# handy's drive-by posting: just stop already! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [August 29, 2001, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handys-drive-by-posting-just-stop-already/78630 "2001-08-29T00:09:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![BoBettie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4af34b/32.png) [@BoBettie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BoBettie)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2001, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handys-drive-by-posting-just-stop-already/78630/121 "2001-11-21T15:28:54Z")
I scream, you scream, we all scream for Ice Cream!!! Huzza! Just one question, IceCream- does “buttnuggett” have an ASL sign? I would LOVE to see it, personally. Thank you for being the voice of experienced reason. Zette ---
**Author:** ![Smashed\_Ice\_Cream](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Smashed\_Ice\_Cream](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smashed_Ice_Cream)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2001, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handys-drive-by-posting-just-stop-already/78630/122 "2001-11-21T19:22:13Z")
Whoopssssssssss I just re-read this entire thread and noticed that **Robby** already pointed out the ‘late deafened adult’ statement by handy, so sorry about the redundancy there… **samclem** , thanks. I try VERY HARD to make sure things I write are at least grammatically correct, bonus points for me if they have a valid point, as well. There is a huge difference, however, in using the language correctly and following basic, human social skills while using the lanugage such as “keep to the point at hand and don’t be ignorant for ignorance’s sake.” **jazzmine** , I’d post it anywhere if I saw the opportunity. I don’t mention my deafness a lot (don’t feel the need to) in MPSIMS, where I generally post, but I’d be quite happy to point out that not all deafs hold the same beliefs/mannerisms/whatever when it comes to behavior. **Zette** hehhhehehhahhahhahahhah. Doubt there’s a sign for that one. I ask my professor-at-gallaudet (deaf college in DC) friend when I need to know a new sign. Most new ASL signs start there (yes, it’s an evolving language, same as any, but I better not hijack this thread any farther.) sic ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2001, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handys-drive-by-posting-just-stop-already/78630/123 "2001-11-21T22:08:49Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Xploder \* > \*\*[Mine too.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=99965) \*\* This sort of thing is what irritates me the most about handy. The thread is chugging along nicely, and then handy throws out some crappy info, and someone (sometimes several people) come along and correct him, thus diverting the thread and making the whole thing longer and more painful than it has to be. I would love it if the threads in GQ – especially the computer-related ones – could be free of this “oops, handy just said something ELSE misleading, better correct him again” stuff. Maybe we can put a disclaimer about handy in the FAQ or something. ---
**Author:** ![Helen\_s\_Eidolon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Helen\_s\_Eidolon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helen_s_Eidolon)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2001, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handys-drive-by-posting-just-stop-already/78630/124 "2001-11-21T22:21:11Z")
**Ice Cream** , let me be another person to thank you. While I am not deaf, and don’t know anyone IRL who is, I was absolutely sure that not all deaf people act like **handy** does. He seems able to construct proper sentences, just too lazy too. And a hearing diability doesn’t affect your intellect, and certainly wounldn’t justify such a posting style. ---
**Author:** ![Esprix](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/esprix/32/7899_2.png) [@Esprix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Esprix)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2001, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handys-drive-by-posting-just-stop-already/78630/125 "2001-11-21T22:45:18Z")
My ex went to Gaullidet. (Oh, I’m sorry - that had nothing to do with **handy**. Um, he’s a weenie!) Esprix ---
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2001, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handys-drive-by-posting-just-stop-already/78630/126 "2001-11-21T23:44:58Z")
“handy” is a word that evidently means something in German. If any of you would have bothered to do a search on it at google, you would know that the first site that comes up and several after are German. Handy also means dexterous. Handyboard is a card for mobile robotics work. And none of you have said what OS handy works under. I can’t be expected to give you an answer without knowing his OS Fenris ---
