English Language & Usage: Multi-Layered Discourse Room - 2011-05-11 (page 1 of 3)

« first day (181 days earlier) ← previous day next day → last day (4724 days later) »

9:12 AM

@Alenanno There is an arrow in front of my message. It's an answer to a question of yours. You asked me a question, I answered it. What's not to understand? :P

@Martha Precisely. It's two different ways to link to the same question. But one is shorter, allowing you to pack more content into a single comment of yours.

This wasn't supposed to be rocket science, people. :P

Me speaky englisch.

Isn't I?

10:11 AM

you is, but in advanced level

hey @RegDwight so you basically use a "short link"? I understand now ahah but I can't understand how you get that short link... It's not necessary that you explain everything to me, but if you could point me in the right direction... :D

how can i see Alenanno's messages .. i ignored him

10:31 AM

@Alenanno Can you please just re-read that original post of mine. Please.

13 hours ago, by RegDwight

/questions/11481/framing-a-question-to-which-the-answer-is-an-ordinal-number
vs.
/q/11481
Compare for yourself.

Honestly, I didn't expect this to turn into a lengthy discussion. Actually, I thought you would figure it out all by yourself just by hovering over the links in the edited comment. (^_^)

Oh sorry

I figured it out now

Hahaha.

lol

but you see, I read your comment around 1 A.M.

Just like Robusto when he hasn't had his morning coffee yet.

yeah

I guess lol

10:34 AM

Ah, okay, so in your case it's night coffee. :P

Drink more coffee in your sleep, then you will understand everything I post.

ahah

now I'm prepared for it... I won't need it

...hopefully

lol

Let's wait and see... (@_@)

(If wonder if this has just pinged someone with the user name "_@)".)

Ahah uhm don't worry, I doubt this system accepts such nicknames... Or does it?

I'll change mine into %"£$%"&£$/

11:16 AM

@RegDwight — Huh? Wha?

@Robusto Have some coffee, then you will understand.

lol

I'm having one of those "my computer is running slow for no damn good reason" days. Crapola.

Ah yes. I had mine two days ago.

Somehow those always coincide with "I have a lot of shit to do and I'm under severe time pressure" days. How does Windows know?

11:26 AM

Magic, ladies and gentlemen!

They are amazing.

Microsoft has done more to prevent productivity than any government ever could.

That's free enterprise for you.

Why don't you change OS then? :D

Because my company has an IT department, that's why.

Aaaah I see

What is "IT" anyway?

Tag. You're IT.

11:32 AM

It's a book by Stephen King.

And Germans live every day in a Tag cloud. Little known fact.

IT, if I'm not wrong, stands for information technology. By the way, I'm new to this place.

@ThirdIdiot hi

@ThirdIdiot — Obviously. On both counts.

Hi F'x. What does your name stand for? My name stands for something you know.

11:35 AM

If you're new you are already way behind. The badinage comes thick and fast here, and it will be hard for you to keep up.

What's badinage?

Just got a Dejà Vu lol

GAFD.

@ThirdIdiot my name stands for "a quick way of calling me"

you could also call me "Fourth Turtle", which has a meaning, but is not my name, so the probability I will answer is rather low

I'm part of a trio called the Three Idiots. When we do anything, there's a crazy element.

11:38 AM

@ThirdIdiot I'm not sure that actually identifies you uniquely

Do you understand what your picture means?

@ThirdIdiot is this some sort of Rorschach test?

@F'x it's unique enough

@ThirdIdiot meaning is nothing without context

@F'x no, just that I can read chinese characters

11:39 AM

@ThirdIdiot what is means to you may not be what it means to me; why would your understanding of it trump mine?

joke aside, it's a Mahjong green dragon tile

U+1F005 MAHJONG TILE GREEN DRAGON

That's true, but when the word is written alone, it means something else.

Yeah but it's an avatar... Like mine which can mean "Asia" but of course in my case, it doesn't

:D

@ThirdIdiot issue, dispatch, send out, emit

How do you get your pictures?

Apr 26 at 21:14, by F'x

a Chinese guy recently read my gravatar and said I was going to get rich, so I have to go out there and look for some money

11:42 AM

I'd like a picture too.

Come to me

I'll read your gravatar and tell you where to get rich.

