English Language & Usage: Multi-Layered Discourse Room

RegDwight

09:12

@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?

zizi

10:11

you is, but in advanced level

Alenanno

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

zizi

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

RegDwight

10:31

@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. (^_^)

Alenanno

Oh sorry

I figured it out now

RegDwight

Hahaha.

Alenanno

lol

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

RegDwight

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

Alenanno

yeah

I guess lol

RegDwight

10:34

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

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

Alenanno

ahah

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

...hopefully

lol

RegDwight

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

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

Alenanno

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

I'll change mine into %"£$%"&£$/

Robusto

11:16

@RegDwight — Huh? Wha?

RegDwight

@Robusto Have some coffee, then you will understand.

Alenanno

lol

Robusto

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

RegDwight

Ah yes. I had mine two days ago.

Robusto

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?

RegDwight

11:26

Magic, ladies and gentlemen!

Robusto

They are amazing.

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

That's free enterprise for you.

Alenanno

Why don't you change OS then? :D

Robusto

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

Alenanno

Aaaah I see

What is "IT" anyway?

Robusto

Tag. You're IT.

RegDwight

11:32

It's a book by Stephen King.

Robusto

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

Third Idiot

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

F'x

@ThirdIdiot hi

Robusto

@ThirdIdiot — Obviously. On both counts.

Third Idiot

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

Robusto

11:35

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.

Third Idiot

What's badinage?

Alenanno

Just got a Dejà Vu lol

Robusto

GAFD.

F'x

@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

Third Idiot

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

F'x

11:38

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

Third Idiot

Do you understand what your picture means?

F'x

@ThirdIdiot is this some sort of Rorschach test?

Third Idiot

@F'x it's unique enough

F'x

@ThirdIdiot meaning is nothing without context

Third Idiot

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

F'x

11:39

@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

Third Idiot

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

Alenanno

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

:D

F'x

@ThirdIdiot issue, dispatch, send out, emit

Third Idiot

How do you get your pictures?

RegDwight

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

Third Idiot

11:42

I'd like a picture too.

Come to me

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

F'x

@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 :)

Alenanno

Ahahha

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

lol

Third Idiot

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

RegDwight

@Alenanno How is Asia related to a green dragon?

F'x

@RegDwight both are Unicode codepoints

Alenanno

11:46

Where did I say that? :D

oh you mean "gravatar-related"

F'x

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

Alenanno

@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

F'x

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

RegDwight

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

Alenanno

lol

F'x

11:49

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

RegDwight

Apr 1 at 12:25, by RegDwight

F'x

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

RegDwight

@Fx Go see an eye doctor.

Third Idiot

Some people are being random.!

RegDwight

There is a sunset in that picture.

Third Idiot

11:51

He's got a rainbow.

How do you know it isn't a sunrise

?

RegDwight

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

F'x

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

RegDwight

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

Alenanno

xD See ya later guys

RegDwight

CU.

F'x

11:52

anyway, ☮ and ♥

Third Idiot

Goodnight.

Alenanno

@ThirdIdiot It's not night

F'x

I'm going for a ☕

Third Idiot

It's 10.00 p.m.

3

where do you come from?

F'x

@ThirdIdiot love that one; best quote every!

Third Idiot

11:54

Huh? Where? Where?Which one?

:)

F'x

where I am it's ⒔

1 ⒫⒨, if you prefer

Robusto

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

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.'

Third Idiot

Hahahahahha!!!!

F'x

⍼

Third Idiot

11:56

I like that picture!

Mr. Disappointment

Principle, schminciple!

Third Idiot

How do you folks do all those little signs?

Robusto

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

Third Idiot

@F'x

What does that sign mean?

MikeVaughan

12:17

Hey there.

RegDwight

Helloes.

MikeVaughan

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

Third Idiot

@MikeVaughan Hey Mike

@MikeVaughan sure

MikeVaughan

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?

RegDwight

I think so.

Everything else would be illogical.

MikeVaughan

12:21

Interesting..

RegDwight

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.

MikeVaughan

Ah, I see.

Thank you. :D

RegDwight

Not at all.

Vitaly

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...

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

MikeVaughan

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

Vitaly

12:26

Feb 16 at 11:04, by RegDwight

I am here to help.

RegDwight

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

Vitaly

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

RegDwight

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...

