The "I Didn't Comment in Another Thread" Thread

[Deset Gled]

How does that establishment of terms happen?

Terminology for computer stuff is defined by a combination of multiple internationally recognized engineering organizations (e.g. IEEE, etc)*, decades of peer reviewed academic publications, ISO controlled documents and white papers from manufacturers, and media publications that are read and discussed by millions.

Meanwhile, our terminology started with a pile of purple prose from Gary Gygax and is now largely defined in blog form.

*It took every ounce of grammar nazi in me to not write this as "i.e. IEEE"

 

[overgeeked]

Note to self. No, really, 99.98% is good enough. Let it go.

 

[FrogReaver]

Terminology for computer stuff is defined by a combination of multiple internationally recognized engineering organizations (e.g. IEEE, etc), decades of peer reviewed academic publications, ISO controlled documents and white papers from manufacturers, and media publications that are read and discussed by millions.

Meanwhile, our terminology started with a pile of purple prose from Gary Gygax and is now largely defined in blog form.

One major thing academics do is define their terms ahead of time. This allows one to get a good idea about what academic X means by term Y in most cases. Thus, even if I dislike the term I can still talk about what academic X means by Y.

That doesn’t happen here. The terms used aren’t defined ahead of time for all, so I have to constantly guess at what precisely is meant. This also means I have limited foresight into potential perils of accepting such terms mid discussion as I don’t know what downstream work that term is later being leveraged for, or even if the term is being overloaded with 2 similar but different meanings in order to justify a thesis.

Also in academic circles, if someone disagrees with a term they can explain why there is a better term, no judgement about motives, just about whether the other term is more descriptive with less baggage. That also doesn’t happen here.

This academic process builds consensus about how to talk about the discipline amongst all groups, that’s also not something we have here.

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

Note to self. No, really, 99.98% is good enough. Let it go.

Perfect is the enemy of the three-martini lunch.

 

[ichabod]

There is a small, but burgeoning academic field that is addressing these issues. But no one here wants to read or discuss that. ¯\(ツ)/¯

What if someone was interested in that sort of thing? Where would they go, what would they read?

 

[Mannahnin]

What if someone was interested in that sort of thing? Where would they go, what would they read?

I would link you to a thread Snarf started that has links, but I can't go to his profile and look them up, alas.

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

What if someone was interested in that sort of thing? Where would they go, what would they read?

A while back, I had a thread-starter that included some links to sources-

RPG Theory- The Limits of My Language are the Limits of My World

Well, it happened again! Another thread, ostensibly about one thing (discussing the division of narrative authority within 5e) turned into another thing (jargon-filled general discussion about RPG theory). Which is thing. Thread drift happens! But given the recurrent nature of this issue, I...

www.enworld.org

There's a lot more stuff since then, but (for obvious reasons, if you look at that thread) I have not chosen to post another thread starter like that.

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

I would link you to a thread Snarf started that has links, but I can't go to his profile and look them up, alas.

If it makes you feel better, I have that privacy setting for everyone! I do compile my thread starters from time-to-time.

This is the first one-

Digressions, Discussions, and Discursions: Snarf's Splendiferous Scrolls

It's been a year, so I'm collecting and sorting my past essays on this thread. Mostly because I realize I was about to start writing something I wrote about last year! There are roughly organized by topic, but not by date. HERE IS THE SECOND PART!!!! (Mostly RPG History, Pop Culture, and Jon...

www.enworld.org

It has links to the next three.

 

[Ryujin]

per my last email....

I've used, "As I mentioned in my previous message..." at least 4 times, this week, and the week isn't over yet.

 

[Old Fezziwig]

Perfect is the enemy of the three-martini lunch.

But after a three-martini lunch, all my ideas are solid gold, so there's that.