English Language & Usage: Multi-Layered Discourse Room

z7sg

12:01

You have rainbows?

RegDwight

At all times.

Grace Note

Hrrm

(Also, hey @Matt!)

RegDwight

@GraceNote High-range rifle murder?

Grace Note

@RegDwight While that is my style, no.

RegDwight

How very disappointing.

Grace Note

12:05

Rs are a negative sound, while Ms are a neutral sound. If I think about it, there's no positive sound accompaniment.

Matt Ellen

@GraceNote hi :)

Grace Note

That really only applies to insertions in a "Hm" or a "Mm", but that is how it is.

RegDwight

Hm and Mm look like chemical elements to me.

Grace Note

I used to use the periodic table as a way to come up with names.

RegDwight

Hypermorphium and Mezzomultium.

Rhodri

12:06

@GraceNote Positive is usually a high-falling intonation pattern, isn't it?

Matt Ellen

@RegDwight Whereas Hg looks like when you go to hug someone, but they sidestep

Grace Note

@Rhodri Aye, but I'm not sure how one illustrates that in text. Going "Hiiiiim", while elating, just looks weird.

RegDwight

@MattEllen Well, it ain't called *quick*silver for no reason!

Grace Note

(Also I don't usually murmur when in a good mood)

Rhodri

@GraceNote Orthography is so limiting.

Grace Note

12:08

Aye

RegDwight

Пользуйтесь кириллицей!

Grace Note

I recognize that letter (are they called letters?) at the end of the first word (same question different term!)

RegDwight

The myagki znak, above all? No way in hell.

Grace Note

I recognize the one you taught me in trying to learn how to pronounce Chernobyl

Unless I'm mistaking it for something that looks very close to it and I'm just being an idiot.

RegDwight

Wasn't that all about ы?

Grace Note

12:10

...d'oh

RegDwight

ь ы ъ

Different letters are different.

Grace Note

Crepes, I don't have any issue with all the kana that look nigh identical and trip up everyone else, but I can't even get one letter right in Russian.

RegDwight

Though there is a ь in Chernobyl as well, hence my confusion.

Чернобыль.

Grace Note

Also, myagki znak is the best sounding name for a letter ever

RegDwight

@GraceNote I have no problems whatsoever with Hiragana, but stay away with that Katakana rubbish.

Grace Note

12:13

@RegDwight I never understood people who found Katakana harder than Hiragana, but... I started learning Japanese because of learning "Mythril", so...

RegDwight

I'd rather just write kohi, biru, and kurisumasu in Latin.

Grace Note

What about arbeit?

z7sg

ъ tvordi znak i still do not get

RegDwight

@GraceNote arubaito?

Grace Note

tvordi znak? Oi, Russia has the best letters.

@RegDwight Aye. Used to refer to part-time work, basically.

RegDwight

12:13

Tvyordy znak.

Grace Note

(Yes I know the origin)

RegDwight

@GraceNote I know, them Japanese are crazy about everything German sounding.

Grace Note

English letters are so boring that the whole lot of them are spelled in only one letter each.

@RegDwight You ain't Japanese until you speak entire spell incantations, in German, in Japanese.

RegDwight

May 17 at 14:52, by RegDwight

Doesn't stop them from going Ehrgeiz this and Ehrgeiz that.

Yeah.

Grace Note

(That's why I tried to switch to Finnish for my spells, but that didn't work too hot)

@RegDwight Have you played Rosenkreuzstilette? ♪

RegDwight

12:15

As chance would have it,.. no.

Worth it?

Grace Note

It's like Megaman, but with a bunch of German witches instead of robots.

RegDwight

Sounds compelling.

Grace Note

There is a demo, I don't know where it is, but there is one, so obviously give that a shot before making a purchase attempt.

RegDwight

May 17 at 14:55, by Robusto

F*ck katakana. Seriously. And I mean that in the harshest possible terms. Whenever I see it I know I am going to have to read like a first-grader again, sounding it out, wondering what the hell kind of foreign word they are trying to say.

Matt Ellen

that's why I like katakana

RegDwight

12:19

Note to incognoscenti: Robusto studied Japanese and lived in Japan.

Matt Ellen

@RegDwight I figured, what with the avatar and all, that he understands Japanese well.

