Dear Everyone: Stop Freaking Out That Malaysian Airlines Notified Victim's Families By Text Message
from the opt-in dept
Text messages are now used for many, many things. Such as laying off employees, mistakenly locking down schools, and going all George Orwell on local protests. As with most recent trends in technology, there are the detractors, decrying a loss of personal communication in favor of these heartless words that ding our smart phones. Never mind how useful most of this stuff is, or the wants and needs of those involved. For some, new technology is bad and society is about to fail.
There's a similar sentiment found in news reports of the families of the doomed Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 victims being notified that all aboard were killed via text message.
Before a Monday news conference announcing that Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 ended in the Indian Ocean, relatives of passengers learned the tragic news via a text from the airline. The text read: "Malaysia Airlines deeply regrets that we have to assume beyond a reasonable doubt that MH370 has been lost and that none of those on board survived. As you will hear in the next hour from Malaysia's Prime Minister, we must now accept all evidence suggests the plane went down in the Southern Indian Ocean."That bit pulled from a CNN article is fairly tame, though it's a bit strange to see the fact that a text was sent out to some families (others were notified in person, with counselors on hand) leading the piece. Other reports, such as this one from Gawker, seem to treat the text notification as if it was the story. In that instance, the headline reads:
Malaysia Airlines Broke Crash News to Families Via TextFocusing on this is stupid, not only because it's barely a story, but also because all this hand-wringing is entirely unwarranted. Malaysia Airlines themselves informed the public why they had gone with these text messages, while also clarifying that this wasn't a mass text that went out to all families with no other action taken. The texts were an opt-in decision by families that could not be met face to face at hotels or support centers. They wanted the families of the victims to get the news first before reporters got a hold of the story.
So while this story goes viral throughout the day, keep in mind that this is actually a good thing the airline did, not some heartless brush off of victims' families.
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Filed Under: malaysia, text message, tragedy
Companies: malaysian airlines
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I disagree with Tim that this isn't an issue. It IS.
This is a WTF moment to receive a text message from the airline because they simply don't want to address these families 'face-to-face'.
I hope these families sue the shit out of this airline.
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Did you miss that part?
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But it's not. Everyone (with any sense) has long since realized that the most probable outcome, given all the publicly available facts, is that the plane crashed in the southern Indian ocean, that nobody survived, and that it may be a very long time before any portion of the plane is recovered.
None of that is happy, none of it is welcome, none of it fits with some of the tinfoil-hat grade conspiracy theories flying around, but it's consistent with all known data and it HAS been consistent with all known data for over a week.
The text from MA was simply telling people what they already knew, albeit phrasing it as an official notification from the airline of record.
And look: I have every sympathy for those who lost friends and loved ones in this incident. But some of them have behaved in idiotic and assinine ways that have done nothing to make the process any easier for the rest of them. Trying to assault an airline spokesperson might be cathartic, but it's stupid -- for example. And demanding that the airline produce the aircraft when quite obviously that's beyond their power is equally stupid. So given how many of the families have been complete jerks about this to people who are themselves under enormous pressure and have been working 24x7, I don't actually blame the airline for (a) making a best-effort attempt to notify in person and by phone and then (b) falling back to SMS when necessary.
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People like you are the reason insurance costs are thru the roof, and warnings like "Do not use hair dryer while asleep," are required on products.
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Distraction 101
A) spy agencies are collecting and storing kiddy pron and are not getitng rid of it for osme sick reason....
B) crimea was russian for hundreds of years....and its about an american attempt at escalating arms race of a missle defence shield ( hell i read that in a 2010 Maccleans article ffs ..might a been time )
C) defelct and get nsa snowden leaks off mainline news and off places.
D) send in paid shills and nsa supporters to sites like this and reddit to obfuscicate and bend and lie aobut any truth that does make its way out....
E) funny how half the mps in the old ukraine govt were jewish and now you have neo nazis in charge and wonder why russia whom lost tens of millins fo nazis might want to um er protect russians?
F) that the usa economy is very fragile....and pushing russia to cancel or curtail oil to the EU might in longer term profit a few uber rich americans and maybe osme buddy buddy canadians in oil/gas industries.
G) the effect of F) owuld be a near doubling or tripling of most goods in europe sending its economy into utter chaos ensuring the usa remains utterly domiant at least that is there theory...until india , china and brasil actually team up....OH WAIT THEY HAVE ROFL....
enjoy i hear the aurora program is still running.....
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Re: Distraction 101
Ahem.
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Re: Distraction 101
If Russia was so upset that their union fell apart, maybe they should look into why it happened in the first place and fix that problem.
And as to your Godwinian claims in E): [citation needed]. Or is it your opinion that anyone who isn't Jewish must be a Nazi?
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Gawker sucks
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Text not a big deal...
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Contradictions
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I wouldn't want to receive a text
I see the argument they "opt[ed] in" to text notification. I have my doubts there was a box...
[ ] Please notify family by SMS in case of injury or death
...on the flight forms. It's likely an option to receive general notifications. I doubt this is the kind of notification they had in mind.
If phone was not an option, for whatever reason, then I would agree contacting by some means over no means would be preferable. But if I get a text a loved one has died because I opted to get a text notification when my plane was going to be late, I would be very upset.
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Re: I wouldn't want to receive a text
[ ] Please notify family by SMS in case of injury or death
...on the flight forms. It's likely an option to receive general notifications.
That seems like an awfully big assumption. There was plenty of time for the airline to discuss with families how they wanted to get news of the investigation.
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What if they were NOT texted
Of course, the press would have the story of the crashed plane all over the news and many would find out that way.
So...how many of the half that didn't get the text would be yelling and screaming "Why didn't I get a text? Why was I kept in the dark? I need answers. Something doesn't add up here."
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I've read so many of these people who think everything happens because its a cover up to what's going on today. Links to Snowden and a distraction are borderline schizophrenia. You need to get help. To think that the west would use this as a distraction while Russia invades the Ukraine is simply nuts.
Russia in the past thirty years have been doing quite well without the Ukraine, to enter a sovereign nation is nothing less then total disregard to anyone or any country. Many parts of Russia are ravished with total poverty and while Putin and his circle abuse their powers and take away from the Russian people which is truly theirs. The Ukraine was the bread basket of Europe and was rich in farmland and fed much of Russia as well as Europe. The people of the Ukraine couldn't be happier. Now they are forced to choose sides and because Russia thinks it can just walk in and take away more from the Ukraine is similiar to what Hitler did. Just take and if you don't give we will shoot you.
Can you not see the repeat in history? Although Russia doesn't have any allies period and are for the most part just playing bullies. Well we will see what the world will say and answer with. Putin won't be laughing long while his country financial systems go bankrupt and people who back him will turn their backs on him because the west will freeze all their assets.
No one wanted this, the United States are on the brink of depression and it wouldn't be in their best interest to have the Ukraine as part of it's problem. The US has enough of their own and most of us see it. So if you vote then you can whine all you want and that's the time to voice your complaints. It's called democracy and thanks to those before me, Im thankful everyday. Im not a flag waving American and although you might think differently. Please leave the dead to their families. Let them grieve and stop this nonsense of conspiracy theories.
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But what about the headline
1) Malaysian Airlines sends text message to families. (OMG! That's cruel and heartless, those sons of a ***).
2) Malaysian Airlines sends text messages to families who previous agreed to be notified via text if they were not able to meet with the officials face-to-face. (Oh, okay, I can see why they did that.)
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malaysian airline
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The Last Word
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