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Wikipedians starting responses with "So..." |
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thekohser |
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Lar |
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"His blandness goes to 11!"
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Somey |
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Can't actually moderate (or even post)
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I used to have a pet peeve about people who would say, "that's so {whatever}" without a qualifying complementary clause. IOW, I'd be fine with "that's so funny I forgot to laugh," but it really bugged me when people would only say, "that's so funny." So funny... why? It's a qualifier, people! (IMG: smilys0b23ax56/default/hrmph.gif) Thankfully, these days I've got a new pet peeve, which I'd better not mention because then everybody will start doing it just to spite me. But it's something I keep hearing in movie and TV dialogue, and it's one of the main reasons why I'm going to cancel my DirecTV account pretty soon and not renew it, like, ever. Until they stop doing it, anyway. On Wikipedia they use templates to communicate with each other, so what do you expect, right? Standardization of common forms of expression (as opposed to specialized jargon, etc.) is an efficiency measure when your organization gets too large for its own good, but it's also something cults do. In WP's case I wouldn't read too much into it, but it's definitely annoying if you're exposed to it excessively.
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thekohser |
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QUOTE(Lar @ Wed 14th April 2010, 9:23am) QUOTE(Somey @ Wed 14th April 2010, 2:32am) Thankfully, these days I've got a new pet peeve, which I'd better not mention because then everybody will start doing it just to spite me.
So...(mey) Tell me what it is! Tell me what it is! Tell me what it is! I promise not to do it. EVER! And I'm sure I speak for ALL of us on that. Not a troll in the bunch, I guar-un-tee it! I'll bet it's one of the following: "That's besides the point..." "For all intensive purposes..." "Hey, can I go with?"
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victim of censorship |
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Not all thugs are Wikipediots, but all Wikipediots are thugs.
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QUOTE(Jon Awbrey @ Wed 14th April 2010, 3:24pm) So many bees, So little honey. Jon (IMG: smilys0b23ax56/default/tongue.gif) ...so many stingers.
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thekohser |
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thekohser |
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Okay, I think we have enough data points to begin "Hypothesis Time"!
My hypothesis is that these Web 2.0, crowdsourcing gurus spent so much of the period 1996 to 2003 explaining Internet technology to people (friends, spouses, hottest chick at the technology mixer, potential investors, etc.) who really didn't understand how websites, HTML, and Java worked, they developed this nasty habit of launching every explanation with "So...". In much the same way your small child might ask, "Why do we have both paper money and coin money?", you might begin a response "down to her level" with, "So, imagine you wanted to buy a bicycle that cost 75 dollars..."
The "So..." is an equalizer. A signal to the listener that the speaker realizes you are dumber than they are about a subject, but they're going to try to explain things to you in a friendly, layman's sort of way. The "So..." prepares the listener to try to pay attention, because a folksy assessment is about to come their way, and they just might stand a chance of understanding it.
This post has been edited by thekohser:
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Subtle Bee |
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melli fera, fera...
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QUOTE(thekohser @ Mon 19th April 2010, 7:32am) The "So..." is an equalizer. A signal to the listener that the speaker realizes you are dumber than they are about a subject, but they're going to try to explain things to you in a friendly, layman's sort of way. The "So..." prepares the listener to try to pay attention, because a folksy assessment is about to come their way, and they just might stand a chance of understanding it.
So what are you saying? I think that "so" is a signpost for an imminent synthesis, and usually precedes "...what you're/I'm saying is..." or "...in other words...". If you insert "so" into your own train of thought, it means you're about to sum up, or explain another way. If you interject it into another's, it signifies you're about to say what they just said in your own words. or voice the conclusion they were reaching. In practice though, it's usually just a way to interrupt so you can say what you want to say. See what I did there?
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Milton Roe |
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Known alias of J. Random Troll
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QUOTE(thekohser @ Mon 19th April 2010, 7:32am) Okay, I think we have enough data points to begin "Hypothesis Time"!
