static function pad( $string, $length, $padding = '0', $direction = STR_PAD_RIGHT ) {
$lengthOfPadding = mb_strlen( $padding );
if ( $lengthOfPadding == 0 ) return $string;
+ if ( $length < mb_strlen( $string ) ) return $string;
# The remaining length to add counts down to 0 as padding is added
$length = min( $length, 500 ) - mb_strlen( $string );