English Language & Usage: Multi-Layered Discourse Room

12:00 AM

My Firefox didn't like it at all. I used Bartab with it: that extension only loads a tab when you go to it, and unloads it after a period of time.

bracho monacho

I'm using Google Chrome at the moment, having given up a short time ago on both Internet Exploder and Firefox. I think SE hates me – the sites keep freezing my browser, and I get the message that the pages have become unresponsive.

Maybe I've been slowbanned =P

Cerberus

SE can be a bit buggy sometimes... but I don't think it has ever frozen my browser!

But if it works better on Chrome for you, that might be because Chrome handles Javascript faster (so they say) if your computer is a bit old.

bracho monacho

The browser does unfreeze after a little while... The only time I have SE crash is if I'm looking at it on my Nokia E5, and accidentally hover over the drop-down StackExchange or user profile menu.

I would buy a new laptop, if not for the fact that everybody is telling me I'll be out of a job in less than 2 years, on account of the stupid Carbon Tax.

Cerberus

12:23 AM

Oh that sucks....

I thought that tax was revoked? At least it was in Europe, I think?

@brachomonacho Was this freezing particularly bad in comments? I had that (made typing unworkable), but SE fixed that, and now I can happily type comments on this old PC.

bracho monacho

I never really noticed it with comments in particular... (Perhaps I signed up to SE after the bug had been fixed.) Though now that you mention it, I do often encounter freezing of the browser while typing an answer. I usually just finish typing the sentence that I was in the middle of, and switch to another tab; by the time I check back, the page is unfrozen and the rest of my sentence has appeared.

@Cerberus In Australia, it looks like the carbon tax is going to go through – never mind the fact that in my region alone, destruction of the steel industry would mean probably 30K people out of a job.

Cerberus

Hmm it was never very bad in answers for me, just in comments. Answers were just a bit slow, but not too bad. They fixed that comment thing a few weeks ago.

@brachomonacho Oh, the carbon tax is on all CO2! Here is was only on air planes.

Kit

@Cerberus Welcome home, pooch!

Cerberus

12:38 AM

Kitty kitty! Come to papa for a stroke and a hug!

What woes have befallen us!

Is this website on the verge of collapse?

At least we got you in the Faction in exchange.

bracho monacho

Yep, and off the top of my head, the industries it affects the most are the electricity sector, the cement industry, and the steel industry.

With regard to the steel industry, the thing that is so detrimental about Australia leading the way with the carbon tax is that the steel company I work for already has a hard time competing with overseas companies that produce at lower cost. Add a levy that is not imposed on overseas products, and that's us gone forever from Australia. (Unless the rumours are true, and there's an Indian steelmaker eyeing us off.)

Kit

@Cerberus SSSHH! Not here. Only in the secret boys' room (where I pretend to be a boy).

@Cerberus No. Yes. Maybe. I don't know. I've been doing a lot of yipping and telling people I love them.

I did a stack of editing the on Friday, mostly Joe Blow's accepted answers.

Cerberus

@brachomonacho Yeah I can see a lot of problems with this carbon tax. On the one hand, you do not want to put your own industry at a disadvantage, which is probably cleaner than Chinese/Indian competitors already; on the other, you have to start somewhere. I don't know what to think. It sucks for you anyway.

At least the government should have a workable suggestion how the industry could cut back on CO2 while staying competitive, or, as an alternative, some plan about how the economy would survive without those industries, etc.

@Kit Oh, how did you edit them?

By the way, was he warned before his suspension/ban?

Kit

I finally got rid of that irritating "I hope that helps!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" that had been driving me crazy. That guy has got to rein in the exclamation points.

@Cerberus Not sure.

Cerberus

@Kit Oh, right, those were bad.

Kit

12:44 AM

14

A: Why do we use the phrase 'Across the pond'?

I feel that the aspect "the world is smaller now" is really not that relevant, and indeed the phrase is too old for that to be the case. Rather, it's an example of typical understated, dry English humour. I'm afraid I don't know about earliest usage although PHenry mentioned it could have been u...

bracho monacho

@Kit Could have been worse; he could have written: "I hope that helps!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! lolololololol!!!!!!"

Kit

3

A: Word for sensors that collect the same data in two different ways

Domain is often used in precisely the situation you describe. So you could call it a dual-domain system or you could also use "multi-domain system." I also personally like milieu basically meaning the same, but even broader. I would say that a different milieu can be whole different para...

Cerberus

@Kit I know one boy, for one, who is terribly glad that another, slightly androgynous boy has joined!

Kit

Judge for yourself..

@Cerberus Who?

Those were the two biggest edits.

Man, it felt good to mow that lawn, so to speak.

Cerberus

@Kit The other boy wished to be unmentioned and made this clear by "SHHH"...

