7 ms·

Side note: The use of the term “body count” here is a bit cringey. It’s either insensitive to human suffering or bro click bait. Do others agree or am I being

Side note: The use of the term “body count” here is a bit cringey. It’s either insensitive to human suffering or bro click bait. Do others agree or am I being hyperbolic?

sebazzz 3y ago
Imagine that some LLM starts to communicate body counts due to these types of writings.
PedroBatista 3y ago
Are you carefully analyzing a title from the El Reg? Would you say it's "problematic"? :) Funny and "cringey" titles are a staple of the Register since the beginning.
mattnewton 3y ago
Not hyperbolic, the title is very charged and I had to reread the opening paragraph multiple times to make sure I wasn’t missing who died.
boffinAudio 3y ago
Agreed 100% .. The only "body count" we should be getting up in arms about: https://psr.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/body-count.pdf https://psr.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/body-count.pdf
shrubble 3y ago
Body count has different connotations depending on context, but in the sense of "compromised information about a person" I have never come across this usage previously.
projektfu 3y ago
I read "body count 400+ orgs" and thought that so many companies had been put out of business, didn't notice the individuals part too. Not knowing what MOVEit is, I assumed it was some kind of boycott. Kind of surprised that it meant that 400 organizations and possibly 20 million customers data exposed. Definitely bad wording for the headline. Of course, it's the Register, they try to be clever with every headline.
SkyMarshal 3y ago
It’s not the clearest title, but it’s taken directly from the original source who seem to assume the reader has been following their reporting on it and know what it means.
LinuxBender 3y ago
I read it as another derivation of victims with an emphasis on the human impact. I am just guessing but they probably used that wording as so many sites are hacked every week we probably don't associate it with the human suffering in terms of financial, job losses and data leakage leading to more financial losses it can cause especially when so many businesses are exposed by a significant vulnerability. I don't know if Jessica [1] has an account here but their email is listed. [1] - https://www.theregister.com/Author/Jessica-Lyons-Hardcastle https://www.theregister.com/Author/Jessica-Lyons-Hardcastle
tekla 3y ago
Hyperbolic
23B1 3y ago
It's safe to say that headlines and headline writers (usually editors) are some of the biggest contributors to the culture wars and all-up dishonesty in modern discourse. If you think about it, it was inevitable when incentives became more aligned with quick 'hot takes' and volume over signal/noise ratio. The darkpattern of our times.
- d11z 3y ago
  Especially since many (most?) don’t even bother reading past the headline.
  - 23B1 3y ago
    ...and strangely, even quality sites like HN take the given headline instead of the lede. Some subreddits have a way to indicate 'misleading headline' – could be a great feature across all consolidators/curatorial social media.
    - Natsu 3y ago
      The mods here do sometimes change sufficiently misleading headlines, but that takes time and getting their attention.
      - 23B1 3y ago
        Which is good, but it almost feels like it should be a UX convention at this point. Of course, that'll be abused as well. Remember eTrust badges? :'D
Gimpei 3y ago
I can’t see how anyone is harmed by this usage. Seems more hyperbolic to me, or rather obsessive compulsive, which I say as someone who has struggled with OCD in the past. The impulse to constantly monitor and revise the minutiae of language for the slightest whiff of offense seems unhealthy to me, but maybe that’s just because of my predispositions.
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
- paulddraper 3y ago
  Seems unclear. Did the victims die?
  - rainonmoon 3y ago
    It's metaphorical. When you hear someone wears their heart on their sleeve, do you also believe they're in mortal danger?
thomastjeffery 3y ago
I was definitely less able to comprehend the title, because it implied a very different context than the actual subject matter. It would have been much more readable to write "victim count".
mrweasel 3y ago
Agree, but it's The Register, they've always had a pretty unique and mostly humorous writing style. Not to dissimilar to The Economist, but learning slightly more into the humor.
- adhesive_wombat 3y ago
  It's a riff on British tabloid headlines, which will squeeze a pun, tortured analogy or a breathless overstatement into literally everything. The original clickbait before there were clicks involved.
hollerith 3y ago
I agree.
pnw 3y ago
The Register has always had very click bait titles. It’s like The Sun but for tech.

