From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 From: Andreas Ericsson Subject: Re: [PATCH 0/27] Documentation: Spelling fixes Date: Wed, 07 Jun 2006 10:53:31 +0200 Message-ID: <4486940B.1040905@op5.se> References: <33723.2579863214$1149366476@news.gmane.org> <7vk67xenfe.fsf@assigned-by-dhcp.cox.net> <4484239C.7020608@op5.se> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-15; format=flowed Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Cc: Junio C Hamano , Horst.H.von.Brand@inf.utfsm.cl, git@vger.kernel.org X-From: git-owner@vger.kernel.org Wed Jun 07 10:53:40 2006 Return-path: Envelope-to: gcvg-git@gmane.org Received: from vger.kernel.org ([209.132.176.167]) by ciao.gmane.org with esmtp (Exim 4.43) id 1FntnD-0003s3-S2 for gcvg-git@gmane.org; Wed, 07 Jun 2006 10:53:36 +0200 Received: (majordomo@vger.kernel.org) by vger.kernel.org via listexpand id S1751134AbWFGIxd (ORCPT ); Wed, 7 Jun 2006 04:53:33 -0400 Received: (majordomo@vger.kernel.org) by vger.kernel.org id S1751149AbWFGIxd (ORCPT ); Wed, 7 Jun 2006 04:53:33 -0400 Received: from linux-server1.op5.se ([193.201.96.2]:30430 "EHLO smtp-gw1.op5.se") by vger.kernel.org with ESMTP id S1751134AbWFGIxc (ORCPT ); Wed, 7 Jun 2006 04:53:32 -0400 Received: from [192.168.1.20] (host-213.88.215.14.addr.se.sn.net [213.88.215.14]) by smtp-gw1.op5.se (Postfix) with ESMTP id 69CCE6BCC0; Wed, 7 Jun 2006 10:53:31 +0200 (CEST) User-Agent: Mozilla Thunderbird 1.0.8-1.1.fc4 (X11/20060501) X-Accept-Language: en-us, en To: Nikolai Weibull In-Reply-To: Sender: git-owner@vger.kernel.org Precedence: bulk X-Mailing-List: git@vger.kernel.org Archived-At: Nikolai Weibull wrote: > On 6/5/06, Andreas Ericsson wrote: > >> Nikolai Weibull wrote: >> > On 6/4/06, Junio C Hamano wrote: >> > >> >> Most do not seem to be typoes, depending on where you learned >> >> the language (XYZour vs XYZor; ok, Ok, and OK; ie vs i.e.). >> > >> > Where do you write "ie" instead of "i.e."? >> > >> >> Mailing lists, online conversations, tech docs written in code >> editors... > > > Do you mean that code editors usually don't let you enter a dot into > the buffer, or what? > No, I mean that people are lazy when writing online and for an audience that broadly share the same sort of text-digesting mind, so they don't bother with the dots. >> Compare with online'ish abbrevs (afaict, iirc, imo, fyi). > > > That's hardly the same thing. Why not? Both are examples of one-letter-per-word abbreviations. > Most people would upcase AFAICT, IIRC, > IMO, and FYI. > True, but both forms are common enough. I guess I'm one of the lazier ones, since I regularly use lower-case. > I wouldn't group "i.e." with such abbreviations in any case. (Hehe.) > I fail to see why not. I also fail to care very much, so feel free not to respond. ;) > >> When each character of the abbrev defines one complete word dots are >> just prettiness-noise, their presence or absence decided by the gravity >> of the meaning ("R.I.P." vs "ie"). Obviously, correctness never hurts >> but this is, on two accounts, punktknulleri. > > > Considering that people don't want to get stuck on trying to > understand what the word "ie" is supposed to mean in a manual page > they're trying to understand what some command does (this happened to > me), I really think that fucking with the dots is called for. > > Anyway, the general guidelines recommended by "The Chicago Manual of > Style" are: > > Use periods with abbreviations that appear in lowercase letters; use > no periods with abbreviations that appear in full capitals or small > capitals, whether two letters or more. > > One possible solution is to expand "i.e." to "that is" (or something > equally befitting) and "e.g." to "for example", "such as", or similar. > This is most likely the best solution as it's easier for foreign readers with limited proficiency in reading english and english abbreviations borrowed from latin, as they don't make sense if you try to put in english words matching the abbreviation, dots or no dots. This gave me quite a headache when I was twelve and tried to install Linux for the first time :) -- Andreas Ericsson andreas.ericsson@op5.se OP5 AB www.op5.se Tel: +46 8-230225 Fax: +46 8-230231