English Language & Usage: Multi-Layered Discourse Room

Jasper Loy

7:00 PM

Hi @ash you came at a time when nobody is talking.

user15026

Yeah, it looks awful quiet! :)

user15026

But that's okay. You guys are still pretty neat.

KitFox

It's because I'm yammering in the Bridge.

Which I never do.

user15026

@KitFox Yeah, I saw you there :)

Jasper Loy

I was there too.

user15026

7:03 PM

I saw you too! :)

KitFox

And I saw you!

Jasper Loy

I did not see Ashley!

How interesting our conversation is!

user15026

grins I was pretty quiet in the Bridge, I was mostly lurking.

Jasper Loy

So, is there anything that you really regret doing, and how did you resolve your feelings of guilt in the end?

I have many regrets in my mind these few days.

KitFox

@AshleyNunn A phone interview? AAAAAAA!!!

user15026

7:09 PM

There are plenty of things I regret, but I have decided to look at it this way - all of the things I have done, good and bad, have lead me to where I am right now, and without them, I would not be the person that I am. I really like where I am and the person I have become, so I choose to look at those regrets as mere building blocks, or steps on my path.

user15026

@KitFox I am trying SO hard not to freak out

user15026

Because I really want the job.

Jasper Loy

@AshleyNunn Wow, very good answer for a job interview.

KitFox

@AshleyNunn Ditto.

user15026

@JasperLoy oh, wow, thanks :D That makes me feel really good inside

KitFox

7:11 PM

You can't change the past, so don't bother trying. Learn from it, let it shape your decisions about the future, and then it doesn't seem so bad.

user15026

@KitFox Exactly! I find that a lot of my regrets, when looked at like that, don't seem nearly so bad.

KitFox

I try to do the best I can with what I've got. I wasn't always this way, but I'm happiest this way.

Someday, I will write the rest of that semi-autobiographical story about how I came to be.

It's hard to put into words.

Jasper Loy

Yes, you can write as Kit Fox to maintain your anonymity.

KitFox

I do.

As for the guilt, well, you feel you acted wrongly?

If you were in the same situation, would you act the same way today?

Jasper Loy

Yes. I have strong feelings of guilt about many things, sort of related to my OCD pattern of thinking about things over and over again.

KitFox

7:16 PM

Yes, my brother had that issue.

Jasper Loy

If you were in the same situation is only hypothetical. We can never truly go back there, lol.

Anyway I am supposed to see my psychiatrist in about two weeks.

I will decide in the coming days whether to stop my meds and whether to start therapy (and what kind).

user15026

Hopefully they are able to find an approach that helps :)

tchrist

@MετάEd I wish someone could gently guide Susan towards a more customary mark-up style on ELU than what she is using now.

0

A: An alternative valediction to "godspeed" wishing someone success in a venture

"Goodbye" is derived from God be with you, as are many valedictions. "Take care" is sort of threadbare. "Farewell" seems antiquated. "Bon Voyage" is great if you're French. Be well, good fortune, until we meet again I do like the Vulcan Valediction, live long and prosper. Namaste is very respe...

KitFox

With OCD, I'd suggest you look into cognitive-behavior therapy.

Jasper Loy

@KitFox Yup, but do you mean ERP?

KitFox

7:19 PM

No.

user15026

@KitFox I found it helped a lot with my anxiety stuff. :)

KitFox

But that means Enterprise Resource Planning to me.

@AshleyNunn Me too.

Jasper Loy

I have not worked for many years, and I really want to start working or studying again soon.

Ice Girl

What does ( social security office) mean?

Jasper Loy

But day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year, I can't get out of the cycle of thoughts.

tchrist

7:21 PM

@MετάEd Isn’t there some canonical meta-posting on this? And I don’t mean the one on Lawler-weight, thag you very buch.

KitFox

@IceGirl It's an American employment office.

employment regulation.

You have to have a Social Security card to be legally employed.

They also determine what your earnings toward unemployment compensation are.

And they manage the distributions for disability and waves hands fixed retirement, or what have you.

Jasper Loy

Hi @Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 I see flying in and out, lol.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

!!wiki social security

KitSox

Social security

Social security is a concept enshrined in Article 22 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which states, Everyone, as a member of society, has the right to social security and is entitled to realization, through national effort and international co-operation and in accordance with the organization and resources of each State, of the economic, social and cultural rights indispensable for his dignity and the free development of his personality. In simple terms, the signatories agree that society in which a person lives should help them to develop and to make the most of all the adva...

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@JasperLoy I'm just trying to get out of the math room. I only went in there this morning to eavesdrop on Reg as he spammed his cuusoo project.

