English Student

The true joy of irony (for me) is when someone can't be sure I am being ironic @Araucaria. I still feel this Q has not received a comprehensive A and would appreciate it if you feel inclined to put your perceptive comments together in the form of an answer. I am also thinking of offering a bounty to attract more expert attention for this question.

ELL?!! __ It was an ironic statement @Araucaria, and now moot: because the Q got closed as off-topic by some notable citizens, and got reopened. I absolutely think this Q belongs here, and OP is not an English language learner, though definitely a non-native speaker. A senior member has posted a much-upvoted comment explaining how this is a really good question for this website. Maybe you could write a comprehensive answer to this question?

If it gets closed as off topic here @Kris then you might consider migrating it to ELL.

Thanks for making a pertinent point @Jason Bassford: "What purpose would it serve if we removed the article?" __ The reasons in favor of removal are best addressed by OP. May I only suggest that "we" cannot just decide to do away with it, if millions of people continue to use it: our English would simply be seen as ungrammatical. Nor does English have a world governing body (like maybe some other languages do?) to make such policy decisions. As you rightly noted, language evolves through usage -- and nobody is dropping "the" yet. I was just telling OP why articles are necessary in English.

Okay, fine. I appreciate your attitude @Dan Bron.

Thanks for the very interesting link @JJJ.

Please allow me to quote your comment to make a more effective point @Dan Bron.

Thanks for the insights @Dan Bron. I wrote that opening para to make sure other readers understand why OP thinks articles are not necessary -- that this Q is not trivial or a duplicate but an outcome of how non-native speakers perceive the structure of the English language relative to its applied function. Now edited this into answer to clarify, because I don't want this Q to get closed as duplicate/ off topic. I shall try to expand and improve the points I made in the rest of my answer.

Highly suggestive comparison @hszmv! Many people living in strictly gun-controlled nations (including myself here in India) are alarmed at the news of burglary-homicides and often wonder why homeowners are not allowed to defend themselves with lethal weapons.

That is valuable statistical support for encouraging "armed citizens civil defense", thanks @hszmv.

"Those Americans that oppose gun control consider the right to carry so important because it can be what protects students from crazy assassins. We'd prefer armed persons interrupt the shooter" -- and apart from law enforcement officers, how many people have done that so far @Drunk Cynic? (I don't know which is why I am asking.)

I upvote your exceptionally detailed answer which answers a question I was going to ask here. Since USA takes the constitutional right to carry firearms so seriously that it prevents the legislative unanimity required to pass sweeping and comprehensive nation-wide gun control laws, we should logically conclude that Americans consider the right to carry guns more important than the need to protect students from crazy assassins. You didn't say it: the lack of unanimity on gun control says it.

You are right of course. The "political reality" alluded to by the member is that, widespread support not being able to get translated by broad legislative consensus into effective gun control, it is just as good as no support @blip: "If the majority of citizens in the US support the current firearms regulations, they will remain the same." Is that a hurdle too high for USA? I hope the future proves you right and that support gets transformed into solid gun laws.

"The simple explanation is that support among the voters doesn't exist. This isn't a matter of right or wrong, it is political reality." __ solid point we could remember, thanks @tj1000!

I really appreciate it @Randal'Thor.

It does appear to be a form of legal aid as long as the client is poor and is exempted from paying the full fee usually expected of a regular private client, @Randal'Thor. Definitely appears to fit my case!

Thanks for clarifying @Randal'Thor. I hope a more experienced user might modify the excerpt to conform to those guidelines. I shall read those pages and try to improve my proposal.

Very good suggestion then, thanks @Randal'Thor! I am interested in the approach to defense when a poor person cannot afford to choose his own lawyer, nor the lawyer chooses the client, and would like to read about a legal champion of the destitute who is actually appointed by the government to plead their case.

Not specific to USA, but to court-appointed defense attorneys (as opposed to a client engaging a private defender of their choice) @Rand al'Thor -- not necessarily a full time government defender -- so I think that suggestion might well fit the description!

Thanks @Rand al'Thor. My intention was to get useful information so chat is just as good as (or maybe better than) the main site for the purpose of this question.

Okay, now editing the proposed wiki excerpt to define in my own words, thanks for clarifying @Catija.

@ChristopheStrobbe it was meant to be a reference for validity. Can I paraphrase without attributing Wikipedia?

