English Language & Usage: Multi-Layered Discourse Room

6:00 PM

@Cerberus Then the comedian is doing his or her job well.

My recommendation, by the way, is to edit and added these things to link-only attributions without bothering to comment and get the OP to try to do it.

Cerberus

@terdon No, then people are stupid!

terdon

@Cerberus Duh!

tchrist

One should be able to know the source without having to punch through the link. It’s a matter of credibility. There is a big difference between citing the OED or some other curated source that has underlying referenced versus citing a crowd-sourced thing like Wiktionary verus citing some random private web page.

terdon

After all, only a fool can be insulted because the truth can never be an insult and an untruth is not worth bothering with.

RegDwigнt

6:01 PM

3

Q: "Which do you like best?" or "Which do you like most?"

Is there any difference in usage between these two sentences? Which do you like best? Which do you like most? I've read there is a slight difference in usage - a subtlety - and would like to hear what native speakers have to say about it in 2014.

Alraxite

However, if the first few letters are what that's used by SE to salt my email, I can bring back my old avatar back if I create a new email with the required letters trimmed off.

RegDwigнt

0

Q: "I love this version the best" or "I love this version the most"?

"I love this version the best" or "I love this version the most"? Are these both normative constructions? I have come to the realization that I am not sure whether "love this the best" is natural-sounding English, at least in the US. Thanks for your help!

adverbs

14

Q: "Like something more" or "like something better"

When people like something more than something else, it's common for me to hear them say they like it better than something else. Is this proper English? I've always thought the word more fits better, but I'm not sure whether or not use of the word better is wrong.

word-choice grammaticality adverbs comparative

I think we need a new tag.

tchrist

This is why we need you, @Reg.

terdon

@tchrist Agreed. I only use link-only when citing things like dictionary.com or wordnik

tchrist

@RegDwigнt prescriptivist-poppycock

RegDwigнt

6:02 PM

@tchrist nah, I've created way too many tags already.

I wonder how high a percentage.

tchrist

@RegDwigнt I have a SEDE query for that. Moment.

RegDwigнt

@tchrist do you also have a SEDE query that lists which SEDE queries you don't have?

tchrist

Jul 1 at 16:14, by tchrist

Boy I make a lot of lame tags.

RegDwigнt

I have no idea how to read those results.

tchrist

If you sort on user, you will see how many you’ve made.

Let me fix.

Cerberus

6:05 PM

@terdon Yes. Except from a friend.

"You're ugly."

RegDwigнt

Whoa, I can sort that shite?

That is kewl.

terdon

@Cerberus True.

But that's not offensive, it's saddening. Not the same thing.

Cerberus

And untruths can be libellous, though not insulting.

tchrist

Ordered by user.

RegDwigнt

Hm. Exactly 40.

That's not much!

Cerberus

6:06 PM

I don't know, what is "offensive"? It's such a vague word. Which is part of the reason why I don't like it when people say they are offended.

RegDwigнt

Also, some of those I most certainly did not create.

tchrist

@RegDwigнt Hm, I wonder how that works then.

RegDwigнt

geography? Was I drunk?

KitFox

Probably

RegDwigнt

And expression-choice is mine? Rly?

tchrist

6:07 PM

Always a possibility.

RegDwigнt

I blame the many jinxes followed by Vodka-Cola.

humor. No comment.

Where are all the useful tags I've been imagining having created?

Anyway, I am off to watch Rushmore. Lators.

KitFox

@RegDwigнt Love that one.

tchrist

   69 Community
   40 RegDwigнt
   35 Daniel
   35 tchrist
   29 Hugo
   13 kiamlaluno
   12 JSBձոգչ
   11 Kosmonaut
    5 choster
    5 nohat

Alraxite

I've changed my profile picture back.

KitFox

Wha!

Alraxite

6:19 PM

It's like I'm using a completely new pic.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

0

Q: What is the difference between "deployment" and "release"?

In work environment, we frequently encounter the words "deployment" and "release" in technical context. I often hear them used interchangeably also. It is mainly related to "Release and Deployment Management". For example, Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) defines the aim of R...

differences word-usage terminology technical

Is there a close reason "OP answered their own question in the question"?

tchrist

Ok, out of close votes.

Question: Is it true that if you are on a palmtop computer, there is (or might be) no hover/tooltip functionality available for SE?

@JSBձոգչ I think it was you who the other day who said something nicely repeatable on why inline citations are needed, not just links. Do you remember something about that?

