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@bothwell
I agree with this. It's intimidating for new people to be ordered to the front, as though they are at the head of some kind of velocipedic Bataan Death March. It's worse still if there's faster riders breathing down your neck and you know they want to overtake you but instead they're going to hover at your rear wheel giving you daggers. (I also end up at the back a lot even though I'm better off near the front, because I'm deaf - I don't like being near the front because I can't see what's coming up behind clearly, so people tend to have a horrible time getting me near the front and keeping me there. Sorry, everybody who has ever been on a ride with me, ever.)
I also agree with this. Was kind of wondering what the shout would be otherwise. It needs to be brief and to-the-point otherwise everybody's going to be going "what was that? Eh? Somebody's shouting something but I only heard half of it", whereas "car back" or "single up" are short phrases with a specific auditory pattern. That's why they work!