The coming end of internet freedom

[Annoyed]

The short answer is yes if they haven't done everything within their power to stop the user from accidental misuse. Otherwise the fault is with the manufacturer for bad design.

What ever happened to being responsible for yourself?

Taking it out of the computer arena, how can it possibly be GM's fault in any way if some idiot drives the car with the oil light on? (or low pressure reading on the gauge)

Stupidity and willful ignorance have price tags. If you drive the car with no oil, the price tag is a new engine.
You can't protect the idiots from everything. They are always coming up with better idiots!

[Womble]

What ever happened to being responsible for yourself?

Taking it out of the computer arena, how can it possibly be GM's fault in any way if some idiot drives the car with the oil light on? (or low pressure reading on the gauge)

Simple. Insufficient indication of the problem. No one is going to do it on purpose, but how clear is it to a novice car user what the light means and how serious the problem is?

You can't protect the idiots from everything. They are always coming up with better idiots!

In my experience as a travel agent for almost 7 years, people cannot be expected to "just know" even the most basic things.

Off the top of my head I'll give you a few super-basic things about airline tickets which an average user- even one who flies regularly for decades- does not usually know. Let me know if you knew them all, or some. (Because if you didn't, in someone's book out there you, too, are an idiot).

1 - On most airlines, if you skip one flight in a multi-destination itinerary, the rest of your flights are automatically canceled without refund and changes are not permitted. For example, if your ticket is New York-London-Amsterdam-Madrid-New York, skipping the London-Amsterdam flight for any reason whatsoever means that you lose all consequent flights and need to buy a new ticket.

2 - On most airlines, if you want to remove a flight from a multi-destination itinerary, not only do you not get a refund for that flight but you have to pay a change fee and oftentimes also a fare difference.

3- Price of an airline ticket does not necessarily indicate service class. A full-fare economy class ticket ("economy unrestricted") is usually more expensive than the cheapest business class ticket for the same airline.

4- In most non-refundable tickets, you can get back the taxes if you cancel before the flight departs. Quite often, the value of an airline ticket is mostly composed of taxes; I routinely see $300 tickets in which the fare costs $1 and the rest is taxes. When you cancel such a ticket as non-refundable, you get full refund minus 1$.

5 - Most airlines in the world do not allow name change or name correction after the ticket is issued. While there is no hard prohibition against name change in the air travel industry by IATA or any other body establishing the rules, permitting people to do so at will could potentially create a black market for airline tickets and allow large corporations to monopolize entire routes on high-demand dates by buying up airplane seats under fictional passenger name only to resell them later at inflated prices.

How did you do?

P.S. Bonus fact for the interested: there exists a semi-secret category of airfares which allows you to travel around the world with up to 16 stops and prices begin from $2000. These fares cannot be found through price comparison engines like Expedia or from airlines, because no single airline can offer such an itinerary. These fares can only be bought from airline alliances or from travel agencies. These fares are about to be phased out by June 28, so you might want to hurry up with your dream trip.

[Annoyed]

Simple. Insufficient indication of the problem. No one is going to do it on purpose, but how clear is it to a novice car user what the light means and how serious the problem is?

I see that as a lack on the part of the motorist. As I've said several times in various discussions, people should know the basics of how a car works and how to take care of it if they want to own it. I don't suggest they should know how to do complex or difficult repairs, but they should have the basics. In addition, every new car comes with a manual, detailing basic maintenance as well as the meaning of the gauges and dials on the dashboard. Is it GM's fault that they didn't read the owners manual? Of course not.

In my experience as a travel agent for almost 7 years, people cannot be expected to "just know" even the most basic things.

Off the top of my head I'll give you a few super-basic things about airline tickets which an average user- even one who flies regularly for decades- does not usually know. Let me know if you knew them all, or some. (Because if you didn't, in someone's book out there you, too, are an idiot).

1 - On most airlines, if you skip one flight in a multi-destination itinerary, the rest of your flights are automatically canceled without refund and changes are not permitted. For example, if your ticket is New York-London-Amsterdam-Madrid-New York, skipping the London-Amsterdam flight for any reason whatsoever means that you lose all consequent flights and need to buy a new ticket.

