What does BGS mean?

[hbelkins]

"People of color." Is that anything like "people of Florida" or "people of Walmart?"

I never got this whole "of color" thing anyway. The term really doesn't make a whole lot of sense. If people can be "of color," does that also mean they can be "of penis" or "of vagina" or "of long/short/curly/straight/blonde/brown/red/(pick your descriptive term) hair?"

No, it means that they are minorities that were typically victims of racist policies.  You know, like how segregation was legal in Kentucky up until my mother was a kid and she wondered why people got out of Wheelwright's pool when a black kid dared to get in after the pool was forced to be integrated.

Your reply does nothing to explain the terminology.

[Rothman]

Read the first sentence again.  The rest of my post was just to provide you a relevant example.

[Scott5114]

PoC seems like an inelegant construction but 1995hoo posted an explanation that I never considered.

What I am really wondering about is why K stands for Bl.

Color printers print using four colors: cyan, magenta, yellow, and "key" , which is black.

Ah! I knew the other three but forgot about key.

Thanks.

Also, because using "B" could cause someone to confuse it for blue/cyan (cyan ink looks like a much deeper blue before it is printed).

"People of color." Is that anything like "people of Florida" or "people of Walmart?"

I never got this whole "of color" thing anyway. The term really doesn't make a whole lot of sense. If people can be "of color," does that also mean they can be "of penis" or "of vagina" or "of long/short/curly/straight/blonde/brown/red/(pick your descriptive term) hair?"

No, it means that they are minorities that were typically victims of racist policies.  You know, like how segregation was legal in Kentucky up until my mother was a kid and she wondered why people got out of Wheelwright's pool when a black kid dared to get in after the pool was forced to be integrated.

Your reply does nothing to explain the terminology.

A term was needed to mean "people other than Caucasians" to discuss that group in general terms, and "people of color" is the term that became popular.

It's best not to get hung up on why particular English phrases or words are what they are, because you'll just drive yourself mad. I remember when I thought the word "blog" was really dumb-sounding and inelegant, but despite my objections, people kept saying "blog", and now I operate one and call it a blog because that is the way English works. I may as well go down to the Canadian River and shout at it to change its course for all the good it would do.

[J N Winkler]

The Wikipedia article has a fair etymological discussion.

[jon daly]

I heard that blog was short for weblog. However, I don't think I hard the term "weblog" that often.

My main online passion was baseball and there used to be all sorts of baseball blogs, but I think most of them died off after bigger media companies got involved.

[hbelkins]

I heard that blog was short for weblog. However, I don't think I hard the term "weblog" that often.

I think you would be correct. And "vlog" is short for "video log" or "video blog."

[jeffandnicole]

In other terminology, is 'Unisign' a roadgeek term, or is that a universal transportation term?

[Big John]

^^ WisDOT calls unisigns J-Assembly signs as they use a "J" prefix to the sign identification.

[J N Winkler]

I certainly haven't seen unisign with the usual roadgeek meaning outside roadgeek contexts (it is apparently also the trading name of a sign company in China).  There is also little uniformity among the state DOTs that use unisigns in how they are made.

WisDOT unisigns are basically the MUTCD-standard designs for independent-mount route markers and tabs laid on top of a black substrate that forms a rectangle that is precisely trimmed to the outer edges of the overall assembly.  Since the gaps between the various elements are controlled, this creates a single panel with a neat, uniform appearance that can withstand a rigorous winter climate without stiffeners or back bracing.  (MnDOT, which has a similar winter climate but does not use unisigns, relies on both for "sign salad" confected out of single-sheet signs, and is also more likely to use guide signs with guide-sign shields for applications that attract "sign salad" elsewhere.  Wyoming DOT uses stiffeners on marker and tab signs unless the substrate is plywood.)  When isolated examples of unisigns are found in other states (e.g., Virginia), they tend to represent local variations of the basic WisDOT method.

On the other hand, WSDOT unisigns are basically "two in one" versions of common MUTCD marker/tab combinations where modified designs of marker and tab are unified on a single blank (no special stiffening or bracing) with a shared border.  Each such unisign design has its own WSDOT-specific MUTCD-like sign code in the WSDOT Sign Fabrication Manual.

Ohio DOT's approach of unifying route marker, arrow(s), and cardinal direction word(s) on a single sheet blank--oblong horizontally, often mounted as a mast arm sign--represents a third way that doesn't copy MUTCD tabs.  As with WSDOT, these signs have their own MUTCD-like codes in the Ohio DOT Sign Design Manual.

[jakeroot]

On the other hand, WSDOT unisigns are basically "two in one" versions of common MUTCD marker/tab combinations where modified designs of marker and tab are unified on a single blank (no special stiffening or bracing) with a shared border.  Each such unisign design has its own WSDOT-specific MUTCD-like sign code in the WSDOT Sign Fabrication Manual.

I think I mentioned this already, but there was a lengthy period where the reassurance markers, manufactured by WSDOT, were against a green background.