@ThirdIdiot actually, that's an old quote; I have gotten rich since then

or else, how would you explain me being able to stay on EL&U all day instead of working for a living :)

Ahahha

@F'x Since we're gravatar-related, something like relatives, would you mind helping me get rich?

lol

Maybe you are "working" in an office with a computer in front of you at the same time talking to us.

@Alenanno How is Asia related to a green dragon?

@RegDwight both are Unicode codepoints

11:46 AM

Where did I say that? :D

oh you mean "gravatar-related"

@RegDwight which U+???? FUNNY OWL WITH PANS is not, so don't try to join the club

@RegDwight Well... We both have an Asian related gravatar, isn't it? Or are you trying to say that Mahjong isn't an oriental game? Or that the Dragon isn't an oriental mythologic creature? :D

@RegDwight but if you changed you avatar to include ☭ (U+262D HAMMER AND SICKLE), we'll welcome you

@Fx I so don't plan on joining your petty club of "oh look, I put a random hanzi on my gravatar".

lol

11:49 AM

user image

@RegDwight see, don't be all pissed, the Unicorn loves you, RegDwight

Apr 1 at 12:25, by RegDwight

user image

@RegDwight yours doesn't have a sunset in the background, how can you expect not to lose?

@Fx Go see an eye doctor.

Some people are being random.!

There is a sunset in that picture.

11:51 AM

He's got a rainbow.

How do you know it isn't a sunrise

?

@ThirdIdiot I've been there, that's how I know. I took the photo myself.

@ThirdIdiot I've been watching that Unicorn for hours, and I swear the sun is going down

Now, how does F'x know that it's not a sunrise in his picture?

xD See ya later guys

CU.

11:52 AM

anyway, ☮ and ♥

Goodnight.

@ThirdIdiot It's not night

I'm going for a ☕

It's 10.00 p.m.

3

where do you come from?

@ThirdIdiot love that one; best quote every!

11:54 AM

Huh? Where? Where?Which one?

:)

where I am it's ⒔

1 ⒫⒨, if you prefer

That unicorn stuff is so ... well, you know.

user image

Take that, princesses.

Mr. Disappointment

I just don't get this: 'Purely as a matter of principle, I would rather abstain from commenting on other people's answers when I post an answer myself.'

Hahahahahha!!!!

⍼

11:56 AM

I like that picture!

Mr. Disappointment

Principle, schminciple!

How do you folks do all those little signs?

It's from The Office. A satire of Christmas gifts for girls.

@F'x

What does that sign mean?

12:17 PM

Hey there.

Helloes.

I have a quick question, and I think you might know the answer.

@MikeVaughan Hey Mike

@MikeVaughan sure

Do you get rep points for an accepted answer on a 'Community Wiki' question?

I know you don't get points for the upvotes. Does this hold true for accepeted answers?

I think so.

Everything else would be illogical.

12:21 PM

Interesting..

CW posts are owned by the Community user.

english.stackexchange.com/users/-1/community

So that's who should be getting all the rep. Whether from upvotes or from accepts.

Ah, I see.

Thank you. :D

Not at all.

1

Q: "Today's or todays" - which is valid grammar?

We (non native English-speakers) are writing a paper and are wondering if the following construct is valid English: Yesterday's assumption is no longer valid. Specifically the apostrophe after yesterday (and likewise in today and tomorrow) brings up some debate. Can anyone give a clear an...

grammar apostrophe

Wasn't there a similar question a few days ago?

I thought it looked familiar, but a search didn't turn up anything. So I just answered it.

12:26 PM

Feb 16 at 11:04, by RegDwight

I am here to help.

Similar questions are being posted all the time. The question is whether there's something dupish enough. I must say I don't remember.

Luckily, we have a mod here who is here to help.

I'm here to not remember.

5

Q: Can I say "Please find my yesterday’s and today’s daily reports in the documents."

Can I say "Please find my yesterday’s and today’s daily reports in the documents."?

grammaticality possessive

That's not even remotely the same...

@ThirdIdiot U+237C RIGHT ANGLE WITH DOWNWARDS ZIGZAG ARROW

@Vitaly Do you mean this one by any chance?

5

Q: Happy Mother's Day or Happy Mothers' Day? And correct capitalization?

