The National Weather Service will stop screaming in all caps

Associated Press ^ | Apr 11, 2016 5:03 PM EDT | Seth Borenstein

[Olog-hai]

FOR MORE THAN A CENTURY, THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED ITS FORECASTS IN ALL CAPITAL LETTERS. But in the age of social media that’s considered yelling, so next month federal meteorologists are lowering their voices and their letters — except in dire emergencies.

Weather service spokeswoman Susan Buchanan said the agency started using all capital letters in 1849 forecasts because of the telegraph. Twenty years ago, the agency tried phasing out the practice, but old equipment wouldn’t recognize lower-case letters. …

[LostInBayport]

THEY SHOULDN’T DO THAT! SOME OF US ARE HARD OF HEARING AND CAN’T MAKE OUT THE WORDS WHEN THEY WHISPER THEM!

[bgill]

I dOn’T cArE. i’M sMaRt EnOuGh To ReAd It In UpPeR oR lOwEr CaSe.

AnD cUrSiVe.

[KarlInOhio]

TORNADO watch

[Inyo-Mono]

WOW! WHAT A BIG change this will be.

[Paladin2]

Long live the teletype....

[Paladin2]

Just another dire effect of Gorebal Warning.

[centurion316]

Telex and later TWX were telephone based messaging systems that would transmit messages over phone lines. They had a limited character set, so lowercase characters were not implemented. The military and international messaging used the same technology. The printers received the message via phone lines and typed the message without operator input. Telex and TWX systems are still in use.

[T-Bone Texan]

You reminded me of the old SNL skit about news for the hard of hearing.

Garrett Morris?

[Falconspeed]

Too funny. The capitals from the Weather Service always seemed “over the top” and “too official.” Caps are the effects of the telegraph. Amazing history.

[LostInBayport]

THAT'S THE ONE!

[Bulwinkle]

NO,SAY IT LOUDER!

[PA Engineer]

Telex and later TWX were telephone based messaging systems that would transmit messages over phone lines. They had a limited character set, so lowercase characters were not implemented. The military and international messaging used the same technology. The printers received the message via phone lines and typed the message without operator input. Telex and TWX systems are still in use.

I'm going to date myself. I remember when that is all we had for communications from third world countries back to the states. We would have to go to the local phone office and pay a special fee (bribe) to get in the message queue.

[dgbrown]

I remember the day I was told to “stop yelling”.

[tumblindice]

NOR’EASTER ADOLPH NAMED ITSELF, WE HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH IT.

[deks]

The TELEGRAM and CABLEGRAM were in all caps too

On January 26, 2006, Western Union stopped providing the service it became famous for: sending telegrams. The company officially got out of the communications business and shifted to financial services and money transfers. In 2005, the number of telegrams sent by Western Union was 1 percent of the number sent in 1929.

[MamaDearest]

But how is Cher going to read weather reports now?

[okie01]

In 2005, the number of telegrams sent by Western Union was 1 percent of the number sent in 1929.

In 1985, my wife and youngest daughter traveled to London -- their first time out of country.

I decided to greet them with a telegram at the desk of their hotel. I called Western Union and dictated a telegram to the operator.

After completing the telegram, the operator engaged me in a conversation. Turned out she was based in Reno, I was the only call she'd fielded in over an hour...and she was the only person in the call center! Bored silly!!! We chatted for the better part of an hour before we finally clicked off. She didn't receive another call in the interim.

So, yeah, the telegram business was pretty slow...

[libertylover]

<<< for the hard of hearing>>>
1st old guy: It’s windy today.
2nd old guy: No. It’s Thursday.
3rd old guy: Me too. Let’s have a beer!

[pigsmith]

AS LONG AS THEY STOP USING BRIGHT GREEN LETTERS ON A BRIGHT GREEN BACKGROUND, it’ll be fine.