RegDwight

Feb 3 at 20:28, by Robusto

My wife is Japanese-American, but speaks little or no Japanese. I studied Japanese and speak it fairly well. When we would go into sushi restaurants, they would speak to her in Japanese, she would look at me, I would translate, then she would respond in English and I would tell the waiter what she said in Japanese.

Feb 3 at 20:28, by Robusto

Then the waiter would laugh and tell my wife in Japanese that I spoke very good Japanese, and how remarkable was that, yeah?

Grace Note

Heh

Matt Ellen

I like using katakana as a basis for figuring out how to pronounce English words I've not encountered before.

It has a surprisingly high success rate

Grace Note

@RegDwight I figured as much, considering earlier discussion with him as well as the yume being specifically yume and not otherwise.

@MattEllen I wish I had known katakana when I was teaching my grandmother English.

Matt Ellen

12:22

@GraceNote is she Japanese?

Jez

I'm in the market for an Android phone. Anyone have any experience with the HTC Desire S?

Grace Note

@MattEllen Taiwanese.

Matt Ellen

sorry, dumb question is dumb

oh!

Grace Note

But, she's of the generation where nigh everyone knows Japanese (and was herself very fluent). Hence it'd be a lot easier to use Katakana, since that works a whole lot better than anything I could attempt in Chinese.

Matt Ellen

@Jez I have the earlier HTC Desire. it is good. I'm guessing, if the S is a lot similar, but faster, then it will also be good.

Jez

12:32

yeah. the only bad stuff i've read is battery life being bad, but presumably Gingerbread combined with some monitoring app from the Store should help to minimize unnecessary use

also, does Gingerbread make sure 3G is turned off when not needed?

ffs. they're calling 4.0 "ice cream sandwich"

"what are you running?" "I'm running ice cream sandwich"

Matt Ellen

I'm afraid I've not had the gingerbread upgrade yet, still on 2.2

Grace Note

@Jez Aren't all of them named after foodstuffs?

Jez

ah

@GraceNote yeah, but the previous ones were more catchy than that

RegDwight

I do want an ice cream sandwich now.

Grace Note

@Jez True, froyo was fun

Jez

12:35

what next? "Sundae with chocolate chips and banana-flavoured sauce"?

Grace Note

And who can go wrong with eclair?

(Though I'm biased out of favor with lightning)

Jez

i'm looking at about £25/mo for 24 months.

RegDwight

That reminds me. Gonna go visit France, buy some eclairs.

Jez

it's only a matter of time until phone companies make you include them in your will to sign up for a plan

Grace Note

Heh

Maaaaana

Nice work last night.

RegDwight

12:36

@Jez Why not, they can have all my debts.

Matt Ellen

@Jez that's what I'm on with T-Mobile, but I can't voucher for their QoS in terms of consistency of coverage

Mana

@Grace Oh...thanks, I suppose.

Jez

@MattEllen is the Orange-sharing thing very useful?

RegDwight

I will go on a spending tour-de-force before I die.

Matt Ellen

@Jez it seems to me that that's when the coverage issues started

RegDwight

12:37

@GraceNote No flirting in this chat.

Mana

pfffffffffffffffffffffffft

Jez

@MattEllen lol

Grace Note

@RegDwight There's always ripping off his arms. I still owe him that.

RegDwight

@MattEllen I thought T-Mobile ended up saying "screw you" to the States after all?

Jez

@MattEllen maybe you're not set up to utilize the Orange signal?

Matt Ellen

12:39

@Jez Part of my coverage problem is working with high magnetic fields, but when I'm at home signal fluctuates unfathomably

@Jez I am, my phone says T-Mobile - Orange

RegDwight

Well, "unfathomably" is almost an anagram of "T-Mobile".

Grace Note

@MattEllen Ooh, what kind of work?

Matt Ellen

@GraceNote I develop software for NMR spectography machines

Jez

@RegDwight no it's not

Matt Ellen

@RegDwight could be (I am in the UK)

Grace Note

12:40

@MattEllen Secondary inquiry for acronym expansion.

RegDwight

@Jez Of course it is.

Matt Ellen

@GraceNote Nuclear Magnetic Resonance

RegDwight

Look up "almost" in a dictionary of your choice. I'll wait.

