On 11/23/13 10:17, inode0 wrote:
>On Fri, Nov 22, 2013 at 2:54 PM, Rolf Turner <r.turner(a)auckland.ac.nz> wrote:
>>Just read some stuff on this list about "spins", a concept which had
>>not previously impinged itself upon my consciousness. So I went and
>>had a look at the
spins.fedoraproject.org page. It started off by saying
>>"What is a spin? Fedora spins are alternate version of Fedora, tailored
>>...".
>>
>>For God's sake, people!!! That's "alternative versions"!!!
Alternate
>>means "every other" or "every second". Alternative means
"available as
>>another possibility". Saying "alternate" when you mean
"alternative" is
>>sloppy, lazy thinking and irritates and confuses the reader.
>>
>>Why can't computer geeks learn to write English correctly?
>In American usage this is acceptable and common.
But wrong nevertheless. It conflates two quite distinct ideas, blurs
the meaning and diminishes the language.
>But if it bothers you
>that much why didn't you just correct it on the wiki in a fraction of
>the time it took you to rant about it here?
Why so hostile? Why "rant"? The page that I looked at
(
spins.fedoraproject.org)
did not appear to be a Wiki nor to be editable by the user in any way.
Anyway, my mission is to enlighten people. If I'd just corrected it,
no-one would've noticed.
Another English major heard from.
I assume you're aware that languages evolve over time in accordance with
common usage.
--
Bob Holtzman
Your mail is being read by tight lipped
NSA agents who fail to see humor in Doctor
Strangelove
Key ID 8D549279