**Author:** ![Francesca](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/9fc348/32.png) [@Francesca](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Francesca)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2001, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handys-drive-by-posting-just-stop-already/78630/127 "2001-11-22T00:44:16Z")
Just a brief note to say that while **Smashed Ice Cream** ’s grammar and spelling is fantastically good (and therefore, paradoxically, nothing to get excited about ;)[sub]Pleased to meet you, by the way[/sub]), it is true that with older Deaf people it may be worth overlooking grammatical errors. As I’ve mentioned before, both of my parents are Deaf and have been since birth. Their primary language is BritishSL and their written English isn’t terribly good due to the fact the BSL has a different grammatical structure to the spoken English language. This doesn’t mean that what they have to say isn’t worth listening to - both parents have post-graduate qualifications that resulted not from thier success at mastering English grammar but rather from their perserverance and intelligence (Can you tell I’m proud ;)). For example, someone speaking in sign language may say : “Name yours what?” instead of “What’s your name?” This doesn’t mean a lack of intelligence, it means that their usual way of constructing a sentence is different. Deafness from birth _can_ be a reason for not having perfect grammar and therefore for not writing in perfect grammatical sentences. Newer generations have access to closed captioning, Gaullaudet university and the net. Many older deaf generations didn’t/don’t have this access. I suspect that I don’t need to point this out to you, SIC, but I’m guessing that you’d understand when a point needs to be made. Handy didn’t go to Gaullaudet and he’s not representative of the emergence of deaf culture in recent years. I think most people here understand this and take his posts not in the context of “Deaf Person’s Post” but rather in the context of “Handy’s Post”. He may play up the Deaf aspect from time to time, but I suspect that most people’s complaints about him stem not from the fact the he occasionally gets his grammar wrong but rather that he hits-and-runs with misinformed and ill-educated snippits for which he frequently provides no cites. It’s irritating and I join you in the not-all-deaf-people-are-like-that stance 😉 Fran ---
**Author:** ![Esprix](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/esprix/32/7899_2.png) [@Esprix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Esprix)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2001, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handys-drive-by-posting-just-stop-already/78630/128 "2001-11-22T01:28:39Z")
**Francesca** , your parents are deaf? How on earth do they understand your charming fiance, **AlexB** , Mr. Mumbles himself? Hell, he was speaking English at Dopetoberfest and _nobody_ could understand the little guy! 😃 Esprix ---
**Author:** ![omni-not](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8dc957/32.png) [@omni-not](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/omni-not)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2001, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handys-drive-by-posting-just-stop-already/78630/129 "2001-11-22T01:30:36Z")
Up comes a breath of fresh in the person of Smashy. ---
**Author:** ![BoBettie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4af34b/32.png) [@BoBettie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BoBettie)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2001, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handys-drive-by-posting-just-stop-already/78630/130 "2001-11-22T01:45:16Z")
I like Smashed Ice Cream. Hooray for cool new posters! Ummm…when you find out that “buttnugget” sign, please post it for us, with helpful diagrams, if possible. I am interested for research purposes only, and would probably never actually use it on anyone. (HA! OK…I probably would.) Zette ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2001, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handys-drive-by-posting-just-stop-already/78630/131 "2001-11-22T13:57:31Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Fenris \* > **"handy" is a word that evidently means something in German. If any of you would have bothered to do a search on it at google, you would know that the first site that comes up and several after are German.** I’ve heard, and the [websites](http://www.handy.de/shop/shopHandysGallery.php?) seem to support this, that “handy” is the German term for a mobile phone. Any comparison between “handies” and **handy** is left as an exercise for the reader. ---
**Author:** ![TwistofFate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cdc98d/32.png) [@TwistofFate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TwistofFate)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2001, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handys-drive-by-posting-just-stop-already/78630/132 "2001-11-22T14:06:40Z")
I don’t think Handy’s grammatical errors (because I make so many myself)are the problem. Its that he skims through an OP, ignores other posts, and then fires off an answer unsupported by cites (when required). That is annoying. ---
**Author:** ![London\_Calling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@London\_Calling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/London_Calling)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2001, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handys-drive-by-posting-just-stop-already/78630/133 "2001-11-22T14:15:12Z")
\*\* Francesca\*\* – If you see this and get a chance, would you expel a little ignorance and explain to me how the telephone thing works for the deaf. I think you mentioned something about it before and it’s been troubling me ever since. Cheers. ---
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2001, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handys-drive-by-posting-just-stop-already/78630/134 "2001-11-22T14:27:33Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by jr8 \* > **I’ve heard, and the [websites](http://www.handy.de/shop/shopHandysGallery.php?) seem to support this, that “handy” is the German term for a mobile phone.** I checked with my dad on this (he speaks German fluently) and he agrees with you. Mobile phones are interesting though. Had you checked on Google you would have known that [Nokia](http://www.nokia.com/main.html) makes moblie phones. As you have not told me what OS your mobile phone works under, I cannot answer your question better than that. Fenris ---
