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Why Bother with What Three Words?

shkspr.mobi

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Re: Why Bother with What Three Words?

#31

Post by asow92 »

toss1 wrote: post #27
asow92 wrote: post #14

Why don't you just make an open alternative is this is so disconcerting to you?

Not OP, but I'd expect that it is because W3W is a basically a marketing campaign for a technology that doesn't actually solve a problem (or, more precisely, solves one corner of a problem while destroying many much broader solutions) Creating a knock-off that solves the OS problems still fails to recover from the broader problems that the W3W 'solution' provides zero ability to actually navigate without a continuous…

OP reads as if their main issue is the lack of inherent openness. All I'm saying is make an open alternative if is really so bothering to OP.

Re: Why Bother with What Three Words?

#32

Post by manifestsilence »

This idea of mapping words over an information space seems to be floating about quite a bit in recent years. I was inspired by the XKCD about the superiority of passphrases (Correct Horse Battery Staple) and have thought of a handful of other applications that are more relevant than GPS location for word mapping. It's the wrong application of a generally great (but not novel) idea.

Re: Why Bother with What Three Words?

#33

Post by eruci »

zerogvt wrote: post #23

That -apart from being a brilliant idea- seems to be easy to replicate in open source software. Replicate not in being compatible but as a different system altogether. Or has that already happened?

Yes. I've built one of them. https://3geonames.org . Open source. Works offline. No database is needed. Based on geonames.org.

I also know of at least 2 other open source alternatives (what3ducks and what3fucks).

Re: Why Bother with What Three Words?

#34

Post by faho »

One clarification, as a native german speaker:

>Or ///klartext.bestückt.vermuten - "cleartext stocked suspect"?

That's "suspect" in the sense of "guess" (as a verb), not in the sense of a criminal suspect. (And "stocked" like a store shelf would be)

I'd call this example entirely benign.

Re: Why Bother with What Three Words?

#35

Post by hopler »

velcrovan wrote: post #7

There is another big problem with W3W that Terence doesn’t mention: it isn’t scalar. From another W3W-criticism blog post ( https://mwfrost.com/space-is-scalar.html ): “An addressing system is successful insofar as it enables us to execute the suite of cognitive tasks that constitute navigation. Associating a destination with its location on the earth is only one of these chores. “If you have a powerful computer in y…

I don't see the relevance of that complaint. People don't memorize their current lat long to 16 sig figs either. You'd still need a gps device or a paper map without w3w.

Re: Why Bother with What Three Words?

#36

Post by rtkwe »

asow92 wrote: post #26
asow92 wrote: post #14

Why don't you just make an open alternative is this is so disconcerting to you?

Sure downvote me for asking you to be accountable for your dispositions.

Here's the thing 'if you have problems with it build your own' is a useless response. Anyone can totally point out issues with a thing without knowing how to fix them (especially if the concept is fundamentally flawed). Expecting people to go out and found a whole standard/business every time they make a blog post about the problems with something is ridiculous.

Re: Why Bother with What Three Words?

#37

Post by imglorp »

kyrra wrote: post #24
jpatokal wrote: post #4

There are plenty of alternatives to W3W, most notably Open Location Codes: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_Location_Code Alternatively, try a W3W parody: https://what3emojis.com/ http://www.what3fucks.com (NSFW text)

the pretty landing-page version of Open Location Codes (marketed as Plus Codes): https://plus.codes/

I just noticed these on Google maps for a business location.

Is Plus Codes a Google project or just a partnership?

Re: Why Bother with What Three Words?

#39

Post by imglorp »

timthorn wrote: post #10

> Here's the thing... If the person's phone has a data connection - the web page can just send the geolocation directly back to the emergency services! No need even for the data connection. Any Android 2.3.7+ or iOS 11.3+ phone will automatically SMS the location when the emergency number is dialled. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_Mobile_Location

There's also a ton of E911 infrastructure already for exactly this problem (USA, your number may vary!). It's not done at the user level and certainly not by a third party.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enhanced_9-1-1

Re: Why Bother with What Three Words?

#40

Post by hopler »

runn1ng wrote: post #29
vortico wrote: post #13

Does anyone have a list of patents What3Words has? Regardless, this service solves a problem that does not exist whatsoever. My guess is they will go out of business in a few years.

It does exist in developing nations, where street names change very quickly and are not very reliable (and the rusty government can't keep up with the quick development). First hand experience, Vietnam - I currently live in a street that wasn't there a year ago and isn't in Google Maps. If you put it into Google, it will send you to another place, 200 meters away. (They are getting better fast, compared to Apple Maps…

W3W doesn't solve that problem in a way that makes any sense. Things like Plus Codes do
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