is just like pressing IE’s back button: you move back in the browser history. If you press the forward button in a (vain) attempt to retrieve your form, you will simply see an empty form.
So the two-part moral: 1) never press the backspace key unless you are certain that your cursor is in a data-entry field; and 2) always use the “Save as Draft” button regularly and frequently.