Fatal flaw in the transportation rings design?

[JonSnowShoveler]

I've been watching through SG-1 (the rings are not SG-1 specific so I posted here) again recently and I've been thinking about the danger of transportation rings. If I recall correctly, a bad guy was killed with them in the original movie. I could guess at who, but best not to bother anyways to avoid any potential spoilers.

In any case, I was wondering, how common would it be for innocent people to die by the transportation rings whilst simply walking through the area they are located? Take the Tok'ra bases for example, I never see any markings on the floor indicating where the rings are located or any warning to those nearby when the rings are coming in for landing. (I'm actually in the middle of SG-1 S04E22 Exodus that has a scene where Jack O'Neill is outside on the surface of a Tok'ra base and asks 2 Tok'ra how they know where the rings are located in the sand. Of course they just stare at him. I think it's the writers acknowledging how flawed the rings are or perhaps to indicate that it's "simply beyond human understanding".)

We know these things will crush people easily, so how is it that they are used without fatal accidents? I've seen many scenes in the Tok'ra bases where they are moving a bunch of supplies through the same place the rings appear, yet the ring zone always happens to be clear when the rings come down.

Is it one of those things you have to ignore and just accept it's only a TV show?

[garhkal]

From what i have seen of them all, its not just a "walk in to the spot and bam they activate' you have to press a console.. So random guy walking in is in no fear of injury.

[DarkenLycht]

It's the same thing with beaming or using the Stargate. It usually works fine but when something works not as supposed to, then it can be fatal for the person who was trying to use the device.

But for the rings, there are markings on the floor sometimes, at least on the ships I saw some. Not always though, strangely. I have the feeling they put them in or not, just as they need it.
This marking was there before the rings were activated, just saw this ep today so I am sure about that.

And I think yes, it's better to just accept it, if you think too hard about it, a lot of things make no real sense in such shows often

[JonSnowShoveler]

Ok, I had to grab a video clip to really show what it is I'm talking about.

Direct video link.

In this scene, the people using the transportation rings from the tunnels to send supplies to the surface are indeed in control of when they activate the rings so they know not to get crushed, but they have no clue that SG-1 is coming down from the surface immediately after. Two of the Tok'ra run just by the side of where the rings land, just before SG-1 arrives. They had no clue when those rings are coming in or exactly where they would land. Even if there were markings, it'd still be dangerous to go anywhere near the area.

Yes, most any other situations that I've seen the rings in use are marked with indications on the ground of where the rings land and also it tends to be placed in a room or designated area specifically for rings only, but that's the Goa'uld, who actually care about safety regulations. [Picture of the Goa'uld rings.] The Tok'ra on the other hand are bumbling idiots who probably get crushed all the time. It's no wonder they are going extinct, they don't care at all about safety.

Take for example the Tok'ra caves themselves. In the beginning they were nice round and safe walls that they'd create for their bases. Later in the series though, they must have decided that it's not dangerous enough to have rings crushing people, so they decided to make their walls into a bunch of spikes so that people will get impaled.
Spiked Walls
http://i.imgur.com/IBAol4F.jpg

[DigiFluid]

It's the same thing with beaming or using the Stargate. It usually works fine but when something works not as supposed to, then it can be fatal for the person who was trying to use the device.

Exactly. It's no different than driving a car or riding a motorcycle. As long as the equipment/vehicle is functioning properly and you're not using it dangerously, they're perfectly safe.

There's no fatal flaw here. Basically: health and safety is one thing, but at the end of the day you just can't fix stupid.

[aretood2]

I would chalk it up to cultural difference. In Tok'ra society, it's your fault if you wonder closely into a area known for the rings, no tort, no lawsuits, just weeding out the weak.

[pscard]

Here's a scene from Stargate where Ra's guard is partly transported.

[DarkenLycht]

There's no fatal flaw here. Basically: health and safety is one thing, but at the end of the day you just can't fix stupid.

True, and if it's your enemy, their stupid comes in handy for you in such cases

[garhkal]

I would chalk it up to cultural difference. In Tok'ra society, it's your fault if you wonder closely into a area known for the rings, no tort, no lawsuits, just weeding out the weak.

And if it's YOUR base, its gonna behoove someone to KNOW where XYZ is..

[JonSnowShoveler]

Yeah, I get what you guys are saying, but the Tok'ra put the rings in my clip directly in the middle of a 3 way corridor intersection. How are people supposed to avoid walking through there? I just think they are ludicrous for having no markings or indication of incoming rings and in a non-scripted real-life scenario, a ton of people would die before someone would have to finally enforce safety regulations on those things.

[garhkal]

WHy do WE on earth have safety regulations.. CAUSE people become too stupid and either don't read warnings, or just don't give a hoot and do something dangerous.
In other cultures on other planets, perhaps they are not THAT common sense deprived, so don't NEED safety regulations abounding..

[JonSnowShoveler]

@garhkal
I don't think you understand what you are saying, because you just stated that we have safety regulations because stupid people don't read the safety regulation? Warnings are a type of safety regulation. Things that are poorly designed are not the fault of the unaware and not all danger exists only for stupid people. I just wanted to point out a interesting little quirk in the show that stuck with me while watching, but I guess it's best to just forget it and move on.

[Shiner833]

Also, particularly with no ring markings being on the surface, the Tokra were in a state of hiding so leaving no trace was kinda important. I think this can go for the tunnels as well. They wanted only their people knowing where and how for fear of spies/intruders. The rings being in a 3 way tunnel was probably more of a set limitation in the production of the show than an actual Tokra interior design flaw.

[StargateMillennium]

Alright, I think I know where the issues come from. So let say SG-1 come to visit the Tok'ra. They're on the surface and activate the ring platform. In the Tok'ra tunnels some Tok'ra are on their way to another part of the underground complex and have to pass through that hallway. On their way through, the rings suddenly come out of the ceiling and crush the guy before he can react.

He had no way of knowing when a person would be coming in and SG-1 would have no idea if there was a person underneath. And because the rings are situated in a busy hallways, it's now more likely that a person would get crushed in such a way.
No warning label could possibly prevent this.

[garhkal]

@garhkal
I don't think you understand what you are saying, because you just stated that we have safety regulations because stupid people don't read the safety regulation? Warnings are a type of safety regulation. Things that are poorly designed are not the fault of the unaware and not all danger exists only for stupid people.

How smart does someone need to be to realize "Don't climb this fence and touch wires cause live voltage can kill".. IF we didn't have dunces DOING SO, there wouldn't need to have so damn many warning signs all over the pace..
Or "don't let your kid pull all the draws out and climb up on a dresser cause it will make it "front heavy and thus topple over on him'..