Grace Note

Ahha

Jez

Heh. it's interesting to see all these ppl complaining about Desire S battery life. Not so many complaints about iPhone battery life... maybe that's because the kind of people who buy iPhones don't say a bad word about anything Apple-related?

you can't even remove the iPhone battery.

Matt Ellen

12:41

Like what Kit used to do, but we're not allowed to do human medical stuff

Jez

except maybe with a sledgehammer

RegDwight

or steam

Grace Note

My old chemistry teacher did work in a high magnetic field environment. He now has a permanent pinging sound in his left ear.

Jez

@GraceNote is he sure he didn't leave a geiger counter in there?

Matt Ellen

@GraceNote !! I think any tinnitus I get will be from my musical tastes :D

Grace Note

12:43

@Jez Geiger counters make more of a clitikying sound

@MattEllen As it were, this sound is exactly a specific note, so he now has a very easy guide when he plays his guitar.

Matt Ellen

@GraceNote useful!

Jez

oh well, i'll be keeping my Nokia 6300 as a backup phone. This thing has served me like a Trojan

RegDwight

@GraceNote Then it must be an echosounder.

Grace Note

(I forget which note it was, but he found that to be a significant advantage all the same)

RegDwight

@GraceNote Grace note.

Grace Note

12:45

@Jez I don't recall Trojans as being famous for being either particularly disobedient or obedient.

Jez

nope, but it keeps going

RegDwight

They are famous for not being famous.

Jez

doing what it does well enough

trg787

RegDwight

Yalta

Jez

12:48

►

trg787

@Reg :) Near to it

RegDwight

You had to be pretty rich to be able to go there.

@trg787 Lastochkino gnezdo. Whatever.

trg787

@Reg, seems you know everything :) Exactly: Lastochkino gnezdo.

RegDwight

Swallow's Nest (Crimea)

The Swallow's Nest (, ) is a decorative castle near Yalta on the Crimean peninsula in southern Ukraine. It was built between 1911 and 1912 near Gaspra, on top of 40-metre (130 ft) high Aurora Cliff, to a Neo-Gothic design by the Russian architect Leonid Sherwood. The castle overlooks the Cape of Ai-Todor of the Black Sea and is located near the remnants of the Roman castrum of Charax. Swallow's Nest is one of the most popular visitor attractions in Crimea, becoming the symbol of Crimea's southern coastline. The building is compact in size, measuring only long by wide. Its original des...

Mana

I get the feeling that @Reg is very well-read.

RegDwight

12:51

May 27 at 11:54, by RegDwight

I am write-only.

Mana

haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

Matt Ellen

@RegDwight read once, write everywhere

RegDwight

You'd need lots of background explanation to fully appreciate that reference, though.

We had that vgv8 user once.

A Russian.

Who then got banned for 1000 days.

One of his questions was "can I say that I'm write-only?"

And by that he didn't mean that you could write to his memory but never read anything out of it.

He meant the opposite thing.

Mana

...Interesting.

RegDwight

As in, "I only write, I never read".

His questions were completely incomrehensible even to regulars of the Incomprehensible Room.

Grace Note

12:54

Oooh, vgv8

Which reminds me, has PRASHANT P shown up again?

RegDwight

0

Q: Is "I'm write-only" comprehensible?

Would it be comprehensible to say I am write-only? Update: The meaning of "write-only" in IT is that something (content of a file) can be written but not read.

1

Q: Subject versus object in a sentence: how are they determined?

For example, if I tell “I'm write-only” am I perceived as subject (who is writing) or as an object (who is written)? Related question: How do I determine subject and subject complement in “A side-effect is the spread of commercialese to other domains.”?

grammar

-2

Q: "Read-only syndrome" versus "write-only syndrome"

If I am write-only, i.e. writing but not reading, which sentence would be correctly to say? I have write-only deficiency (syndrome) I have read-only deficiency (syndrome)

meaning phrases expressions

These are only three of his questions dealing with write-onliness.

Check out the revision histories, too.

If you want to kill tons of time for nothing other than getting insane.

Grace Note

Haha, I see his "editing the question to respond" was still in full strength.

RegDwight

@GraceNote You mean the "is english.stackexchange.com site used for increase" Prashant P?

Grace Note

@RegDwight The one in the same.

