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WTF? NC Offers to Replace 10,000 License Plates

Posted by timothy on from the what-if-I'm-offended-by-prudery? dept.

beadfulthings writes "In light of recent discussions about the Internet habits of the older generation, it's comforting to know that in North Carolina, up to 10,000 license plates containing the potentially offensive 3-letter WTF combination will be replaced by the Motor Vehicles division at no cost — if the owner of the vehicle finds the plates offensive. As reported on Winston-Salem's television station WXII, the MVD was alerted to the problem by an irate 60-year-old technology teacher who'd been clued in by her grandchildren. The article includes a helpful slide show of twenty Internet acronyms every parent should know. The article doesn't include any information on how you could actually apply for a WTF license plate."

27 of 467 comments (clear)

  1. So let me get this straight... by dreamchaser · · Score: 4, Insightful

    They are going to use taxpayer dollars for this? If I lived in NC *I* would be the one shouting 'WTF?' for real!

    1. Re:So let me get this straight... by ChromeAeonium · · Score: 4, Insightful

      What I'd like to know is how you can be offended by a random three letters, even if they happen to have relatively recently gained a meaning. The key here word is random. They are not offensive unless one chooses to make them so. IMHO, folks should stop being so thin skinned.

    2. Re:So let me get this straight... by vux984 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      They are offering to exchange them to any owner who is offended, they aren't recalling them.

      In the big scheme of things, I think this will be like hot coffee... where only a tiny tiny fraction ever come forward and get an exchange.

      Lots of 3 letter combos aren't issued, wtf got added to the list, and anyone who currently has it can have it exchanged without having to pay the usual fees for new plates.

      This is a non-issue.

    3. Re:So let me get this straight... by gerf · · Score: 5, Funny

      My license place has DRM on it, which offends me almost as much as the real stuff. Thankfully it's sitting in my garage where my house number is 404, so no one sees it anyway.

    4. Re:So let me get this straight... by Daniel_Staal · · Score: 4, Informative

      Actually, from reading the article, this sounds like it might be a standard practice: If you have an issue with the randomly-assigned number you are given you can take it in and get a new one. The specific letters are just what brought the issue to this newspaper's attention.

      So, in other words, this is non-news.

      --
      'Sensible' is a curse word.
    5. Re:So let me get this straight... by Altima(BoB) · · Score: 5, Funny

      Hey, sometimes random number plates can be pretty unambiguous

      http://www.manbottle.com/picture_library/ass_orgy_license_plate

      --
      Yup...
  2. Yes, but where will they sell them? by Gewalt · · Score: 5, Funny

    I'd like to buy one. Will they ship out of state?

    --
    Modding Trolls +1 inciteful since 1999
    1. Re:Yes, but where will they sell them? by bunratty · · Score: 4, Funny

      No, you're SOL.

      --
      What a fool believes, he sees, no wise man has the power to reason away.
  3. The real story is the clueless teacher by HycoWhit · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Living in North Carolina, I can only hope only a handful of people will turn in their plates. But the real story should be the clueless educator. Hell, I'm not to far off from 60 and knew about WTF. Here is the funny/sad part--part of the North Carolina curriculum from the NC Dept of Public Instruction is to teach emoticons and abreviations in computer class. I was floored when I saw it being taught in the classroom. The LOL part came when I saw the test the kids are given on the subject matter...

    1. Re:The real story is the clueless teacher by topham · · Score: 4, Funny

      They do this because they know it's the only way they can communicate with the rest of the world.
      What else are you supposed to do when stringing more than 3 letters together is a challenge?

  4. WTF Joining a Long List by BBCWatcher · · Score: 4, Funny

    The state is issuing your choice among these substitutes: TIT TNA SOB POS FAG FUK SUK PEE ASS POO DIE

  5. The only thing more stupid..... by Stanislav_J · · Score: 4, Interesting

    .....than being afraid of words is being afraid of acronyms that might stand for those words.

    Really, someone needs to.....

    (1).....take every possible three-letter combination
    (2) Come up with a suggested offensive, blasphemous, or obscene connotation for each one.
    (3) Circulate said list widely, especially on North Carolina related sites and boards (maybe e-mail to everyone in the N.C. DMV).
    (4) Stand back and watch the fun as they are forced to recall every last fuckin' license plate and replace it with numbers-only plates.

    --
    "Every great cause begins as a movement, becomes a business, and eventually degenerates into a racket." -- Eric Hoffer
    1. Re:The only thing more stupid..... by JohnnyBigodes · · Score: 4, Funny

      Depending on the font used, not even using numbers may be safe. 8008135.

  6. Lucky... by ack154 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I used to have WTFLOL in NY... but apparently someone took the time to actually complain to the DMV about it so the NY DMV sent me a new set of plates with a letter explaining the situation.

    It was a sad day. Sad that someone would actually take that kind of time to complain about a license plate.

    So now I have SRSLY b/c it is srsly retarded that I had to turn in the old plates.

