Among intelligent and educated people it is widely understood that good writing style calls for the inclusion of explicit definitions for acronyms used. It's easy and helpful.
Oh, and I find it necessary (not "nessesary") to say - only a newb would try to BS us by saying that the term 'newb' is not derogatory (not "deragatory"). Maybe that lie works with your intellectual peers but we know better. So does Wikipedia, the Urban Dictionary and many other sources.
No, that remark is just plain stupid. Stupid as in 'being lacking in information, knowledge or the ability to understand facts'.
But, you probably meant to say "Using a database for bookmarks would require me to learn something trivial about a different (and more functional) way of storing information so that I can continue to play with my toys the (arcane) way I am used to". Or something like that.:)
Seriously, I hear you. I've sometimes been glad that the Bookmarks were in text files. I could do 'stuff' to them. But, it sounds like there are still going to be ways to get to the information. Maybe slightly more involved than popping open vi or notepad, but very doable. And a small price to pay for functionality, performance, features, etc.
It took me three reads to parse that for the racist tripe that it seems to be....Dune... oh, dune, as in sand, as in "A-rab", right?...Coon... as in the classic slur for a black person, popular in the south, IIRC. Hmmm, I guess some A-rabs are pretty dark.
Ergo, a 'dune coon' is a dark skinned person presumed to be of middle Indo-Asian origins... got it. Towel heads. Right.
Is douchebag really one word, or should it be two?
Aren't interested and neutral exclusionary in this case?
Not necessarily. I could have an interest in assuring that the voting process is handled honestly and accurately without having an interest in the outcome of said voting.
I do agree with your implication that it would be hard to find enough poll workers with that sort of mentality, though.:)
It's just a word. Just because SQO(*) people are a little uncomfortable with what it represents, it still a valid term for use in a captcha.
What next? We ban 'objectionable' terms in captchas?
User: Stop using 'apple' - Macs suck!
(*) Some Quantity Of; it's the quantification argument buster. Insert few, many, most, some, etc., as you see fit - but you can't argue with what I said based on a disagreement with the 'how many' part.:))
But moaning that the CEO makes too much is just scapegoating.
I disagree.
I think there's a very reasonable objection to having your CEO make millions while others makes thousands. The lowly sales drone on the showroom floor is not as skilled or educated as the Boss, nor is he putting in as many hours, nor did he pay his dues by years in college going without sleep and fun to get where he is, etc., but they are both contributing. They are both spending most of their waking hours working at the Company. I think they both deserve a little respect.
The problem here is that the labor isn't always looking for a better-paying job.
Some people don't want to constantly run on the treadmill. Some people don't have endless greed^H^H^H^H^Hambition. Some people have priorities outside of work. Some people want to be able to give 100% for 40 hours a week and receive some stability and long-term value for the commitment and effort they give.
An average person, with modest needs and simple aspirations, who is willing to do the work they are being paid to do, does not deserve to be mistreated.
There's a middle ground that is often ignored in order to fuel the ranting and rhetoric.
Let's describe a spectrum of human ambition and another of 'talent'.
Some people will do well in the world because a large amount of talent. Something about them that makes them 'better' at being an artist or a designer or an engineer or whatever. They will tend to rise to the top and be highly employable on the basis of their gift. Some people don't have much talent. Others have a moderate amount while others have none (that they can 'sell', anyway)
Then there's ambition. The desire for certain things out of life and the willingness to 'work your ass off' to get there. Some people have a lot of drive to go for the best. Some have nearly none. Most people have moderate capacities for putting their goals for success in employment/business/etc at the forefront of all things.
The problem I see is that people who are only mildly talented, or whom possess moderate (but substantial) ambition, are told that they do not deserve even a little piece of the pie. That only the talented and the crazed workaholic deserve some prosperity and security.
If you "don't work your ass off", then screw you!
