4 ms·
There are always exceptions, but one slight annoyance in the UK is that you can have the same coordinate but omitting the + or - at the start will change where
by Closi 6y ago
There are always exceptions, but one slight annoyance in the UK is that you can have the same coordinate but omitting the + or - at the start will change where it is (which if you are in line with Greenwich, for instance, can even be in the same town).
This is effectively the same problem as stated in the blog post where similar numbers can lead to different places. Interestingly this can be seen in your example too.
> - 52.5200 N, 13.4050 E
If I read the "-" as a negative, this is in the middle of the ocean. If I read it as a delimiter from the sentence before, I get Germany. Not so much of a problem as you said Germany as a context clue, but if this was in the UK I would have two possible interpretations.
For instance - 0.5 N, 300 E might be more of a challenge!
- nicbou 6y agoThis can be fixed without inventing a new system. Someone else in the thread gave an example of a mayday call that eliminates those issues. In any case, it's easier to figure out if the person meant east or west (or check both) than to figure out if they meant flour, flower, floor, lower or some other similar word. It becomes even sillier when you account for accents. I'm not sure how to pronounce certain English words, including flour. > If I read the "-" as a negative That shouldn't be a problem, since you'd hear the words over the phone, not in a HN comment.
- Closi 6y ago> That shouldn't be a problem, since you'd hear the words over the phone, not in a HN comment. I know, I just found it a little ironic that those coordinates could be misinterpreted considering the article was about misinterpreting words being a fundamental weakness of w3w :)
- nicbou 6y agoIf the goal is clarity on the internet, a Google Maps link ought to do it.