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One In Ten Americans Thinks HTML Is a Type of Sexually Transmitted Infection

Posted by Soulskill on from the this-is-what-you're-up-against dept.

sandbagger writes "It looks like technical writers won't be unemployed any time soon. According to a recent study reported on by the LA Times, 11% of Americans thought HTML was a sexually-transmitted disease. The study, by coupon site VoucherCloud, involved 2,392 men and women 18 years of age or older. 27% thought 'gigabyte' was a South American insect, and 23% thought MP3 was a Star Wars robot. The participants were not told that the study was specifically looking into their knowledge of tech terms. They were presented with both tech and non-tech terms and were asked to choose from three possible definitions. 18% identified 'Blu-ray' as a marine animal, and 15% thought 'software' was comfortable clothing."

17 of 255 comments (clear)

  1. Could it be by deletedaccount · · Score: 5, Insightful

    That not everyone is taking this seriously?

    1. Re:Could it be by Opportunist · · Score: 5, Funny

      Kardashians? Weren't they in Star Trek?

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    2. Re:Could it be by Opportunist · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Well, it might be asking a bit much to know SEO. But USB? Even my dad, a Luddite if there ever was one, knows what USB is. He will probably say "that flat plug at the side of my keyboard", meaning the USB connector of his laptop, but at the very least he'll identify it as "something that belongs to that infernal $expletive piece of crap".

      People use USB. Daily. If they have some kind of computer, they will most likely have either some kind of dongle that connects them to their mobile internet, a mouse that uses it, a thumbdrive or other storage device. People use Blu-Ray players to play their videos.

      Oddly, though, I bet if you ask them about VHS, they will probably identify it without fail as "that video recorder cassette". The older ones will also certainly know what an 8track is (at least if they're in the US, less so in Europe). Both of them also being technical terms. I think it would be interesting to research why earlier "tech terms" were far more widely known than modern ones.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
  2. Fake "survey" is fake by gweilo8888 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Just another sign of the demise of Slashdot. A clearly fake survey viral created solely to publicize a coupon website makes it to the front page of a site supposedly for people smart enough to know better than to fall for rubbish like this.

    Could this any more obviously be a viral scam? No.

    And nor could Slashdot any more obviously be a shadow of its former self.

    1. Re:Fake "survey" is fake by deletedaccount · · Score: 5, Funny

      yes, but as this particular bit of clickbait confirms my prejudice towards americans and made me chuckle I'll let it slide.

    2. Re:Fake "survey" is fake by jd2112 · · Score: 5, Funny

      Well, given that 77% of Americans believe in the existence of angels, I don't know what anyone expected.

      I believe in Angels. They play baseball in Los Angeles.

      --
      Any insufficiently advanced magic is indistinguishable from technology.
  3. Re: heh... by reovirus1 · · Score: 5, Funny

    Talk about a useless survey, everyone knows you can get HTML from watching porn. And if you do it with IE 7 or lower, there's no known cure!

  4. Slashdot Polls by spacecoyotefarva · · Score: 5, Insightful

    ...are more scientifically rigorous.

  5. Those who have used it by Chrisq · · Score: 5, Funny

    One In Ten Americans Thinks HTML Is a Type of Sexually Transmitted Infection

    Those who have used it know that it's much worse

  6. In other news by symes · · Score: 4, Funny

    20% of Americans have a sense of humor.

  7. USB by jones_supa · · Score: 4, Informative

    FTA:

    12% said "USB" is the acronym for a European country. In fact, USB is a type of connector.

    USB is actually a serial data interface. The connector is just one part of the spec.

  8. Probably deceptively worded by MikeRT · · Score: 4, Funny

    MP3 is a robot from star wars? Even my older relatives know what a MP3 is. My grandmother, who doesn't have a computer, wouldn't even come to the conclusion that it's star wars related unless someone asked her "is MP3 the name of an audio format or a robot from star wars." I'm going to guess that this is similar to what happened when someone recorded himself walking around a campus asking "Is Obama a Keynesian (yes, he is)" and people were smugly saying that no the President was born in Hawaii.

  9. Re:This just in by ArsenneLupin · · Score: 5, Funny

    ... and the other half don't know the difference between average and median.

  10. Try the seafood platter! by Hognoxious · · Score: 5, Funny

    It's not that hard. One set are vaguely reptilian, have misshapen heads and an unjustified sense of superiority. The others invaded Bajor.

    [drabadabaTISH!]

    --
    Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
  11. Re: heh... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    It's okay... 10% of geeks think STD is some kind of internet protocol...

  12. So? by Kimomaru · · Score: 4, Insightful

    So what? Ask people to find Croatia on a map. Forget that. Ask them to find Africa. Skip that. Ask them to find North America. For real, now we're shocked at people who can't keep up with acronyms? This is a huge shock? Is this post about making fun of people?

  13. Multiple Choice Questions by wisnoskij · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Obviously these were multiple choice questions. So you cannot use the data like this. 10% do not actually think HTML is a STD, they just have no idea what HTML is.

    --
    Troll is not a replacement for I disagree.