It is not whining to suggest that people are willing to do a good solid amount of work, with modest expectations about how far that will take them down Paycheck Lane or LongTerm Security Road, be treated with some respect and care. You shouldn't have to resort to overworking yourself, forego a social life, neglect your family, become obsessed with gaining every advantage OVER others, etc., in order to have a modest and comfortable life.
We've got more than enough to go around in the US. But, as long as this culture is tuned to selfishness and greed, well... I'll save you the time of reading that rant.:)
I personally dislike being asked to take someone seriously when they do not care to exercise good language skills.
(That statement may not apply to you generally, nor is it intended as a response to this specific instance of a 'typo'. I mean it to apply broadly)
Good use of language indicates the mind of a person who pays attention to details and otherwise cares for the quality of things. What they have to say will carry more weight (with me).
I do make a distinction between a mistake (typing errors) and illiteracy. If one knows better and goofed, well, the worst they can fairly be blamed with is failing to proofread. If they don't know better, than I say "shame on them!"
But, I steadfastly believe that we should do even MORE criticizing of illiteracy and sloppiness. I want high(er) standards in the world. I think it's a bad idea to let people 'get away with' all the stupid, sloppy, just plain ugly use of their language. "Textspeak", outside of the numeric keypad on a cellphone, is an example.
It's not ideal, but I know that the pressure of such negative reinforcement would give many people the motivation to both improve their skills and to practice them more carefully. And I see little wrong with that.
I envy your positive outlook. Yet, I find my innate cynicism leaping to the fore.
In my eyes, the main point of a protest is simply to let everyone know what you think and why you think it.
If you change that "is" to "should be", I'm all with you, with emphasis on the sharing of the why.
But in my observations, not only are no minds changed by way of most protesting, but rarely does anyone not already on board ask "why". If the topic comes up, and too often it does in a sort of confrontational or nonconsentual way (someone getting in your face while you are just trying to go about your business), the protester is not often terribly eloquent or articulate. And, people who are yelling don't making me want to listen.
surely it's still a good thing that they went and learned about it? Whichever side you take on this or any other issue, educating the masses enough so they can make their own informed decision and then go forward in their beliefs is really the key.
Are you sure the learned about it? One Man's information is another man's propoganda.
Most people form opinions with near zero facts and are willing to espose (force-feed) them to others as soon as they formed them. They don't let facts or research get in the way. I mean, if we had a culture of informed opinion I can't even begin to fathom how much better this nation could be - as a place to live in, among other aspects.
Wow... I've drifted into a daydream fantasy, and it's making me tremble with joy. Where people are smart and well-informed. We can trust our fellow citizens to vote sensibly, argue logically, think critically and form opinions from solid information. *sigh*
BLAM!
That's the sound of my heart and soul slamming back to reality.
I'm sorry. I mislead you. You were given to think that I was making claims on behalf of Verizon with those 4 statements. I was not. I was stating something in the realm of 'simple truths'. Whether or not they apply here is not something I care to debate. I am underinformed to do so in good conscience (not that it stops most people:)).
[begin quote] No. This is pure greed. Vonage forced the Bells to reduce their pricing before they were ready to compete, so Verizon is just going to sue Vonage out of existence. Vonage was already in dire straits. They will not survive this legal battle and that is what the Bells wanted.
The Bells do have a right to make a profit, but not at the expense of the customer. [end quote]
Believe me, I am NOT a fan of greed. I HATE it, from deep in my heart. I honestly and passionately believe greed is the root of all evil. Not from some religious dogma, from observation of human life around me.
That said, I think you are flat out wrong. It is not greed to;
1) want to make a fair return on your costs/investments 2) want to be paid for use of your infrastructure 3) want to make enough profits to repay investors, fund research, etc. 4) want to compete on a level playing field.
If Vonage "stole" or cheated to make it possible to force pricing (artificially) to a level that Vonage can't compete with, then they have to fight that and protect themselves. That's not evil greed, that's trying to get rid of an unfair cheat.
I think there's a bunch of bullshit and silliness with IP and patent laws, and the whole system is both broken at it's roots and being abused and misused daily, but cheating is cheating.