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@tchrist palmtop, such as a phone or tablet?

tchrist

@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 Sure.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

yes. They don't have hover because there is no cursor. However some Samsung phones purport to use the video camera to track your hovering finger and can, supposably, hover.

tchrist

6:30 PM

Ok, that’s what I thought.

Another arrow in the hide of the link-only non-citations.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

It is a major issue with my current project, which is a redesign of the company's site, that the designer keeps hiding UI behind :hover

tchrist

You cannot hover on them to adjudge their authority.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

You can long-press a link; in some browsers that pops up a menu which may provide more info

tchrist

I’m accumulating reasons why one should say in plaintext what the source is that one is citing.

JSBձոգչ

@tchrist 'tweren't i

tchrist

6:32 PM

It is much easier on the reader that having to poke through a link.

KitFox

You want the links I was looking at for precedent?

tchrist

Sure!

KitFox

9

Q: What is the policy concerning users who copy and paste answers without acknowledging the source?

I have come across a user who more than once has been caught out by experienced members of this community and asked to cite the reference which he/she copied their answer verbatim. Out of sheer curiosity and guided by a sense of intrigue I visited the user's page and discovered to my bemusement t...

discussion

I don't have anything for citation, just for plagiarism.

All the more reason to have a specific Meta policy.

tchrist

Right. Which is why I would like a meta posting about it.

Alraxite

What will happen if I remove the only email from my 'my logins' options?

KitFox

6:33 PM

Two things on Meta.SE.

That's as far as I had gotten.

tchrist

Ok, thanks.

KitFox

I didn't find anything on our Meta, but I hadn't yet searched Meta.SE to see if there was something more plain.

tchrist

Yes, we can edit them in. Probably. But I would rather people put them in themselves from the get-go to save us the trouble.

KitFox

Or any of the other sites, like Skeptics, which would probably really need stuff like that.

Alraxite

Now, I can't remove it when I use the 'my logins' options from stackexchange.com. But I can when I'm on an individual SE site.

So, presumably, I'll lose access to that SE site.

KitFox

6:36 PM

@tchrist I would rather have you edit it than handle a flag.

Alraxite

I wonder if I can connect back and have all my reputation too.

tchrist

@KitFox I would not flag such a thing.

KitFox

@Alraxite You should be able to if you use the same email for both.

I think.

@tchrist No, but someone else might.

tchrist

Yesterday I was going to leave people comments and ask them do it, but after trying that I decided that it was too strong and so reneged on like 100 comments. I resolved to post something to meta today instead.

Because I would like the community involved in the discussion and resolution.

I’m trawling MSE right now.

Alraxite

Never mind. "You cannot remove your only login."

KitFox

6:38 PM

@tchrist That's great. I have wanted to get that done and I really appreciate that you are doing it.

tchrist

I’ll do it.

KitFox

I am a week behind on work and about sixteen hours from getting in trouble.

tchrist

Then please go attend to that.

KitFox

Trying, but it's trying.

;-)

terdon

@tchrist so, something like this needs a clear citation then? The link to the dictionary page is not enough?

tchrist

6:41 PM

@terdon That is my contention, yes.

People should be able to judge how much trust to place in the source without having to click through to find out who it is.

There is a tremendous difference between curated, crowd-sourced, and private webpage links.

But nobody can tell that when the citation doesn’t name its source.

stackoverflow.com/help/referencing

> When you find a useful resource that can help answer a question (from another site or in an answer on Stack Overflow) make sure you do all of the following:

• Provide a link to the original page or answer
• Quote only the relevant portion
• Provide the name of the original author

See, a link doesn’t provide the name of where it came from.

terdon

6:59 PM

Hmm, fair enough. I often don't do it for dictionary definitions because in most cases where I use them, they are standard. I tend to do this when the answer is self evident really. Any dictionary would tell you the same thing.

But OK. I'll make a point of not doing so in the future.

Mitch

@terdon Yes. It's complicated. Sorta like being French.

terdon

@Mitch I dunno about that. Can't be that complicated, the French manage it after all.

Mitch

7:18 PM

@terdon Not.. um... struggles to find one ... inuit? Icelanders? Easter Island?

tchrist

@terdon ménage

terdon

Point.

Mitch

@terdon Turks/Azeris, Arabs, Baluchis, Armenians, even Jews are all large ethnicities within Iran (OK not so many Jews any more). All -want- to be Iranian. They're not Persian.

