English Language & Usage: Multi-Layered Discourse Room

RegDwight

17:06

@Robusto Well, that would certainly make more sense as I only know the piece by the title Jeux Interdits...

Robusto

Forbidden Games?

@RegDwight Yes, then he's almost certainly referring to the last song of the evening.

Hey, check the comments here:

1

Q: Why does my Firefox spell checker marked "realize" and "analyze" as misspelled?

The suggestions it gave were "realise" and "analyse", so I went to the COCA (The Corpus of Contemporary American English), and it turned out that what I've spelled was most commonly spelled, and what FF suggested, well, I might just say they were the rare cases. Why is that?

RegDwight

@Robusto Yes, Forbidden Games, hence:

2 hours ago, by RegDwight

@Robusto It's one of them forbidden games, actually.

Followed by the video.

Robusto

Ah. But who pays attention to anything you write?

RegDwight

Certainly not @RegDwight. He hates @RegDwight's crap and can't stand his aggression.

@Robusto At least they didn't close it outright.

Robusto

4 hours ago, by Robusto

@RegDwight — Let's get our quotes right ... "I do mind, the Dude minds. This will not stand, ya know, this aggression will not stand, man."

RegDwight

17:13

Which means that indeed, they can expect the death ships to arrive before long.

Robusto

Hehehe ... "I am become EU&L.SE, destroyer of StackExchange sites."

RegDwight

Mar 12 at 17:02, by RegDwight

See what happens when you don't capitalize stuff, Larry?

Another verbatim quote from the movie.

Robusto

Nice.

The next 8 or 9 statements by Walter Sobjchak will get you banned in chat.

RegDwight

Find a stranger in the Alps?

Robusto

Yeah, really.

That particular bowdlerization is among the most egregious ever.

I mean, WTF does that even mean?

RegDwight

17:16

That's why he explains it! D'oh.

If it were obvious, he wouldn't be asking, "see what happens if".

Robusto

When.

RegDwight

It's a live demo.

Robusto

Not if.

RegDwight

Well, that is arguably more egregious. As if you have a right to meet a stranger in the Alps anytime you please.

Robusto

I mean, why even show that movie at all if you're going to hack it up like that? It reminds me of the Heinlein quote: "Never try to teach a pig to sing; it wastes your time and it annoys the pig.”

Even if you meet the pig in the Alps.

RegDwight

17:19

I know the movie by heart. In two languages. If I misquote it, it's on purpose. Especially if you keep insisting that I should not do that.

Robusto

Double bill.

RegDwight

That is another movie I am yet to see.

Robusto

That is another movie I have yet to see. NNS alert!

RegDwight

At least they didn't misspell defiantly. Oh wait, they did!

@Robusto "I am yet to" is perfectly grammatical English.

Check COCA, BNC, or Google if you're lazy.

Meanwhile, supper.

TTYL.

Robusto

Grammatical, yes. Native-speakerish? Not really.

Laterz.

rajakvk

17:23

is the meeting over? or does the meeting over? which one is grammatically correct?

Robusto

@RegDwight And "I am yet to" when searched for by itself will turn up lots of hits that don't validate this particular usage.

@rajakvk The meeting is over.

rajakvk

@Robusto if i want to ask

trying to ask a question

Robusto

Say "Is the meeting over?" or "Is the meeting over yet?" or "Has the meeting ended yet?"

rajakvk

@Ro

@Robusto thanks

Robusto

NP

Rhodri

17:30

@rajakvk "Do over" means "repeat". Or "assault" in colloquial British. Isn't English wonderful?

Robusto

And "get over" means to finish, or advises someone to abandon a loss, or expresses some kind of subterfuge that permits one person to take advantage of another.

rajakvk

yes.

Robusto

19:49

0

Q: Where did the term "garage band" originate from?

Apart from the video game, the term has been in use amongst musicians for years - where did it come from, documented listings?

etymology

I think this guy just called me a dick.

@RegDwight, @Kosmonaut, @nohat: ^^

MrHen

The new dino seems worse, somehow.

Another flagging opinion question: Should I bother digging through old questions & answers or just let sleeping dogs lie?

Martha

@Robusto I think my flag was the proverbial straw.

Robusto

@Martha — You flagged the comment too?

Martha

@Robusto Yes, just now. (Because I agree, he just called you a dick. Which may or may not be true, but is uncalled-for regardless.)

Robusto

@Martha — Hey, I am not! Honest!

Martha

20:02

@MrHen If you think your flagging will improve the site, go right ahead. IMO.

@Robusto I allowed for that possibility. :)

Robusto

Meanie.

Martha

:þ

MrHen

@Martha Mmk. Who actually deals with the flags? I should probably get their opinion, too. :P

Martha

@MrHen That would be one of our Diamond Triumvirate, namely @RegDwight, @Kosmonaut, and @nohat.

MrHen

@Martha Mmk. Thanks.

Robusto

20:09

Nevertheless, him calling me a dick makes me doubt that he is the reincarnation of T-Rex, or one of his avatars.

MrHen

@Robusto If you check the user page it has all of the old Rex questions and answers

How is that not conclusive?

Robusto

Oh really?