So, I'm writing this as it is Mother's (or maybe Mothers') Day today, and I was wondering what would be a correct way to write that. Should the apostrophe come be between the 'r' and the 's', or after the 's'? And are the following capitalization correct? Happy Mother's (or Mothers') Day! ...

capitalization apostrophe

Or this one?

4

Q: "Doctor's appointment" or "doctors appointment"?

I've looked this up online, but I can't find any explanations from reasonably credible sources, so I'm posting my question here! (Was that a comma splice?) Should I refer to the appointment that I made with my doctor as a "doctor's appointment" or "doctors appointment"? What if I'm referring to ...

possessive apostrophe

12:32 PM

What's a right angle? or a downwards zigzag arrow?

@RegDwight No and no. Apparently, I had my brain misfire or something, I was absolutely sure there was today's in one of the questions asked within the last few days

@Vitaly i.e. "Today's question is...

haha

@ThirdIdiot Precisely. Few people realize that we only allow one question per day on this site.

Goodnight.

12:35 PM

Goodnight.

It's 4.35 p.m.

Goodnight? Where are you?

Night though.

Somewhere where it's night.

Third Idiot, Australia

441 14

etymology slang meaning word-usage synonyms idioms offensive

It's 8:35 am.

12:36 PM

42 mins ago, by Third Idiot

It's 10.00 p.m.

Ahhh.

Always Friday in Iceland, always night in Australia.

2

user image

Well, I'm intrigued.

@RegDwight — People in Australia walk upside down. No, really.

12:45 PM

@Vitaly My wife was immensely impressed with your shopping skillz. Don't let her down like that.

@Robusto Define "upside down". lol

@MikeVaughan — Well, they call it "Down Under" but we all know what that means. It means they walk around upside down.

@RegDwight lurkmore.ru/…

Haha, You're probably right.

@Vitaly Very informative indeed.

12:50 PM

@RegDwight Oh puuuhleeez. Луркоморье has even been feted on LanguageHat. Come off it dude.

Well, sorry, should I kill myself now or what?

I bet you've never heard of a bunch of stuff, either.

A joke is a story with a humourous twist. It can be in many different forms, such as a question or short story. To achieve this end, jokes may employ irony, sarcasm, word play and other devices. Jokes may have a punchline that will end the sentence to make it humorous. A practical joke or prank differs from a spoken one in that the major component of the humour is physical rather than verbal (for example placing salt in the sugar bowl). Purpose Jokes are typically for the entertainment of friends and onlookers. The desired response is generally laughter; when this does not happen ...

Same here.

@Vitaly win.

Dual monitors are fun.

Mar 22 at 19:15, by RegDwight

A joke is a question, short story, or depiction of a situation made with the intent of being humorous. To achieve this end, jokes may employ irony, sarcasm, word play and other devices. Jokes may have a punchline that will end the sentence to make it humorous. A practical joke or prank differs from a spoken one in that the major component of the humour is physical rather than verbal (for example placing salt in the sugar bowl). Purpose Jokes are typically for the entertainment of friends and onlookers. The desired response is generally laughter; when this does not happen the joke is...

12:52 PM

@MikeVaughan Except it was his idea originally.

@MikeVaughan He's plagiarizing.

Jinx.

Without attribution.

Those Russians.

Oh, I didn't know..

Interesting how they changed the wording...

12:54 PM

See, the wording is different.

Therefore I am not plagiarizing.

Those Germans.

That's the English Wikipedia.

The German one is over there.

Als Witz bezeichnet man einen kurzen Text (Erzählung, Wortwechsel, Frage mit Antwort oder Ähnliches), der einen Sachverhalt so mitteilt, dass nach der ersten Darstellung unerwartet eine ganz andere Auffassung zutage tritt. Der plötzliche Positionswechsel (die Pointe) vermittelt die Einsicht, dass das Urteil über den Sachverhalt nicht zwingend einer einzigen Auffassung unterworfen ist. Die Öffnung zu anderen Auffassungen wird als befreiend empfunden. Die zunächst aufgebaute Beklemmung wegen eines vermeintlichen Problems löst sich in befreiendes Lachen auf. Das Gelächter der Zuhörer zeigt ...

OMG, that wording is so German, it hurts.

Dry and boring.