RegDwight

> i am fellow developer :)

i am posting much on stackoverflow.com

and on cooking.stackoverflow.com

i am wanting to increase in my knowlege

of programs and internet english :)

is site for use of learn ?

else.. where am i to belong ?

thanks

PRASHANT :)

OF NOTE

i am emigrate to india :)

Mana

12:59

Oh no. PRASHANT.

I know that name.

Matt Ellen

so beautiful it brings a tear to my eye

RegDwight

@Mana I dunno, seems a popular one. We have like eight Prashants.

Mana

No no, but I know the one that you guys are talking about

RegDwight

May 16 at 14:46, by Sankar Ganesh

oh Shit, my dear friends, where i have to go.............., Ohshit this world also throws me out, i belive this world will help me

Indian poetry is the best.

Grace Note

@RegDwight Bahahaha

Mana

13:00

That...is poetry?

It's beautiful. It's breaking all the rules. He's thinking outside the box.

RegDwight

What he meant, in case you can't figure it out, was "world" = "chat room".

F'x

-1

Q: "Tits", "Boobs", "Breasts" - What is more official and unoffending?

I was wondering what is in slang, what is official (doctor-speaking) and what's difference between those three words?

word-choice slang official

Mana

Oh no.

RegDwight

Jesus Christ on a stick.

MrHen

@Fx Just close it as a dupe

Mana

13:02

I'm beginning to see why Jeff wants these questions destroyed.

RegDwight

@Mana Rly?

Enlighten me.

Mana

No.

F'x

@MrHen general reference for me

Grace Note

That really seems like we can just close it as a duplicate.

MrHen

BTW, Genesis is this Genesis:

2

Q: "This account is temporarily suspended for voting irregularities."

I know that there are several questions for this, but this is user-specific, so please do not consider this question as EXACT duplicate. User Ham and Bacon was suspended, for "voting irregularities". What does it mean. Did he voted up himself with another account or is that because of his questi...

discussion voting account-suspension english suspended-user

F'x

13:03

-3

Q: "Jon Skeet" - why isn't "Jon", "John"?

I'm going to ask opposite of this question: Why doesn't 'Jon Skeet' have 'h' in his first name? Is it pronounced same way? Is it a difference between British English and American English ?

names

trg787

This Nest... They said many workers perished falling down from very steep rocks... PS Guys, don't pay attention to me.... Currently I'm just in terrible need to communicate with human beings....

F'x

quite promising!

MrHen

And for those who haven't noticed yet, Ham and Bacon is now Thursagen

RegDwight

@trg787 No human beings in this room, sorry.

May 27 at 12:29, by RegDwight

I am a Turing-incomplete pineapple.

F'x

@trg787 go find actual human beings!

Matt Ellen

13:04

I am not a robot. I am a programmer

RegDwight

@Fx Jinx.

F'x

@RegDwight fuzzy jinx

Mana

@trg787 I don't think it's the best idea to try to have people ignore you in this room. You'd be better off trying Omegle.

F'x

@MrHen so, Third idiot was suspended for voting irregularities? when did that happen?

Matt Ellen

@Fx does that mean the prize is different?

F'x

13:05

I miss all the fun :(

Matt Ellen

fizzy drinks!

RegDwight

@Mana Also, after trying Omegle you should totally drop it and use jQuery.

@Fx He was suspended for two weeks.

That dates your absence.

F'x

@RegDwight and did his rep drop?

@RegDwight I missed you too

RegDwight

Look at the graph.

MrHen

@Fx Not noticeably.

RegDwight

13:07

F'x

@MrHen weird, then, isn't it?

z7sg

Suspension doesn't seem to have helped in his case.

MrHen

@Fx As best as I can tell, he was asking and answering questions to himself and the general populace of EL&U upvoted everything

Since they... upvote anything.

RegDwight

@z7sg Suspension is just a warning.

It is supposed to help in that he doesn't do it again.

trg787

I depressed very much cause it was found a counterexample for my algo for isomorphism graph problem... I spent 3-4 months for it :(

RegDwight

13:09

It is not supposed to teach him how to cook tea and eat waffles.

MrHen

@RegDwight Our new mammary question is on 4 close votes

RegDwight

@trg787 Wow, at least you have an actual reason.

