English Language & Usage: Multi-Layered Discourse Room

user114359

12:01 AM

Question came up on Programmers and I am not sure if this would be a migration candidate. Feedback?

user114359

-1

Q: How to denote/refer 'user' in the following case?

I have to write API documentation for a mobile loyalty program and I am doubting how to go through this... 1) The user asks its visit to be registered. 2) The user asks his/her visit to be registered. In context of Technical Writing, which sentence is correct and why? If none is correct, pleas...

tchrist

1:06 AM

@Snowman A user is an animate antecedent; you cannot call them an it.

Although I realize that doesn't address your migratory concerns.

user114359

@tchrist Oh I know the answer, neither option is correct. But it does not change the off-topicness at Programmers

tchrist

In my personal opinion, the question is too basic for ELU, and also too duplicative. It also fails our research requirements.

There is always ELL, but it still might not survive.

I doubt Writers would take it.

user114359

@tchrist Good enough for me, the question is Roomba-eligible now.

tchrist

Well, in a coupla hours. :)

user114359

Yeah, it does seem a bit basic even if the asker genuinely put some effort into it and appears to be an ESL speaker.

user114359

1:18 AM

Which is why I asked here instead of flagging, which typically ends in tears after it gets migrated and either rejected or immediately closed.

tchrist

I doubt it would get migrated without negotiation, and I doubt that negotiation would lead to migration. I could be wrong.

Kit Z. Fox

@Snowman I don't think it is suitable here unless it were more specific about pronoun use, and then I think it's a duplicate anyway. I asked the Writers mods because I think they are looking for more technical writing types of questions and maybe they could edit into something they would like.

user114359

2:05 AM

@KitZ.Fox If they want to migrate and edit it then they are free to flag it so a Programmers mod can migrate it. I already edited it to be a little bit better.

tchrist

2:18 AM

@KitZ.Fox I missed your IPA ping.

I'll catch it in the morning. Virtually in bed already.

SmokeDetector

[ SmokeDetector ] Few unique characters in answer, repeating words in answer: "Enclosure" vs. "attachment" by user149668 on english.stackexchange.com

Matt E. Эллен

11:50 AM

I couldn't believe what I saw on @C4Countdown today, it was just bang out of order. http://t.co/msmjNitsJD

Tweeted by Pointless_Alias on October 6, 2015 at 3:52 PM

you need to see the photo for it to make sense

tchrist

12:09 PM

I'm mostly just an idiot

@MattE.Эллен Is 'bang out of order' a saying?

tchrist

I had no idea that Jersey, Guernsey, the Isle of Man, and Gibraltar all had their own two-letter country domains.

Matt E. Эллен

@I'mmostlyjustanidiot yes. it's used in contexts where one person feels wronged by another, or feels the other person has wronged someone else. "What you said about my mum was bang out of order", similar in meaning to "out of line"

tchrist

12:30 PM

1

Q: "Thou shalt not pass" and "You shall not pass" hybrid

Is it technically incorrect grammar to make a hybrid of the well known statements: "Thou shalt not pass" and "You shall not pass"––this hybrid being: "You shalt not pass"? From what I understand from not 100% trustworthy sources (Wikipedia), "Thou shalt not" is used by the KJV (Ten Commandments,...

grammaticality verb-agreement personal-pronouns thou-thee-thy

^^^^^ balrog ^^^^^

It's curious how ELU's site analytics shows a notable slump last week for the long Thanksgiving holiday, but that SO’s do not. Anybody have any idea that might help account for that?

I’m talking about traffic.

Spanish.SO should open to private beta later today.

Get in early, get shiny badgers in mint condition.

Cerberus

12:49 PM

They miss Reg and Rob?

Chat certainly has been deadish.

tchrist

I was referring to main site traffic, actually.

Cerberus

If you remove two of the top users from the main site and chat, other users' interest may flag, which results in fewer interesting posts and less traffic eventually?

Matt E. Эллен

They are not removed from the main site or chat. Rob has chosen to leave. Reg is avoiding chat for obvious reasons. He hasn't left the main site.

Cerberus

But has he been active?

One thing is bound to affect another.

Matt E. Эллен

@Cerberus Yes. You can see for yourself (I think) the last time he visited

Cerberus

12:55 PM

It affects the community in untraceable ways.

Yes, visited; but that doesn't say how active he has been.

tchrist

@Cerberus Pretty active.

And that’s just the user activity log, not his moderator activities.

I miss him, but I cannot condemn anyone for not wanting to fritter away their lives in chat.

I'm mostly just an idiot

@tchrist That doesn't look that active to be honest, 5-6 day gap, 2-3 day gap

Although 2-3 day gaps aren't that uncommon from deeper history

Cerberus

Hi!

tchrist

@I'mmostlyjustanidiot English has this concept called le weekend.

Cerberus

@tchrist It is not he whom you ought to condemn anyway.

tchrist

12:59 PM

@Cerberus And who am I to judge?

I'm mostly just an idiot

@tchrist I have never seen fritter used like this.

Really good use!

Cerberus

@tchrist I'm not asking you to judge.

I do wonder whether SE really thinking censorship is worth all this.

It being the main cause of the break-up in our community.

tchrist

That chat flags are suboptimal is no news.

I'm mostly just an idiot

@Cerberus I don't personally.

Cerberus

@tchrist It is to the people at SE, apparently. But what I mean is that they don't seem to realise how big the problems are that it creates (and how small the problems that it solves).

@I'mmostlyjustanidiot So you would like to read this link eh?

meta.english.stackexchange.com/questions/7337/…

I'm mostly just an idiot

1:02 PM

@Cerberus Yes!

Cerberus

Rob's farewell post.

I'm mostly just an idiot

Holy moly(got it open, so you can delete if you wish)

Cerberus

You managed to read the deleted message?

I think Rob is OK with anybody reading this; he just didn't want a voting contest or a Meta discussion.

I'm mostly just an idiot

No, I just meant I opened the imgur in a second tab, so you can delete that from chat if you think Kit is going to punish you(don't know if it's against the rules)

Cerberus

Haha.

That's funny.

tchrist

1:04 PM

@Cerberus There is no shortage of discussion about chat flags on MSE.

Cerberus

I really care about the opinion of people like Kit.

@tchrist Yes, but the one person from SE who came here on the day of drama was 100% unaware of the problems they created when I talked to her about it.

Or seemed.

I myself am flagged maybe once a year, so I don't care about it for myself.

tchrist

@Cerberus I honestly do not understand why you feel the way you do in some of this, but I have the memory of goldfish.

Matt E. Эллен

@I'mmostlyjustanidiot It's fine, as it was deleted not because of what it said, but because the person who posted it didn't want a pointless argument to break out in the comments

Cerberus

@tchrist The flag system has caused huge problems for years, and now it is the direct cause of Reg and Rob's leaving the site; that's why I feel so strongly about this. The rest I don't really care about.

Now I have to go, work time.

Matt E. Эллен

CU

Cerberus

1:09 PM

Adios.

Matt E. Эллен

@tchrist some clever tyke has already taken wp.gg (beware it redirects to a Russian site)

I'm mostly just an idiot

@Cerberus These messages make me depressed for some reason.

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