Lastly, you need to get over this idea that all that matters is what benefits you^H^H^H the Customer. Just because someone can come up with a way to give you something that you want for less money does not justify any and all means.
If by "the customer gets screwed" you mean "I can not no longer personally benefit from artificially (and now we find, illegally) low prices", such that you might have to go back and pay a reasonable amount for a service, then yes, you are getting screwed.
I see this as having very little to do with Democracy, other than we vote for the people who make or oversee the laws that would generally govern these kinds of services. I'd say this has to do with Capitalism.
Hmmm, another (young) person who suffers from an over-developed sense of entitlement? Mayyyybe.
I'll pay the "1000x" price tag (incidentally, I've paid as little as $3.50 for 24.5L bottles) rather than drink dirty water or deal with diarrheal disease. I'm funny that way.
I'll pay the "1000x" price tag [...]. I'm stupid that way.
There, fixed that for ya.;)
Seriously, I've seen all kinds of justifications for people being willing to spend more on bottled water than they do on GASOLINE - a product that mostly justifies its price as a result of the costs of the raw materials and its production and distribution costs - by around an order of magnitude.
The simple truth is, many of you have more disposable income than brains. If you couldn't afford to waste that much on a mere convenience, of dubious origin and quality in most cases, then maybe, just maybe, you'd get a filter at home and use a refillable portable water vessel.
In this context, "vanilla" refers to people who are not interested in/involved with/ experienced with BDSM. BDSM = Bondage & Discipline, Dominance and Submission and Sadomasochism. 'Kinky shit'.:)
The prior was insinuating that sounds akin to crying would be an erotic thing for some people.
A quick lookup of an ASCII Table shows that _ _ ('e' with a circumflex) is ASCII 136.
EDIT: Looks like/. does not allow use of the the extended character syntax in the "HTML Formatted" template. Between the two underscores above I put in the necessary char code, but I'm not seeing the character in the post preview. Oh well. Nevermind.
IANAP but I when I've dabbled in code I've found that you have to comply with defined terms and syntax. Deviation from the proscribed spelling and notation will break your code.
I do think I know barely enough to grasp that you are referring to the more advanced OO-type languages where you define your own methods and properties, but that does not negate the value of the parent's point, in my estimation.
Perhaps when having this argument it's important to clarify whether one wishes to complain about a mistake, an unintentional mistyping, versus an error, applying incorrect or atypical usage and spelling.
IOW, it's really lame to call people on a typo, but I vigorously support calling people on their illiteracy, ignorance or bad habits.:)
It really frightens me that so many people seem to think as you apparently do; that 'modern science' will rescue the world from the stupidity, destructiveness and lazy wastefulness of its people.
Even if that were always and completely true, now and forever, it's still a 'lower form of life' way to live. In ignorance, nay defiance, of the value of living in some kind of mutually respectful and even slightly non-parasitic way upon the planet.
Even if you could find enough safe, cheap power to provide for all your needs, having obscene and excessive needs is not only not desirable, but it's guaranteed to come with a raft of other problems beyond the creation and distribution of said power.
But, you go ahead and buy another SUV to pollute and gas-guzzle your way to McDonald's while leaving every incandescent and halogen light and TV in the house on, bud. I just wish there were MORE taxes to levy on people who can't be bothered to be reasonable about things.:)
Slashdot Mirror
Among intelligent and educated people it is widely understood that good writing style calls for the inclusion of explicit definitions for acronyms used. It's easy and helpful.
Oh, and I find it necessary (not "nessesary") to say - only a newb would try to BS us by saying that the term 'newb' is not derogatory (not "deragatory"). Maybe that lie works with your intellectual peers but we know better. So does Wikipedia, the Urban Dictionary and many other sources.
Back under your bridge, newb.
No, that remark is just plain stupid. Stupid as in 'being lacking in information, knowledge or the ability to understand facts'.