F'x

now that I'm back on a regularer basis, where was I?

ah yes, “earned at least 200 reputation on 44 days”

almost there!

z7sg

I don't think he has heeded the warning. I mean that, even if he doesn't create more sockpuppets, he's still a pita.

MrHen

@z7sg I don't know "pita."

RegDwight

13:11

@z7sg That problem is still outstanding.

F'x

@z7sg don't diss pitas; pitas are good :)

Matt Ellen

Pain in the arse

RegDwight

Jul 14 at 12:26, by RegDwight

@Jez I must admit he did show signs of improvement. And that's why right now he's "merely" banned for sockpuppeting, not for the quality issues.

trg787

@Reg It's terrible... I tested it in 24/7 mode.... Then all broke

MrHen

@MattEllen Ah

RegDwight

13:12

@MrHen Hey I know something a native speaker doesn't. I am awesome.

Matt Ellen

@MrHen unless of course he's stabbing your donkey, in which case he's a pain in your ass

MrHen

@RegDwight Speaking of which... I am not sure I get to notify you whilst inside that one room over there.

RegDwight

Oh right. Ze Raum.

MrHen

@RegDwight What an awesome little pineapple you are!

RegDwight

I keep getting distracted.

@MrHen Who said anything about "little"?

MrHen

13:13

It's cool. But I do care about it :)

RegDwight

So do I.

MrHen

29 secs ago, by MrHen

@RegDwight What an awesome little pineapple you are!

I did. Right there ^

RegDwight

Which, coincidentally, is one of the reasons I keep getting distracted.

Kicking people's asses distracts me from kicking other people's asses.

Priorities, priorities.

MrHen

@RegDwight So much ass-kicking... so little time...

z7sg

1

A: Why is the word 'bologna' pronounced like 'baloney' ?

I think you are all wrong in your explanations.

MrHen

13:15

1

A: Why is the word 'bologna' pronounced like 'baloney' ?

I think you are all wrong in your explanations.

z7sg

Who voted that up?

RegDwight

Jinx.

z7sg

JINX!

RegDwight

Meta-jinx.

z7sg

Doppeljinx

MrHen

13:15

Whoa.

RegDwight

In Soviet Russia, ass kicks you.

MrHen

@z7sg But yeah, who the hell votes that up?

Matt Ellen

@RegDwight ornary equiforms

RegDwight

Mkay. I suppose I was too fast with my "shows signs of improvement" statement.

Mana

Uhm....hm. 11.5k user posted that?

z7sg

13:16

First time I've known you to show signs of possibly being a bit wrong.

Mana

And it got voted up? That's...interesting.

MrHen

Oh, btw, if someone flags a 10k user's post, do they get to see it in the tools menu?

RegDwight

@z7sg I never said "wrong". I only said "too fast" :P

@MrHen I dunno. @Grace?

MrHen

@z7sg I have seen Reg admit someone else was right

Grace Note

@RegDwight Hm?

RegDwight

13:17

@MrHen Pssst. That was in a secret room.

MrHen

@RegDwight We could test it. Someone flag one of my posts or something.

RegDwight

49 secs ago, by MrHen

Oh, btw, if someone flags a 10k user's post, do they get to see it in the tools menu?

MrHen

@RegDwight It still happened?

Grace Note

@MrHen You'll have to specify your question more clearly. Who is "they"?

MrHen

@GraceNote The 10k user

So, 10k User gets a flag. Does that 10k User see the flag in the tools menu?

Grace Note

13:18

@MrHen If it is a flag that can show up in the 10k tools, they will see it, even on their own posts.

F'x

@MrHen surely yes

Matt Ellen

@MrHen flagged something of yours

RegDwight

@MrHen No. There, I only said "I don't want to admit that you're right, because I would remember that forever". I didn't actually admit they were right. Quite the opposite.

MrHen

@GraceNote Is this by design? That seems abusive.

Grace Note

@MrHen It's barely anything more than a close vote at that point.

F'x

13:19

@MrHen you don't see who flagged

Grace Note

They can't see who the flag is from, and it is only a small subset of flags corresponding to the cookie-cutter reasons.

Matt Ellen

@GraceNote I don't think it will show up in the 10k tools. the flag option says to tell a diamond mod

Grace Note

Any custom flag will only be seen by moderators. Period.

z7sg

@RegDwight I didn't say "first time you admitted you were wrong", that's something else entirely.

