MTA Will Erase FML From Station Signage

Photo via Aman*Duh's Flickr

An internet meme has met the MTA, albeit briefly. When new changes to the transit system led to new signs marking some stations, the agency was forced to put the letters F, M, and L together at 14th Street and 6th Avenue. Surely, this wasn't the first time the letters FML met the letters MTA—though until now they've likely only come together in straphanger's heads or transmitted through Twitter feeds—but the agency doesn't seem to want it so, you know, in your face. And with that, NYCT's Charles Seaton told CityRoom, “As soon as we became aware of it, we were going to change it. We thought there was a certain population out there who might recognize it, even though we didn’t, obviously.”

He also noted that the cost would be minimal, and that they'll just move the L stickers below the F and M. But, but... how will that fit?

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By Jen Carlson in News on June 14, 2010 10:04 PM

Comments [rss]

jaja007

MrBrightside is a dingus. Go back to Jersey and like my fruit bowl.

MrBrightside

Hey Everybody...

You all realize that this is totally fake, right? Obviously Photoshop'ed. The M line does not cross the F line. Furthermore, the M line's color is not orange but brown.

Check it out yourself:

http://www.mta.info/nyct/maps/submap.htm

I go to this station everyday, so I would know. : )

Piltdown Man

Welcome to New York, Mr. Brightside.

Please try to keep up.

MrBrightside

Hm. Yeah, my bad. I've been in SF for the last few weeks for work... so I missed it!

Thanks for the heads up.

imperialnetwork

You are wrong. The M is being re-routed up the 6th Avenue line starting June 27. As a result, teh M will now be orange, and MTA has to update all the signage.

http://secondavenuesagas.com/2010/06/15/an-internet-meme-derails-transits-new-signage/

Piltdown Man

Of all the articles I've seen about this, there is no explanation of WHY they are wasting the money to change this. Do they feel it is offensive? Did one of the 40 people who know what it means complain?

Or are they just changing it because someone on a blog giggled at it?

I think the sign department is so hypersensitive about what the blogs say since that one period of time when all of the misspellings occurred, that the blogosphere is now dictating policy at the MTA.

potsmoker

i dont know if this deserves an OMG or an LOL.

but realy folks, adults with real jobs dont sign contracts, emails, texts, leases, or chats with ROTFL, :) or anything that means that you write like a dumb teenager.

Guest

They should get rid of the NQ (No Queers) and the 123/456 (Sesame Street owns the rights) and the ACE (ask John Madden) and the L (the L word) and the BDF (Big Deal, Fucker) and JZ (ask Beyonce).

potsmoker

i still dont know what FML means after reading the article and all the comments???????

ozik

Fuck My Life. A stupid internet thing where people tell fake stories about how hard and funny their lives are, always ending in "Fuck my life!".

jjazznola

I just asked 14 people of mixed ages that I work with what FML means. Not one single person (including myself)knew!

ozik

We just need to come up with a curse-word related phrase for the other eight combinations of FML and they'll have to reroute one of the trains, build a new station! It'll cost millions!

JenChungsBaby

While they're at it could they get rid of "NR" too, it stands for This Film Is Not Yet Rated. And don't just change it to "RN" because that implies nurse porn.

Gotham Extremist

N G A ?

JenChungsBaby

Not Gonna Arrive?

whitecastlerock

As a result of this, the MTA will need to suspend subway service in both directions at all stations while work is being done-they apologize for the inconvenience...

hashedz

The MTA will have a new recording to let their riders know what is going on, unfortunately it will be as piss poor as every other MTA station announcement. Riders will not know whats going on. FML indeed!

Jen S

Take an opportunity for hilarity and snooze it up. God, I hate the MTA!

MrBrightside

It's fake. See my post below.

Gotham Extremist

At what station does the B connects with the J?

LB

Don't know , But the "B", "D" , & the "N" connects to the "M" until 5/27/10 (Rush hours only) !

LB

Whooops . I meant "6/27/10"

aspiringrapper

Why not approach it sensibly & list the train lines alphabetically. That way, if FLM offends anyone, they can blame the Romans & not the MTA.

movi

Tweens are too busy texting to even notice a sign.

VW

When/where there is subterranean service. Which is not at 14th Street.

editedby

B F D

What a waste of money.

ItchyGoiter

Excellent post.

MrBrightside

It's fake. See my post below.

Cal

What's the harm in leaving it? Most people will have no idea and so what if they do know what it means? Spend that vinyl sticker money and labor cost on something worthwhile instead of worrying about internet memes

RevWaldo

They could change it to MLF - that's not even close to standing for anything naughty.

lcmarl

HAHAHAHAHA

PKMKII

They could change it to "LFM," but I have no idea what instance PATH is.

DanielJ

It's actually a very popular site and iPhone App- Fuck My Life.

http://www.fmylife.com/tops/flop/day

May be a little teen-oriented, but a lot of that stuff is actually pretty funny. Worth a visit.

Kevin Walsh

I was stumped, I had to look it up too. Never entered my mind when seeing the 3 letters together.

www.forgotten-ny.com

mattyp4

I have NEVER heard of this acronym before either. Seems silly that they'll be changing all the signs just b/c a couple dozen tweens think it means something derogatory.

VW

You comment on this site, but have never heard of this?

Does WTF ring any bells?

butterbutter

Fml Formal

FML Football Manager Live (web community)

FML Fluorometholone

FML Football Manager Live (video game)

FML Family Medical Leave (US)

FML Field Manipulation Language

FML Ferret Mailing List

FML Forms Markup Language

FML Fibre Metal Laminate (Delft University of Technology)

FML Famous Last Words

FML Full Maximum Likelihood

FML For My Life (trademark of Be in Health)

FML Formal Methods Letters

FML Follow My Lead

FML Force Module Library

FML Flexible Membrane Lining

FML Falmouth Memorial Library (Falmouth, ME)

FML Fiji Muslim League

FML Facebook Markup Language

FML Famecos Mailing List

FML Fashion Mailing List

FML Frequency Measurement Logic (chip)

FML Fast Maximum Likelihood Method

FML For My Lover (Tracy Chapman song)

FML File Manipulation Language

FML Florida Mathematics League

FML FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) Markup Language (an Apache Maven project)

FML Forget My Life (polite form)