# MH370 time since missing ticker - tactless and insensitive or not? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 20, 2014, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mh370-time-since-missing-ticker-tactless-and-insensitive-or-not/684150 "2014-03-20T13:02:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2014, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mh370-time-since-missing-ticker-tactless-and-insensitive-or-not/684150/1 "2014-03-20T13:02:08Z")
> **[news.com.au — Australia’s leading news site](https://www.news.com.au/)** > > news.com.au — Australia’s leading news site At the above link about halfway down the page is a banner with the running time to the second since MH370 went missing. This seems pretty insensitive and tactless to me. I’m sure the people who care the most about the missing airliner, ie the relatives of those on board, can work out the time without having it presented to them in that way. The rest of us can to. What say you? Tactless or acceptable? Screenshot, hopefully, [Dropbox - Screenshot 2014-03-20 23.33.26.png - Simplify your life](https://www.dropbox.com/s/aldqikyz2mwggke/Screenshot%202014-03-20%2023.33.26.png) ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2014, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mh370-time-since-missing-ticker-tactless-and-insensitive-or-not/684150/2 "2014-03-20T17:21:51Z")
I voted “Other”. I could see how it could be viewed as tactless, or could be viewed as keeping the issue alive so no one forgets. It strikes me as a cheap way for the news outlet to generate views. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2014, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mh370-time-since-missing-ticker-tactless-and-insensitive-or-not/684150/3 "2014-03-20T17:24:46Z")
It’s mostly just stupid, but I voted for tactless because it’s not a race and the number of hours and minutes (and seconds!) the plane has been missing isn’t of any particular import. Counting the days will do just fine. CNN does this kind of meaningless countdown stuff all the time, but I don’t know if they’re doing it for MH370 since I quit watching them about a year ago. ---
**Author:** ![GusNSpot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gusnspot/32/436_2.png) [@GusNSpot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GusNSpot)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2014, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mh370-time-since-missing-ticker-tactless-and-insensitive-or-not/684150/4 "2014-03-20T17:29:35Z")
> [@Doctor\_Jackson](#): > > I voted “Other”. I could see how it could be viewed as tactless, or could be viewed as keeping the issue alive so no one forgets. It strikes me as a cheap way for the news outlet to generate views. I went just for **DJ** ’s “could be viewed as keeping the issue alive so no one forgets” because I deplore people’s & media’s short attention spans or the thinking that some silliness is worth the front page so to speak. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Doom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/0ea827/32.png) [@Dr\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Doom)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2014, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mh370-time-since-missing-ticker-tactless-and-insensitive-or-not/684150/5 "2014-03-20T17:35:00Z")
Voted “Not”. It at least seems tasteful ie not all flashy/sensational with colour or graphics. It’s an important story, and that’s a pretty sensible way for people to be reminded not only of the plane still missing, but of how long it’s been. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2014, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mh370-time-since-missing-ticker-tactless-and-insensitive-or-not/684150/6 "2014-03-20T17:36:37Z")
> [@Dr\_Doom](#): > > It at least seems tasteful ie not all flashy/sensational with colour or graphics. Hooray for lower-than-dirt expectations. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Doom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/0ea827/32.png) [@Dr\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Doom)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2014, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mh370-time-since-missing-ticker-tactless-and-insensitive-or-not/684150/7 "2014-03-20T18:01:58Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > Hooray for lower-than-dirt expectations. I have never once been disappointed. 15820 Days, 13 hours, 27 minutes, 56 seconds and counting! ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2014, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mh370-time-since-missing-ticker-tactless-and-insensitive-or-not/684150/8 "2014-03-20T20:28:35Z")
Tactless is too strong. It might be a bit overstated, but telling people about things that don’t affect their lives personally is what news organizations do. If we went by the logic that only those who have lost loved ones count, then why bring it up at all? ---
**Author:** ![Calatin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/439d5e/32.png) [@Calatin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Calatin)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2014, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mh370-time-since-missing-ticker-tactless-and-insensitive-or-not/684150/9 "2014-03-20T20:58:38Z")
I agree with **Marley23** in that I find the inclusion of hours, minutes, and seconds to be unnecessary. I remember during the whole “government shutdown”, CNN had a counter going so far as hours, IIRC, and then after the shutdown occurred, it was how many days had passed. I’d be fine w/ a counter updated daily. In a conversation, I could see myself saying “I can’t believe it’s been missing for 8 days.” I can’t see myself saying “I can’t believe it’s been gone for 8 days and 7 hours. 7 hours! Can you believe it?!” ---