Jasper Loy

7:26 PM

@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 I see you have flown back to the math room, lol.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

yet somehow I keep getting re-logged into the math room

tchrist

Odd how like and unlike godspeed and godspissed are.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

go away math room

MετάEd

@tchrist Pooh!

KitFox

@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 That happened to me with a different room recently.

I think because I was signed in on another device.

Jasper Loy

7:27 PM

It used to happen to me too, but not anymore.

KitFox

I had to sign out and back in.

tchrist

Let’s keep it clean here.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

hm, another device.

MετάEd

@tchrist And meanwhile on your actual question ... it seems like you and I talked about putting this together at one point. Editorial guidelines or style guide. But did we ever do anything?

Jasper Loy

I think whether it happens or not depends on many unknown favctors.

MετάEd

7:27 PM

@tchrist Okay, hunny.

tchrist

@MετάEd We just pointed at something from nohat I think.

Jasper Loy

@MετάEd There is a meta post on formatting but nobody can really agree and implement it.

tchrist

But maybe one of us put a question there on meta.

My goldfish brain remembers not.

I know we were going to.

Jasper Loy

I think we can discuss formatting again but it will never really work.

Ice Girl

@KitFox Thanks

tchrist

7:28 PM

It does not appear to have been me.

Nor thee.

Therefore, it never happened?

Ice Girl

“I’m calling about … I … my mother just died … I was told to call you and see about a
… death-benefit check, I think they call it …” what does (death-benefit check) mean?

tchrist

1

Q: Path for adopting EL&U formatting standards

Aside from the relevant place to track these discussions, I believe we should decide the appropriate path for reaching a decision about a particular standard. Community run projects tend to get stuck debating; I want to avoid that. Is there a solid SE path for adopting decisions that require inp...

Jasper Loy

8

Q: Style guide for questions, answers, and comments

Style guides such as those on Wikipedia, Stack Overflow, Ask Ubuntu have been greatly helpful for me (and many in those communities) in creating well-written, well-formatted, easy-to-understand, easier-on-the-eye content. So, I would like to propose a style guide for this site. Yes, I understand ...

discussion style

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@IceGirl do you know what a check is?

Ice Girl

no

tchrist

7:31 PM

Gosh, those sure took a short trip to Nowheresville.

KitFox

@IceGirl Part of social security. Dependents, in this case, a child, gets a small regular check (money) from the government if their parent or whoever supports them dies.

tchrist

Try cheque.

Por si las moscas.

Ice Girl

ok

continue

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@IceGirl Then that would be a good word to look up in the dictionary

Ice Girl

really?

:)

tchrist

7:34 PM

@MετάEd And yet, there surely exists a fairly uniform de-facto styling standard that’s used by all ELU Editors of any weight.

We just need to write it down. ’Tain’t scientific rocketry nor a contentious rathole of neverending pisswars.

Ice Girl

@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 Which kind of dictionary? can you give me the link?

KitFox

Sounds like a good idea. Ping us when you are done with that, @tchrist.

@IceGirl Any kind of dictionary.

Jasper Loy

@IceGirl Any online dictionary will do. I will give you a list now.

dictionary.cambridge.org

oald8.com

Ice Girl

@JasperLoy Thanks

tchrist

@KitFox Be careful what you wish for.

Jasper Loy

7:37 PM

macmillandictionary.com

KitFox

I need some query help again. Is there a straightforward way to count the occurrences of <br> in a string?

Jasper Loy

learnersdictionary.com

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@IceGirl google has one built-in. just type define:check

Jasper Loy

oxforddictionaries.com

tchrist

@KitFox $count =()= $string =~ /<br>/g;

Jasper Loy

7:37 PM

m-w.com

KitFox

Don't forget Onelook and the Free Dictionary and Wikitionary.

@tchrist using regex in a plsql query?

Ice Girl

ok

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@KitFox in what lang? pl/sql?

KitFox

Yes.

tchrist

@KitFox I answered the question as asked. :)

KitFox

7:38 PM

@tchrist I know. I was refining it.

Jasper Loy

@IceGirl Before asking a question, check the dictionary first, it tells you a lot of things

tchrist

That’s as straitfoward as I get.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@IceGirl There's even a hit for define:death-benefit

Ice Girl

@JasperLoy Ok. sure

KitFox

Oh, there's a regexp_count. I wonder...

Ice Girl

7:39 PM

@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 really thanks

Jasper Loy

Haha, Mr Shiny is back in the math room, lol.

KitFox

Oh, but not in my version.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

The math room follows me around

KitFox

:(

RegDwigнt

You mean the new LEGO room.

KitFox

7:40 PM

@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 You gotta clear that session, man.

RegDwigнt

We've run out of room for LEGO in this room, so we had to move to the next.

