Other Presidential Alert

[DaveyVigs]

Even 1 person's life saved from flooding/drowning > your slight inconvenience

Truth. But you are also missing the point. Freedom to choose to be alerted.

I could easily disable/enable the feature if I wanted knowing a hurricane was headed our way and was prepared. If I still lived at the coast or in NYC I would keep the alert enabled 24/7/365. If I was in the Midwest on business at the time I would turn it off. What about if I moved but kept my cell phone number. I don’t want a warning for something “local” to my phone number if I’m halfway across the country.

Though then again I guess they are tracking our location and would not alert us when we are not in a specific range of the alerts location.

 

[ericgtr12]

I didn't get it either. ATT

I did but my wife didn't, both of us on ATT.

As for whether or not we should have an option, in the case of a national emergency it could benefit us all. Just my .02

 

[1144557]

Truth. But you are also missing the point. Freedom to choose to be alerted.

I could easily disable/enable the feature if I wanted knowing a hurricane was headed our way and was prepared. If I still lived at the coast or in NYC I would keep the alert enabled 24/7/365. If I was in the Midwest on business at the time I would turn it off. What about if I moved but kept my cell phone number. I don’t want a warning for something “local” to my phone number if I’m halfway across the country.

Though then again I guess they are tracking our location and would not alert us when we are not in a specific range of the alerts location.

And how do you determine who exactly to send it to then? How do you determine who resides in the area, who could possibly be driving through or visiting? And how far out as a radius do you send the message to people?

There is no practical answer to those questions. Think another 9/11 how do you know who works there (as many people commute into the city), who showed up for work vs didn't, or the tens of thousands of tourists in the city from all parts of the world to alert just those people? You alert the nation via every cell tower out there and everyone gets it; minor inconvenience getting a notification is less important than lives.

I cant believe this is even a debate over lives vs a notification.

 

[Martyimac]

Yes, tho obviously you missed the sarcasm. I totally understand the need and reasoning for it, but...

My point was this is supposed to be a free country so give people the option of turning it off. We are bombarded with notifications throughout the day but can turn all of them them off if we wanted to.

For example if this was active during hurricane/TS Florence I would be pissed as hell if it woke me up at 2 AM for the amount of winds/rain we got that didn’t cause anywhere near the expected flooding/wind damage per FEMA,the meteorologists and .gov sites.

The 37 folks that died because of Florence might disagree with you.

 

[DaveyVigs]

Oy. Seriously? Not once did I compare the loss of life to a notification. I wish this was active while working in the north tower or when hurricane Sandy slammed the northeast. I wish it was active 20 years ago.

I’m speaking as an American in a should be free country for others that don’t want it, to at least have the option to disable it. I would keep mine on all times. The alerts are on all TVs channels. On all radio stations and mediums. On cell phones. I’ve seen the alerts on some e-billboards. Netflix. Sometimes too much, is just too much.

Anyone remember the Hawaii “test” warning fiasco.

 

[1144557]

Oy. Seriously? Not once did I compare the loss of life to a notification. I wish this was active while working in the north tower or when hurricane Sandy slammed the northeast. I wish it was active 20 years ago.

I’m speaking as an American in a should be free country for others that don’t want it, to at least have the option to disable it. I would keep mine on all times. The alerts are on all TVs channels. On all radio stations and mediums. On cell phones. I’ve seen the alerts on some e-billboards. Netflix. Sometimes too much, is just too much.

Anyone remember the Hawaii “test” warning fiasco.

And how do you determine who exactly to send it to then? How do you determine who resides in the area, who could possibly be driving through or visiting? And how far out as a radius do you send the message to people?

There is no practical answer to those questions. Think another 9/11 how do you know who works there (as many people commute into the city), who showed up for work vs didn't, or the tens of thousands of tourists in the city from all parts of the world to alert just those people? You alert the nation via every cell tower out there and everyone gets it; minor inconvenience getting a notification is less important than lives.

 

[5105973]

Just wondering why you wouldn’t want to be alerted?

Spies and ninjas hate this sort of thing. As do burglars.
[doublepost=1538668797][/doublepost]

Ready for what exactly? If a nuclear missile is heading my way what am I supposed to do, shoot at it? I think I'd rather be vaporized without knowing it is coming.

I’ve thought a lot about this as a child of the Cold War nuclear drills. I think I would at least like to know where the missile was coming from so I could curse their leaders with my dying breath.

 

[HEK]

I mean, "THIS IS A TEST" was literally the first four words of the message payload.

