[ExBritNStuff]

Isn't the argument also that when tired, stressed, cold, and maybe even injured, it's easier to tell a 999/911 operator three English words you're used to, rather than a string of numbers most people don't have any context for.

[laputan_machine]

what context does 'bears.agitated.trampolines' mean? It has exactly the same amount of information as 53.958332, -1.080278, not only that but if you've _ever_ tried to say words over the telephone on a bad line, you end up having to do the NATO alphabet (did you say bears or chairs?), so you're reading out letters anyway. Not only _that_ but _everyone_ can plug long/lat co-ordinates into something and get an answer, they don't need a proprietary piece of software to achieve the same goal.

[ExBritNStuff]

"Bears... no, bears, you know like Yogi and Boo Boo. Agitated, like I'm getting now. Trampolines, those things you bounce up and down on".

And when I said context, I didn't mean that they would understand what those three words point to, but rather they instantly can read those words having read them before. Long/Lat for most people isn't something they have ever used, so simple things like the "-1" might get missed. Admittedly the operator is likely to know that '1.080278' doesn't make sense given the country they are in and will automatically add the -, but it doesn't hurt to have options?

[notahacker]

Trouble is, you can also get locations for "bared.agitated.trampolines" and "fear.agitate.trampoline", and playing a game of charades isn't necessarily more intuitive to a stressed person than reading out a string of numbers - like a telephone number....