Ю́мор — интеллектуальная способность подмечать в явлениях их комические стороны. Чувство юмора связано с умением субъекта обнаруживать противоречия в окружающем мире. В широком смысле — всё, что может вызвать смех или улыбку. Этимология Слово юмор имеет древнегреческие корни. В античной медицине состояние человека описывалось соотношением четырёх жидкостей — крови, лимфы, жёлтой и чёрной желчи — которые они называли «гумор» (ср.: гуморальный). Соотношение и гармония этих жидкостей определяли здоровье и самочувствие человека. Виды юмора Существуют различные формы юмора: ирония, ок...

Notice how the Russian Wikipedia beats y'all. It has a picture!

Well, that's not the same.

Humour != joke.

> (Перенаправлено с Шутка)

Those Germans. Always questioning the Russian Wikipedia.

Precisely my point. Not being able to explain what a joke is and cowardly redirecting to something vaguely related is not exactly "beating".

Перестаньте обзываться, господин хороший. Из меня такой же немец, как из вас султан.

1:02 PM

May 6 at 15:02, by Robusto

@Vitaly — He's Russian when it suits him. German when it doesn't.

А султаном я бы побыть не отказался.

Apr 21 at 20:18, by RegDwight

I've been held for a French, a Lithuanian, you name it.

@Vitaly Хочешь быть султаном, будь им!

Mr. Disappointment

1:14 PM

0

Q: Why is it so common to see 'w/' used in place of 'with'?

Given how it is a saving of only two characters, why has the 'w/' become so prevalent, especially in the USA? Thanks

Do we entertain what is essentially text-speak?

27

Q: How do you quote a passage that has used '[sic]' mistakenly?

The usage of '[sic]' is well defined for quoting a passage that you believe has an error in it: nearest to the mistake you place '[sic]' within the quotes. For example, suppose I write a letter from I to you. This last sentence of mine is counter to most norms of English writing (it's wrong), so ...

punctuation quotes

YO DAWG...

Mr. Disappointment

We know how much you love being sic so we sic'd your sic wid sum'o sic! (?)

Word.

I leave the chat just for a second, everyone starts talking English.

@MrDisappointment I think this is okay in terms of the subject matter. It's actually shorthand, but it is a common English writing convention.

1:19 PM

I have no idea why it's not just w.

But, the problem with the question is.... how can it be answered?

What answer is there besides "probably because it is shorter".

Yeah, I don't see anyway to answer the question that isn't a guess.

Mr. Disappointment

I see, I just haven't seen it in anything other than meaningless conversation, Facebook posts and in chat etc.

I think it's just a mistyped w/o. :P

Mr. Disappointment

In the same vein as 'u cumin w/ booze 2nite?'

In that case, should we entertain questions on the usage of 'u' and '2'?

1:21 PM

May 5 at 21:54, by RegDwight

@MrHen Careful, U2 translates to instant kick in this room.

@MrDisappointment It depends on whether the person can make the question answerable and relevant.

Anyhow, the current wording makes it subjective and argumentative, IMHO.

Mr. Disappointment

I see, and apologies to all for the reflexive kick - it was beyond my control, apparently.

@RegDwight I think so too.

Well, go ahead and close. I can't be closing both his first questions within five minutes.

1:25 PM

That is unfortunate.

@Kosmonaut — Actually, [sic] is a great tool for putdowns in academic writing. For example, in the quote "Broznowski was considered by Helms 'to be a purveyor [sic] of the worst sort of propaganda'"; casually, and almost without notice, an impression is left with the reader that Mr. Helms doesn't know what he's talking about or how to write. Heehee!

________________

0

Q: Which is right? Sheila is now in Facebook or Sheila is now on Facebook?

Can i also use in when referring to someone who is already a member of Facebook?

@Robusto Yes, absolutely. Also, it doesn't have to be used for typos.

Could I possibly care less? I don't think so. [Re the question on Facebook]

As @Kosmonaut said, "Yes, absolutely. Also, it doesn't [sic] have to be used for typos."

Ha.

<-- Noob. How do you guys insert questions like that?

1:34 PM

When in doubt, sic 'em!

I recommend just throwing [sic] in randomly when quoting one's enemies. Nobody will want to admit they don't know why it is there, and the damage is done.

Absolutely.