In France, egalité means everybody is French (but some are more French than others)

terdon

@Mitch Yes, I have since looked it up and found that Persian can be used today to refer to certain ethnic groups.

Cerberus

Many people still call the country Persia.

There is no need to go along with every name change a new clan in power dictates...

Mitch

7:28 PM

@Cerberus Hungary! We'll never bow down to the fascist hegemony and call it... oh ggod I think I broke my mouth trying to say what they say.

Also, I will never refer to 'that place' by what they want. Never.

Alabama.

Argh! Dammit! You forced that out of me! Damn you all!

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@Cerberus Isn't it rather rude to ignore what they themselves wish to be called?

Cerberus

@Mitch You are doomed indeed.

@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 Who are "they" (the clan currently in power?), and no.

A country is not a ~~person~~ corporation.

Mitch

feels doomed

waits to be doomed until after snack time

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@Cerberus But the government in power represents its people.

Mitch

But recognizing a name change recognizes a new government, which may by politically inopportune.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

7:41 PM

If you wanted to be known as William, but I insisted on calling you John, wouldn't that be rude? Why is it different if it's a group of people?

Mitch

What if you have a split personality and one of your personalities wants to burn down your house, and the other personality is weak and ineffectual and...

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@Mitch In cases of dispute over who is actually in charge and representing the people, fine.

Then you pick which group represents the people and go along with the name they want.

Mitch

@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 People and governments reluctantly call Myanmar/Burma 'Myanmar' because they don't like them.

Does this mean nobody likes Germany/Alemania/Nemetsky?

Cerberus

@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 Why should it? I don't think you are suggesting that the people of Iran had a vote in the name change.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@Cerberus The people of Iran have always called Iran Iran, or something like that. "Persia" is an exonym.

Cerberus

7:51 PM

It was probably decided by a handful of people. And it may be changed again come the next régime change.

@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 Well, is that a problem?

They do call their language Persia.

What's wrong with exonyms?

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@Cerberus It might be a problem. If a person asks that you call them by a certain name, shouldn't you do it? Where do you presume to second-guess the government of Iran's decision to ask that people call it Iran?

Cerberus

Do you hear me protesting when everyone in English calls my nationality "German"?

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@Cerberus Just because you don't, doesn't mean you can't.

Cerberus

Duits = German.

@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 Again, a person is not a country.

I have no qualms about calling it by whatever name I am used to calling it, be it Iran or huge or old.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@Cerberus So what. So the government doesn't represent the people? They should be ignored, because you can't be bothered to change?

Cerberus

7:54 PM

Why would I care about what Khomenei thinks of my language?

I let him use whichever words he likes, and I will use my words.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@Cerberus First of all, it isn't Khomenei. Second of all, because it's rude to ignore people's requests about what they are called.

Mitch

@Cerberus They don't call it Persian at all, that's totally a Greek thing. They call it فارسی or Farsi

Cerberus

Khamenei. I always confuse the names and the spelling is different every time.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

> In 1935, Reza Shah asked foreign delegates to use the term Iran (the historical name of the country, used by its native people) in formal correspondence.

Cerberus

@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 It is rude to demand of people that they change their language for no good reason.

And there is no "people's request".

@Mitch Farsi=Persian, right?

Same word.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

7:59 PM

@Cerberus When it comes to names, it doesn't matter if you think there's a good reason. Self-determination is reason enough.

Mitch

So when Prince changed his name to Prince, you still called him... what was it before that?

Cerberus

@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 Ridiculous.

Mitch

@Cerberus no but cognate.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@Cerberus The government represents the people.

Cerberus

@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 It does not.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

8:00 PM

@Cerberus Of course it does.

Cerberus

It does not.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

It may not do so perfectly, but that is its job.

Cerberus

And, even if it did, it has no right to make me go through the trouble of changing my language for no good reason.

Mitch

@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 until they revolt.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@Mitch Which they did, later, but notably, kept the name.

Mitch

8:01 PM

@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 I know, right? Just like France too.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@Cerberus "changing your language". Yeah, it's a BFD that they want you to say "Iran" instead of Persia. Oh noes! your language is under attack!

Cerberus

BFD?

Mitch

And Madonna after her sex change.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@Cerberus It stands for Big Deal.

Cerberus

They have no business telling me how to speak for no good reason, that is the bottom line.

In formal correspondence, sure. That's different.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

8:02 PM

@Cerberus How about "you've been saying it wrong for centuries, just because the Greeks said it that way doesn't mean everyone should keep doing it"

Cerberus

What?

