Internet Culture Makes Formerly Fine License Plate Obscene

from the way-to-go,-internet dept

Mon, Aug 7th 2006 12:57am — Mike Masnick

For many years, of course, it's been common for internet users to make use of various shortcuts or acronyms to make common phrases much faster to type. While this "txt" speak may not harm anyone's grammar skills it has certainly introduced some new "words" into every day use. As submitted by Jon, it seems that's a problem for the 74-year-old woman in Ohio who had the vanity license plate: NWTF. To her, it meant "NorthWood Tree Farm," the business she owns. Apparently the youngsters at the motor vehicle bureau identified it more closely with internet usage of "wtf," usually meaning "what the f***." The N presents a bit of a problem, as it doesn't appear that many people use "nwtf," so the motor vehicle bureau just tacked on a "now" before the wtf -- and then rejected her renewal application for the license plate she's had for about a decade, telling her it broke the rules for obscenity on vanity plates. Of course, the folks at the National Wild Turkey Federation may have a thing or two to say about that.

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45 Comments

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Reid Leake, 7 Aug 2006 @ 1:44am

NWTF?
Great - NWTF am I supposed to do?
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Louis, 7 Aug 2006 @ 1:46am

First Post
A phrase springs to mind... oh yes...

wtf?
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Louis, 7 Aug 2006 @ 1:46am

Aargh
Scratch the First post bit

WTF!
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Banditofnovernetold, 7 Aug 2006 @ 1:57am

doesnt motor vehicals have anything better to do???
Now wtf are they going to do when someone wants a license plate stating wwjd?
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- Anonymous Coward, 7 Aug 2006 @ 2:46am
  
  Re:
  Yeah, WTFWJD?
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Wolfger, 7 Aug 2006 @ 2:31am

NWTF???
Since when did an acronym become obscenity? Attention all custom plate seekers: the following letters shall no longer be permitted:
A, B, C, D, F, G, H, J, N, P, S, T.

(I know... probably all 26 letters have swear words associated with them. That's all I could come up with on short notice at 5 AM)
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Anonymous Coward, 7 Aug 2006 @ 2:32am

....turkeys alright...
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Andrew Strasser, 7 Aug 2006 @ 2:39am

HAHA!
yeh NWTF???
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Anonymous Coward, 7 Aug 2006 @ 2:51am

Does anyone else find it funny that her last name is Nip(p)le?
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Myself, 7 Aug 2006 @ 3:59am

Ha! I predicted this!
Except my plan was to plate-squat on words and acronyms that I predicted would become vulgar in a few years, even to the point of "seeding" them in the public consciousness (bribing TV producers, etc) to hasten the change.

Why? Just for fun...
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Anonymous Coward, 7 Aug 2006 @ 4:57am

so start seeding. what other acronyms you got?
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Fun Guy, 7 Aug 2006 @ 5:14am

Lets make the number one (1) obscene. We can start using it over the internet as txt speek for the finger.

IMGuyA: NWTF r u gonna do about it?

IMGuyB: 1

IMGuyA: O NO U DIDN"T!!
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Mau, 7 Aug 2006 @ 5:57am

She should have 'NIPLE' as her License Plate...
Then I SOOOOO want to see the DMV tell her that they can't do that because her last name is obscene!!!!

Then she could definitely get away with her NWTF.

WTF!!!!
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Ryan, 7 Aug 2006 @ 6:04am

"so start seeding. what other acronyms you got?" ... I Got a Bunch here: www.noslang.com
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s, 7 Aug 2006 @ 6:16am

only solution
FTW
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John Galt, 7 Aug 2006 @ 6:37am

Typical GovThink
So typical of government-think... mental midgets trying to control our lives. NWTF does our US Constitution say? Oh yeah, something about freedom of speech. (doh!)
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Rush, 7 Aug 2006 @ 6:53am

Bigger Government Anyone?
Let's see ... isn't Ohio the state the Kerry moonbats claim Kerry actually won?

Love those Democrats!!
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- Anonymous Coward, 7 Aug 2006 @ 7:05am
  
  Re: Bigger Government Anyone?
  yeah, they may claim kerry won, but look what happened with a bush state.
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  - DittoBox, 7 Aug 2006 @ 8:57am
    
    Re: Re: Bigger Government Anyone?
    Screwed royally either way. Too bad there aren't other parties...oh, wait, there are!
    
