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BBC Web Slip-Up Insults Facebook Fans

An anonymous reader writes "The BBC has accidentally insulted its Facebook followers by revealing a version of a new website which wasn't yet ready for public consumption and in which it referred to its social media followers as 'saddos.' The same website also features a picture of the Queen, described as the Pakistan hockey team. File this one under 'a really bad day at the office' for one web developer."

51 of 262 comments (clear)

  1. All I can really say is... by RoFLKOPTr · · Score: 5, Insightful

    lol.

    and

    Get over yourselves.

    1. Re:All I can really say is... by houghi · · Score: 5, Funny

      Normal people would. Facebook users not, because they are saddos.

      --
      Don't fight for your country, if your country does not fight for you.
    2. Re:All I can really say is... by deniable · · Score: 3, Funny

      Pull your head in.

    3. Re:All I can really say is... by twidarkling · · Score: 3, Funny

      Liar. If you were the Queen, you'd say "WE are not amused." Faker.

      --
      Canada: The US's more awesome sibling.
    4. Re:All I can really say is... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      Saddos: The cereal for people who can no longer eat Cheerios?

    5. Re:All I can really say is... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      The latest neuropsychology studies shows, that medium to long term facebook usage actually rewires the brain.

      When shown a pair of crocs, normal people have strong activity which results in disgust, physical revulsion and often a vomit reflex.
      The facebook users brain activity, more closely resembles that of a women shopping, heroin addict getting a fix, or farmville player harvesting crops.

    6. Re:All I can really say is... by node+3 · · Score: 4, Funny

      The facebook users brain activity, more closely resembles that of a women shopping, heroin addict getting a fix, or farmville player harvesting crops.

      ... or nerds espousing their superiority over people who do things the nerds don't like.

    7. Re:All I can really say is... by Bing+Tsher+E · · Score: 5, Funny

      The breakfast of, well, er, not exactly Champions...

    8. Re:All I can really say is... by Jaruzel · · Score: 3, Informative

      Know your history, it's 'We'...

      http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/401800.html

      --
      Together, We Can Make Slashdot Better. I Do NOT Mod ACs. - Check Me Out
    9. Re:All I can really say is... by Wovel · · Score: 3, Informative

      Don't need history. If the queen is an entire hockey team, We is obviously correct.

  2. For those who don't know European slang: by Kitkoan · · Score: 5, Informative
    --
    Attention... all grammer nazi"s! Is they're anything; wrong with: my post,
    1. Re:For those who don't know European slang: by mjwx · · Score: 5, Funny

      Saddos: Brit slang a socially inadequate or pathetic person.

      Glad you cleared that one up for us. I thought someone at the BBC couldn't spell sado.

      --
      Calling someone a "hater" only means you can not rationally rebut their argument.
    2. Re:For those who don't know European slang: by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

      European slang....... because we all speak the same language.

    3. Re:For those who don't know European slang: by phonewebcam · · Score: 3, Funny

      Britains Biggest Cokeusers - further clarification of this acronym for non-UK readers.

    4. Re:For those who don't know European slang: by XCondE · · Score: 5, Funny

      This is a mostly USA site so it's pushing it to expect everyone here to know slang from the almost the other side of the world

      It's pushing it to expect Americans to know *anything* about the other side of the world.

    5. Re:For those who don't know European slang: by WillKemp · · Score: 5, Funny

      It's pushing it to expect Americans to know *anything* about the other side of the world.

      It's pushing to expect Americans to know there is another side of the world.

    6. Re:For those who don't know European slang: by Ixitar · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Which do you mean by Americans? North, Central or South?

      I am a United States citizen and have lived on the other side of the world (Hong Kong specifically). I hope to be back there some day.

    7. Re:For those who don't know European slang: by NNKK · · Score: 4, Funny

      It's pushing to expect Americans to know there is another side of the world.

      Isn't that where all the Commies live?

    8. Re:For those who don't know European slang: by Kitkoan · · Score: 3, Funny

      It's pushing to expect Americans to know there is another side of the world.

      Isn't that where all the Commies live?

      Seems like it...

      --
      Attention... all grammer nazi"s! Is they're anything; wrong with: my post,
    9. Re:For those who don't know European slang: by deniable · · Score: 5, Funny

      Yes, inside and outside.

    10. Re:For those who don't know European slang: by russ_allegro · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Well considering the only people who identify themselves as 'Americans' (Pronounced: A-mur-i-cans) are United States citizens, I'm going to take a wild guess that he's talking about United States citizens.

      Except your wrong, I've talked with some Guatemalans who consider themselves Americans.

    11. Re:For those who don't know European slang: by msuarezalvarez · · Score: 3, Insightful

      That nation also claims various other titles, like "land of the free". That it insists on it does not make it true...