Kit

12:47 AM

@Cerberus Oh. Right! A winks as good as a nod to a blind man, eh?

Cerberus

@Kit Wow. I had absolutely NO idea his answers were so freaking absurd. How you even mustered the courage to read that in the first place!

Kit

@Cerberus I was compelled. I used to do copyediting. It's a blessing and a curse.

The "across the pond" one was actually a pretty good, if horribly disorganized answer.

The sensors one is just a travesty.

Cerberus

@Kit Well, this explains his suspension utterly and completely.

Kit

@Cerberus Um, nope? He was suspended for being belligerent and rude.

Cerberus

Oh...

Kit

12:49 AM

That does explain this though

yesterday, by aedia

All praise Kit for editing! You know? I'm sure her solution is right!!!!

Cerberus

I think he operated in the subfield of ELU that failed to grasp my interest at all, such as SWR (I never read any of those).

Kit

He doesn't really have a good grasp of subtlety in meaning, if you get my gist.

Funny that I dropped the n't in that sentence. ^

Cerberus

Heh I hardly remember this guy, except Alain's former hypothesis that Joe and Ham were one.

@Kit Hah I was wondering what subtles jokes you were making with that...

Kit

I think that was my hypothesis. Briefly. Before everyone else pointed out that it made no sense.

Cerberus

Oh. I actually discussed that with Alain. But in the end we agreed that it was probably not the same guy.

Kit

12:54 AM

Similarly inaccurate, but H&B is not nearly as aggressive.

bracho monacho

@Cerberus Unfortunately, our government doesn't seem to plan at all... They were going to introduce a mining 'super tax' to drive off the industry in Australia without any care for what it would do to our economy, and how many residents of outback towns would be driven into poverty.

Cerberus

@brachomonacho Yeah most people just aren't that smart. Let's keep it at that...

bracho monacho

Oh wow, I didn't know that reputation goes to 1 when you get banned.

Kit

@brachomonacho Just temporarily. It comes back after the suspension.

bracho monacho

1:17 AM

@Kit I can't believe someone who would compose an answer like that could have the gall to put down other users for not being "native" speakers of English... (I can recall him being particularly nasty to Jasper Loy, one time).

Kit

@brachomonacho I figure he must be making up for some sort of underendowment.

If you know what I mean.

Cerberus

Haha.

Possibly so.

I must be off to bed.

@brachomonacho Good luck with your carbon!

bracho monacho

@Kit Yes, I would tend to agree there.

@Cerberus Thanks, and good night!

@Kit: By the way, what does "orthographic edits" mean?

Kit

@brachomonacho Punctuation, capitalization, spelling, etc.

At least, I think that's what it means. That's what I've meant it to mean.

Did I edit something of yours like that?

Orthography

The orthography of a language specifies a standardized way of using a specific writing system (script) to write the language. Where more than one writing system is used for a language, for example Kurdish, Uyghur, Serbian or Inuktitut, there can be more than one orthography. Orthography is distinct from typography. Etymology Orthography in English comes from orthographie (French, 13c.), from Latin: orthographia, from Greek ὀρθός orthós, "correct", and γράφειν gráphein, "to write". Overview While "orthography" colloquially is often used synonymously with spelling, spelling is only part ...

bracho monacho

Not that I know of; I read it in the title/heading of the primary edit to the sensors response (english.stackexchange.com/posts/29918/revisions).

Kit

1:23 AM

33 secs ago, by Kit

14 secs ago, by Kit

Is there an echo in here?

bracho monacho

Yep, browser double-posted. (I've just deleted it)

Kit

:-)

bracho monacho

@Kit Oh, I see... I've got no idea what so many terms describing language and literature mean, having never even being taught what simple terms like noun and verb mean.

I hope you will forgive my ignorance.

Kit

Don't be silly. I've only just learned it myself. That's why I keep using it. It's precise and I like to practice.

Gotta go! Good night!

bracho monacho

'Night!

bracho monacho

7:35 AM

@Kit: I forgot to ask... Does your avatar feature some sort of fox?

Benjamin

9:10 AM

Hi -- is it possible to ask a question about editing in this Q&A?

I'm working on an essay and keep wondering in which order i should place punctuation, quotes and footnotes. I tend to put the them in the following order quote-punctuation-footnote. Although i'v seen the punctuation-quote-footnote order too elsewhere.

What do you think is proper? (I'm using the Chicago Style for my essay, but I don't have access to the full reference guide, only what they provide online).

eg: "blabla".²
eg: "blabla."²

Vitaly

@Benjamin — Do you think it would be on-topic for Writers StackExchange?

Though we do have quite a few punctuation-related questions…

@RegDwight to the rescue!

The Bridge

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English Language & Usage: Multi-Layer…