Re:Lyft’s algorithm is trying to block people with names lik...
by dilap on Sunday January 12, 2020 @02:35AM
(#22025045)
Why even try to catch “naughty” names. Why do I even need to give Lyft a name in the first place? It just seems like such a made-up problem.
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Re:Lyft’s algorithm is trying to block people with names lik...
by jrockway on Sunday January 12, 2020 @03:31AM
(#22025194)
I think you and the driver are supposed to exchange names. This is probably awkward when you name yourself "suck my balls" or something, which people undoubtedly do because people are terrible.
The Simpsons figured this out decades ago: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1EjcWU6sEk
Re:Lyft’s algorithm is trying to block people with names lik...
by pferde on Sunday January 12, 2020 @08:11AM
(#22026132)
No, you and the driver are supposed to exchange a keyword to make sure you got into the right car. That keyword happens to be a name by default because it's very... human, I guess, but it does not have to be your name. For taxis, I frequently use two or three random names common in my country.
Re:Lyft’s algorithm is trying to block people with names lik...
by isoskeles on Sunday January 12, 2020 @11:46AM
(#22027251)
> No, you and the driver are supposed to exchange a keyword to make sure you got into the right car.
I've never heard of this. Where did you learn this? I'm not saying you're wrong either, as it makes sense. I've just never heard of it.
Re:Lyft’s algorithm is trying to block people with names lik...
by pferde on Sunday January 12, 2020 @03:33PM
(#22029103)
OK, not _supposed_, but it is a common practice, going back to traditional taxi services where you'd call a number and order a taxi to an address where you are. They'd ask you for your name which they'd also tell the driver they send you. On arrival, the driver would then ask the name when you're entering the car.
It's useful for busier locations, where more people would call for a taxi at the same time.
Re:Lyft’s algorithm is trying to block people with names lik...
by chrisseaton on Sunday January 12, 2020 @03:39AM
(#22025212)
> I think you and the driver are supposed to exchange names.
What for?
And how does any other environment where people introduce themselves to each other fix this? I don't think they see it as a problem in practice.
Re:Lyft’s algorithm is trying to block people with names lik...
by Izkata on Sunday January 12, 2020 @06:22PM
(#22030458)
One of my co-workers once got in the wrong Uber; she and another person with the same name were being picked up on the same corner, and the cars just happened to arrive close enough they each got into the wrong car. It was confirming the driver's name as they sat down that clued them in.
Re:Lyft’s algorithm is trying to block people with names lik...
by magneticnorth on Sunday January 12, 2020 @01:41PM
(#22028171)
For safety, mostly - there have been bad situations when people mistook a car for their uber, including at least one kidnapping & murder: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/30/us/samantha-josephson-usc...
Re:Lyft’s algorithm is trying to block people with names lik...
by andrepd on Sunday January 12, 2020 @07:42AM
(#22026030)
>people are terrible
There are many terrible things in the world. People naming themselves Mike Rotch isn't one of them. Certainly not as "terrible" as denying hundreds of thousands of people a service.