Tbh, Only decent thing that's come out from the Beeb recently was Planet Earth 2, Blue Planet 2 and Sherlock, I'm certainly considering scrapping my TV License, i don't watch TV, I've not even turned it on in months, and has no aerial connected. Sam
<OffTopicRant> I really really hate this "autistic screeching" meme, and I really really hate that it's gained such a foothold. That's not the only thing from this post I have a big problem with, but I'm seeing this meme more and more (not necessarily here) and it gets my back up every single time. </OffTopicRant>
Understandable, but personal offence is the price we must pay for a free society. If we censored ourselves so as not to cause offence to anyone we wouldn't be living in a society worth living in. Harry Potter is offensive to some people, but does that mean it should be censored? Certainly there are nuances and degrees of appropriateness to situations, but we must remember that even one step along that path is still the road to hell and the offended have that responsibility to consider. I personally think the modern wave of political correctness is due squarely to the internet, and it's diverse and permanent record of social interactions. One way to gain social capital is a demonstration of virtue, and that is most easily gained by criticising someone else for their insensitivity or relative immorality. Full disclosure - I came to this conclusion having once thought the opposite, I just also happen to be extremely self-critical. EDIT: Since this is off-topic I'm editing this post rather than reply to anything, but this is worth watching:
That is exactly what we do. Day in, day out. There are all sorts of things happening these days that we don't like and we just get it shoved down our throats whether we like it or not. I went to school in the 1970s. Back when caning and so on were a thing. I was forced to sit through an hour of RE (or religious education) for an hour a week and I was taught that being gay was both wrong and immoral. Then, a third of the way through my life I am now told that being gay is fine and OK and gay people can get married and so on. Probably a good thing I am not religious really, isn't it? because if I were and stuck hard to what I was taught I would be pretty damn p*ssed off right now. Thankfully even then at 6 years old I couldn't have given a toss. Do what makes you happy, YOLO and all that crap. But we are far from uncensored. We live in a hypocritical world. How can we possibly be uncensored we wouldn't know what to say.
I don't really want to continue this in any great depth - this isn't the thread for it - but suffice it to say that... A lot of things which were once commonplace are generally no longer considered acceptable: racism, homophobia, gender-based discrimination, etc. This isn't political correctness, this is is people standing up for themselves and telling individuals and society that, hey, you know what, that isn't cool. It's nothing to do with being PC, or having a snowflake society, or anything like that (not that I'm trying to put words in anyone's mouth here); it's about not being discriminated against, marginalised, or belittled. The whole "autistic screeching" meme perpetuates an incredibly negative stereotype, just like when gay people are called "poofter" or "nancy boy" or whatever. This isn't really the place to get into why, but this meme in particular really sticks in my craw.
Apologies for that. Damn phone.. I have actually gotten out of bed to type this... My point was the world needs some one to hate. First it was gays, then minorities, then whatever else. Over the years each one has been taken away leaving... You guessed it ! the mentally ill/different. That's OK because that is where society is at. Let's hate the mentally ill and whilst we're at it let's throw in the homeless too. Yes, that is OK we can make fun of those because the govt says it's OK. It must be, the way the govt treat both of them, right? I wouldn't even mind if I was happy. Of course I am not. I never have been and I never will be. I am miserable 24/7 as it is, and then I find out I am the guy every one takes the piss out of these days. Makes me feel so much better. I really, truly hope that people who make fun of mental illness never have to suffer from it or worse, see a loved one suffer from it. Because then it will hit like a ton of bricks.
It annoys the hell out of me that I have to pay for my TV licence as I don't watch anything BBC related or listen to the radio.
I don't pay for a TV License as I don't watch "TV" or consume anything from the BBC at all, ever. I do occasionally flaunt the law by watching live streams on the 'net - ESL for example. Totally acknowledge I am 100% in the wrong when I do watch the odd stream from time to time, but **** am I paying the BBC £147 so that I can watch legally while ESL see precisely £0 of that £147. The BBC's model needs to change, and the sooner the better.
I find myself wondering where the line for "live broadcast" lies. So clearly (I mean, I think clearly?) something like watching a sporting event live, or any of the traditional channels' live over the web is in scope. But what if you started an ESL "live" stream for instance, 5 minutes late? It's not live then, and because it's a stream it's not like you're recording the live broadcast and watching it time-shifted (as you would be for "TV"). The only live-ish events I ever watch are NFL, but they're never live-live, always lagged-live (or usually just catch-up, owing to the antisocial hours most games are on) - am I breaking the rules? I don't think I am. Then what about YouTube live streams? Facebook?... Skype?
