Pineapple Express: Someone Is Wrong on the Internet?

[RealAlHazred]

It really, really isn't.

True. More about expressing frustration with specific threads, without mentioning the thread. I forget that because I never know the thread people are talking about.

 

[prabe]

True. More about expressing frustration with specific threads, without mentioning the thread. I forget that because I never know the thread people are talking about.

I think there's some amount of expressing frustration with specific posters--but, as you say, without mentioning them, or even (ideally) being clear whom you're referencing.

 

[trappedslider]

Ea-Nasir is at it again!

Are medals awarded during the Paris 2024 Olympics losing their luster?

French bronze medal-winning Olympic swimmer Yohann Ndoye-Brouard wondered over the weekend whether a medal he captured is from this summer or 100 years ago.

sports.yahoo.com

and then I found this:

tiny red front says "“Unless you are nanni, then shut up”"

 

[MNblockhead]

This may be the geekiest reference on ENWorld in a very long time. My hat is off to you.

WHOOSH
(my head)

Is there an ENworld discussion or link to some site so I can be in on the geekiest reference on ENWorld. I'm feeling insufficiently geeky.

 

[Old Fezziwig]

I think it's a reference to this:

https://ronjeffries.com/xprog/articles/jatbaseball/

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Tech start-up in-joke being piled on top of D&D geeky argument to really up the ante on the geekiness.

 

[Maxperson]

I always think back to " That depends on the what the definition of "is" is."

I always laughed at that until one day I looked up the actual argument and it made sense.

 

[Maxperson]

I love the Facebook Temu adds I get telling me that I can get a Black Lotus MTG card for $5.71 or something close to that. That one add alone has kept me from ever having a desire to visit that site.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I always laughed at that until one day I looked up the actual argument and it made sense.

Yeah, he's a flawed guy to be sure, but also a graduate of Yale Law School.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

I suppose so much of this is based on our own backgrounds. I’ve lived in non English speaking countries most of my adult life. I’ve taught numerous classes at various companies revolving around conflict resolution when dealing across languages and cultures.

So the idea of fixating on specific words instead of trying to understand what people are trying to communicate is almost always at the heart of conflicts.

We are not writing legal texts here. Nor are we writing contracts. Far too often I see people head off into the weeds trying to be technically correct. Which results in multiple pages of side bars and then, if it does get resolved and the original point gotten back to, another example or whatever gets injected in the discussion and we’re right back to the races.

The point of discussion is communication. Stepping back and trying to understand the point being made, rather than policing exact wording is how you do that.

There’s a reason pedantry and sophistry are bad things.

FWIW, my Wills & Estates professor Stanley Johanson- and a goodly percentage of the other UT Law faculty members I knew- would probably strongly agree with you.

There was a predominant sentiment that good, clear language was to be preferred whenever you were drafting documents. Clarity prevented disagreements and let all parties know their rights & responsibilities. As Prof. Johanson once put it, if you were in court defending clauses in your documents, you’ve probably failed your client in some way.

One of his examples: he’d give everyone in the class a 25pg document for us to read in class. At some point, he’d stop us and ask how many had finished it. No one would raise a hand. He’d then instruct us to read the last page, which had 2-3 paragraphs on it, taking up maybe 3/4 of the page.

“That last page has the exact same information and legal force as the prior 24. It is merely drafted clearly and concisely, without legalese. If I ever encounter a document drafted by one of you that reads more like the first 24 pages of this handout than the last, I will hunt you down myself.”

I believe him. I won’t feel safe even after he passes away. (He’s been on UT Law’s faculty since 1963.)