:)
:)
But, you probably meant to say "Using a database for bookmarks would require me to learn something trivial about a different (and more functional) way of storing information so that I can continue to play with my toys the (arcane) way I am used to". Or something like that.
Seriously, I hear you. I've sometimes been glad that the Bookmarks were in text files. I could do 'stuff' to them. But, it sounds like there are still going to be ways to get to the information. Maybe slightly more involved than popping open vi or notepad, but very doable. And a small price to pay for functionality, performance, features, etc.
Try to not be a luddite, eh?
We are all responsible. That you don't see that tells me that you and I have different ideas about a lot of things. Which is fine with me.
It took me three reads to parse that for the racist tripe that it seems to be. ...Dune... oh, dune, as in sand, as in "A-rab", right? ...Coon... as in the classic slur for a black person, popular in the south, IIRC. Hmmm, I guess some A-rabs are pretty dark.
Ergo, a 'dune coon' is a dark skinned person presumed to be of middle Indo-Asian origins... got it. Towel heads. Right.
Is douchebag really one word, or should it be two?
The Founding Fathers were, by and large, clear and purposeful in their language. Let's at least pretend to read what they wrote, eh? :)
Aren't interested and neutral exclusionary in this case?
Not necessarily. I could have an interest in assuring that the voting process is handled honestly and accurately without having an interest in the outcome of said voting.
I do agree with your implication that it would be hard to find enough poll workers with that sort of mentality, though. :)
Why? Because it's in the dictionary?
It's just a word. Just because SQO(*) people are a little uncomfortable with what it represents, it still a valid term for use in a captcha.
What next? We ban 'objectionable' terms in captchas?
User: Stop using 'apple' - Macs suck!
(*) Some Quantity Of; it's the quantification argument buster. Insert few, many, most, some, etc., as you see fit - but you can't argue with what I said based on a disagreement with the 'how many' part.
I disagree.
I think there's a very reasonable objection to having your CEO make millions while others makes thousands. The lowly sales drone on the showroom floor is not as skilled or educated as the Boss, nor is he putting in as many hours, nor did he pay his dues by years in college going without sleep and fun to get where he is, etc., but they are both contributing. They are both spending most of their waking hours working at the Company. I think they both deserve a little respect.
The problem here is that the labor isn't always looking for a better-paying job.
Some people don't want to constantly run on the treadmill. Some people don't have endless greed^H^H^H^H^Hambition. Some people have priorities outside of work. Some people want to be able to give 100% for 40 hours a week and receive some stability and long-term value for the commitment and effort they give.
An average person, with modest needs and simple aspirations, who is willing to do the work they are being paid to do, does not deserve to be mistreated.
There's a middle ground that is often ignored in order to fuel the ranting and rhetoric.
:)
Let's describe a spectrum of human ambition and another of 'talent'.
Some people will do well in the world because a large amount of talent. Something about them that makes them 'better' at being an artist or a designer or an engineer or whatever. They will tend to rise to the top and be highly employable on the basis of their gift. Some people don't have much talent. Others have a moderate amount while others have none (that they can 'sell', anyway)
Then there's ambition. The desire for certain things out of life and the willingness to 'work your ass off' to get there. Some people have a lot of drive to go for the best. Some have nearly none. Most people have moderate capacities for putting their goals for success in employment/business/etc at the forefront of all things.
The problem I see is that people who are only mildly talented, or whom possess moderate (but substantial) ambition, are told that they do not deserve even a little piece of the pie. That only the talented and the crazed workaholic deserve some prosperity and security.
If you "don't work your ass off", then screw you!
It is not whining to suggest that people are willing to do a good solid amount of work, with modest expectations about how far that will take them down Paycheck Lane or LongTerm Security Road, be treated with some respect and care. You shouldn't have to resort to overworking yourself, forego a social life, neglect your family, become obsessed with gaining every advantage OVER others, etc., in order to have a modest and comfortable life.
