Salon
May 31, 2000 10:43 PM Subscribe
Salon changes back!
just kidding. it's a compromise i guess. note to self: stop posting idiotic comments on metafilter.
i just glanced at the site & it looked the same. i was so wrong. ignore me.
posted by palegirl at 11:34 PM on May 31, 2000
i just glanced at the site & it looked the same. i was so wrong. ignore me.
posted by palegirl at 11:34 PM on May 31, 2000
Hopefully, this sin't a final redesign. Perhaps they were in a bit too much of a rush to bring back some of the old, demanded functionality to really carefully consider what elements of the new design the should keep.
posted by harmful at 6:19 AM on June 1, 2000
posted by harmful at 6:19 AM on June 1, 2000
Anyone want to tell David Talbot that "all right" is two words? Sheesh, never mind the design -- when the editors of your high-end reads don't know basic grammatical laws....
posted by werty at 7:18 AM on June 1, 2000
posted by werty at 7:18 AM on June 1, 2000
Sorry, you're wrong. He used "alright" correctly, here. Although your particular error isn't listed on the page, this is a good place to check for other, common mistakes.
It's good to do your homework first.
posted by lizardboy at 7:30 AM on June 1, 2000
It's good to do your homework first.
posted by lizardboy at 7:30 AM on June 1, 2000
Talbot's apology says that "we're giving the type controls back to you." Sorry, Dave, you're not. You're still forcing the pages to render in Times New Roman, Size 3 -- depsite my browesr default font being set to Verdana. Try again, Salon.
posted by camworld at 8:57 AM on June 1, 2000
posted by camworld at 8:57 AM on June 1, 2000
*ahem*
Technically, "alright" is not a word. See alright on dictionary.com:
al·right (ôl-rt)
adv. Non-Standard
The page links to this usage note under all right:
"Usage Note: All right, usually pronounced as if it were a single word, probably should have followed the same orthographic development as already and altogether. But despite its use by a number of reputable authors, the spelling alright has never been accepted as a standard variant, and the writer who chooses to risk that spelling had best be confident that readers will acknowledge it as a token of willful unconventionality rather than as a mark of ignorance."
It's good to do your homework first.
posted by werty at 12:29 PM on June 1, 2000
Technically, "alright" is not a word. See alright on dictionary.com:
al·right (ôl-rt)
adv. Non-Standard
The page links to this usage note under all right:
"Usage Note: All right, usually pronounced as if it were a single word, probably should have followed the same orthographic development as already and altogether. But despite its use by a number of reputable authors, the spelling alright has never been accepted as a standard variant, and the writer who chooses to risk that spelling had best be confident that readers will acknowledge it as a token of willful unconventionality rather than as a mark of ignorance."
It's good to do your homework first.
posted by werty at 12:29 PM on June 1, 2000
thank you, werty, thank you. eeeegads.
posted by Sapphireblue at 12:32 PM on June 1, 2000
posted by Sapphireblue at 12:32 PM on June 1, 2000
Alright, already!
No, I mean: All right, all ready!<
oh, nevermind.
No, I mean... never mind...
The English Language Strikes Again
posted by wendell at 6:03 PM on June 1, 2000
No, I mean: All right, all ready!<
oh, nevermind.
No, I mean... never mind...
The English Language Strikes Again
posted by wendell at 6:03 PM on June 1, 2000
Oh, how I hate prescriptive grammar. The goal is to communicate. If you can communicate a concept, who cares if it breaks the "rules." But you prescriptive grammarians might enjoy the word police.
posted by veruca at 9:36 PM on June 1, 2000
posted by veruca at 9:36 PM on June 1, 2000
how can language serve the needs of communication without consistency?
All right vs. alright is a very small thing, and I think everyone gets it, but if everyone decides "oh, whatever, that silly dictionary thing", no one will understand a word anyone says.