Hello all! I posted a Q here just now without knowing that it might be off topic, so bringing my query to chat as kindly advised by @muru: literature.stackexchange.com/questions/6299/…

It is good informed guesswork so it works. Thanks too to @D.Hutchinson for a good answer with a link to an article that conveys exactly how it feels when the boss hits on a woman, and how to handle it @GypsySpellweaver.

That's a good idea -- I will take a closer look at the app for that purpose, and your answer to my Q on main is much appreciated @GypsySpellweaver.

I find the browser much clearer than the SE app @GypsySpellweaver. Android browser is actually a good interface for SE. Please be sure to tag my usermame with @ in chat because I need to be notified on the SE main page.

That's indeed the problem @GypsySpellweaver.

I drift in and out of chat the same way but you can always leave a message and I will get it @GypsySpellweaver.

I access the web from android devices. Note too, the internet connection is pretty weak here so I keep going online and offline on a regular basis. Editing posts in the live window is a practice not to lose content if the connection fails temporarily.

Yes, I do need to break the practice of reviewing and editing these posts in the live window @GypsySpellweaver.

Zero revisions is the ultimate goal but I am far away from that @GypsySpellweaver. Once I achieve 6 I shall aim for zero, for sure!

I am on mobile. I Shall check it out, thanks @NVZ.

Never mind, you can remind me anytime @NVZ! I have been composing edits offline and posting together. My target is 6 revisions.

Great work and I really appreciate your fair-mindedness @Tinkeringbell.

I like to read the chat like a movie script when the connection is pretty good @Tinkeringbell. OMG this is one lively place for sure.

Hello @Tinkeringbell! Thanks for the invite. My lurking on chat is mainly forgetting to log out when I go offline. Did I tell you that our internet connection is still unreliable so I am online and offline by turns on a regular basis.

Thanks @AJ!

Request for undelete, now that the member has edited her answer to specify the reasons for recommending the particular solution: interpersonal.stackexchange.com/a/10633/381

It could be. That is really what the community should decide in the form of reopen voting, and you have raised enough attention for that through this meta question, which I therefore appreciate @Jess K.

I am not making an assessment for/against the possibility that "not OP but partner needs professional help more urgently than an IPS solution" - but that factor might've influenced the decision of members who voted to close, judging by answers here and certain comments. If so, the method to assess, based on those meta posts about 'professional help' is (a) if professional help for a core character is the definitive solution and if there is really no IPS solution to offer, vote to close. (b) If there is an IPS solution then write it as an answer and ask OP to seek expert help.

Please see interpersonal.meta.stackexchange.com/search?q=Professional

Note 2: I am not referring to this Q in particular but there were a series of meta posts around September whose consensus was that if a core character in a question needs professional help rather than an IPS solution then it is a reason to close the question, though "requires professional help" was never formally adopted as a custom close reason, so the Q would be closed using one of the available close reasons.

Definitely complicated. Something else that you might find if you compare this with this OP's previous 2 questions on IPS is how this OP seems to have asked 3 questions with very different backstories and circumstances, I wonder whether these events occured at different stages of their life @Jess K?

Yes indeed @MansNotHot!

Also see these many articles about introvert-extrovert dating @MansNotHot: google.co.in/…

No such dating experience of my own along those lines @MansNotHot, but my friends say that if one partner is extrovert and the other is introvert, then it is not necessarily a problem, except that the introvert becomes tired first (as rightly noted by Peufeu) -- so as the extrovert here, you should expect it often and give her free time of her own to recover her energy, and schedule other intresting activities, maybe with other friends, to fill that time for yourself.

"Something no-one mentioned is that she might be very introverted. Handling introverted people is a subject in and of itself, but I'll just say that they have a set amount of energy per day and interactions with people consume that energy at a rate that depends on the stakes, potential for conflict, number of people around, etc. Once the energy is drained, the introvert needs to curl up at home with a book and recharge, and especially not be bothered." __ Peufeu is absolutely right @MansNotHot, as I can confirm, being that introvert! So if you are an extrovert, I wonder how that works?

Stream-of-consciousness writing is usually regarded as a special form of interior monologue and is characterized by associative leaps in thought and lack of some or all punctuation (...) In stream of consciousness the speaker's thought processes are more often depicted as overheard in the mind (or addressed to oneself); it is primarily a fictional device." source: en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/…

"stream of consciousness is a narrative mode or method that attempts to depict the multitudinous thoughts and feelings which pass through the mind (...) Stream of consciousness is a narrative device that attempts to give the written equivalent of the character's thought processes, either in a loose interior monologue, or in connection to his or her actions. (cont'd)