We've got more than enough to go around in the US. But, as long as this culture is tuned to selfishness and greed, well... I'll save you the time of reading that rant.
The report urges readers to take this research as a data point. No optimization was done on host or guest OS parameters
NO optimization was done
Out of the box, any combo of Windows, IIS and virtualization will SUCK. Got to tweak it. :)
I personally dislike being asked to take someone seriously when they do not care to exercise good language skills.
(That statement may not apply to you generally, nor is it intended as a response to this specific instance of a 'typo'. I mean it to apply broadly)
Good use of language indicates the mind of a person who pays attention to details and otherwise cares for the quality of things. What they have to say will carry more weight (with me).
I do make a distinction between a mistake (typing errors) and illiteracy. If one knows better and goofed, well, the worst they can fairly be blamed with is failing to proofread. If they don't know better, than I say "shame on them!"
But, I steadfastly believe that we should do even MORE criticizing of illiteracy and sloppiness. I want high(er) standards in the world. I think it's a bad idea to let people 'get away with' all the stupid, sloppy, just plain ugly use of their language. "Textspeak", outside of the numeric keypad on a cellphone, is an example.
It's not ideal, but I know that the pressure of such negative reinforcement would give many people the motivation to both improve their skills and to practice them more carefully. And I see little wrong with that.
I envy your positive outlook. Yet, I find my innate cynicism leaping to the fore.
If you change that "is" to "should be", I'm all with you, with emphasis on the sharing of the why.But in my observations, not only are no minds changed by way of most protesting, but rarely does anyone not already on board ask "why". If the topic comes up, and too often it does in a sort of confrontational or nonconsentual way (someone getting in your face while you are just trying to go about your business), the protester is not often terribly eloquent or articulate. And, people who are yelling don't making me want to listen.
Are you sure the learned about it? One Man's information is another man's propoganda.Most people form opinions with near zero facts and are willing to espose (force-feed) them to others as soon as they formed them. They don't let facts or research get in the way. I mean, if we had a culture of informed opinion I can't even begin to fathom how much better this nation could be - as a place to live in, among other aspects.
Wow... I've drifted into a daydream fantasy, and it's making me tremble with joy. Where people are smart and well-informed. We can trust our fellow citizens to vote sensibly, argue logically, think critically and form opinions from solid information. *sigh*
BLAM!
That's the sound of my heart and soul slamming back to reality.
Ugh
I'm sorry. I mislead you. You were given to think that I was making claims on behalf of Verizon with those 4 statements. I was not. I was stating something in the realm of 'simple truths'. Whether or not they apply here is not something I care to debate. I am underinformed to do so in good conscience (not that it stops most people :)).
Thank you for saying this. I thought I was going to have to. :)
I seem to remember that some pr0n used to come in Realmedia format... maybe he has a large collection of 160x120 vids from way-back. :)
[begin quote]
No. This is pure greed. Vonage forced the Bells to reduce their pricing before they were ready to compete, so Verizon is just going to sue Vonage out of existence. Vonage was already in dire straits. They will not survive this legal battle and that is what the Bells wanted.
The Bells do have a right to make a profit, but not at the expense of the customer.
[end quote]
Believe me, I am NOT a fan of greed. I HATE it, from deep in my heart. I honestly and passionately believe greed is the root of all evil. Not from some religious dogma, from observation of human life around me.
That said, I think you are flat out wrong. It is not greed to;
1) want to make a fair return on your costs/investments
2) want to be paid for use of your infrastructure
3) want to make enough profits to repay investors, fund research, etc.
4) want to compete on a level playing field.
If Vonage "stole" or cheated to make it possible to force pricing (artificially) to a level that Vonage can't compete with, then they have to fight that and protect themselves. That's not evil greed, that's trying to get rid of an unfair cheat.
I think there's a bunch of bullshit and silliness with IP and patent laws, and the whole system is both broken at it's roots and being abused and misused daily, but cheating is cheating.
