4 ms·

Since the term has no real meaning, maybe desensitizing people to it by overusing it is the best outcome. I'd honestly be surprised if people acted on these fa

by js2 7y ago

Since the term has no real meaning, maybe desensitizing people to it by overusing it is the best outcome. I'd honestly be surprised if people acted on these faux alerts. I think folks are pretty used to local stations claiming just about everything is urgent, breaking, and important.

jjoonathan 7y ago
I suspect it's the intended outcome. "Silly librul media calls code red every time it gets a little warm -- they must be getting desperate to convince me about global warming."
- whenchamenia 7y ago
  This type of ad hominem just sets back your case, no matter how much facts may be on your side. Stick to facts and leave the insulting stereotypes at home.
  - xnyan 7y ago
    What if receiving political slurs is ones lived reality? I’ve been called a silly (stupid/fucking/etc) liberal in response to my views on climate change. The discussion was on topic, perhaps not written in APA per APA style guide but we can judge the content just fine without someone pretending to be a schoolmaster tut tutting at a naughty child.
    - jjoonathan 7y ago
      Thank you. I have in fact erexperienced this political slur, delivered in this accent, in the context of a very similar argument, with regularity. Regardless of the intended outcome, this will be the actual outcome for at least ~1/3 of viewers, although given the history of Sinclair broadcast group I don't think it is a very large leap at all to speculate about it also being the intent.
bonniemuffin 7y ago
The problem is that people who've gotten desensitized to fake Red Alerts, are also going to be skeptical when the National Weather Service issues real alerts, because most people can't tell the difference. Do you know what specific terms the weather service uses for real alerts? I sure don't.
- js2 7y ago
  As it happens, I do. NWS alerts are either "watch" or "warning." I have a radio for alerts. The weather alerts are by type (flooding, thunderstorm, tornado) and severity (watch or warning). I've disabled everything but tornado warning (not watch) on my radio. That means a tornado has been spotted and I want it to wake me up so I can get my family into the basement. https://www.nws.noaa.gov/nwr/ https://www.nws.noaa.gov/nwr/ There is a separate system for sending alerts to cell phones: https://www.ready.gov/alerts https://www.ready.gov/alerts https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wireless_Emergency_Alerts https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wireless_Emergency_Alerts
  - TeMPOraL 7y ago
    That's just you though. And me. Probably most HNers too. But our parents or friends? For many of them, it's all the same, some folks in telly communicating warnings they divined via arcane magic and satellites.

by js2 7y ago

jjoonathan 7y ago

I suspect it's the intended outcome. "Silly librul media calls code red every time it gets a little warm -- they must be getting desperate to convince me about global warming."

whenchamenia 7y ago
This type of ad hominem just sets back your case, no matter how much facts may be on your side. Stick to facts and leave the insulting stereotypes at home.
- xnyan 7y ago
  What if receiving political slurs is ones lived reality? I’ve been called a silly (stupid/fucking/etc) liberal in response to my views on climate change. The discussion was on topic, perhaps not written in APA per APA style guide but we can judge the content just fine without someone pretending to be a schoolmaster tut tutting at a naughty child.
  - jjoonathan 7y ago
    Thank you. I have in fact erexperienced this political slur, delivered in this accent, in the context of a very similar argument, with regularity. Regardless of the intended outcome, this will be the actual outcome for at least ~1/3 of viewers, although given the history of Sinclair broadcast group I don't think it is a very large leap at all to speculate about it also being the intent.

bonniemuffin 7y ago

The problem is that people who've gotten desensitized to fake Red Alerts, are also going to be skeptical when the National Weather Service issues real alerts, because most people can't tell the difference. Do you know what specific terms the weather service uses for real alerts? I sure don't.

js2 7y ago
As it happens, I do. NWS alerts are either "watch" or "warning." I have a radio for alerts. The weather alerts are by type (flooding, thunderstorm, tornado) and severity (watch or warning). I've disabled everything but tornado warning (not watch) on my radio. That means a tornado has been spotted and I want it to wake me up so I can get my family into the basement. https://www.nws.noaa.gov/nwr/ https://www.nws.noaa.gov/nwr/ There is a separate system for sending alerts to cell phones: https://www.ready.gov/alerts https://www.ready.gov/alerts https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wireless_Emergency_Alerts https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wireless_Emergency_Alerts
- TeMPOraL 7y ago
  That's just you though. And me. Probably most HNers too. But our parents or friends? For many of them, it's all the same, some folks in telly communicating warnings they divined via arcane magic and satellites.