Gregory's Server@TimWardCam @hamatti non UK readers might not understand the concept of a "TV licence". In Britain, you can't watch TV until you've taken the Television Aptitude Test, or TAT, which gauges your understanding of BBC4 arts programmes, your ability to follow long running soaps in a regional dialect, and whether or not you laugh at Ant and Dec.
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19 comments
 @TimWardCam @rvkennedy @hamatti Where did this meme come from - or am I getting my timelines messed up. I know you know that you need a license for radio but I am struggling to remember who said this before...?  @nf3xn @rvkennedy @hamatti This is all a joke. Radio licences were abolished decades ago - you can listen to the radio for free. TV licences are needed to watch live telly - you just buy one (because it's optional - I choose not to buy one - it's not really a "tax"). @TimWardCam @rvkennedy @hamatti Oh lol is that the joke - I can remember when there was an actual paper license which had Radio & Television Communications Act printed on the top of it, you had to get from the post office back when there was a dude who drove around Oxford in a white van with an aerial trying to catch the student digs' tiny little unlicensed B&W TVs. TV license isn't optional btw, in fact didn't they even make out that you need one if you watch iPlayer? BOL with that Auntie π @nf3xn @rvkennedy @hamatti It is optional. It's the price of a service. One can, and I do, choose not to buy the service. @TimWardCam @rvkennedy @hamatti Communications Act 2003. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Television_licensing_in_the_United_Kingdom ONS describes it as a hypothecated tax not a service charge. I guess you could avoid watching 'live broadcast'. Used to be if you had a telly right? lol I remember that it was cheaper for B&W and radio - the vans were really easy to spot, weird round things with a huge thing on top. tbh I am not sure we have one either. @nf3xn @rvkennedy @hamatti There are an increasing number of people these days who only watch non-BBC non-live-TV streaming services and thus don't need a licence. @TimWardCam @nf3xn @hamatti @rvkennedy It doesn't matter what you watch.  @TimWardCam @rvkennedy @hamatti  @rvkennedy @TimWardCam Does Dirk Gently count as BBC4 arts program? If it does, I might qualify π @hamatti @TimWardCam the Stephen Mangan original? I believe so! Might be time to book that test! @TimWardCam @rvkennedy Yeah, that's the new one with Samuel Barnett. Which was also good. The original one from BBC4 was made a bit earlier and stars Stephen Mangan https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2303367/ Dirk Gently books are so great. @Kyleric @rvkennedy @TimWardCam @hamatti They are joking; TV licenses are just a required fee: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Television_licensing_in_the_United_Kingdom  @iampytest1 @Kyleric @rvkennedy @TimWardCam @hamatti In other words a tax. Literally funding bigotry, because that money goes to the BBC. @rvkennedy @TimWardCam @hamatti I recently failed my level 3 licensing exam so now I canβt watch either Eastenders or Pointless.  @rvkennedy @TimWardCam @hamatti I understand that you can have your license suspended if you laugh at shows such as "The Brass Eye" |
@rvkennedy @hamatti Well, I wouldn't qualify. Never heard of BBC4, never heard of Ant and Dec. But I do know the "long running soap in a regional dialect"- that's The Archers, for which no TV licence is required seeing as how it's on the radio not the telly.