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Boaty McBoatface: What You Get When You Let the Internet Decide

nytimes.com

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Re: Boaty McBoatface: What You Get When You Let the Internet Decide

#61

Post by whatusername »

exar0815 wrote: post #36

Well, they should have known better. When they were searching a name for a bridge close to the new Wembley Stadium, german fans hijacked the Poll and voted for "Dietmar Hamann Bridge", a german national soccer player. Also, in a small town in germany, people voted for a "Bud Spencer Tunnel". As a concession, the city council named the local swimming pool for him, after they found out he had been training there when a…

In Australia - we have a swimming pool named after a former Prime Minister.... who drowned while in office.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harold_Holt_Memorial_Swimming_...

Re: Boaty McBoatface: What You Get When You Let the Internet Decide

#62

Post by faitswulff »

slazaro wrote: post #59
golemotron wrote: post #56

Although these pranks are funny they highlight a something very serious - the failure case of direct democracy. When minor issues come up for vote not everyone cares. The people who do care enough to vote can easily be trolls. As an example, imagine that a vote comes up for raising tolls from $1 to $2 on little used street. It's one of 1000 votes a month in a direct democracy. There's little chance of getting attenti…

I always thought that a direct democracy where you can by default delegate your vote to one of the elected politicians, but you override whenever you want, would be the best of both worlds (representative democracy and direct democracy). That wouldn't necessarily work on this kind of votes (names for stuff), but I think it would work well on the regular issues that politicians make decisions about.

Google has been testing just such a form of governing: http://www.tdcommons.org/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1092&co...

Re: Boaty McBoatface: What You Get When You Let the Internet Decide

#63

Post by Agentlien »

noir_lord wrote: post #3

They should run with it, the positive PR now and in the future when the RSS Boaty McBoatface docks would be worth it. It would also show a sense of humour and make it something fun.

I'm from Gothenburg, Sweden, which is a city known for its bad puns and where most larger buildings are usually referred to by silly nicknames. Last year, there was a competition to name the new swimming pool by the harbor which they put there to keep people from swimming in the rather filthy water of the nearby river.

As expected, most of the names which received a lot of votes were silly puns and, you know what? They did accept the winning entry. Which means the pool is officially named "Pöl Harbor" ("Pöl" meaning puddle in Swedish). I myself was very pleased with this, though I was unsure whether I preferred this name or the rather gruesome runner-up: "Inälvsbadet". This literally means "the entrails bath", though the word for entrails could also be interpreted as "in-river", hence the pun.

Re: Boaty McBoatface: What You Get When You Let the Internet Decide

#64

Post by BlackFly »

golemotron wrote: post #56

Although these pranks are funny they highlight a something very serious - the failure case of direct democracy. When minor issues come up for vote not everyone cares. The people who do care enough to vote can easily be trolls. As an example, imagine that a vote comes up for raising tolls from $1 to $2 on little used street. It's one of 1000 votes a month in a direct democracy. There's little chance of getting attenti…

I would say this highlights a different problem of democracy:

Everyone is aware of the fact that even if their candidate wins, someone else will have the final say in the matter. Therefore, no one takes the election seriously.

I myself feel confident that a large proportion of people voting Boatey McBoatface believe that they will not actually name the ship that.

Re: Boaty McBoatface: What You Get When You Let the Internet Decide

#65

Post by monk_e_boy »

noir_lord wrote: post #3

They should run with it, the positive PR now and in the future when the RSS Boaty McBoatface docks would be worth it. It would also show a sense of humour and make it something fun.

They were running with this as the top story on radio 1 this morning. (I assume they don't want to freak kids out with bombs in Brussels.)

So the amusing name has brought the ship and it's mission to the minds of kids throughout the UK. They also mentioned that the guy who submitted the name was very sorry he had done so.

Re: Boaty McBoatface: What You Get When You Let the Internet Decide

#66

Post by monk_e_boy »

noir_lord wrote: post #7
TheOtherHobbes wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Totally this. And it would be brilliant for kids.

Indeed, if they spent some money on artwork they could do "The Adventures of Boaty McBoatface" and work in it's research activities.

They mentioned this on Radio 1 this morning. First thing the DJ said was 'where can I get a hat with Boaty McBoatface on it'.

Re: Boaty McBoatface: What You Get When You Let the Internet Decide

#67

Post by ascorbic »

whatusername wrote: post #61
exar0815 wrote: post #36

Well, they should have known better. When they were searching a name for a bridge close to the new Wembley Stadium, german fans hijacked the Poll and voted for "Dietmar Hamann Bridge", a german national soccer player. Also, in a small town in germany, people voted for a "Bud Spencer Tunnel". As a concession, the city council named the local swimming pool for him, after they found out he had been training there when a…

In Australia - we have a swimming pool named after a former Prime Minister.... who drowned while in office. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harold_Holt_Memorial_Swimming_...

Porto's main airport is named after a former prime minister who died in a plane crash while flying to that airport.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francisco_de_S%C3%A1_Carneiro_...

Re: Boaty McBoatface: What You Get When You Let the Internet Decide

#68

Post by monk_e_boy »

tremon wrote: post #50

I love this kind of british humour, however crude. In my mind, it's similar to the campaigns (most years?) to have a non-christmas song be the #1 christmas single.

Boaty McBoatface must be the least crude name someone could come up with ;)

Re: Boaty McBoatface: What You Get When You Let the Internet Decide

#69

Post by kagamine »

5350-uiop-1130 wrote: post #40
noir_lord wrote: post #3

They should run with it, the positive PR now and in the future when the RSS Boaty McBoatface docks would be worth it. It would also show a sense of humour and make it something fun.

They should just use the most popular name which is not a joke and then stay silent. Don't add anymore fuel to fire of internet stupidity.

In all seriousness, the UK media have been reporting for years about a lack of young people being interested in science based degrees and this is an opportunity to get not only children but people of all ages interested in what this boat actually does. They should take the opportunity and run with it. Paint a face on it like HN user masklinn suggests, market it and sell it. Get it a guest spot in the Elias children's series (about a coastal lifeboat). Make the world a slightly happier, funnier place.

Re: Boaty McBoatface: What You Get When You Let the Internet Decide

#70

Post by spaceheeder »

Why on earth does the naming of a boat need to be a solemn affair? Why is it a bad thing that "what we get" is lighthearted? Won't this make more people invested in and engaged with the research purpose of the boat?

This excerpt from a speech John Cleese gave on creativity was the first thing to come to mind when I read this headline: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7fyOLe-xn4

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