    1. Re:Lucky... by dr_dank · · Score: 5, Funny

      A few years back, Smoking Gun obtained a ton of DMV complaint letters about vanity plates and put it on their site. Link

      --
      Where does the school board find them and why do they keep sending them to ME?
  7. are you afraid, parents? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    The article includes a helpful slide show of twenty Internet acronyms every parent should know.


    This is the funniest list since Microsoft did one a few years back (I can't' find the link any more)


    From this helpful list...


    POS-- Parents over shoulder? Not piece of shit or point of sale- and not to be confused with the other MENACING parents-are-here including Parents-in-room (PIR), Parent alert (p911), Parents-are-watching (PAW), Parents-are-listening (PAL), "keeping-parents-clueless" (KPC), and my favorite NIFOC (nude in front of computer), which of course you'd want to keep abbreviated when other people are in the room so they won''t find out (?HUH?) Then there's the ultimately chilling NALOP (Not a lot of people know this)...


    WTF? After what I'm guessing is probably an equal amount of research, I've discovered up some for their next edition of the list. Frightening to think our children use these.


    ISDOOMPH (I'm Selling Drugs Out Of My Parents House), IWKMYITST (I Will Kill My Parents In Their Sleep Tonight), UHWMD? (Do You Have Weapons of Mass Destruction?), ITGPAHAAWBC (I Think Getting Pregnant And Having An Abortion Would Be Cool), IHGDY? (I Hate God Do You?), LPG (Lets Poison Grandma), ROFML (Rolling On Floor Mainlining), RBIF (Robbing Banks is Fun), LSGTAWS (Lets Sniff Glue Tonight And Worship Satan), MPWNFTAO (My Parents Will NEVER Figure This Acronym Out), and GG (Golly Gee).

  8. It started with road signs by Sanat · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Along the same lines... I was raised in Ohio and lived on State Route 69.

    When i got home from the military in the 60's the route had been changed to State Route 235.

    Mom said it was changed because the college students were stealing all of the road signs along the highway but she did not know why they would be doing that.

    --
    And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make
    1. Re:It started with road signs by bunratty · · Score: 4, Funny

      I have often taken exit 69 to Big Beaver road. Let's hope no SOB complains about that one!

      --
      What a fool believes, he sees, no wise man has the power to reason away.
  9. damn, they think that was bad! by jollyreaper · · Score: 4, Funny

    What about the time I went with my gay friend to the gay bar to show I was cool and not prejudiced against homos and made the mistake of wearing my AC/DC t-shirt. Acronym malfunction doesn't even begin to describe it.

    --
    Kwisatz Haderach
    Sell the spice to CHOAM
    This Mahdi took Shaddam's Throne
    1. Re:damn, they think that was bad! by Pfhorrest · · Score: 4, Informative

      AC/DC is the name of a band (who the GP is apparently a fan of) and also a slang term for bisexual.

      --
      -Forrest Cameranesi, Geek of all Trades
      "I am Sam. Sam I am. I do not like trolls, flames, or spam."
  10. Re:Way To Fail by Vreejack · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Internet jargon? A friend got in a little trouble for writing "WTF?" on a student's essay back in '84. He explained that it stood for "What's this for?" But the acronym probably dates back at least to WW2.

    --
    "Will future ages believe that such stupid bigotry ever existed!" -- Ivanhoe
  11. So logically... by NotQuiteReal · · Score: 4, Funny
    With the passing of George Carlin, I am reminded that there are at least 7 very offensive words.

    So, any license plate that has one or more of these letters is suspect; S, P, F, C, M, or T. (C appears twice in the list, so any license plate that has two Cs in it is especially bad.)

    Bureaucrats who worry about this kind of shit are as worthless as tits on a boar. Those cocksucking motherfuckers really piss me off. What a bunch of cunts. Fuck them.

    --
    This issue is a bit more complicated than you think.
  12. Re:Good combinations by Godji · · Score: 4, Funny

    But the best one would be: P0N-1E5

  13. Re:Way To Fail by Hojima · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Which leads to the question, why are bad words so damn bad? I never understood how adults can look down on children crying because they got called a doodoo head, only to throw an unquestioned punch at whoever tells them 'fuck you'. What's the best way to stop this childishness? Quit beating you kids when they curse. I think strict child abuse laws is the reason why swearing is becoming more acceptable. In the mean time we have to deal with anyone that went through this to hold a greater grudge against a politician that swears as opposed to a politician that is blatantly corrupt. Try saying fuck on a campaign trail and see how well that goes. That kind of childishness pisses me off.

    --
    Help fight spam
  14. Re:Way To Fail by Samah · · Score: 5, Funny

    >Washing The Ford
    Is that what they call it these days?

    --
    Homonyms are fun!
    You're driving your car, but they're riding their bikes there.
  15. WTF by ircharlie · · Score: 5, Funny

    Wow, This Feels Weird. To Fund Withdrawal The Feds Will Tax Far Worse. This Furore Will Take Forever!

  16. Re:Way To Fail by blackjackshellac · · Score: 4, Informative

    You are aware that the French are partially responsible for the American Revolutionary War victory George Washington scored over the British, right?

    Americans really should learn more history, even their own would help them to navigate the currents of this world's events.

    --
    Salut,

    Jacques