Dave Farber
2018-09-17 09:09:15 UTC
Subject: Re: [IP] FEMA to test 'Presidential Alert' system next week
Date: September 17, 2018 at 6:07:33 PM GMT+9
I'm not (hugely) worried that President Trump will misuse the FEMA system. I suspect that the "deep state" (joke) will be sufficient to keep the reins on.
But has anyone stopped to think about the effect of making every cellphone in the nation suddenly play a loud alert tone? Purely by coincidence, I'll be in an operating room for a perfectly safe procedure at that time; I can imagine my wife's reaction to such an alert if I hadn't warned her. But will the doctors and nurses know? Movies, classical concerts (fortunately few at 2:18 PM on a Thursday), school classes, and business meetings will be disrupted. Drivers on freeways will be startled, and not a few will grab their phones to try to read the text. I suspect that several people will die as a result of the latter phenomenon.
Assuming the system works as designed, safety officials will then know that it's available. My experience with such things is that the people in charge won't be able to resist misusing it. "Since we have a way to reach everybody, let's send out a message telling them to wash their hands before eating." That's not a hypothesis; I received precisely such a message through my employer's emergency-alert system two years ago.
--
Software, like bridges, should be elegant and visually pleasing as
well as functional. Ugly constructs, designs, and languages should be
avoided like the plague.
-------------------------------------------Date: September 17, 2018 at 6:07:33 PM GMT+9
I'm not (hugely) worried that President Trump will misuse the FEMA system. I suspect that the "deep state" (joke) will be sufficient to keep the reins on.
But has anyone stopped to think about the effect of making every cellphone in the nation suddenly play a loud alert tone? Purely by coincidence, I'll be in an operating room for a perfectly safe procedure at that time; I can imagine my wife's reaction to such an alert if I hadn't warned her. But will the doctors and nurses know? Movies, classical concerts (fortunately few at 2:18 PM on a Thursday), school classes, and business meetings will be disrupted. Drivers on freeways will be startled, and not a few will grab their phones to try to read the text. I suspect that several people will die as a result of the latter phenomenon.
Assuming the system works as designed, safety officials will then know that it's available. My experience with such things is that the people in charge won't be able to resist misusing it. "Since we have a way to reach everybody, let's send out a message telling them to wash their hands before eating." That's not a hypothesis; I received precisely such a message through my employer's emergency-alert system two years ago.
--
Software, like bridges, should be elegant and visually pleasing as
well as functional. Ugly constructs, designs, and languages should be
avoided like the plague.
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