Slashdot Mirror
UK's National Rail Shuts Down Free Timetable App
JHaselden points to this "sad tale of one developer's trying time with the National Rail, the owners of the UK's train timetable data, which flies in the face of the recent assertion of Chris Scoggins (Chief Executive, National Rail Enquiries) in Wired recently stating that they had 'opened up' their data, 'often free of charge.'" This is a good case for keeping your old emails handy; the app's author uses cut-and-paste to excellent effect in his correspondence with the rail system.
In the end, this all comes down to web services being a stupid idea. Often, they're just some buzzword that some dipshit manager or executive read about in one of the marketing publications he was so generously sent by some vendor. They're implemented not to provide useful data to customers or to the public in general, but rather to be just one more "accomplishment" that said manager or executive can list on his CV.
Can we just get rid of both kinds of pedantic dickheads and have a far better discussion forum?
Those pedantic about either spelling or grammer are ultimatly the sad pathetic people who sit alone out in the kitchen at parties picking at their nails trying to not make eye contact with anyone.
Think back to school? did anyone like that kid who used to correct the other kids grammer? no. no they did not.
and that doesn't change.
There is no standards body for the english language, if someone says something and you understand it and the meaning you get is close enough to what they intended then it's perfectly good.
let me repeat that:
There is no standards body for the english language.
If some pedantic asshole insists it's "whom not who" yet the vast majority of english speakers don't agree and can understand each other when they ignore his rule then the pedantic asshole is wrong.
No if's, no buts. He's wrong.
he's failed to keep up with a changing language.