MrHen

-5

Q: Is there a past tense for the word "shit"?

Is there a past tense for the word "shit"?

usage tense past-tense

Old question, new name.

Robusto

Yep. Good work.

He must be cracking then. He seemed to pride himself in being above the fray before.

MrHen

@Robusto I agree. And I doubt people will have much grace with the new incarnation.

Robusto

20:13

I just approved another one of your edits btw, MrHen.

Not related.

MrHen

@Robusto Okay. Expect a bunch of edits on old posts to swing through. (Unless you mind; then I can knock it off.)

Robusto

Nah. Your edits seem pretty spot-on.

Some people take a sledgehammer to someone else's prose; you seem to prefer the scalpel.

MrHen

@Robusto Er, I considered the "tech" post a sledge-hammer edit.

Robusto

Then you should see some of the edits I see.

People will take a three-sentence question and turn it into a treatise.

Full of rephrasings just for the sake of saying something differently.

MrHen

Oh. I (fortunately do not) see.

F'x

20:53

MrHen: I just approved a bunch of edits of yours

MrHen

@Fx Thanks. I am digging through old posts/answers. Let me know if it starts to bug you. :)

Kosmonaut

22:38

Re: merriam-webster.com/dictionary/garage%20band

Yeah, I have been extremely busy lately with academics... but it's really good progress! :) I should have more time again in not too long.

I'm not sure why this is getting NARQ votes:

0

Q: Where did the term "garage band" originate from?

Apart from the video game, the term has been in use amongst musicians for years - where did it come from, documented listings?

etymology

MrHen

@Kosmonaut Because the user has a bad history and the question is trivial to answer.

8

Q: Are minor jokes in answers and questions OK when they are slightly discriminating against certain groups?

Consider this answer: What is the pejorative for people who only practice their faith while at the place of worship? Whited sepulchres. This is what they are called in that noted work of fiction " The Bible", King James' Version. Is this joke OK? If not, what should be done about it?...

discussion on-topic-off-topic

This is turning into a downvote/upvote war

Kosmonaut

I guess it is like other etymology questions to me.

MrHen

@Kosmonaut Sure. I was just trying to explain the "why". :)

Kosmonaut

Right. Makes sense. I just don't know that I will actually mod-close it.

@MrHen I'm on the fence about that answer. I can't decide.

MrHen

@Kosmonaut I guess my issue with it is that the question isn't actually asking an interesting question. The term more or less explains itself. It isn't asking who or why the term exists.

@Kosmonaut I guess I was hoping that there would be more discussion and less downvoting without explanation.

Kosmonaut

22:48

@MrHen True, but this seems to happens with controversial stuff.

MrHen

I mean, my answer there is +6/-3 and no one has told me why.

Kosmonaut

@MrHen Well, meta voting is a little bit different from main site voting.

MrHen

@Kosmonaut How so?

Kosmonaut

You vote up what you agree with and vote down what you disagree with.

Rather than "this is a well-done question/answer"

Still, discussion is way more valuable than voting, so I mostly agree with your lament.

MrHen

@Kosmonaut Yeah... I guess I was at least expecting a clarification on what was being disagreed with.

In any case, how is a decision on something like this actually made?

Like, what happens now?

Wait a week and see which answer has the most upvotes?

That seems... odd. (To me.)

Kosmonaut

22:53

Well, no, it's not as simple as that. The votes are more of just a metric.

To get a feel for the general atmosphere.

MrHen

@Kosmonaut Mmk. I more care so I know how to act/edit/flag in the future.

Kosmonaut

I have been really busy so I haven't gotten to talk much to @RegDwight. But we'll talk about it and try to decide how we should approach it.

And nohat as well.

MrHen

@Kosmonaut Mmk. No worries, though. This isn't really too important in the larger scheme. I am just curious about everything. :)

Kosmonaut

But, at the moment, I would say flag an answer as you deem appropriate.

We will at least have a look at it and think about it ourselves.

Even if you're the only flagger.

MrHen

@Kosmonaut Yeah, will do. I ask about the controversial ones. I knew this one was a doozy.

Doozy as in, differing opinions were likely to abound.

But if there is ever anything I could do (or not do) to make the mods' lives easier let me know.

Kosmonaut

23:03

I think thoughtful flags by regular users are almost always useful.

MrHen

Mmk, good to know.

Well, I'm out for now. Cheers. :)

Alain Pannetier

@Good evening all

@Martha, in the context of your comment about the pluralisation of "God", could you please elaborate on the difference between a proper noun and a proper name ?

Until now, I used both phrases interchangeably ;-)

Martha

23:20

They are more or less interchangeable. I think I was on crack when I wrote that comment.

(Well, actually, I was trying to articulate something, but obviously I failed.)

Alain Pannetier

So I don't get a THWACK then ;-) ?

Martha

Basically, "Gods" can be used the same as "the Smiths". The former refers to a pantheon while the latter refers to a family, but it's the same sort of thing really.

No thwacking. I only thwack puns.

Alain Pannetier

So we all agree with jgbelacqua then.

Martha

Yup.

Alain Pannetier

thx. nomore question... for now !

Transcript for

English Language & Usage: Multi-Layer…