    12. Re:For those who don't know European slang: by Wovel · · Score: 4, Funny

      Nearly everyone on the mainland in this hemisphere considers themselves Americans. Most of them actually take offense to the uneducated masses on the other side of the world who are incapable of knowing the difference.

      Now you are on the edge of pissing of the Canadians, I am certain you don't want that. Piss them off enough and they will set down their beer and respond.

  3. Just goes to show... by mrgiles · · Score: 4, Insightful

    That the truth hurts.

  4. m00se by ajlitt · · Score: 5, Funny

    "We apologise for the fault in the site. Those responsible have been sacked."

    1. Re:m00se by masterwit · · Score: 4, Funny

      "Those responsible for sacking the people who have just been sacked have been sacked."

      --
      We should start a new Slashdot and return control to the geeks. It actually wouldn't be that hard to get some users to
    2. Re:m00se by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      The directors of the firm hired to continue the site after the other people had been sacked, wish it to be known that they have just been sacked.

    3. Re:m00se by deniable · · Score: 5, Funny

      I guess the site was running python.

    4. Re:m00se by value_added · · Score: 5, Funny

      Dear Sir,

      I wish to complain in the strongest possible terms about the fault in your site, about Facebook users being saddos. Many of my best friends are saddos, and only a few of them have Facebook accounts.

      Yours faithfully,

      Brigadier Sir Charles Arthur Strong (Mrs.)

    5. Re:m00se by c0mpliant · · Score: 4, Funny

      Stop that! It's SILLY. Very SILLY indeed! Started off as a nice little idea about the people responsible being fired but now it's just got SILLY! The post is far too short, too, and you can tell those are not proper statements! CLEAR OUT, THE LOT OF YOU!

      --
      There is no -1 disagree
  5. Remember kids... by gaspyy · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Always use "Lorem Ipsum" text when you're doing layout work and don't want to be concerned with actual content.

    Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.

    1. Re:Remember kids... by RoFLKOPTr · · Score: 3, Insightful

      But that's boring.

    2. Re:Remember kids... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

      The problem with Lorem Ipsum is the stupid questions from clients.

      " Is it French? What the fuck is this? Don't you speak english? How is anyone supposed to read it?"

    3. Re:Remember kids... by dsoltesz · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Then try Hillbilly Greeking:

      Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, crazy go, up skanky buffalo polecat sherrif shed sam-hell, landlord tobaccee. Fricaseed pigs cooked hogjowls ass cipherin'.

      Everlastin' rattler redblooded drunk good cowpoke woman farm tired landlord kickin' jezebel heap fire highway.

      Jumpin' guzzled barn em backwoods panhandle sittin' cheatin'. Jezebel took commencin' been confounded, lordy fit. Hootin' bootleg townfolk knickers tax-collectors simple, everlastin' consarn. Heffer java gospel give hairy jezebel.

      Also available: Technobabble, Matrix, and pseudo-German for your Greeking pleasure.

    4. Re:Remember kids... by jamesh · · Score: 4, Funny

      Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet

      What did you say about my mother???

    5. Re:Remember kids... by JWSmythe · · Score: 3, Insightful

          I agree. If you need substantial content, like to fill what should be news story bodies, Lorem Ipsum is perfect.

          When I'm testing things, and I'm looking at functionality over volume of filler, I'll use some informative yet useless information. For example a news story may read "This is a test title" and "This is the test body". No harm, no foul, and when something gets left behind for the bosses (or general public) to see,it won't result in finding yourself unemployed.

          A lot of times, when I'm working on someone's web site, and they haven't given me content for say their front page, I'll just put "Put something warm and friendly here." Occasionally (very occasionally) I'll put something funny in, but not so much that it'd cost me a job. I worked at a place, way back in the beginning of the popularity of the Internet. The programmers for the billing system had an impossible to reach if statement which said something like "You'll never fucking see this." Well, after a while, it was seen. Customers were less than happy, and were more than happy to contact the CEO directly. Heads rolled on that one.

          I expect that my customers will look at my work in progress. I encourage it, so I can get their feedback as it goes. It's much better to find out they don't like something in the beginning, rather than when you've worked on the project for months and are complete. If they see "you should have stuff here about your company", that's much better than nothing at all. For the sake of filling the space, Lorem Ipsum is much better.

       

      --
      Serious? Seriousness is well above my pay grade.
    6. Re:Remember kids... by Tim+C · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Indeed, and I have had more or less that reaction in the past - "Why is it all in Latin? I don't like that..."

      On the plus side if you use copy that is obviously placeholder, even at the most cursory of glances, it does make it less likely that it will be sent live by accident - and even if it is, there's no chance of actually offending anyone.

    7. Re:Remember kids... by value_added · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Then try Hillbilly Greeking ... Technobabble, Matrix, and pseudo-German ...

      You're trying too hard.

