Some stuff about units of measurement and spelling

[Tales and Chronicles]

I'd prefer yard. Its super easy to convert for those preferring either feet or meters.

 

[tetrasodium]

Hah. Yes - having grown up in Britain I am familiar with both systems; but I often forget that my European players only know that 5ft = 1 square. So they look at me blankly when I start saying things like 'it's about 20 yards away'.

Yard and meter are almost identical so you might as well say 20m if your saying 20 yard. As to yards in general though, they are pretty much only used in football and for being noted as "about a meter" at 1:0.91. The number of people saying three feet in this thread rather than the unit of measurement totaling 3 feet shows nicely how unused the yard is

 

[Morrus]

I’ve moved this discussion over to the off topic forum. Enjoy!

 

[MarkB]

Aluminum is a fun one. The American version is actually correct - the British version with the added I was a marketing ploy by a British manufacturer.

 

[Dioltach]

For D&D, I prefer "bashing range", "shooting range" and "blasting range".

 

[shawnhcorey]

When I GM fantasy games, distances are in leagues and paces, height in spans. Liquids are in tuns, barrels, tankards, and flasks. And mapmaking is not an exact science.

 

[GreyLord]

Well, one thing I try to keep in mind is that approximately 1 yard = 1 meter (I think One meter is actually about 1.1 yards, but close enough) and that a 1 K = .6 Miles and 1 mile = 1.6 K in mind.

You think that's wonky...20 C = 68 F, and then to get what it is in F or C subtract 9 F for every 5 C it is (or vice versa, add it).

 

[MNblockhead]

Am I the only one reading this to for @Morrus's posts?

Let's start another thread about the Oxford comma!

My current job requires British spelling. Thank goodness for MS Office language settings and my OED online subscription.

Though it makes me lazy. Without the tech, I just revert to American spelling.

With the early American nativists were more radical with their spelling reforms. I would be nice to have a truly phonetical and consistent spelling system for English.

 

[Umbran]

I would be nice to have a truly phonetical and consistent spelling system for English.

Given the number of regional accents, that's not really possible. And, it isn't like English comes from a consistent root. English is a pigdin gone berserk, mugging other languages in dark alleys and rifling through their pockets for loose grammar.

 

[TwoSix]

Well, one thing I try to keep in mind is that approximately 1 yard = 1 meter (I think One meter is actually about 1.1 yards, but close enough) and that a 1 K = .6 Miles and 1 mile = 1.6 K in mind.

You think that's wonky...20 C = 68 F, and then to get what it is in F or C subtract 9 F for every 5 C it is (or vice versa, add it).

Fahrenheit = 9/5 * (Celsius) + 32. It's not the most pleasing conversion.