Side note: The use of the term “body count” here is a bit cringey. It’s either insensitive to human suffering or bro click bait. Do others agree or am I being hyperbolic?

sebazzz 3y ago

Imagine that some LLM starts to communicate body counts due to these types of writings.

PedroBatista 3y ago

Are you carefully analyzing a title from the El Reg? Would you say it's "problematic"? :) Funny and "cringey" titles are a staple of the Register since the beginning.

mattnewton 3y ago

Not hyperbolic, the title is very charged and I had to reread the opening paragraph multiple times to make sure I wasn’t missing who died.

boffinAudio 3y ago

Agreed 100% .. The only "body count" we should be getting up in arms about: https://psr.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/body-count.pdf https://psr.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/body-count.pdf

shrubble 3y ago

Body count has different connotations depending on context, but in the sense of "compromised information about a person" I have never come across this usage previously.

projektfu 3y ago

I read "body count 400+ orgs" and thought that so many companies had been put out of business, didn't notice the individuals part too. Not knowing what MOVEit is, I assumed it was some kind of boycott. Kind of surprised that it meant that 400 organizations and possibly 20 million customers data exposed. Definitely bad wording for the headline. Of course, it's the Register, they try to be clever with every headline.

SkyMarshal 3y ago

It’s not the clearest title, but it’s taken directly from the original source who seem to assume the reader has been following their reporting on it and know what it means.

LinuxBender 3y ago

I read it as another derivation of victims with an emphasis on the human impact. I am just guessing but they probably used that wording as so many sites are hacked every week we probably don't associate it with the human suffering in terms of financial, job losses and data leakage leading to more financial losses it can cause especially when so many businesses are exposed by a significant vulnerability. I don't know if Jessica [1] has an account here but their email is listed. [1] - https://www.theregister.com/Author/Jessica-Lyons-Hardcastle https://www.theregister.com/Author/Jessica-Lyons-Hardcastle

tekla 3y ago

Hyperbolic

23B1 3y ago

It's safe to say that headlines and headline writers (usually editors) are some of the biggest contributors to the culture wars and all-up dishonesty in modern discourse. If you think about it, it was inevitable when incentives became more aligned with quick 'hot takes' and volume over signal/noise ratio. The darkpattern of our times.

d11z 3y ago
Especially since many (most?) don’t even bother reading past the headline.
- 23B1 3y ago
  ...and strangely, even quality sites like HN take the given headline instead of the lede. Some subreddits have a way to indicate 'misleading headline' – could be a great feature across all consolidators/curatorial social media.
  - Natsu 3y ago
    The mods here do sometimes change sufficiently misleading headlines, but that takes time and getting their attention.
    - 23B1 3y ago
      Which is good, but it almost feels like it should be a UX convention at this point. Of course, that'll be abused as well. Remember eTrust badges? :'D

Gimpei 3y ago

I can’t see how anyone is harmed by this usage. Seems more hyperbolic to me, or rather obsessive compulsive, which I say as someone who has struggled with OCD in the past. The impulse to constantly monitor and revise the minutiae of language for the slightest whiff of offense seems unhealthy to me, but maybe that’s just because of my predispositions.

deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
paulddraper 3y ago
Seems unclear. Did the victims die?
- rainonmoon 3y ago
  It's metaphorical. When you hear someone wears their heart on their sleeve, do you also believe they're in mortal danger?

thomastjeffery 3y ago

I was definitely less able to comprehend the title, because it implied a very different context than the actual subject matter. It would have been much more readable to write "victim count".

mrweasel 3y ago

Agree, but it's The Register, they've always had a pretty unique and mostly humorous writing style. Not to dissimilar to The Economist, but learning slightly more into the humor.

adhesive_wombat 3y ago
It's a riff on British tabloid headlines, which will squeeze a pun, tortured analogy or a breathless overstatement into literally everything. The original clickbait before there were clicks involved.

hollerith 3y ago

I agree.

pnw 3y ago

The Register has always had very click bait titles. It’s like The Sun but for tech.