But anyway, let me just say "alright" doesn't tie my tail all THAT badly, but people who go all *condescending* when trying to say it's perfectly grammatically acceptable do. Talking down at people isn't exactly a universal communication facilitator, either, particularly when you're wrong :>
Snorger bargle urples, unf.
posted by Sapphireblue at 11:57 AM on June 2, 2000
All right vs. alright is a very small thing, and I think everyone gets it, but if everyone decides "oh, whatever, that silly dictionary thing", no one will understand a word anyone says.
But anyway, let me just say "alright" doesn't tie my tail all THAT badly, but people who go all *condescending* when trying to say it's perfectly grammatically acceptable do. Talking down at people isn't exactly a universal communication facilitator, either, particularly when you're wrong :>
Snorger bargle urples, unf.
posted by Sapphireblue at 11:57 AM on June 2, 2000
Who got condescending besides werty? Jeez.
Talk about your pointless battles. This is casual speech. If werty's going to check every word I use in his dictionary, he's welcome, but I'll consider him a dickhead, if that's alright with him.
posted by dhartung at 1:09 PM on June 2, 2000
Talk about your pointless battles. This is casual speech. If werty's going to check every word I use in his dictionary, he's welcome, but I'll consider him a dickhead, if that's alright with him.
posted by dhartung at 1:09 PM on June 2, 2000
but it wasn't about casual speech. it was about Salon, which tries hard to be The Best Commentary Site Etc. I've noticed issues with basic proofreading there too: sometime this week, there was a "breath" instead of "breathe", for example. Happens too often, and there are dickheads like me out there who think that is a blow to professionalism--this is stuff you learn in 7th grade. so I think his original point was perfectly valid. If he were in an IRC chat room typo-policing people I'd call him names too, but that was not the case.
posted by Sapphireblue at 1:51 PM on June 2, 2000
posted by Sapphireblue at 1:51 PM on June 2, 2000
I was probably a little too snotty there. That's my linguistics classes talking, I guess. I'm sorry.
My problem with hard and fast rules is...who decides what's right and what's wrong? University professors? The average Joe? The majority of the people? How do we make decisions on these rules then, take a poll? What's the point?
Words are fun. They should be played with. :-)
I'm not without my own pet peeves, btw. One of the most annoying ones is when people use "since" in technical publications when they mean "because." However, I use "since" when I mean "because" in casual speech/email because it's a part of my casual lexicon.
Oh, and via another "authority":
Main Entry: al·right
Pronunciation: (")ol-'rIt, 'ol-"
Function: adverb or adjective
Date: 1887
: ALL RIGHT
usage The one-word spelling alright appeared some 75 years after all right itself had reappeared from a 400-year-long absence. Since the early 20th century some critics have insisted alright is wrong, but it has its defenders and its users. It is less frequent than all right but remains in common use especially in journalistic and business publications. It is quite common in fictional dialogue, and is used occasionally in other writing.
posted by veruca at 6:03 PM on June 4, 2000
My problem with hard and fast rules is...who decides what's right and what's wrong? University professors? The average Joe? The majority of the people? How do we make decisions on these rules then, take a poll? What's the point?
Words are fun. They should be played with. :-)
I'm not without my own pet peeves, btw. One of the most annoying ones is when people use "since" in technical publications when they mean "because." However, I use "since" when I mean "because" in casual speech/email because it's a part of my casual lexicon.
Oh, and via another "authority":
Main Entry: al·right
Pronunciation: (")ol-'rIt, 'ol-"
Function: adverb or adjective
Date: 1887
: ALL RIGHT
usage The one-word spelling alright appeared some 75 years after all right itself had reappeared from a 400-year-long absence. Since the early 20th century some critics have insisted alright is wrong, but it has its defenders and its users. It is less frequent than all right but remains in common use especially in journalistic and business publications. It is quite common in fictional dialogue, and is used occasionally in other writing
posted by veruca at 6:03 PM on June 4, 2000
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posted by palegirl at 11:33 PM on May 31, 2000