Slashdot Mirror

"only 4.77 percent candidates can write the correct logic for a programme -- a minimum requirement for any programming job."

I thought, knowing that computer programs are never called programme, neither UK English, nor US or Australian English is different in that way.

http://www.dailywritingtips.co...

an historical account...

is correct use of an

No, it's garbage. Would you say, "an house"? Then why would you say, "an historical"?

Choosing 'that' vs. 'which': http://www.dailywritingtips.co...

The title should be "A month with an Ubuntu phone" not "A Month With an Ubuntu Phone".

Not necessarily. There are different headline capitalization conventions. See

http://dailywritingtips.com/rules-for-capitalization-in-titles/

Fun fact: Literally is a contronym, which can mean both the normal usage, and the opposite. So literally can literally be used to mean "virtually." If people are going to be grammar Nazis, the least reasonable thing you can do is actually know what you're talking about.

http://www.dailywritingtips.co...

And for the grammar trolls, yes I know a sentence should not begin with "And".

I know this is a tangent. But it is perfectly grammatical to begin a sentence with "and" or "but".

Now and again...
http://www.dailywritingtips.com/a-while-vs-awhile/

You're arguing that I can't refer to a "race with no finish line" because all races have finish lines?

For that level of pedantry, I'd expect you to know that it really was a metaphor.

The average person only has access to half of the actual legal documents that affect them every day.

FTFY

How does their grasp of science effect the freshness of their kale?

Perhaps the scientific method has helped them determine an optimally efficient route for their produce delivery trucks?

Effect, v., to cause, to make happen, to bring about.
(You probably meant: Affect, v., to produce an effect, to influence.)

Pedantry.

affect/effect.

Yeah, that's pretty much how it works. Ideally, a competent employee periodically goes to their boss, says "Look, I'm doing the job as agreed, but my expenses have inflated and so have our profits, so I need a bit more", and since the deal was agreeable and fair the first time around, it's still fair once adjusted for inflation, cost-of-living increases, and the employee's improved expertise. In other words, if you agreed to a fair deal when you started, you're expected to work under a fair deal until you retire*. If you didn't agree to a fair deal... you're either evil or stupid.

Striking is taking an agree deal and forcing it into something else. Once hired, the employer sank time and money into training and administration, and perhaps even some contracts they expect to fulfill. By striking, you're extorting them into agreeing to a new deal. Either they take the higher payroll or costlier benefits, or they have to take the loss of all that investment and start over.

* ...Or until it's just not possible to work out a fair deal. Perhaps you've gained more expertise than the company is willing to pay for, or perhaps your contributions toward the company's goals were less than agreed. Perhaps it was the ancillary benefits that made the original deal acceptably-fair, and those may have changed.

Come on editors, that should be "a Homesourced IT Worker". There should be an "a" before a consonant sound and an "an" before a vowel sound. Just google it, here's an example.

This "personal definition" weasel word shit is the problem.

A single definition can have multiple meanings - even contradictory meanings.

Here is a cool list of some:

CONTRONYMS (a new word for me!)

In debate (HS, college), it is critical to control the definition of the words in the resolution. A dictionary is zero substitute for how *you* intend a word to be interpreted. "Capitalism" for some means "near total freedom from government" and to others "fascism/corporatism" (and to still others that assume these are the same "freedom = fascism" or - more precisely "freedom = government-wiping-my-ass-for-me").

Not on 'it':

http://www.dailywritingtips.com/its-or-its/

You can see in TFA that they misspell Motorola with two ells. The correct way to handle this is:

...roadside Motorolla (sic) 68000-era Macintosh [blah blah blah]"

As editorial markup, "sic" (Latin for "thus") is enclosed in square brackets, not parentheses:

Sic in square brackets is an editing term used with quotations or excerpts. It means "thatâ(TM)s really how it appears in the original."

It is used to point out a grammatical error, misspelling, misstatement of fact, or, as above, the unconventional spelling of a name.

-- http://www.dailywritingtips.com/what-does-sic-mean/, emphasis mine

It wreaked for vaporware.

"It reeked of vaporware." Sorry to grammar Nazi but some things I just can't let pass. http://www.dailywritingtips.com/reeking-and-wreaking/

one FELL swoop

It's about horseys, you see.

Why was this modded down? âoeIntactâ is One Word http://www.dailywritingtips.com/intact-is-one-word/

Apparently you should care less and it would be better for your blood pressure.

For your edification: http://www.dailywritingtips.com/could-care-less-versus-couldnt-care-less/

I try to avoid absolutes. Even when you think you've got it all, there's still some left.

http://www.dailywritingtips.com/could-care-less-versus-couldnt-care-less/

Proper sentences do not begin with "and" or any conjunctions.

Sure they do.

Most likely another language fail somewhere along the way. If you're interested, this may warrant a brief look-over. At this point, I would probably attribute it to semantics.

“What does [sic] mean?” Sic in square brackets is an editing term used with quotations or excerpts. It means “that’s really how it appears in the original.” It is used to point out a grammatical error, misspelling, misstatement of fact, or, as above, the unconventional spelling of a name.

I'm not going to lie... I had to go look up what [sic] meant because it was used so many times above:

The iPhone, however is a synch [sic] to open

By sheer coincidence, I just read this article today (via Gruber)

(hint: you mean "cinch")

b

e.g. is parenthetical, as shown here. If you are starting a sentence with the intent to convey "for example", you always start it with the English "For example," and never start a sentence with e.g., i.e., etc, unless they are the subject as used above. If you want to find out more, get yourself a copy of Strunk & White's "The Elements of Style". Even then, you don't capitalize it, as shown. If it looks a little strange to you, recall that proper writing often does because it is done with such impunity by so many with a devil may care attitude, and errors are the norm in many cases :-(

Indeed, it would be much better style to rearrange the sentence so "e.g." doesn't start it, but I was making a point.)

I agree with the parent post. http://www.dailywritingtips.com/passed-vs-past/