Mitch

@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 what about all the countries names that we have our own that don't correspond to the countries themselves?

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

How about "We'd like it if you called us this, not some other thing"

Cerberus

I don't care about the Greeks.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@Mitch If they have a complaint, they can voice it.

Mitch

8:03 PM

@Cerberus actually another one which isn't the same in Greek.

Cerberus

There is no "we", and anything that isn't a person should not be asking me to change my language unless it's for a good reason.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@Cerberus Dude. It isn't "changing your language". Get off your high horse.

Cerberus

@Mitch What?

@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 It is. It's ridiculous and harmful.

Mitch

What do people in Greece call their country?

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@Cerberus come on. what harm, exactly, is caused.

Mitch

8:04 PM

What if you can't pronounce it?

Cerberus

People are put through the trouble of changing their language, people are made to jump through the hoops of changing dictatorships, the aesthetics of the traditions of a language are harmed, and 1984.

Imagine if I asked you to stop saying "Dutch" but switch to "Nederlands".

Or, actually, that would be offensive to those among my people who live above sea level.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@Cerberus 1. The language is the same. 2. This has nothing to do with dictatorships. 3. How, exactly, are aesthetics harmed? What does that even mean? 4. This has nothing to do with 1984. Don't bring in your anti-pc nonsense here.

@Cerberus Yes. I've imagined it. I'm fine with that.

Cerberus

So next year, I shall change the word you have to use into "Low-Country".

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@Cerberus Obviously if you change your name too often you are an asshole.

Cerberus

@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 1. It's not. 2. It does. 3. Forcing people to change a tradition is ugly. 4. This is ALL about obnoxious PC-ness. Look at how annoyed I am now, it causes strife and discord.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

8:08 PM

But you can hardly act as if the name change from Persia to Iran is some kind of newfangled thing meant to annoy everyone. It's from 1935.

Andrew Leach

@Cerberus English does use that (although it's usually pluralised).

And then there's The Netherlands as well.

Cerberus

I don't care. They can use what they want, and the formal name shall be used in formal correspondence. Aside from that, people can use the language they want to use.

@AndrewLeach The pluralisation is offensive!! You deny our historical unity!!

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@Cerberus 1. It is. 2. In what way does it have anything to do with dictatorships? Citation needed. 3. "ugly" is a) subjective and b) where's the harm? 4. Nothing to do with PC. Absolutely nothing.

Cerberus

I say England and America and China.

I do not care to discuss this topic any further.

You're from British America anyway.

Oh, was there a new name?

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

The man who requested the name change was the Shah of Iran. not a dictator, a king.

Cerberus

8:13 PM

The only Shah I know about, the last one, was a tyrant.

About Reza:

> ... his detractors assert that his reign was often despotic, with his failure to modernize Iran's large peasant population eventually sowing the seeds for the Iranian Revolution.[3][4] Moreover, his insistence on ethnic nationalism and cultural unitarism along with forced detribalization and sedentarization resulted in suppression of several ethnic and social groups.

This is what I associate name changes with: annoying politics and nationalism.

Orwell did too.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@Cerberus Yeah, and Orwell was never wrong, never exaggerated, and anything he disliked must automatically be completely bad and never okay.

Cerberus

Orwell is pretty good, you know.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

He's the best. He was never wrong. Never spoke out against something that wasn't completely evil.

Cerberus

I agree completely with his views on language.

So far as I know them.

Andrew Leach

He was a bit pessimistic. We might reach 1984 by 2084. But we are on the way there.

Cerberus

8:19 PM

Heh.

He was indeed...

And I still believe we can turn the tide against many kinds of censorship.

And the surveillance state.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

Changing the name of something must therefore always be completely wrong. I see the light now. How could I have been so blind? Names must never, ever change.

Andrew Leach

It could make moderation easier.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

Any name change is clearly an example of an evil person trying to subtly use language to twist my thoughts towards their ideology.

14 mins ago, by Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@Cerberus Obviously if you change your name too often you are an asshole.

Since SE allows name changes, it should also provide a name history.

Andrew Leach

Mmm.

It might. I haven't tried all the bells and whistles yet.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@AndrewLeach well, even for regular users.

Andrew Leach

8:23 PM

I'd have no objection. I'll upvote your Meta question on it.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

aw man, homework?