      If this is a corporate site (most are), you can just use the Bullshit Generator. Your pointy-haired boss will nod approvingly, and you can call it a day.

    8. Re:Remember kids... by gaspyy · · Score: 3, Informative

      It's supposed to be boring. This way no one will start nitpicking the text and will concentrate on layout/design.

      At that stage of the work, text content doesn't matter. What matters is the font, color, size, placement and so on. You want the client to say "I like the font, maybe make it bigger by 1pt" rather than "you didn't capitalize properly."

    9. Re:Remember kids... by tepples · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Indeed, and I have had more or less that reaction in the past - "Why is it all in Latin? I don't like that..."

      Then use the English translation, like I do.

  6. Re:duhhh by MichaelSmith · · Score: 5, Funny

    Why don't they just use an international cymbal

    Too loud.

  7. similar experience by mogness · · Score: 5, Funny
    Once I was debugging some code at work and added a javascript alert "The dinosaur says RAWR!" to an error case that I was trying to reproduce. Well, I fixed the error but being the smart guy I am, forgot to take out the debug code. A few months later, some erroneous data in our app started causing an exception in the same exact place where my old error debug message was. It was a real head-slapper when I got the bug report...

    For client X, when loading Y, error message is displayed: "The dinosaur says RAWR!"
    While this is amusing it is not the expected behavior.

    Ya, it's not harmful but it was a little embarrassing. It must be really embarrassing for a web developer at a company which is so publicly visible. I feel this particular developer's pain.

    --
    that's teh shizzle bizzle
    1. Re:similar experience by SheeEttin · · Score: 5, Funny

      Well, at least you can track it down pretty fast. Just be glad it wasn't something embarrasing, like... oh, say, this.

    2. Re:similar experience by Linker3000 · · Score: 3, Funny

      I used to work on visuals systems for flight sims and it was common practice for the image database devs to leave each other comments something like 10m below the start of an airport's primary runway.

      One day we had a sim on test with the customer and during some out-of-normal-range testing, the pilot nose-dived the plane into the primary runway only to see something like 'fuck off Joe' displayed across the entire width of the cockpit view, several feet high.

      This was hastily followed by a memo to all engineers about comment etiquette. Fortunately, the pilot had a sense of humour.

      --
      AT&ROFLMAO
    3. Re:similar experience by AK+Marc · · Score: 5, Funny

      I had a modem from one of the largest makers of satellite modems. We had lots of issues, and ended up getting pre-release code. After that worked, we had a separate issue and called back. "What's your firmware version?" "Um, version number: ohshit."

      Yes, that's right, our version number was Oh Shit. I'm guessing that's what the guy who did it thought when he was told it made it to the wild.

    4. Re:similar experience by lena_10326 · · Score: 4, Funny

      A long time ago I was working on a simple CGI to output a table on a test intranet site. I had a hard to see typo in the code which prevented the right data in the cells from showing up, so after getting royally pissed off I used "Fuck You" to substitute as fake data. The table read "Fuck you, Fuck you, Fuck you, .." for a few dozen or so rows. Later that day my project manager walks in a very serious and somber mood. He was concerned about what I was working on because the VP of sales called him and mentioned he saw a page with nothing but Fuck Yous. I was stymied because this was a pre-prod test site (it used a copy of production data) and no one but a developer should be touching it. Apparently, months ago the VP had been given a peak at a new feature in development and got a link to the test site. He bookmarked it and had been using that for months for running his reports. He had long wondered why the site seemed so flakey and buggy because sometimes it would fail to load or emit some file not found error (presumably because a developer was fiddling with it). When my manager and I met up with the VP, we were expecting a royal chewing out. Chuckling, the VP said although the Fuck Yous were funny, he really needed to see that data. I just gave him the production URL he should be using and had him remove the old bookmark.

      --
      Camping on quad since 1996.
    5. Re:similar experience by roman_mir · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I think the much more embarrassing thing about that post is that the password was being logged all over in the code apparently in clear text.

      Remind me never to hire that guy.

  8. Re:What did it say about by Kitkoan · · Score: 3, Funny

    slashdot followers ?

    They called us Nerds.

    But I'm ok with that since even Slashdot itself tells me I'm a nerd, which for once isn't news, but does matter.

    --
    Attention... all grammer nazi"s! Is they're anything; wrong with: my post,
  9. Re:Fuck Allah!!! by Bottles · · Score: 3, Funny

    I still think lorum ipsum is a better filler than your suggested text.

  10. And the insult comes from who? by MavEtJu · · Score: 4, Funny

    I don't care being called a "saddo" by a webmonkey.

    --
    bash$ :(){ :|:&};:
  11. The News by _Sprocket_ · · Score: 5, Interesting

    CNN falls all over itself to pander to "social networking" types while the BBC refers to them as "saddos." Yet another example of the BBC showing up US news services.