> Am I the only one who thinks that describing this as a "bug" sounds a bit off?
Yes, you are the only one, because you've misunderstood.
> Most bugs don't come with their own updated alert text. It sounds a bit more like they had planned to switch to a different trial method and enabled it earlier than they expected?
No, the bug was simply that the trial period ended after 15 minutes instead of the intended 15 days.
> Or maybe a "rogue" employee added the feature as an experiment and didn't tell anybody?
There were no employees. At the time this happened, the company consisted entirely of the 3 cofounders. In fact the bug, that is, the shortened trial period, is what allowed the company to grow and hire employees, although the company is still relatively small.
Yes, you are the only one, because you've misunderstood.
> Most bugs don't come with their own updated alert text. It sounds a bit more like they had planned to switch to a different trial method and enabled it earlier than they expected?
No, the bug was simply that the trial period ended after 15 minutes instead of the intended 15 days.
> Or maybe a "rogue" employee added the feature as an experiment and didn't tell anybody?
There were no employees. At the time this happened, the company consisted entirely of the 3 cofounders. In fact the bug, that is, the shortened trial period, is what allowed the company to grow and hire employees, although the company is still relatively small.