Here's a link to a funny article that mentions this subject. workableweb.com/_pages/tips_how_to_write_good.htm

Alain Pannetier

Greetings all !

Look! Its this question again. english.stackexchange.com/questions/24807/…

Can I get some support here?

0

Q: Why is a comma often used where an 'and' or ampersand is a better fit?

Possible Duplicate: What's with syntax in newspaper headlines? I have noticed more and more, the more blogs that I read, that many people and news organisations use a comma when it seems an 'and' is more fitting. An example: http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/25/us-iran-iraq-e...

Someone didn't like that I closed this one.

1:40 PM

I LOVE that you closed it @RegDwight

Jeez

@MikeVaughan Good catch. Closed.

room topic changed to English Language and Usage: General discussion for English Language and Usage

room topic changed to English Language and Usage: General discussion for English Language and Usage

@RegDwight I think Paul just challenged your authority. lol

Stupid links don't work in the room topic field.

Okay, WTH.

0

Q: Re-posted http://english.stackexchange.com/questions/24795/why-is-a-comma-often-used-where-an-and-or-ampersand-is-a-better-fit

I am creating a duplicate post as my last one was closed as a duplicate when the duplicate's answer did not actually answer why a comma was being used as a contraction of and or &. If you feel this is a duplicate @RegDwight, please say why before closing the question.

Yeah, That's what I was talking about.

1:46 PM

Yeah, now I see.

Authority. He challenged it.

Now I'm just freaking sad.

"And above all, never forget that the pen is mightier than the plow-share. By this I mean that writing, all in all, is a hell of a lot more fun than farming. For one thing, writers seldom, if ever, have to get up at five o'clock in the morning and shovel manure. As far as I'm concerned, that gives them the edge right there."

I try to babysit every new user, usually leaving polite comments "welcome to the site, this is off-topic, but don't get discouraged, please do stick around", and nobody ever thanks me for that, but once I don't babysit just one user, he sure as hell starts complaining.

"Without question, the surest way to make a reader feel inadequate is through casual erudition, and there is no better way to achieve casual erudition than by putting the punchline of an anecdote in a little foreign language."

1:47 PM

Feb 4 at 16:08, by RegDwight

I'm sad and infuriated at the same time.

I feel ya, Reg. I feel ya.

+95 from one answer in under 2 hours. I'm proud.

Looks like he threw down again.

0

Q: Re-posted http://english.stackexchange.com/questions/24795/why-is-a-comma-often-used-where-an-and-or-ampersand-is-a-better-fit

I am creating a duplicate post as my last one was closed as a duplicate when the duplicate's answer did not actually answer why a comma was being used as a contraction of and or &. If you feel this is a duplicate @RegDwight, please say why before closing the question.

Ah, too late to the party.

Couldn't you just close that one since it isn't even a question?

I don't think I should be touching that one. It would make a much stronger point if it got closed by the community, without any mod intervention whatsoever.

I flagged it.

1:52 PM

I close-voted it. As NARQ.

Me too.

It's going down...

> closed as not a real question by Robusto, psmears, Bruno Rothgiesser, Martha, Alain Pannetier 22 secs ago

That was fast.

Wow. This site actually works. Who would of thunk.

Now I'm no longer sad anymore. Only a little bit Communist. But not sad.

@RegDwight — Communism is a sad little ideology.

1:56 PM

Yes, the ideology might be sad, but I am not.

Stupid communism, how does it work? All it has to do is prevail, and it can't even do that one thing right.

Now I kinda feel bad for @Paul

Nevermind, I'm over it.

I added another answer to the original headlines question that should be much more satisfying to everyone, including Paul.

0

A: What's with syntax in newspaper headlines?

This is ellipsis, but more importantly, English headlines follow special conventions that are, by and large, consistent across publications. Headlines have evolved to maximize information output and minimize space, because this has been optimal for newspapers (until the Internet age, at least — ...

« first day (181 days earlier) ← previous day next day → last day (4724 days later) »

Transcript for

May '1111

English Language & Usage: Multi-Layer…

Not for the faint of heart or those easily triggered by Englis...

phrase-requests pronunciation single-word-requests synonyms

join this room
about this room

00:00

06:00

12:00

18:00

all times are UTC

site design / logo © 2024 Stack Exchange Inc; legal

mobile