MrHen

@MattEllen Hm, no I don't see it there. There could be a delay?

RegDwight

13:19

Wow that question is a train wreck. Every answer is below zero, and two even deleted.

Grace Note

@MattEllen If you use a cookie-cutter reason (such as not-an-answer), then it shows up on the 10k tools anonymously.

Rhodri

@Mana That would be why many of us are... not pleased 3I is a 10k user.

MrHen

@GraceNote Mmk. So what happens if a 10k user disagrees with a flag? Is that how things get "disputed"?

Grace Note

@MrHen That is correct. It merely is another kind of cookie-cutter flag. Other than the "dispute" change, it is identical in behavior to the other cookie-cutter flags.

MrHen

@GraceNote So if I have a flag that was marked invalid, that must have been a mod?

The reason I ask is because one of my flags on a 10k user was recently marked invalid and I have no idea why

Which is fine, but it made me wonder about the details :)

Grace Note

13:22

@MrHen If it is dismissed invalid, it is by a moderator

If it is merely flagged as invalid, then it is a 10k user or moderator.

Matt Ellen

@GraceNote It's because available flags for answers are different to flags for questions. misinterpretation of evidence on my part!

Grace Note

@MattEllen The only difference is that answers get "not-an-answer" while questions get close reasons, all the other cookie cutter reasons are identical.

Matt Ellen

@GraceNote i.e. spam and offensive?

MrHen

@GraceNote english.stackexchange.com/users/flag-weight/6006

Grace Note

@MattEllen "very low quality", rather. Spam and Offensive are different sort of flag altogether.

MrHen

13:24

It just says "Invalid"

Grace Note

@MrHen I'm just a normal user

Matt Ellen

@GraceNote those only go to diamond mods according to the popup

MrHen

Oh. :P

Your blueness confused me.

Grace Note

@MattEllen Outdated text. The "other" is exclusive to diamonds but the cookie cutters are visible to 10ks anonymously.

@MrHen It's only on Gaming.

MrHen

I see. Well, I think you've answered my questions. :)

Matt Ellen

13:26

@GraceNote oh!

Mana

@Grace Why have you abandoned the gaming chat ;_;

Grace Note

@Mana I was in there the past two days!

Mana

Oh, you were?

Oh.

scratches back of neck... Whoops?

Matt Ellen

oh dear @mana, are you feeling neglected?

Mana

@MattEllen asdsadfasdfasdf

RegDwight

13:29

фваываыаыфаыфавыфав

Matt Ellen

I'll take that as a yes?

RegDwight

More like a да.

Matt Ellen

maybe

Mana

Yeah, you can.

Matt Ellen

@RegDwight google gives me too many options

but I think they're mostly the same

RegDwight

13:31

Да.

MrHen

-2

A: Is this the right way to use past perfect?

OP's example sentence should probably be rephrased as For the last 3 years I have been in contact with somebody. But structurally it's the same is For the last 3 years I have been having sex with my girlfriend. This is perfectly good English.

Check out the comments on that answer

Matt Ellen

except for
>that
>as to
>and
>if

MrHen

Specifically, you @RegDwight

RegDwight

@MrHen I thought I'd seen them?

MrHen

@RegDwight No clue if you had, but I think the Tasos additions were interesting :)

RegDwight

13:33

HAHAHAHAHAHA.

> By the way FumbleFingers has a nice english name, what does waiwai even mean.

MWUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

MrHen

Yeah, those

F'x

90

Everything You Always Wanted to Know about Sex but were Afraid to Ask

Proposed Q&A site for anyone who likes sex and thinks it's a fun and pleasurable thing; anyone wanting to improve his/her sex life.

Currently in commitment.

RegDwight

That from someone called Tasos Papanikolaou.)))

MrHen

I mean, I was going to flag them but they were so darned amazing...

F'x

I just wish this proposal would go through; then, EL&U questions wouldn't be seen as such a big problem after all :)

3

MrHen

13:35

@Fx At the very least, the super-collider will be busy for a while

RegDwight

@Fx The problem with that proposal is really that it should be called "Everything You Always Wanted to Know about Sex but were Afraid to ask under your well-known StackExchange account, so you don't commit to it at all or only under a 1-rep account, so it takes forever and never takes off".