**Author:** ![Francesca](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/9fc348/32.png) [@Francesca](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Francesca)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2001, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handys-drive-by-posting-just-stop-already/78630/135 "2001-11-22T18:31:55Z")
**Esprix** - they don’t, they just smile and nod 😉 (In truth, they manage just fine. Alex has learnt some sign language and I’m always there for back-up support.) **London\_Calling** - There are two ways for deaf people in the UK to communicate by phone - minicoms and the Typetalk service. Most deaf people have minicoms and flashing lights for when the phones ring. In our house, the phone and doorbell are connected to the lights all over the house so they flash whenever the phone and doorbel ring. Minicoms are devices with a small display panel, a keyboard and a cradle to put the phone handset onto. When making and receiving a call, the handset goes in a cradle and then you type in whatever you want to say (Ending with GA (Go Ahead) to indicate that you’ve finished talking for now). The minicom at the other end displays what you’ve typed and the other person types back, and so on back and forth. I’m not sure how it works but I would imagine it’s to do with the sound frequencies made when you type. The main disadvantage to minicoms is obviously that both the caller and the callee have to have minicoms. To get around this, there exists a service called Typetalk which acts as an intermediary. You call Typetalk’s number (free, but you have to set up an account) and the typetalk person takes the number of whoever you want to call, and then calls them for you, interpreting your typing for the hearing person, or your speaking into typing for the deaf person. It can be a bit laborious, especially if you’re just calling home to tell your dad to come and pick you up at the station (This is why we have a special signal - I call, let it ring three times and then hang up, and he knows I’m at the station and comes and gets me). But typetalk is an immensly useful service both for businesses with deaf customers and for deaf people who don’t have a useful hearing daughter to make all their phone calls for them. Hope this is what you were wondering about. Any other questions, feel free to ask. Fran ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2001, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handys-drive-by-posting-just-stop-already/78630/136 "2001-11-22T18:59:08Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Fenris \* > \*\* > > I checked with my dad on this (he speaks German fluently) and he agrees with you. > > Mobile phones are interesting though. Had you checked on Google you would have known that [Nokia](http://www.nokia.com/main.html) makes moblie phones. > > As you have not told me what OS your mobile phone works under, I cannot answer your question better than that. > > Fenris \*\* I think what you need is a PDA, not a mobile phone. They make [PDA/Phones](http://www.maximumpc.com) but they are very heavy. Perhaps a [Visor Handspring](http://www.palm.com) with phone attachment. You can get them cheaply on ebay. If you ever looked. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2001, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handys-drive-by-posting-just-stop-already/78630/137 "2001-11-22T20:15:54Z")
Francesca: Turn your parents on to [http://www.signwriting.org](http://www.signwriting.org). They might like a chance to send email in BSL instead of glossed into English. ---
**Author:** ![Francesca](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/9fc348/32.png) [@Francesca](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Francesca)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2001, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handys-drive-by-posting-just-stop-already/78630/138 "2001-11-22T20:35:13Z")
Many thanks for an interesting site **Monty** , but it appears the signs and lessons are based on ASL, which is very different to BSL. My parents do send lots of emails, but since they’re mostly to friends they’re written in BSL grammar anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2001, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handys-drive-by-posting-just-stop-already/78630/139 "2001-11-22T21:03:40Z")
Francesca: Dig a tad deeper into the site and you’ll see that the movement writing symbols are used for _any_ signed language. Even one of the Saudi royal family uses it for Arabic Sign Language. ---
**Author:** ![Francesca](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/9fc348/32.png) [@Francesca](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Francesca)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2001, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handys-drive-by-posting-just-stop-already/78630/140 "2001-11-22T21:24:29Z")
I did have a good read through, and the [page](http://www.signwriting.org/lessons/lessons.html) on how to learn signwriting seems to be aimed at ASL users. Have I missed a bit? In any case, learning signwriting and then convincing all your friends to learn it too might seem like an awful lot of effort for the sake of convenience 😉 Again, many thanks for the thought. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handys-drive-by-posting-just-stop-already/78630.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handys-drive-by-posting-just-stop-already/78630.md?page=8)