Completely off-topic, but there was a brilliant and tragically cut-short Channel 4 drama back in the day called Ultraviolet - not to be confused with the comicbook/film franchise of the same name. In the first episode, a character is turned into a vampire and his best friend finds out and confronts him which leads to the following exchange (and the reason for writing this, 'cos it's basically a variant on what you wrote above): "Did they tell you I was evil? It's what the church always says, Mike! Women. Black. Disabled. Gay. Now us. Do you like living in the Middle Ages?" Seriously, everyone should check it out. 's a fantastic programme that never really got a chance to shine. It's got Idris Elba in it, too, from back when you could realistically hire the guy to work on your zero-budget Channel 4 late-night drama.
It will be a cold day in hell when I accept vampires as part of society. Coming here, drinking our blood, taking our jobs, vamping up the place. Send 'em back to where they came from! Just in case this post gets me in trouble in 10 years time when, when vampire intolerance is the a hot topic: I have not and have never had an issue with vampires. This post was intended to taken in a humorous manner and I apologise for any offence it has caused towards vampires, or vampire sympathisers.Anyway, I have a mate that's a vampire, so I can't be vampophobic.
Does it matter any more? The BBC non-live loophole was closed a while back and as far as I know it's never made any difference for anything other than that.
It absolutely does matter, because you need a TV licence to watch live broadcast TV in the UK regardless of the broadcaster - i.e. it's not restricted to just BBC broadcasts.
A horrid grey area, that. I've watched live-lagged stuff (up to 30 mins in some cases) too and wondered where I stood. Even though YouTube live streams (etc) undeniably fall under "live broadcasts" (as Gareth says) it's just so completely out of scope in reality to the point of it being ridiculous. Like I said, I've resorted to openly disregard the law in that case, it's a complete and utter nonsense. Give it 10 years or so, hopefully less, and there'll be a record amount of people not paying for TV licenses and things at the BBC will be very different indeed
Literally just had to pay one today. I dont have my TV connected up to the wall and just stream stuff off YouTube (not iPlayer) and even though I've sent letters and everything else Ive felt obliged to pay for it because they keep inundating me with letters saying they'll fine me. Its beyond a joke.
Quite, and out of touch. "If you watch a programme on a delay" is so ambiguous it could apply to watching anything, ever. Clearly if you're recording it live and then watching it back, that's one thing. When does it magically switch from "on a delay" to "catch-up"? Does it pertain to how you invoke the stream? Does any of this really matter? (No) The "Sky News Live" YouTube channel would clearly fall in scope of "license required" What about a random person with a live vlog? Does it make a difference whether the account is monetised? If I were to set up a youtube channel and live stream me picking my nose, and if you were to watch that, I think you would be in breach? YouTube is explicitly called out as a "TV Service" so I don't see why not. How about if I were to do the same on Facebook? Would it matter if I shared it to public, or friends only? Or just one person? Could I effectively do the exact same thing on Facebook as I would do on YouTube, but viewers would get away with it because it's a "Social Media Service" and not a "TV Service". What about Skype, Webex, FaceTime - does it matter if it's 1:1 or a group? Or because it's not what they call a "TV Service" a get-out? What about when I'm watching my own CCTV live? Am I in trouble? Is a CCTV service a "TV Service", or does the CC bit keep me clean? Eugh, so much stupid... Excuse me while I bang my head against the wall to try to get all of the stupid out. Did you complete a declaration online? I've had one letter confirming that I did the declaration, and telling me all the ways I could end up in trouble, fined, prison camp, executed. I've subsequently had one visit, but no letters. This is the bit about the TV license that riles me the most. I feel like theres a certain mindset and generation that find it completely alien that someone would have a TV and not "Watch TV" - there are some guys I work with that are a bit like this, they mention "Oh did you watch <xyz> at the weekend", I respond "no, <reason why>", and immediately find myself having to explain a completely and utterly foreign concept to them.
The problem is that I have a sodding big TV I inherited from my old flat, that i literally just watch Youtube on when im eating my supper. I really really want to fight this, but I have the ominous feeling I would lose and end up with a fine.