Lastly, you need to get over this idea that all that matters is what benefits you^H^H^H the Customer. Just because someone can come up with a way to give you something that you want for less money does not justify any and all means.
If by "the customer gets screwed" you mean "I can not no longer personally benefit from artificially (and now we find, illegally) low prices", such that you might have to go back and pay a reasonable amount for a service, then yes, you are getting screwed.
I see this as having very little to do with Democracy, other than we vote for the people who make or oversee the laws that would generally govern these kinds of services. I'd say this has to do with Capitalism.
Hmmm, another (young) person who suffers from an over-developed sense of entitlement? Mayyyybe.
I'll pay the "1000x" price tag (incidentally, I've paid as little as $3.50 for 24 .5L bottles) rather than drink dirty water or deal with diarrheal disease. I'm funny that way.
I'll pay the "1000x" price tag [...]. I'm stupid that way.
There, fixed that for ya. ;)
Seriously, I've seen all kinds of justifications for people being willing to spend more on bottled water than they do on GASOLINE - a product that mostly justifies its price as a result of the costs of the raw materials and its production and distribution costs - by around an order of magnitude.
The simple truth is, many of you have more disposable income than brains. If you couldn't afford to waste that much on a mere convenience, of dubious origin and quality in most cases, then maybe, just maybe, you'd get a filter at home and use a refillable portable water vessel.
Or not.
A mistake. I used the wrong word. Thanks for bringing it to my attention.
I know better, so it's not what I usually think of as illiteracy, which involves not knowing better.
In this context, "vanilla" refers to people who are not interested in/involved with/ experienced with BDSM. BDSM = Bondage & Discipline, Dominance and Submission and Sadomasochism. 'Kinky shit'. :)
The prior was insinuating that sounds akin to crying would be an erotic thing for some people.
FYI - you can fairly easily represent extended ASCII characters in HTML.
A quick lookup of an ASCII Table shows that _ _ ('e' with a circumflex) is ASCII 136.
EDIT: Looks like /. does not allow use of the the extended character syntax in the "HTML Formatted" template. Between the two underscores above I put in the necessary char code, but I'm not seeing the character in the post preview. Oh well. Nevermind.
Huh?
IANAP but I when I've dabbled in code I've found that you have to comply with defined terms and syntax. Deviation from the proscribed spelling and notation will break your code.
I do think I know barely enough to grasp that you are referring to the more advanced OO-type languages where you define your own methods and properties, but that does not negate the value of the parent's point, in my estimation.
Perhaps when having this argument it's important to clarify whether one wishes to complain about a mistake, an unintentional mistyping, versus an error, applying incorrect or atypical usage and spelling.
IOW, it's really lame to call people on a typo, but I vigorously support calling people on their illiteracy, ignorance or bad habits. :)
That is more correct, grammatically.
However, my actual sentiments are along the lines of "Slashdot [the World] would be a better place if more people bothered to use language well." :)
Well, I, for one, think that you are not so clever. Here, in Soviet Russia, post caps you.
******* HA!!!! I URINATE ON YOUR PATHETIC ATTEMPT TO DOMINATE THIS THREAD!!!!! ********
I guess it's a good thing there's no BLINK tag, or color allowed, eh? This could get really ugly. :)
It really frightens me that so many people seem to think as you apparently do; that 'modern science' will rescue the world from the stupidity, destructiveness and lazy wastefulness of its people.
:)
Even if that were always and completely true, now and forever, it's still a 'lower form of life' way to live. In ignorance, nay defiance, of the value of living in some kind of mutually respectful and even slightly non-parasitic way upon the planet.
Even if you could find enough safe, cheap power to provide for all your needs, having obscene and excessive needs is not only not desirable, but it's guaranteed to come with a raft of other problems beyond the creation and distribution of said power.
But, you go ahead and buy another SUV to pollute and gas-guzzle your way to McDonald's while leaving every incandescent and halogen light and TV in the house on, bud. I just wish there were MORE taxes to levy on people who can't be bothered to be reasonable about things.