Re: Improving the WHOIS format

Dwayne Henderson wrote on Fri, Jan 13, 2012 at 09:00:07PM MST:
>    You're the one all of a sudden arguing that acronyms don't always ha=
ve
>    to be uppercase. I was just playing along.
Fair enough and thanks for being good-natured. But my argument wasn't tha=
t
acronyms don't have to be uppercase, but two-fold:=20
    1) Acronyms in typography can change over time.=20
    2) A word and an acronym can be condensed to suit the purpose.=20
In hindsight, I could have presented those two parts of the argument more
clearly, but I still stand by both and think that a change from 'IRCname'=
 to 'IRC
Name' is unwarranted. I disagree that a term needs to be in a
/usr/share/dict/words to be useful and be rich with meaning, and at least=
 one
other brought up the issue of parsing: having the IRC name be compressed =
down
do one term makes it easy to split on whitespace.=20

>      No, I wrote: It's not a typographical error if it's intentional.
>      Don't take
>      "typographical error" to mean a rule on grammar.
>=20
>    Right.
My reference to Strunk and White was to being prescriptivist in general, =
not
that a rule of grammar is the same as a "typographical error" as you seem=
 to
have taken it.

>    My position is that it's a misuse of "to", not ungrammatical. It's j=
ust
>    not something regular people would use on a regular basis. It sounds
>    unnatural. Maybe it's different where you come from, I don't know.
>    If X and Y were to be objects on the other hand, say for instance in
>    the world of object-oriented programming, that would be different.
That's the problem: your position is arguing that English is a certain wa=
y and
it's simply wrong. My saying that isn't being prescriptivist; I'm describ=
ing
what occurs in English, not just in one geolocality, but over time and sp=
ace.
I can see your point that it could be just where I come from, and that wo=
uld
be a dialect (or, if it's just me, an idiolect), but that's simply not tr=
ue.
From oed.com, the primary sense of example usages of 'join':
    trans. To put together, to unite one thing to another, in any kind of
    connection physical or immaterial.
    1. a.  To put (things) together, so that they become physically unite=
d or
           continuous; to fasten, attach, connect, unite (one thing to
           another); also, to connect by means of something intervening o=
r
           attached to each, e.g. two islands by a bridge.
           1297    R. Gloucester's Chron. (Rolls) 1616   [Th]e soule [th]=
oru godes
                   grace out of helle he bro[z]te, & to is bodi is ioined=
e, &
                   [z]ef him cristendom.
           a1382   Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(1)) (1850) Job xli=
. 7
                   Oon to oon is ioyned.
           c1440   Promp. Parv. 264/1   Ioynyn, or ionyon, jungo, compagi=
no.
           1483    Cath. Angl. 199/2   To Iunge (A. Iune), adiungere,
                   apponere.
           1613    S. Purchas Pilgrimage 876   Some of them are...strange=
ly
                   ioyned without morter.
           1615    G. Sandys Relation of Journey 120   Onely a lake when =
the
                   River overfloweth; joyned thereunto by a chanell.
           1617    F. Moryson Itinerary i. 77   Consisting of many Ilands
                   joyned with Bridges.
           1713    Pope Windsor-Forest 17   Oceans join whom they did fir=
st
                   divide.
           1726    J. Leoni tr. L. B. Alberti Archit. II. 114/1   Joyn th=
e
                   ends of the Timbers together.
           1825    =E2=80=98J. Nicholson=E2=80=99 Operative Mechanic 567 =
  Fig. 569 shews how
                   two pieces may be joined by=E2=80=A5a niche.
           1885    H. W. Watson & S. H. Burbury Math. Theory Electr. & Ma=
gn.
                   I. 244 The pairs are said to be joined in series.

Note that five of those do not use a preposition with 'join' and the rest
(seven) do. The first reference to 'join' in 1297 A.D. actually uses 'joi=
n' in
the same way that Irssi does: in the passive with the preposition 'to'. I=
n
that case, it's also used for people not objects.

>    If calling me a pedant because they disagree with me ain't ad homine=
m,
>    then calling them a bigot in return ain't nothing but self-defense.
Okay, suit yourself. Looking back at it, my initial quip to check out "ad
hominem" and "pedant" on wikipedia was a bit snarky so I apologize for th=
at.

- David

--=20
David Romano .:. [email protected]
----
"Let us then, men and brethren, with all energy act the part of soldiers,=
 in
accordance with His holy commandments. Let us consider those who serve un=
der
our generals, with what order, obedience, and submissiveness they perform=
 the
things which are commanded them. All are not prefects, nor commanders of =
a
thousand, nor of a hundred, nor of fifty, nor the like, but each one in h=
is
own rank performs the things commanded by the king and the generals. The =
great
cannot subsist without the small, nor the small without the great."
    -- St. Clement, First Epistle to Corinthians, Chapter 37