Ask Guardianfilter

May 13, 2005 8:17 PM

Notes & Queries - questions that only fools and geniuses would dream of.
posted by Gyan (19 comments total)

Was Mrs Thatcher evil? (11 answers)

We need more of these types of Qs on AskMe. Thanks, Gyan. : >
posted by amberglow at 8:25 PM on May 13, 2005

they really are wonderful.
posted by amberglow at 8:30 PM on May 13, 2005

I forgot to tip my hat to Viewropa.
posted by Gyan at 8:51 PM on May 13, 2005

I could spend hours here... and probably will. Thanks, Gyan!
posted by maryh at 8:54 PM on May 13, 2005

What is TV Licensing?
posted by airguitar at 9:42 PM on May 13, 2005

Good stuff! Thanks!
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 10:03 PM on May 13, 2005

Fun! Thanks. Too bad the book collection is not available in the US...
posted by blahblahblah at 10:03 PM on May 13, 2005

Airguitar, in the UK (as well as in many other European countries) you have to pay a licence fee if you possess a television. The proceeds are usually used to partly fund the public television networks (e.g. the BBC). In the UK, the fee is currently £126.50 a year (about US$235) and it is a criminal offence to have a television and not pay the fee.
posted by keijo at 11:20 PM on May 13, 2005

So, if you have a TV, only for the purpose of hooking up to a DVD player, you need to pay a fee?
posted by Gyan at 11:37 PM on May 13, 2005

yes you do
posted by carbon at 11:54 PM on May 13, 2005

carbon, still not clear.

(emphasis mine)

"if you use a TV or any other device to receive or record TV programmes (for example, a VCR, set-top box, DVD recorder or PC with a broadcast card) - you need a TV Licence."

The rule makes it seem that only if intend to utilize TV programmes, does the fee apply. "DVD player" seems exempted, as opposed to a "recorder". Maybe, I'm reading this too literally.
posted by Gyan at 12:38 AM on May 14, 2005

: Q: What if I only use a TV to watch videos/DVDs/as a monitor for my games console? Do I still need a licence? A: You need to notify us in writing that this is the case and one our Enforcement Officers may need to visit you to confirm that you do not need a licence.

This seems more lenient than for example in Finland, where all that matters is the _capability_ to watch programmes.
posted by keijo at 1:14 AM on May 14, 2005

correction: er, no you don't
posted by carbon at 1:18 AM on May 14, 2005

MetaFilter: It's all a load of rubbish, isn't it?
posted by Wolfdog at 4:49 AM on May 14, 2005

In a similar vein, for £1 you can have Any Question Answered.

The link to buy the Guardian book seems to be broken, here's a working one.
posted by Boo! at 4:51 AM on May 14, 2005

When a newspaper ceases publication, as Today did on 17 November 1995, how do crossword fans find the solutions to that day's puzzle?

Wow. That simply boggles my mind.
posted by graventy at 5:38 AM on May 14, 2005

Well, N&Q will be very familiar to all Guardian readers, naturally. Worth giving it a wider audience though; it can be a lot of fun. Send in your own answers, too. You'll be surprised at how often they get printed.
posted by Decani at 7:41 AM on May 14, 2005

Was Mrs Thatcher evil?

Evil doesn't really manifest itself in democratically elected politicians - if it did, she wouldn't have won another election - but she did. The joke, I'm afraid, is on us.

Ha Ha! The U.S. has a democratically elected politician who is also evil. The joke, I'm afraid, is on the whole world.
posted by leftcoastbob at 9:24 AM on May 15, 2005

I submitted this question to N&Q a fair while ago, I just looked it up to find some people have at last given some answers, it had been dead for the first few years.
posted by biffa at 3:05 AM on May 16, 2005