Andrew Leach

There's nothing like a willing volunteer.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

if only we had one of those

Andrew Leach

Most people are nothing like a willing volunteer.

Mitch

@AndrewLeach Except for willing volunteers. Those guys really do fit the bill.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

8:32 PM

There are already feature requests on MSE about this and they boil down to "the mods can already do this" and "maybe one day we might make that available to the hoi polloi"

Cerberus

Telling other people to change their language for no good reason is what irks me.

And I am willing to accommodate the silly name changes of private persons.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@Cerberus discounting other peoples reasons as "no good reason" is what irks me.

Cerberus

Because a name change accomplishes very little, how can there be a good reason to demand this of other people? A name change changes nothing but the name.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@Cerberus Then why are you so upset by it?

Cerberus

See reasons 1–4.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

8:36 PM

A name change that happened decades before you were even born, no less

Cerberus

But I said I didn't want to discuss the matter any further.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

Your reasons 1-4 are no good.

Yeah I was kinda glad you stopped talking about it.

Cerberus

Oh, they're good.

You stop!

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

I had stopped, until you popped back in to re-iterate.

Robusto

@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 I don't agree Orwell was the best (however we define that). I'd put Bertrand Russell ahead of him by a long chalk.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

8:38 PM

@Robusto your sarcasm detector must be broken.

Cerberus

No, you popped back in with your praise of the evil detribalist Shah.

Russel is good too, to be sure.

Robusto

@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 It is. I just got back from my bike ride and I'm taking things at face value until I get my breath back. Help!

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@Cerberus I never praised him. And the last I said about him was like half an hour ago.

Cerberus

I had stopped before you mentioned him.

Mitch

Can't we talk about something else. Like food.

Sunny side up or over easy? Which one?

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

8:39 PM

@Mitch scrambled.

Robusto

Sunny-side up.

!!sunny-side up or over easy

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

There is only scrambled.

Jarvis the Bot

@Robusto sunny-side up

Robusto

See?

Mitch

@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 Goddamn you!

Oh. Actually scrambled are kinda nice too.

Cerberus

8:40 PM

@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 How typical. You want to destroy eggs.

Robusto

@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 What color is the sky in your world?

Mitch

@Cerberus Egg lover.

Cerberus

Dark brown.

@Mitch How dare you!!

Robusto

Oh, wait! Benedict! Eggs Benedict! Yes, yes, yes!

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@Cerberus You can't make an omelet without cracking a few eggs.

Mitch

8:41 PM

@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 Oh I forgot about them...poached

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@Robusto I'm indoors. The sky is stippled plaster.

Robusto

Jul 22 '13 at 20:53, by Robusto

Mitch

hardboiled with a little salt

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

1 min ago, by Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

There is only scrambled.

Cerberus

@Mitch Besides, we prefer the term "nearly-round-shaped chicken object" from now on, so as not to upset those to whom the lack of roundness is offensive.

Robusto

8:42 PM

I hate scrambled eggs. The only way I'll eat them is as huevos rancheros.

Cerberus

@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 Just make sure you're not chewing on bits of shell.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@Cerberus your passive-aggressive attempt to bring PC into it won't work. Nobody claims the Iran/Persia name change was meant to soothe offense.

Cerberus

wink, nudge

Robusto

Jul 22 '13 at 21:12, by Robusto

Anyway, I never got a decent buzz off a bottle of psychiatry.

Cerberus

@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 I speak only of chicken objects here.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

8:43 PM

@Cerberus mm-hm.

Cerberus

Ones that are nearly round!

Anything but their roundness is irrelevant and must be purged from the records.

Johan Larsson

ellipsoidal

Cerberus

Shhhh!!!

@Robusto Hmm why? They need to be half-snotty still...

Andrew Leach

@JohanLarsson ovoid, I think.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

ugh. runny eggs. No.

Cerberus

8:44 PM

@AndrewLeach Careful!

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

Eggs are meant to be cooked.

Mitch

@Cerberus pre-born pullets

Johan Larsson

scrambled > bolied > fried

Cerberus

@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 Just as Persia is meant to be called Iran?

Oops.

Johan Larsson

@AndrewLeach I will never argue with you about words

Andrew Leach

8:45 PM

@Cerberus Oh. Ovate. Sheep-like. W'evs.

Cerberus

@Mitch Ahh yes, I like that. Except that they have not been fertilised, have they?

Mitch

@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 yeah that's gross. softboiled have to be very closely watched.

Cerberus

@AndrewLeach You're walking on chicken-object shells...