F'x

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

RegDwight

@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

Third Idiot

12:32

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

Vitaly

@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

Third Idiot

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

Vitaly

haha

RegDwight

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

Third Idiot

Goodnight.

RegDwight

12:35

Goodnight.

Vitaly

It's 4.35 p.m.

MikeVaughan

Goodnight? Where are you?

Vitaly

Night though.

RegDwight

Somewhere where it's night.

Third Idiot, Australia

441 14

etymology slang meaning word-usage synonyms idioms offensive

MikeVaughan

It's 8:35 am.

Vitaly

12:36

42 mins ago, by Third Idiot

It's 10.00 p.m.

MikeVaughan

Ahhh.

RegDwight

Always Friday in Iceland, always night in Australia.

2

Vitaly

MikeVaughan

Well, I'm intrigued.

Robusto

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

RegDwight

12:45

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

MikeVaughan

@Robusto Define "upside down". lol

Robusto

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

Vitaly

@RegDwight lurkmore.ru/…

MikeVaughan

Haha, You're probably right.

RegDwight

@Vitaly Very informative indeed.

Vitaly

12:50

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

RegDwight

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

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

Vitaly

Joke

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 ...

RegDwight

Same here.

MikeVaughan

@Vitaly win.

Dual monitors are fun.

RegDwight

Mar 22 at 19:15, by RegDwight

Joke

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...

Vitaly

12:52

@MikeVaughan Except it was his idea originally.

RegDwight

@MikeVaughan He's plagiarizing.

Vitaly

Jinx.

RegDwight

Without attribution.

Those Russians.

MikeVaughan

Oh, I didn't know..

RegDwight

Interesting how they changed the wording...

Vitaly

12:54

See, the wording is different.

Therefore I am not plagiarizing.

Those Germans.

RegDwight

That's the English Wikipedia.

The German one is over there.

Witz

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.

Vitaly

Юмор

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!

RegDwight

Well, that's not the same.

Humour != joke.

Vitaly

> (Перенаправлено с Шутка)

Those Germans. Always questioning the Russian Wikipedia.

RegDwight

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.

Vitaly

13:02

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.

RegDwight

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

13:14

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

contractions

Do we entertain what is essentially text-speak?

Kosmonaut

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! (?)

Kosmonaut

Word.

RegDwight

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

Kosmonaut

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

RegDwight

13:19

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

Kosmonaut

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

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

MikeVaughan

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.

RegDwight

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'?

RegDwight

13:21

May 5 at 21:54, by RegDwight

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

Kosmonaut

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

RegDwight

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.

Kosmonaut

@RegDwight I think so too.

RegDwight

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

MikeVaughan

13:25

That is unfortunate.

Robusto

@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?

prepositions

Kosmonaut

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

Robusto

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."

Kosmonaut

Ha.

MikeVaughan

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

Robusto

13:34

When in doubt, sic 'em!

Kosmonaut

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.

Robusto

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 !

MikeVaughan

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

RegDwight

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...

comma list

Someone didn't like that I closed this one.

MikeVaughan

13:40

I LOVE that you closed it @RegDwight

Kosmonaut

Jeez

RegDwight

@MikeVaughan Good catch. Closed.

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

MikeVaughan

@RegDwight I think Paul just challenged your authority. lol

RegDwight

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.

contractions

MikeVaughan

Yeah, That's what I was talking about.

RegDwight

13:46

Yeah, now I see.

MikeVaughan

Authority. He challenged it.

RegDwight

Now I'm just freaking sad.

Robusto

"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."

RegDwight

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.

Robusto

"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."

RegDwight

13:47

Feb 4 at 16:08, by RegDwight

I'm sad and infuriated at the same time.

MikeVaughan

I feel ya, Reg. I feel ya.

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

Robusto

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.

contractions

Ah, too late to the party.

MikeVaughan

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

RegDwight

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.

MikeVaughan

I flagged it.

Robusto

13:52

I close-voted it. As NARQ.

MikeVaughan

Me too.

psmears

It's going down...

Vitaly

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

That was fast.

RegDwight

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

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

Robusto

@RegDwight — Communism is a sad little ideology.

RegDwight

13:56

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.

MikeVaughan

Now I kinda feel bad for @Paul

Nevermind, I'm over it.

Kosmonaut

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 — ...

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English Language & Usage: Multi-Layer…