Mine said presidential alert or warning. Something to that effect. So wasn’t literally first words. Course under the stress I was feeling from the weird loud noise phone was making..........
[doublepost=1538670811][/doublepost]

Well I can’t speak to that. I’m just saying that people shouldn’t complain about receiving the test message at all. It serves a purpose that is more important than a minor momentary inconvenience/annoyance.

I see it as another attempt to scare people into accepting a much higher level of threat than is warranted.

 

[1144557]

People watch WAY too many disaster movies.

North Koreas ICBMs are said to be estimated at about 120 kilotons (roughly 8 times Hiroshima). That would mean about a 1-3 mile MAXIMUM destructive circle (the 1 mile likely being severe radiation, 3 being less and burns). It would not blow up the country or even a whole state like a movie. It'd be a few mile locally contained swath of area.

But you'd dang well want to know what way the radioactive fallout was blowing in the wind though; hundreds of miles like Chernobyl. More people died there in surrounding areas from slow exposure to the fallout than being in the blast zone (not including the cleanup).

So yes, you want to know even if its 100 miles away or the next state over.

 

[Lsmachado]

Per USA Today:

Check out this article from USA TODAY:

Didn't get the Presidential Alert? This is why, according to FEMA

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news...-explains-why-you-did-not-get-one/1519382002/

 

[jeremiah256]

My point was this is supposed to be a free country so give people the option of turning it off. We are bombarded with notifications throughout the day but can turn all of them them off if we wanted to.

You seem to be equating notifications we get from Facebook to public safety alerts. And to be saying your individual freedom equates to you having the right to all options, regardless of costs of life or treasure to the public at large.

Our fellow citizens have decided how to get the best bang for the buck when it comes to what to do to protect the public. If someone doesn't like, agree with, or want to receive the services that the general public has decided is in the best interest of the majority of people, then these individuals are free to pay to opt-out.

A dumb phone, data only tablet, subscription services for entertainment, fences, and soundproofing their homes (no tornado warning disturbing their sleep!) will allow them to avoid interaction with government public safety officials and to stay off the public-private airways.

Edit: I forgot another option: Every two years, you free to vote in representatives to change the rules.

 

[lclev]

This whole system started under Bush, was added to cellphones by Obama, and now it was finally tested. Testing means they were hunting for issues to fix so it stands to reason some might not get the alert.

There are those who would argue they do not want the intrusion period but I am willing to bet when a disaster strikes some of those same people will complain no one warned them.

On another note - My apple watch got the alert while I was in the dentist chair having a cracked tooth extracted. My dentist's watch went off too.

I am on Sprint - not sure what carrier the dentist uses.

Lisa

 

[Scott G.]

My amber and emergency alerts are set to off. I still got it. It shouldn't be this way.

So, when there's an emergency, you don't want to be notified?

 

[C DM]

So, when there's an emergency, you don't want to be notified?

Is it OK for it to be up to the individual?

 

[adrianlondon]

Being notified or not isn't a freedom issue imo. I mean, that's like screaming Human Rights!!!! if someone interrupted a TV programme you were watching with a warning about a tornado or whatever.

Your rights would only be impacted if you got a text message saying something, and you were forced to do what it said. And even then the argument isn't clear cut (e.g. in the case of evacuations).

 

[Martyimac]

To say you don't want Presidential alerts and it violates your "rights", is no different than saying you want to turn off Tornado alerts because they violate your "rights". Sorry, ain't gonna happen.
Folks are making this political which seems to be the way EVERYTHING goes nowdays. Adult up.

 

[C DM]

To say you don't want Presidential alerts and it violates your "rights", is no different than saying you want to turn off Tornado alerts because they violates your "rights". Sorry, ain't gonna happen.
Folks are making this political which seems t be the way EVERYTHING goes nowdays. Adult up.

Not sure why an individual wanting an option to disable something for themselves affects anyone or anything else outside of just that.

 

[1144557]

Not sure why an individual wanting an option to disable something for themselves affects anyone or anything else outside of just that.

Because idiots who "didint know nothin I never heard that warning" are the ones who put innocent lives in danger like first responders because they didnt bother to listen to warnings by officials. Happens every single hurricane too.

 

[C DM]

Because idiots who "didint know nothin I never heard that warning" are the ones who put innocent lives in danger like first responders because they didnt bother to listen to warnings by officials. Happens every single hurricane too.

Would people like that even know that there would be a setting like that on their phone, let alone where to find it, or even give it enough of a thought to put in any effort to bother changing it?

 

[Q-Dog]

I am one of the idiots that want to be able to turn it off. Mainly because, since much of my working life was spent in radio and television, I will probably hear about a major "event" before the warnings go out anyway.