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Request - Preferably Use SI Units

posted by LaminatorX on Monday February 24 2014, @12:30AM   Printer-friendly
from the How-many-slugs-to-the-stone? dept.

AnonTechie writes:

"I have the following requests to members of this new forum:

1) Please use SI Units wherever possible. Alternative comparative units such as swimming pools, size of Florida, cars, libraries of congress, etc are also welcome ...

2) Please cover tech/science related stories from around the world. Please do not make this a US only website !!

Cheers and best wishes,

AnonTechie"

[ED Note: We as a community welcome submissions from around the world, as befits our international userbase. The Editorial team in particular is looking closely at including voices from outside the U.S. as we continue to grow. As for the units question in particular, stories will certainly arrive with a variety of units depending on the origin of the submission. We encourage, though do not require, submitters to include conversions where appropriate for clarity out of courtesy to your fellow readers. Though we try to use a light touch when making edits to story submissions, Editors may add these from time to time as well, should clarity demand and time permit.

Soylentils, does the current ad-hoc approach meet your needs, or do you favor a more formal approach from your news discussion site?]

 
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  • (Score: 5, Insightful) by PrinceVince on Monday February 24 2014, @01:17AM

    by PrinceVince (2801) on Monday February 24 2014, @01:17AM (#5423)

    If the authors are quoting articles, couldn't they simply add a unit of the other system in parentheses?

    "The rocket stage will orbit the earth at a distance of 5250 miles (8450 km)..."

    Starting Score:    1  point
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  • (Score: 2) by mhajicek on Monday February 24 2014, @05:18AM

    by mhajicek (51) on Monday February 24 2014, @05:18AM (#5568)

    Or in units more familiar, 256 blocks.

    --
    The spacelike surfaces of time foliations can have a cusp at the surface of discontinuity. - P. Hajicek

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 24 2014, @03:13PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 24 2014, @03:13PM (#5856)

      Or in units more familiar, 256 blocks.

      Metric or imperial blocks?

  • (Score: 1) by dbe on Monday February 24 2014, @05:46PM

    by dbe (1422) on Monday February 24 2014, @05:46PM (#5985)

    Actually you could have it implemented as a user parameter.
    It shouldn't be too hard to tag units in each article and then convert them to the user preferred system.
    You could also have a dual mode where the original submission is present, but the user preferred system is in parenthesis?
    Even better, you could maybe select for each type of units (length, weight, time, volume...) your preferred system?
    -dbe

  • (Score: 1) by CluelessMoron on Monday February 24 2014, @08:24PM

    by CluelessMoron (1374) on Monday February 24 2014, @08:24PM (#6134)

    Way back when Canada switched to metric, clueless news reporters constantly wrote gems like this:

    "The victim was found about 3 miles (4828.032 metres) away".

    ...which of course led to people complaining that metric is obviously horribly complicated.