Thanks for the cautionary tale, it is good for us users to learn about this type of potential problems.
But I would like to add a comment: when I see users acting like “an idiot” with software I wrote, I always have a feeling of failure and an urge to “fix” it, not of distributing “dunce” badges: if my software allows you to do something wrong, my software has a usability problem.
In this case your problem was caused by two problems in Anvil:
- The cloning process that does something without clearly telling you that it does it
- The lack of a dashboard that keeps you informed of what’s going on in your account
There are already feature requests about improving the cloning interface and creating a dashboard 1, dashboard 2, dashboard 3.
Your cautionary tale should be addressed to the powers that be, so they will address the problem 