Stupid, stupid, stupid and pointless composition of public messages

[Semprini]

Originally Posted by nevali

NatWest ATMs request you enter your “PIN number” after you insert your card, and various (official) “Chip 'n' PIN” notices talk of the same.

Do they use an LCD display to issue the request?

[faerie_child]

Originally Posted by Semprini

Do they use an LCD display to issue the request?

[McLeary]

"If you require ingress" on the sign attached to that shut-off lane near Sauchiehall Street. Was "entry" unavailable due to other commitments? Fuckin' "ingress" indeed.

[LesMTS]

Originally Posted by McLeary

"If you request ingress" on the sign attached to that shut-off lane near Sauchihall Street. Was "entry" unavailable due to other commitments? Fuckin' "ingress" indeed.

Brilliant example.

[faerie_child]

Originally Posted by McLeary

"If you request ingress" on the sign attached to that shut-off lane near Sauchihall Street. Was "entry" unavailable due to other commitments? Fuckin' "ingress" indeed.

i've had customers do shit like that when trying to intimidate me. one guy said "let me just capitulate, if this happens again, i will go to my lawyer"

i guessed me meant "reiterate" but i was too busy trying not to laugh at the imageof him 'capitulating' to sky.

[Potatojunkie]

Originally Posted by faerie_child

i guessed me meant "reiterate"

"Recapitulate", surely? Still a chump, but.

[nevali]

Originally Posted by faerie_child

i know. it sets my teeth on edge. i was trained on sky broadband recently and i corrected the team leaders every time he said "MAC code". eventually he asked me why i was doing it. when i pointed out that he had told us earlier that M.A.C stood for 'migration authorisation code' which made saying 'code' after it kinda pointless. given that it meant he was really saying 'migration authorisation code code'. he stared at me blanky then ignored me.

i went on to correct the spelling and grammar on the training handouts. i think he hates me now.

And that's another thing. Which fucking moron decided the broadband equivalent of a PAC should be a MAC?

It's not like computer networking doesn't already have a term called ‘MAC’† (being the 6-byte/12-digit address of a network interface), after all.


† Well, technically, a MAC address, MAC itself refers to that layer of communication as a whole, but the terms are used interchangeably where context allows

[faerie_child]

Originally Posted by Potatojunkie

"Recapitulate", surely? Still a chump, but.

from context and tone, i think he meant 'reiterate'. given the capitulate tends to maen give up or surrender, usually linked to the military or politics.

he was just trying to sound smarter than me. like hypercorrection in the middle english period. people trying to sound smarter by using big words. shame they dont knowwhat they mean.

[LesMTS]

Originally Posted by nevali

Are surgeons and anaesthetists trained for that situation?

I think it might depend on how serious the fire is and whether they can safely close up and wheel the patient out of there.

Asked someone about this this morning. The fire doors can apparently hold back a fire for hours so if the fire is not in the theatre or immediately outside then they just carry on for as long as they can and hope it gets dealt with. If it is in the theatre or immediately outside they must evacuate, if there's anything they can do for the patient they will but, basically, the patient is probably going to roll a seven.
Anyway, if you're sick enough to need an operation and then there's a fire in the operating theatre I guess you should probably go without a fuss, you're not meant for this world any longer.

[hotblonde]

I was meant to attend a similar talk at the Western Infirmary (but was conveniently off this week). I'm curious, was the person giving the talk in any way like Keith Lard, the dog loving fire warden from Phoenix Nights?

[djtoast]

Originally Posted by Semprini

Do they use an LCD display to issue the request?

No, it's away getting a PAT Test.

[0x21]

Originally Posted by nevali

NatWest ATMs request you enter your “PIN number” after you insert your card, and various (official) “Chip 'n' PIN” notices talk of the same.

Of all the organisations you'd think know what PIN stands for (and it's not like people look at you blankly if you ask for their PIN, and then suddenly know what you mean when you faux-correct yourself and say “sorry, PIN number”, is it?), it'd be the banking industry.

it depends on wether you say "pin" or "P.I.N." because some people (especially not the tech literate) would be confused by it. Bearing in mind the PIN thing has been applied to everyone wether they wish/are able to understand it or not. So surely if its worded in a way in which everyone can understand it then the fact that its technically saying "personal identification number number" isnt that big a deal

[nevali]

I don't think I've ever met anybody who says PIN as ‘Pee Eye Enn’ rather than ‘pin’

In any case, this is all written notices.

[sarabee]

Originally Posted by nevali

‘Pee Eye Enn’

*Stifles giggle.*

[0x21]

Originally Posted by nevali

I don't think I've ever met anybody who says PIN as ‘Pee Eye Enn’ rather than ‘pin’

In any case, this is all written notices.

exactly, its evolved from an acronym into an actual word, where the meaning of the word may not strictly imply its a number