Slashdot Mirror
XKCD Improving the Internet ... Yet Again
netbuzz writes "Comic creator Randall Monroe suggested in a recent xkcd strip that YouTube comments would be better — or, more precisely, less idiotic — if only those posting them were forced to hear their words read aloud first. Well, YouTube has gone and made this "audio preview" a reality, albeit an optional one. And, it's not the first time that xkcd has contributed to the betterment of the Internet, as those who are familiar with last year's "Internet census" and its use of a Hilbert curve may remember."
I love xkcd, but hate idle. Should I start loving idle or start hating xkcd???
The best example would have to be this strip and the resultant web site (NSWF).
I think the greatest improvement of our lifes from xkcd was when Stallman got a katana. Now I can sleep better, knowing he will be protected from the he-who-cannot-be-named, aka Bill.
Any life is made up of a single moment, the moment in which a man finds out, once and for all, who he is.
That would be the Factory Standard GPS Voice (Female).
http://rocknerd.co.uk
You are absolutely spot on. I just signed up for a youtube account JUST to have the computer read me some colorful comments. =p
It's done in a Microsoft Sam-like voice. Poking around the site doesn't seem to reveal any options for changing the voice, but on the bright side the system is really easy to use. When posting a comment you have the text field and three buttons under it: First "Audio preview," then "Post Comment," and "Discard." Hopefully they'll change "Post Comment" to "Post" so that Audio preview will be the largest button, causing the quick and the lazy to sometimes accidentally hear their comment. (=
Correction accepted. But, I'm more inclined to believe that it's actually an American actress (from Iowa or something) doing her imitation of what she thinks an English accent is--a grotesque hybrid of Received Pronunciation and Cockney.
Those comments on YouTube come from people? I thought it was a virus or something.
I really am from Iowa, and according to Wikipedia ...
I just added God and Steve Forbes, too.
Yes, then people, would realize, how their comment wheezes, when it is full, of unnecessary commas.
Write your own Choose Your Own Adventure. http://www.freegameengines.org/gamebook-engine/
It's encouraging to see that people can and do escape Iowa, but that probably doesn't help your point.
Pro-tip: When listing famous people from your state, don't lead with Tom Arnold.
No, the program recognizes this and just switches to William Shatner's voice to read aloud instead.
"Quote me as saying I was mis-quoted." -Groucho Marx
As an American, I always had a problem with this expression because I thought, what's a Brit to do when someone is wearing pants that are rubbish? Are they to say, "my good fellow, those pants are completely pants!" But then someone corrected me and noted that they would say "those trousers are completely pants." I felt much better after that conversation.