10% of americans think that HTML is an STD,.. obviously.
 

Could be worse ....
it could be 90%

or the 55% that think that scientists are in a 50/50 split on global warming and not a 3/97
( thank you FOX )

This thread title is a bit misleading as was the article. It showed 10% of Americans with email responded with such ignorance. I can only imagine what the actual percentage numbers are that would include those that won't get near a computer. Apparently, the survey team was at a loss to find any representatives from The Pony Express.

"There are lies, damned lies, and ... surveys." :D
-- (not quite) Mark Twain

HTML is only a disease when one is discussing truly-diseased things ... like, say, Internet Explorer.

Not sure a person would need to know what hypertext markup language is. Very little call for one to use it just to answer an email.

They should be more aware of how to prevent STD's.


You never know about studies. I was involved with an employee survey that would re-write questions until the desired percentage was achieved. If you word stuff one way you get different results.

It's always a mistake to rely on internet polls which use voluntary responders. Only those who want to do the poll give answers, and those answers can be skewed. If I had seen and responded to that poll, with those choices, I might well have been tempted to select the most outlandish choices just for giggles. And I'd be willing to bet that a generous percentage of the responders did just that.

It seems to me the key word there is "rely" as regards weighting. I'm confidant studies have been made that allow for what percentages are likely to answer dishonestly for giggles, and have algorithms to account for some of that. In this case, as the previous poster pointed out there isn't a compelling reason for the average technology user to know what HTML stands for. OTOH more should recognize it is NOT an STD, but even here I'm still betting the actual percentage of the populace that doesn't know what HTML stands for is way higher than 10%.

Maybe my viewpoint is skewed but I am sadly amazed at how many of the people I see when working in an office workstation environment don't even know what "right-click" means.

Of course, the funny thing about this is that most people actually write their emails in HTML-mode, without even realizing it. Seems to be the default setting in most email clients. Not sure whether this is the case with webmail (gmail, yahoo, etc.), as I don't use webmail.

i disable that in gmail
i hate the fancy text and colors
and if it is a notice from say
http://www.itworld.com/
or
http://www.thinkgeek.com/

i can turn it on for that

:)
They wouldn't know a flux capacitor if it hit them in the face?

I got a html once, because being gay is a sin, and they are taking away my freedoms.

Ooops, better put the coffee away and turn the idiot box off.

How many drivers know what the PVC in "PVC valve" means?

You don't have to be a technician to drive the car.

I think you meant PCV valve, Positive Crankcase Ventilation, since PVC is Poly Vinyl Chloride and might melt if near an exhaust port. :P although I suspect you did that on purpose for the irony and devious fun of it :D

Indeed. You get PCV valves at an auto parts store. For PVC valves, you want a plumbing store.

I really don't think any grill-survey without the "I don't know" answer can reach such results..

To be fair, if they don't know, they don't know.. putting other words in their mouth and then bashing them for those isn't quite ethical in my mind..

[blush] Sorry for the spelling fail!

And you can't get PCBs anywhere.

I agree too. Just because a person is not tech savvy doesn't mean they're stupid, they just don''t have any interest in technology or computer/network terms. If I took the survey I would pass because I've been a computer hobbyist for many years.

If I took a survey on science and chemistry I would failed miserably because I have no interest in that subject.

While I agree with previous comments about the unreliability of email (and other) surveys, I don't see what the problem is with people knowing that HTML is a STD. Last time I checked, it certainly was a standard. It may be violated by certain companies, and come in different versions, but it is still a standard, and a published one at that.

*mutters about TLA shortage*

Catching HTML5 is worse. It's resistant to ALL antibiotics. It's God's punishment for using Linux.
Repent!!! Switch to Windows, and it's gone in a Flash.

So many subliminal messages in

that post. I must resist. Arrrrgh.

You're incorrigible. :)

Who took this survey, windows users! Can't be from Linux users because we are more computer literate :D:D:D

It turns out USA is not the only member in club. Happens around the world aswell. Fewer than half of young UK adults know butter comes from a dairy cow and a third do not know eggs come from hens, according to a survey.

If the responders took that survey seriously then it's pretty scary, though I couldn't help thinking that those who thought eggs come from wheat or maize were right - hens can and do eat both types of grain.