    I just wish more people actually realised how bad the current goons are.
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heavyw8t, 7 Aug 2006 @ 7:13am

WTF?
The can KMA!
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chris (profile), 7 Aug 2006 @ 7:19am

GET OFF MY LAWN!
you crazy kids with your internets!!
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MD, 7 Aug 2006 @ 7:45am

Plates
No one complains about the "FUQ 2EH" on Canadian plates...
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Brad, 7 Aug 2006 @ 7:46am

A friend of mine...
has a plate that reads "3475H17"
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- Anonymous Coward, 7 Aug 2006 @ 7:56am
  
  Re: A friend of mine...
  can someone please explain what this means?
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  - Anonymous Coward, 7 Aug 2006 @ 8:03am
    
    Re: Re: A friend of mine...
    3=e
    4=a
    7=t
    5=s
    
    I am sure you can get the rest...
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rudedawg, 7 Aug 2006 @ 7:47am

NOW WTF!
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charlie potatoes, 7 Aug 2006 @ 8:03am

what is the internet?
well, i'll tell you...it's a series of tubes. It is not a truck you can put stuff on...just a series of tubes.
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Anonymous Coward, 7 Aug 2006 @ 8:04am

has a plate that reads "3475H17"

means 3=E 4=A 7=T
therefore 347 = "EAT"...

5=S H=H 1=I 7=T...

You do the math...
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Anonymous Coward, 7 Aug 2006 @ 8:06am

All Your Plates Are Belong To Us.
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Anonymous Coward, 7 Aug 2006 @ 8:25am

don't make me turn the hose on you! now keep off my internet!
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Anonymous Coward, 7 Aug 2006 @ 8:29am

what is this "internet" you are speaking of?
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- Louis, 7 Aug 2006 @ 8:35am
  
  Re:
  Teh internets, you know? Its what made us stupid.
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Fun Guy, 7 Aug 2006 @ 9:20am

1

That's all I gotta say to the Ohio DMV
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Lay Person, 7 Aug 2006 @ 9:29am

Stupid!
Who cares!

Vanity plates are a stupid idea anyway!

-often they are too personal that no one can even understand their meaning.

-If you can understand them, they are just stupid.

-If you break the law, you are too easy to identify with vanity plates.

-Vanity plates are more often than not associated with being vain.

So what is the point of vanity plates other than more funds to be misappropriate!
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Anonymous Coward, 7 Aug 2006 @ 9:32am

Faulty Math
Regarding: 3475H17
I've read through these posts and came up with:

"Eat shfingert"

NWTF?
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BLARG!, 7 Aug 2006 @ 10:35am

No Misappropriated funds HERE!
In GA vanity plates are actually pretty cheap. It's the Ad-Velorum (sp?) tax that really bites your arse.
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- Lay Person, 7 Aug 2006 @ 10:48am
  
  Re: No Misappropriated funds HERE!
  ad valorem
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Anonymous Coward, 7 Aug 2006 @ 12:52pm

VAT
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anonymous, 7 Aug 2006 @ 1:12pm

(.)(.)
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Anonymous Coward, 7 Aug 2006 @ 1:48pm

QQ

(.)(.)
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Gem, 7 Aug 2006 @ 3:51pm

BKDFKP
Funny this, over here in down under land, this has been happening for ages.

For instance, BKDFKP. None of you know what it means, to us car modifiers, its Back The F** Up, its not offensive to general public because they dont know what it means. However they were taken away because of FK.

Another one, RAC15T. Race 1st... Taken away because its "Racist" or so they think.

All in all, nothing new, governments owned an old lady... business as usual to them!
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Anonymous Coward, 7 Aug 2006 @ 4:22pm

FTP?
How long before the MVB banFTP because they assume it means F The Police?
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Lawrence D'Oliveiro, 7 Aug 2006 @ 5:22pm

So what's new
Is this so different from Darkie toothpaste? Once considered a perfectly harmless name, nowadays not so harmless.
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Anonymous Coward, 8 Aug 2006 @ 8:53am

i saw some weird ones locally here
i saw a random one that had WTF as the last 3 letters
another random one that had XXX as the last three
and one that had WTH as the last three

as a computer guy i also notice ones that have
DSL, PHP, ASP, and probably half a dozen other computer acronyms i cant remember atm

oh ya ATM :)
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Tracer, 8 Aug 2006 @ 1:59pm

Literacy and Comprehension
It is true that language is evolving. Because of the desire for real-time communication, we are constantly searching for shorter, faster ways to say things. These acronyms are a natural product of that change. Unfortunately, when things are not spelled out, misunderstandings become much more likely, as we saw in this case.
However, my friend and I have made a game of using letters we see on license plates and making words and phrases (some innocent, some not). This proves the point that anything can be viewed as obscene or inflammatory, regardless of the intention of its creator.
In my opinion, since that plate has not been disputed in the 10 years that she has had it, there should be enough precedent to keep it.
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