My hypothesis is that these Web 2.0, crowdsourcing gurus spent so much of the period 1996 to 2003 explaining Internet technology to people (friends, spouses, hottest chick at the technology mixer, potential investors, etc.) who really didn't understand how websites, HTML, and Java worked, they developed this nasty habit of launching every explanation with "So...". In much the same way your small child might ask, "Why do we have both paper money and coin money?", you might begin a response "down to her level" with, "So, imagine you wanted to buy a bicycle that cost 75 dollars..."
The "So..." is an equalizer. A signal to the listener that the speaker realizes you are dumber than they are about a subject, but they're going to try to explain things to you in a friendly, layman's sort of way. The "So..." prepares the listener to try to pay attention, because a folksy assessment is about to come their way, and they just might stand a chance of understanding it.
AND, it means the person hasn't been trained as a trial lawyer. Who tend to say "Now...." when they're pausing stupidly between phrases. And everybody else just says "ahhhhh...."
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Jon Awbrey |
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Ï„á½° δΠμοι παθήματα μαθήματα γÎγονε
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QUOTE(thekohser @ Mon 19th April 2010, 10:32am) Okay, I think we have enough data points to begin "Hypothesis Time"!
My hypothesis is that these Web 2.0, crowdsourcing gurus spent so much of the period 1996 to 2003 explaining Internet technology to people (friends, spouses, hottest chick at the technology mixer, potential investors, etc.) who really didn't understand how websites, HTML, and Java worked, they developed this nasty habit of launching every explanation with "So…". In much the same way your small child might ask, "Why do we have both paper money and coin money?", you might begin a response "down to her level" with, "So, imagine you wanted to buy a bicycle that cost 75 dollars…"
The "So…" is an equalizer. A signal to the listener that the speaker realizes you are dumber than they are about a subject, but they're going to try to explain things to you in a friendly, layman's sort of way. The "So…" prepares the listener to try to pay attention, because a folksy assessment is about to come their way, and they just might stand a chance of understanding it.
So , what you're saying is just a first approximation to my own thought on the subject, the ultimate conclusion that appropriates and subsumes every worthwhile idea you might have ever wound your weary way toward eventually and that I'm about to sum up for you in one brilliantly polished and dazzling epiphany to save you the trouble of thinking for yourself. ∴∑Jon (IMG: smilys0b23ax56/default/tongue.gif)
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Milton Roe |
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QUOTE(A Horse With No Name @ Fri 21st May 2010, 6:01am) QUOTE(Jon Awbrey @ Wed 14th April 2010, 11:24am) So many bees, So little honey.
What a great quote! If you don't mind, I'm pulling a Roger Davies/Steve Smith and "borrowing" it for the title of an article I am writing. Jon gets a big Horsey kiss for that! Mwah! Mwah! Mwah! (IMG: smilys0b23ax56/default/wub.gif) And then there's that ditty from "The God-King and I" (Rogers and Hammerstein) [GOD-KING] A girl must be like a blossom With honey for just one man. A man must be like honey bee And gather all he can. To fly from blossom to blossom A honey bee must be free, But blossom must not ever fly From bee to bee to bee.
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Subtle Bee |
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melli fera, fera...
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QUOTE(Milton Roe @ Fri 21st May 2010, 11:29am) QUOTE(A Horse With No Name @ Fri 21st May 2010, 6:01am) QUOTE(Jon Awbrey @ Wed 14th April 2010, 11:24am) So many bees, So little honey.
What a great quote! If you don't mind, I'm pulling a Roger Davies/Steve Smith and "borrowing" it for the title of an article I am writing. Jon gets a big Horsey kiss for that! Mwah! Mwah! Mwah! (IMG: smilys0b23ax56/default/wub.gif) And then there's that ditty from "The God-King and I" (Rogers and Hammerstein) [GOD-KING] A girl must be like a blossom With honey for just one man. A man must be like honey bee And gather all he can. To fly from blossom to blossom A honey bee must be free, But blossom must not ever fly From bee to bee to bee. *waggledances*
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RHeterodyne |
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QUOTE(Somey @ Tue 13th April 2010, 9:32pm) Thankfully, these days I've got a new pet peeve, which I'd better not mention because then everybody will start doing it just to spite me. But it's something I keep hearing in movie and TV dialogue, and it's one of the main reasons why I'm going to cancel my DirecTV account pretty soon and not renew it, like, ever. Until they stop doing it, anyway.