But that wouldn't be quite as catchy.

But hey, we could do a flash-mob thing and uncommit from Linguistics and commit to Sex.

Matt Ellen

@RegDwight you read my mind

RegDwight

I am here to.

Mana

@RegDwight Would you commit to it if no one here knew you?

F'x

but French L&U and Linguistics are near the top of the list of proposals, hopefully they will get launched at some point in 2011!

RegDwight

13:38

@Mana 1. No one here really knows me. 2. I am committed to my wife and am not afraid to ask any questions whatsoever about sex. 3. I have no commitments left, Area 51 or otherwise.

F'x

@RegDwight I would, except that I bet my chances of getting laid are better on Linguistics than on Sex

2

@RegDwight I floated this 3 commitment idea to my wife, but she doesn't seen too keen on it

RegDwight

@Fx Is that true? @Kit.

Mana

@RegDwight Well...uhm...geez. I just got shut down, I guess.

Matt Ellen

damnit. uncommiting isn't instant. I'm going to have to wait to commit to Sex...

MrHen

@MattEllen :P

Matt Ellen

13:42

I am a flashmob of 1

z7sg

We only need 52 more followers to get Castles.SE into Commitment phase!

Matt Ellen

yay! commited

MrHen

@RegDwight: In an attempt to make you smile:

0

Q: What does ")))" mean at the end of a sentence?

Someone I know keeps ending their chat messages with ))): Then you can still copy jokes from others.))) I assume that this isn't some newfangled emoticon gone wrong. What is its purpose?

punctuation

z7sg

Um, ask them?

Matt Ellen

@MrHen needs more context! ))):

JSBangs

13:45

2

Q: What are good synonyms for "proactive"?

I'm new to this part of the StackExchange network. I hope that this question suits the format and intentions of english.SE. Let me start by asking my question right away: What are good synonyms for proactive? Edit: The reason why I'm asking is simply: I don't like this word for reasons I li...

single-word-requests synonyms

i'm thinking this is off-topic by our single-word-request guidelines

MrHen

@JSBangs Holy crap, so many edits...

BTW, I don't think "off-topic" is the right reason.

z7sg

@JSBangs I want to to help though... I feel sorry that proactive is such a nasty word! It's deffo tl;dr as well though.

MrHen

The topic isn't what is causing a problem.

JSBangs

@MrHen i know, and it's rambly and ridiculous. he can say what he doesn't like about the word proactive, but he doesn't give any good indication of what he wants instead

@MrHen are you thinking it's maybe NARQ or possibly NC?

Matt Ellen

then it's gen ref. since he can just look it up in a thesaurus

JSBangs

13:48

@MattEllen i'd support that

i mean, the rest of you can vote that way

MrHen

@JSBangs General Reference, honestly.

JSBangs

BTW, i notice that The User Formerly Known As 3I has been pretty well-behaved since his return

MrHen

"What is a synonym for X?" is something you use a thesaurus for. It isn't our fault you don't like what you found.

@JSBangs We had a funny non-answer in here from earlier :)

JSBangs

@MrHen i was noticing this question, where he cast a right good close vote: english.stackexchange.com/questions/35868/…

MrHen

@JSBangs Ah, excellent. :)

Oop, gotta go

JSBangs

13:55

@RegDwight please make meanings (2 questions) a synonym of meaning

i'm gonna fix the two questions that have it, but this should really be a standard synonym

0

Q: What does ")))" mean at the end of a sentence?

Someone I know keeps ending their chat messages with ))): A: Except if you're not good at jokes B: Then you can still copy jokes from others.))) I assume that this isn't some newfangled emoticon gone wrong. What is its purpose?

punctuation

c'mon, @MrHen. aren't you our close-voter? too localized

MrHen

@JSBangs I added my vote. I am just in a silly mood today :)

JSBangs

wait, you can close-vote yourself?

MrHen

@JSBangs Yep. I've actually closed my own question before

1

Q: How do I handle articles with parenthetical statements?

Possible Duplicate: “a/an” preceding a parenthetical statement If I were to use a (normal) parenthetical statement, the article would not cause problems. If I were to use a (unusual) parenthetical statement, the article seems incorrect. How should I proceed? Is one of thes...

punctuation articles syntax parentheses

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