So I'm at the hospital, waiting for my father to have some tests, and I see a poster about an "Online Patient Forum".  Attached to the poster are cards which are just a smaller version of the poster.   Apparently their Online Patient Forum is running on a computer with a really small hard drive. 

  

I tried to reply to your post, but the forum said it was full. 

Does all the text really have a pale outline, or is it just that your camera is "helpfully" trying to "enhance" the picture?

(These haloes and suchlike are painfully common these days.  Most people seem not to notice them, but once you start, you'll see them everywhere.  Particularly on TV.)

Iago:

Does all the text really have a pale outline, or is it just that your camera is "helpfully" trying to "enhance" the picture?

(These haloes and suchlike are painfully common these days.  Most people seem not to notice them, but once you start, you'll see them everywhere.  Particularly on TV.)

Seems this started with TV. It's partially intentional, and partially an artifact of overdriving a CRT. At least in moving photographic video it significantly increases percieved resolution; SDTV, especially on early sets, really looks like crap without it.

Some digital cameras do the same artificial contrast boost to compensate for bad focus, camera shake, and because people generally expect their digital photos to look clearer than these cameras are capable of. But yeah, a way to turn it off would be really nice.

Not a WTF. They aren't talking about a BBS forum (like this one), they are talking about the web equivalent of a physical forum. Basically, where they email you for feedback and you respond to them. Not the kind where everyone just talks. If you actually went to the URL rather than posting it here, you'd know this and wouldn't have bothered posting this non-WTF.

Kyanar:

they are talking about the web equivalent of a physical forum.

Huh?  WTF does that mean?

Basically, where they email you for feedback and you respond to them. Not the kind where everyone just talks. .

  Yes, this is true.  If you go to the URL it says:

"Forum members will be contacted via email about once or twice a month and asked to complete short online surveys on a variety of topics"

OK.  But how does that translate into "sign up now -- space is limited"?  Not to mention they seem to have an odd definiton of  "Forum".

 You do know the word Forum is older than the Internet, right? It applies to a place where people gather to discuss things. If you still don't see the relevance, you're banned from life.

But the woodentableshot says "Online Patient Forum". Then it turns out you just sign up to receive emails that link to online surveys, which is a bit of a stretch on the meaning of forum - a public meeting/discussion, or the place where that happens.

My guess is that the piece of paper on which the email addresses are hand written is limited in space.

No. It's limited because they don't want an indefinite result set. And also because it's a marketting trick to get people to sign up.

 And they only want results from actual patients, so they need to pay someone to screen everybody who signs up. 

joemck:

Seems this started with TV. It's partially intentional, and partially an artifact of overdriving a CRT. At least in moving photographic video it significantly increases percieved resolution; SDTV, especially on early sets, really looks like crap without it.

This is "unsharp mask" image sharpening, not CRT overdriving. Crap. You want to disable it always.

Kyanar:

They aren't talking about a BBS forum (like this one)

This is not a BBS. Those you access through telnet or similar text-based protocols.

These are BBS-inspired web interfaces, much like the BBS itself was inspired by the "Bulletin Boards" on university campus grounds. BBS actually means "Bulletin Board System".

alegr:

joemck:

Seems this started with TV. It's partially intentional, and partially an artifact of overdriving a CRT. At least in moving photographic video it significantly increases percieved resolution; SDTV, especially on early sets, really looks like crap without it.

This is "unsharp mask" image sharpening, not CRT overdriving. Crap. You want to disable it always.

Careful use of unsharp masking will make an image look much better than it otherwise would. The problem is that people, especially those in the marketing department, think that if a little is good, a lot is better.

danixdefcon5:

Kyanar:

They aren't talking about a BBS forum (like this one)

This is not a BBS. Those you access through telnet or similar text-based protocols.

These are BBS-inspired web interfaces, much like the BBS itself was inspired by the "Bulletin Boards" on university campus grounds. BBS actually means "Bulletin Board System".

Being slightly pedantic, but online forums are essentially bulletin boards. You post things, other people post things. Bulletin boards existed long before Fidonet, ISP shell accounts, and telnet. And online forums meet the effective description of a bulletin board