Fun_People Archive
4 Dec
Visit our Website!

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From: Peter Langston <psl>
Date: Thu,  4 Dec 97 12:35:28 -0800
To: Fun_People
Precedence: bulk
Subject: Visit our Website!

Forwarded-by: Nev Dull <nev@bostic.com>
Forwarded-by: glen mccready <glen@qnx.com>
Forwarded-by: Danny O'Brien <danny@spesh.com>
Forwarded-by: JonesM10@online.tc.bbc.co.uk (Matt Jones-ONLINE)
From: Dave Brewer-ONLINE

This happened last Tuesday November 19th.
==========================================================================

An elderly couple from Portsmouth on the South Coast of England read on
Ceefax (the BBC's TV teletext service - which is basically the news in text
on the TV screen) that the BBC's Monitoring Unit at Caversham had a Web
Site.

The Monitoring Unit is where the BBC listens in to radio broadcasts
worldwide and writes transcripts of what is said for our new service and
for its own Website - the material is also used on our Website -
http://bbcnews.org/ in a section called 'Monitoring'.

So the couple got into their car and drove the 45 miles to Caversham.  They
followed the signs to the BBC and found themselves at the Reading office of
the BBC's local radio station 'Thames Valley FM' where reporter Roger Stamp
met them.

According to Roger they were; "a little confused but friendly".   The couple
said; "Hello we have come to see the Website, we read about it on CEEFAX
where it says visit the BBC Website and I'm wondering if this is the right
place and if you are open for a visit".  Roger made them a cup of tea,
explained what a Website was and showed them round his radio station.

"They obviously did not understand that Websites are not physical structures
and thought rthat he had to go where the Website was located.
 I told him that he would have to find a computer and that Websites were
electronic and not things you could touch," he said.

The total round-trip journey would have been almost 100 miles.

==========================================================================

Dave Brewer
UK Editor BBC News Online

© 1997 Peter Langston