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One simple thing we can all do to help: Call them "porno scanners". It's a sticky, effective, accurate label that offends the sensibilities of the sort of peop

One simple thing we can all do to help: Call them "porno scanners". It's a sticky, effective, accurate label that offends the sensibilities of the sort of people who make public policy. Who wants to be in support of something called a porno scanner, after all? credit: http://vimeo.com/16710243 http://vimeo.com/16710243

jambo 16y ago
Pro pornographers everywhere are insulted! At least what they do involves consenting adults. Germans call them "Nacktscanner", naked scanners or, better, strip scanners, which really gets the point across. The other thing we have to prepare for is that Rapiscan and L3 will introduce still less graphic renderings as a result of this outcry, but the scanners will still be capturing the same naked photo data. And questions about Therac-25-type problems will still stand.
wwortiz 16y ago
Meh, I think if you are going to call them something you should label them correctly: virtual strip search seems to fit that well. It is especially awful if you can explain that your choices boil down to being seen naked through a virtual strip search or being physically violated through an overly invasive pat down. These don't even take stretches of the imagination to define what the TSA is doing.
nodata 16y ago
Why give them another new name? They're already naked body scanners.
johngalt 16y ago
Saying you wouldn't go through the "porno scanner" makes you sound weird, and doesn't always convey what what you might want it to mean. I fly regularly through two of the first airports to test these out. The name that's stuck is the XXX-ray. Pronounced "triple-X-ray". It rolls off the tongue pretty easily in conversation too. "Hey John miss your flight?" "Yeah I got held up at security because I wouldn't go through the triple-X-ray"
- danilocampos 16y ago
  Ooh, that's a good one too. Now I'm torn. Whatever we land on culturally with these things, it's important to codify their idiocy right in their common name. Language has power.

jambo 16y ago

Pro pornographers everywhere are insulted! At least what they do involves consenting adults. Germans call them "Nacktscanner", naked scanners or, better, strip scanners, which really gets the point across. The other thing we have to prepare for is that Rapiscan and L3 will introduce still less graphic renderings as a result of this outcry, but the scanners will still be capturing the same naked photo data. And questions about Therac-25-type problems will still stand.

wwortiz 16y ago

Meh, I think if you are going to call them something you should label them correctly: virtual strip search seems to fit that well. It is especially awful if you can explain that your choices boil down to being seen naked through a virtual strip search or being physically violated through an overly invasive pat down. These don't even take stretches of the imagination to define what the TSA is doing.

nodata 16y ago

Why give them another new name? They're already naked body scanners.

johngalt 16y ago

Saying you wouldn't go through the "porno scanner" makes you sound weird, and doesn't always convey what what you might want it to mean. I fly regularly through two of the first airports to test these out. The name that's stuck is the XXX-ray. Pronounced "triple-X-ray". It rolls off the tongue pretty easily in conversation too. "Hey John miss your flight?" "Yeah I got held up at security because I wouldn't go through the triple-X-ray"

danilocampos 16y ago
Ooh, that's a good one too. Now I'm torn. Whatever we land on culturally with these things, it's important to codify their idiocy right in their common name. Language has power.