**Author:** ![ratatoskK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ratatoskk/32/2987_2.png) [@ratatoskK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ratatoskK)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2014, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mh370-time-since-missing-ticker-tactless-and-insensitive-or-not/684150/10 "2014-03-21T12:00:41Z")
It’s not tactless, it’s just kind of stupid. ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2014, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mh370-time-since-missing-ticker-tactless-and-insensitive-or-not/684150/11 "2014-03-21T12:44:45Z")
Yeah, that. I hope the families aren’t watching the news. I know if I had a loved one go missing (or, indeed, any other kind of public tragedy) I’d be wary about viewing any news source that hadn’t first been vetted by a trusted friend. ---
**Author:** ![Cazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cazzle/32/75_2.png) [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2014, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mh370-time-since-missing-ticker-tactless-and-insensitive-or-not/684150/12 "2014-03-21T12:51:52Z")
It’s a Murdoch publication. Tacky is all they know. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2014, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mh370-time-since-missing-ticker-tactless-and-insensitive-or-not/684150/13 "2014-03-21T13:21:42Z")
I voted Not, but I get the points being made. It’s been 28,022 days since Amelia Earhart went missing. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Kobayashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4af34b/32.png) [@Mr.Kobayashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Kobayashi)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2014, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mh370-time-since-missing-ticker-tactless-and-insensitive-or-not/684150/14 "2014-03-21T13:34:25Z")
I see your counter and I raise you a British tabloid [reporting the plane has been found](http://i1.ytimg.com/vi/izZDf2JMzAw/maxresdefault.jpg)…on the moon, after being hijacked by aliens. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2014, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mh370-time-since-missing-ticker-tactless-and-insensitive-or-not/684150/15 "2014-03-21T14:28:02Z")
> [@Calatin](#): > > I agree with **Marley23** in that I find the inclusion of hours, minutes, and seconds to be unnecessary. I remember during the whole “government shutdown”, CNN had a counter going so far as hours, IIRC, and then after the shutdown occurred, it was how many days had passed. I heard last night that they had a countdown going in the opposite direction - time left until the transponders shut off, which we also can’t know precisely because we don’t know when they went on. We can guess, but you don’t guess to the minute and the second. This is the same network that, if the president is going to speak at 11 a.m., will give you a countdown showing how many minutes and seconds are left until precisely 11 a.m. - as if the White House was telling us the president will start speaking at 11 on the dot. It’s a ballpark figure and everybody knows it; these speeches are always 5 to 10 minutes later or more. ---
**Author:** ![Peanuthead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peanuthead/32/360_2.png) [@Peanuthead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peanuthead)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2014, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mh370-time-since-missing-ticker-tactless-and-insensitive-or-not/684150/16 "2014-03-21T14:43:53Z")
Looks like an advertising banner that I normally just skim over and it would have been overlooked had I not been seeking it out. But it does seem tacky to me. Reminds me of an office pool. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2014, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mh370-time-since-missing-ticker-tactless-and-insensitive-or-not/684150/17 "2014-03-21T15:20:34Z")
I’m not sure the OP is using the word “tactless” correctly. Tactless is when you ask someone on overly direct question without caring how they might react to it. The website in question is just obnoxious. ---
**Author:** ![nevadaexile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb8c5e/32.png) [@nevadaexile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nevadaexile)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2014, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mh370-time-since-missing-ticker-tactless-and-insensitive-or-not/684150/18 "2014-03-21T15:26:14Z")
Voted Not. “Tactless” would be: [ol] [li]Showing the Tom Hanks film, **Castaway** [/li][li]Interviewing Tom Hanks about the incident[/li][li]“Recreating” what might have happened by using a plastic model of the plane and a large water tank representing the ocean.[/li][li]Flying the familes down to Australia to wait for any word and then filming their reactions while they wait.[/li][li]Interviewing a plane crash survivor to see if they have any “insight” into this situation.[/li][/ol] ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2014, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mh370-time-since-missing-ticker-tactless-and-insensitive-or-not/684150/19 "2014-03-21T16:20:32Z")
I don’t think it’s tactless at all. It calls attention to the fact that we have thousands of aluminum cylinders streaking through the sky every day, many with hundreds of people on board, and even with all the technology we have it’s still possible to lose one and not know within 1,000 miles where it is. ---
**Author:** ![GusNSpot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gusnspot/32/436_2.png) [@GusNSpot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GusNSpot)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2014, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mh370-time-since-missing-ticker-tactless-and-insensitive-or-not/684150/20 "2014-03-21T16:36:42Z")
And historically, crossing oceans has always be a bit of a higher risk than other travels. Even unto today. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mh370-time-since-missing-ticker-tactless-and-insensitive-or-not/684150.md?page=2)