Is it the rampant overuse of the word "amazing" to describe anything at all that is even slightly good? Or is it the use of "literally" as a generic intensifier? In the fashion of, "This pizza is literally the best pizza I have ever eaten." It has to be one of those. (IMG: smilys0b23ax56/default/biggrin.gif)
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Zoloft |
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May we all find solace in our dreams.
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QUOTE(RHeterodyne @ Sat 10th July 2010, 10:26pm) QUOTE(Somey @ Tue 13th April 2010, 9:32pm) Thankfully, these days I've got a new pet peeve, which I'd better not mention because then everybody will start doing it just to spite me. But it's something I keep hearing in movie and TV dialogue, and it's one of the main reasons why I'm going to cancel my DirecTV account pretty soon and not renew it, like, ever. Until they stop doing it, anyway.
Is it the rampant overuse of the word "amazing" to describe anything at all that is even slightly good? Or is it the use of "literally" as a generic intensifier? In the fashion of, "This pizza is literally the best pizza I have ever eaten." It has to be one of those. (IMG: smilys0b23ax56/default/biggrin.gif) That's awesome.
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thekohser |
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Angela Kennedy |
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QUOTE(RHeterodyne @ Sat 10th July 2010, 11:26pm) QUOTE(Somey @ Tue 13th April 2010, 9:32pm) Thankfully, these days I've got a new pet peeve, which I'd better not mention because then everybody will start doing it just to spite me. But it's something I keep hearing in movie and TV dialogue, and it's one of the main reasons why I'm going to cancel my DirecTV account pretty soon and not renew it, like, ever. Until they stop doing it, anyway.
Is it the rampant overuse of the word "amazing" to describe anything at all that is even slightly good? Or is it the use of "literally" as a generic intensifier? In the fashion of, "This pizza is literally the best pizza I have ever eaten." It has to be one of those. (IMG: smilys0b23ax56/default/biggrin.gif) A year or so later, I'm going to ask: Is it the use of 'literally' when they mean 'metaphorically'? Like in "She was so impatient she was literally climbing the walls waiting" when the woman wasn't climbing the walls at all, she was just pacing the floor?
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Sololol |
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Bell the Cat
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QUOTE(Angela Kennedy @ Wed 20th July 2011, 10:49am) QUOTE(RHeterodyne @ Sat 10th July 2010, 11:26pm) QUOTE(Somey @ Tue 13th April 2010, 9:32pm) Thankfully, these days I've got a new pet peeve, which I'd better not mention because then everybody will start doing it just to spite me. But it's something I keep hearing in movie and TV dialogue, and it's one of the main reasons why I'm going to cancel my DirecTV account pretty soon and not renew it, like, ever. Until they stop doing it, anyway.
Is it the rampant overuse of the word "amazing" to describe anything at all that is even slightly good? Or is it the use of "literally" as a generic intensifier? In the fashion of, "This pizza is literally the best pizza I have ever eaten." It has to be one of those. (IMG: smilys0b23ax56/default/biggrin.gif) A year or so later, I'm going to ask: Is it the use of 'literally' when they mean 'metaphorically'? Like in "She was so impatient she was literally climbing the walls waiting" when the woman wasn't climbing the walls at all, she was just pacing the floor? Indeed!
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Milton Roe |
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QUOTE(Kelly Martin @ Wed 20th July 2011, 10:06am) Mark Liberman, of Language Log, notes that "literally" has been used to signify hyperbole in English writing for at least 200 years. Requiring "literally" to be taken, well, literally, is a modern phenomenon, it seems. (IMG: smilys0b23ax56/default/biggrin.gif) Good point. To insure no misunderstanding, if you literally mean "literally," (and not just metaphorically) you must now write or say "quite literally." And even that is no guarantee that you'll be taken literally. It's a bad case of overuse leading to corruption of an irreplaceable word. Sort of like with the word "unique."
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