2 - On most airlines, if you want to remove a flight from a multi-destination itinerary, not only do you not get a refund for that flight but you have to pay a change fee and oftentimes also a fare difference.

3- Price of an airline ticket does not necessarily indicate service class. A full-fare economy class ticket ("economy unrestricted") is usually more expensive than the cheapest business class ticket for the same airline.

4- In most non-refundable tickets, you can get back the taxes if you cancel before the flight departs. Quite often, the value of an airline ticket is mostly composed of taxes; I routinely see $300 tickets in which the fare costs $1 and the rest is taxes. When you cancel such a ticket as non-refundable, you get full refund minus 1$.

5 - Most airlines in the world do not allow name change or name correction after the ticket is issued. While there is no hard prohibition against name change in the air travel industry by IATA or any other body establishing the rules, permitting people to do so at will could potentially create a black market for airline tickets and allow large corporations to monopolize entire routes on high-demand dates by buying up airplane seats under fictional passenger name only to resell them later at inflated prices.

How did you do?

P.S. Bonus fact for the interested: there exists a semi-secret category of airfares which allows you to travel around the world with up to 16 stops and prices begin from $2000. These fares cannot be found through price comparison engines like Expedia or from airlines, because no single airline can offer such an itinerary. These fares can only be bought from airline alliances or from travel agencies. These fares are about to be phased out by June 28, so you might want to hurry up with your dream trip.

Although I would have assumed the answers you gave; it would seem common sense to me, I admit I don't *know*. And I would likely be considered an idiot by travel experts in that field.

For the simple reason that I will never get on an airliner of my own volition, so I don't need to know the gory details of that business.

Employment has forced me to fly twice in my lifetime, and the very first experience, back in the late eighties convinced me that I have no wish to travel that way. And the more recent experience, circa 2012, only reinforced that. I will drive, thank you, even though it is often more costly to do so.

[mad_gater]

I see that as a lack on the part of the motorist. As I've said several times in various discussions, people should know the basics of how a car works and how to take care of it if they want to own it. I don't suggest they should know how to do complex or difficult repairs, but they should have the basics. In addition, every new car comes with a manual, detailing basic maintenance as well as the meaning of the gauges and dials on the dashboard. Is it GM's fault that they didn't read the owners manual? Of course not.



Although I would have assumed the answers you gave; it would seem common sense to me, I admit I don't *know*. And I would likely be considered an idiot by travel experts in that field.

For the simple reason that I will never get on an airliner of my own volition, so I don't need to know the gory details of that business.

Employment has forced me to fly twice in my lifetime, and the very first experience, back in the late eighties convinced me that I have no wish to travel that way. And the more recent experience, circa 2012, only reinforced that. I will drive, thank you, even though it is often more costly to do so.

yeah I'd rather stick close to the ground or water when I travel as well

[Womble]

I see that as a lack on the part of the motorist. As I've said several times in various discussions, people should know the basics of how a car works and how to take care of it if they want to own it. I don't suggest they should know how to do complex or difficult repairs, but they should have the basics. In addition, every new car comes with a manual, detailing basic maintenance as well as the meaning of the gauges and dials on the dashboard. Is it GM's fault that they didn't read the owners manual? Of course not.

Actually, there is a known problem with owner's manuals. They are too long and complex, and as a consequence people struggle to read them. 60% of questions askedby customers of Subaru call centers are about things covered by owner's manual.


Re: Russia vs. Telegram. The epic battle is still going on. Russian authorities are attacking the problems the same way their air force attacks Syria - carpet bombing. They are blocking IP addresses by the millions, I kid you not. So far, Telegram is still working although some 30% of users are experiencing slowdowns - but many other services have been rendered unusable for Russia - based customers: Sony Playstation, Nintendo, banking software and, hilariously, Roskomnadzor's own website. They seem to be aiming to generally disrupt internet usage in Russia in order to force the major web services hosts to drop Telegram.

[Annoyed]

Actually, there is a known problem with owner's manuals. They are too long and complex, and as a consequence people struggle to read them. 60% of questions askedby customers of Subaru call centers are about things covered by owner's manual.

Either that or people have grown lazy.

I think most people are perfectly capable of understanding the manuals, but they've become too damned lazy to take the time to read them. They seem to have the idea that they should instinctively know how to use it, no matter what "it" is.