Mitch

@Cerberus nope. yuck.

Cerberus

So no pullets.

Robusto

8:46 PM

@JohanLarsson What is this bolied? Do you cook them at all?

Andrew Leach

@Cerberus Thanks for telling me. It's the Aspergers, you know.

Cerberus

Always willing to help people out about near-round sensibilities!

@Robusto That would ruin the object!! Bolying is the way to go, if you want to be avant-garde.

Johan Larsson

@Robusto boiling water 7-8 minutes depending on size

oh, typo

Robusto

All this talk of food. Here I go, down to the kitchen.

Johan Larsson

eat 'em raw

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

8:50 PM

Well, this has been an eggcsellent conversation, but I must get cracking. Bye, yolks!

Johan Larsson

more typos :)

cornbread ninja 麵包忍者

@Robusto bring me an apple, would ya?

Stack Exchange

9:04 PM

Limerick Machine: There once was a man from The Hague Who only said things that were vague When ask for more depth …

posted on July 07, 2014 by sgdi

There once was a man from The Hague Who only said things that were vague When ask for more depth The man simply left He then later died of the plague

tchrist

0

Q: What to do about missing source attributions?

Copying, Linking, Attributions, and Plagiarism I have two related questions that I would like to see some discussion on: Do we need to improve our Help Center’s text to remind people that they have to cite their sources by name? What should we do about postings that lack proper attribution?...

discussion hyperlinks reference plagiarism

Robusto

10:21 PM

@cornbreadninja麵包忍者 @Cerb doesn't allow any Apple products in chat.

Cerberus

@Robusto Thank you.

My future sister-in-law is going to buy another Apple laptop...

I growled at her but let pass.

Robusto

All three heads let it pass?

Cerberus

One kept tugging at my body.

The other two kept it in check.

Jason Marsh

►

Robusto

Bah, no good deed . . .

0

A: Adjective to describe someone who is knowledgeable, resolute, and calm

Since no one seems to have hit it yet, let me offer adroit. It implies "ease and natural skill, especially in difficult or challenging situations."

I bend a rule and I have eedjits judging me.

Cerberus

10:38 PM

He did say he liked your word...

But, hey, have a vote.

tchrist

@Robusto FTFY

Johan Larsson

Is sage a fit for that q?

tchrist

@JohanLarsson Hm. In connotation, perhaps; in denotation, less clearly.

Shokhet

@Robusto I'm the commenter on your answer (different SE accounts different names) ..... didn't downvote LOL; but still don't think that was the word he was looking for

Johan Larsson

@tchrist ok I took a chat-swing:)

tchrist

10:46 PM

I am thinking that the best we can hope for is encouraging people to include attributions in the future. There are just so many verbatim copied-out–text answers from past answers that it would be impossible to fix them all.

But I am adding a comment here or there especially on answers that are clearly copied from somewhere but which have neither a link nor a named attribution.

Cerberus

Sure, that is a good idea.

Thanks for the amphichiral comment.

tchrist

I confess that pulling out rare and exotic-to-the-point-of-“nonce-word–ness” coinages is going to bend people’s heads, but we have been doing this for thousands of years. It’s like my rare-word-meaning-a-rare-word Greek selection that I concocted largely out of combining forms not existing terms.

I can see I am going to have an uphill battle convincing certain people that a link is not an attributed name of the source.

Cerberus

Exactly!

People asking "is this a real word?" lack the literary knowledge to know how "fancy" language works.

TRiG

11:30 PM

17

Q: Take pride in your community, and work to build a site you can be proud of

I wish I didn't have to write this. But this site is in trouble. Nearly two years ago, one of my co-workers at the time wrote Why Sectarianism is Ruining Your Site, warning y'all about the dangers of allowing inflammatory, accusatory discourse to flourish. And yet here we are, many months la...

discussion etiquette plagiarism copy-paste

Islam SE is having serious problems with plagiarism.

tchrist

Really?

I wonder why.

Perhaps I should have added copy-paste. :)

I had thought that plagiarism was supposed to be deleted on sight, but that does not seem to happen on ELU.

Shog wrote:

> We require that answers consist primarily of the words of their author, and that all quotes be clearly marked as such and attributed to their respective authors.

But that is not happening on ELU.

> Do not tolerate answers consisting primarily of text copied from other sources.

So apparently people do flag for lack of original content. Interesting.

TRiG

@tchrist It's certainly an accepted reason to flag.

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