Jasper Loy

I thought he went there to look at the discussion on masturbation, lol.

tchrist

@KitFox @MετάEd @MattЭллен I wonder whether said hypothetical Style Guide wouldn’t be better served in some other venue than strictly a Meta post alone. Hm. Maybe and/or also blog and/or FAQ.

RegDwigнt

As Germans say, do not extrapolate from yourself to others, lol.

tchrist

I suppose I should -e that.

Jasper Loy

7:41 PM

@RegDwigнt Hey, you loled too.

RegDwigнt

No, I didn't lol, lol.

tchrist

I feel a song coming on.

Jasper Loy

@tchrist Now I am thinking whether all SE sites should have a style guide.

tchrist

►

MετάEd

@JasperLoy My guess is that some do, for example Math which has that nice equation editor.

Jasper Loy

7:43 PM

@MετάEd No equation editor, we have to key in simple LaTeX, lol.

RegDwigнt

Why is MetaEd a poorly drawn Will Smith now?

MετάEd

@JasperLoy Ah, well that still means Math probably says please express your equations using LaTeX.

tchrist

Was wonderin that meself.

MετάEd

@RegDwigнt Oooh. I think I just heard MLK's head hit the casket lid.

Jasper Loy

Barrie answered the Austin Powers question, lol

KitFox

7:44 PM

OK, so if I take the column length and subtract one quarter of the column length with the <br> removed, that should work.

RegDwigнt

@MετάEd high time he came back. Slacker.

tchrist

@JasperLoy ¿De veras?

Jasper Loy

-1

Q: Austin Powers: "Oh Behave" - what does it mean?

In famous Austin Powers movie series Austin often says: "Oh behave" What does it mean?

movie

RegDwigнt

I came in here to hide from that question, and now this.

KitFox

No, no. Damn maths.

Jasper Loy

7:45 PM

Behave means behave, QED.

tchrist

A man of infinite paciencia.

RegDwigнt

I think he trades his badges on the black market. For cocaine.

tchrist

@KitFox Out out damned moths?

Jasper Loy

I think I should have answered that question instead for some rep.

RegDwigнt

That's the only way to cope with how he earned them.

@JasperLoy but that wouldn't have worked, because then I would have closed it and migrated it to answer myself.

Jasper Loy

7:46 PM

@RegDwigнt No fair you.

RegDwigнt

I know, lol.

tchrist

What good are superpowers if you never use them?

ᵹif he man to deaðe ᵹefylle, beo he þonne utlah.

Beo se þeof utlah wið eall folc.

Đa cwæð man Sweᵹen eorl utlah.

Man, I think German is easier!

I see that he-man isn’t new as is commonly reckoned.

Except, that’s really het man.

Per Dootch.

Not per duche.

And the plural of hetman is . . . .

hetmans

Weird.

> Polish hetman captain, commander = Boh. hejtman, Little Russ. hetman (Russ. ataman). Believed to be derived from Ger. hauptmann captain, app. through early mod.G. heubtmann and Boh. heitman.

> A captain or military commander in Poland and countries formerly united or subject to it; whence subsequently retained as a title among the Cossacks. Under the suzerainty of Poland, 1592-1654, ‘the hetman of the Cossacks’ was a semi-independent prince or viceroy.

> His title and authority were at first continued after the acceptance of Russian suzerainty by the Cossacks in 1654; but the power and privileges of the office were gradually curtailed and abolished. In the late 19th c. the title ‘Hetman (ataman) of all the Cossacks’ was an appanage of the Cesarevitch, who was represented by a ‘hetman by delegation’, for each of the territorial divisions. Subordinate Cossack chiefs had also the title (ataman).

Oops, meeting time. afking.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

so. after clearing all my cookies, I found I could not log into any SE sites except chat.se

KitFox

oops.

MετάEd

@tchrist Hence our modern interjection, "attaboy!"

Jasper Loy

8:00 PM

The newer versions of Chrome on Linux work pretty well in chat.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@JasperLoy yes, well, I'm fairly sure it isn't my browser's fault

hey, at least now it seems the math room isn't following me around.

Jasper Loy

Good!

Matt Эллен

@tchrist Would you like to write a style guide blog post? That sounds likea great idea!

MετάEd

8:15 PM

I think an updated meta post should come first.

Jasper Loy

9:00 PM

@MετάEd Indeed, but how are we going to do that?

MετάEd

What I have in mind is a list of meta answers. I haven't decided whether I think it would be better organized by effect (such as "use italics for A, B, and C") or by purpose ("for purpose A, use effects X, Y, Z").

So the (single) meta question and the list of answers would become the style guide platform. And the votes on the answers would determine whether a given answer has a consensus. Consensus answers would be the style guide.

@tchrist @JasperLoy