Hey YouTube: UK = GB, and both are English
Sometimes I see help messages that just leave me speechless. This message from YouTube about my automatically-set language preferences goes above and beyond anything I've seen in a long time because it has two big "WTF moments":
The problems?
- The red circles: The suggestion that English (UK) is different from English (GB). Psst. They're the same thing. It's an exceptional reservation in the ISO standard.
- The black circle: The whole message is apparently not in English because the link at the bottom right corner gives me the option to view it in English. When I click it, I get the same message, but instead of suggesting English (UK), it suggests just plain old English. And oh, it gives me the option to change my language to the real English of English (US).
Hey, I have news for you YouTube: English, English (UK), English (GB) and English (US) are all freakin' English.
Subscribe to Things of Sorts
If you liked this post, please subscribe to the Things of Sorts RSS feed: 
October 29th, 2008 at 3:00 am
Actually I think you’ll find that “English (US)” is actually “American”
October 29th, 2008 at 11:23 pm
There are a great deal of differences between English(US) and English (UK) so I would understand having those as changeable preferences as it would influence search results. I mean, jeez, Americans just took all our spelling and stuffed it up. I always switch to english (UK) or English (AU) depending on where I am (Australian english accepting a wider range of spellings from both sides of the Atlantic).
As for a distinction between english (UK) and english (GB), wtf?
October 30th, 2008 at 8:24 am
@Kimota: Languages evolve over time, and no nation or people own a language (heck, even English is not from the British Isles…). No one stuffed up anything, IMHO, but they are different as you say and I accept they need to be in the preferences.
As for UK & GB? Yeah, exactly, WTF?
Pierre
November 8th, 2008 at 5:44 am
Just got greeted with this message, too:
Whatever I click, I’ll still be viewing Youtube in English and my IP is Russian. WTH, YT.