Quiz: Are these writers complaining about 21st-century e-scooters, or 19th-century velocipedes?

[frauenfelder]

Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2018/09/11/quiz-are-these-writers-compla.html

…

[TobinL]

[casual_economy]

Sure, they’re similar until you examine how bird lime and scoot or whatever are all reliant on funding from destructive wall street monopoly money, that the essentially landfill-bound product is manufactured by slave-wage labor in the third world, and that the entire model relies on gig-economy exploitation in the form of retrieving and charging the items…etc etc

[Spinkter]

You don’t have to go 15 mph when you use a scooter. They do go slower. I used one the other day, and I rode it at approximately 3 mph – walking speed.

I’m sorry to say that I did get angry glares, though. From other scooter riders trying to get past me.

[jandrese]

Sad when the giveaway is that the old time writers referred to the riders as gentlemen. Our current age is not as civil.

[anon32019413]

Really the complaint isn’t about technology, it’s about people who use technology rudely.

[IronEdithKidd]

Plus, the damned things just show up. We had a pile of them magically appear in Ann Arbor on Friday last. Turns out there’s no legal place for this contraption to operate in the state of Michigan. They have motors, so you can’t ride them on the sidewalk or in bike lanes, but they don’t have the reflectors/lights/license plate necessary to operate as a “motor vehicle” on the roadway.

[jandrese]

Nobody calls hipsters “gentlemen” except for the guys cosplaying in steampunk outfits.

[ycleptShawn]

I scored 4/10. I’d like to say it was wholly because I was not taking it seriously. But the only ones I got right were the ones with old timey language.

[MaiqTheLiar]

I’m sorry jandrese, this was intended as a general comment.

[MaiqTheLiar]

ANYONE living in Florida is eligible for “gentleman” status on a moments notice.
Although, perhaps a gender neutralized language adjustment is in order.
How about “gentle-person?”

[Mindysan33]

Obligatory (link to Hark a Vagrant comic)

[udqbpn]

Gentleman extracts sixth toilet snake in four years

Gentleman regrets touching elephant's trunk

Gentleman shoplifts a drink right before inquiring about a job there

Gentleman who "snatched" ball meant for kid at game was actually a good guy

Gentleman has difficulty destroying an anti-fascism sign

Gentleman has a few too many scooters piled in his car

and
https://www.google.com/search?q=boingboing+gentleman&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-b-1-ab
Feel better now?

[Auld_Lang_Syne]

@MaiqTheLiar

How about “gentle-person?”

“Gentle-being” has always sounded nice to me.

[knoxblox]

Just for the record, e-velocipedes exist now. I saw one in a shop window here in Tijuana. Normal-sized front wheel, a caster-sized rear wheel, and a battery pack.

[jhbadger]

I have a strong feeling that twenty years or so when augmented reality glasses are more practical and less dorky that nobody will understand why people using the first version were derided as “Glassholes”.

[Brainspore]

@Spinkter

I used one the other day, and I rode it at approximately 3 mph – walking speed.

I’m not sure I see the point there unless you have physical mobility issues.

[apoxia]

Was it a Yike Bike? http://www.leftfieldbikes.com/wp-content/uploads/yikebike_v_poster.jpg

[ugh]

So here I go clicking this link, thinking it’s probably some bullshit BuzzFeed quiz, but no, it’s the Washington Post (I read the post quickly, don’t blame me), and now I’ve just wasted a portion of my free article allotment. Oh well, I got 7/10.

[Numb_Thumb_Hero]

Omg! Lol where is your sense of whimsy!? They may be less than popular but if i was in the parking lot at work or something and someone had one id put around a few laps!