I second any proposal to discuss this further, but I think we should wait for the formal proposal to "toll" the running of the discussion and the vote until erinaceous has all the information.
To commemorate a past event, you kill and eat an animal. It's a ritual sacrifice, with pie.
Anya ,'Sleeper'
Bureaucracy 2: Like Sartre, Only Longer
A thread to discuss naming threads, board policy, new thread suggestions, and anything else that has to do with board administration and maintenance. Guaranteed to include lively debate and polls. Natter discouraged, but not deleted.
Current Stompy Feet: ita, Jon B, DXMachina, P.M. Marcontell, Liese S., amych
Wolfram - Jan 13, 2004 10:14:06 am PST #6504 of 10005
Visilurking
erinaceous - Jan 13, 2004 10:44:30 am PST #6505 of 10005
A fellow makes himself conspicuous when he throws soft-boiled eggs at the electric fan.
Okay. I should be able to get the proposal together in less than a week.
The data will be used by more than my mumblemumble dictionary -- it will also be used by people all around the world who are trying to figure out how English really works. Before corpus data, studying language was like learning about butterflies from the dead ones stuck through with pins -- there's only so much you can learn from a dead thing. Corpus research (even though the name is reminiscent of 'corpse') is like watching butterflies in the wild -- what do they eat? where do they hang out? how are they born and how do they die?
And yes, 'foamy' doesn't count unless it's in context. Unless you are angling for 'foamy' to be an interjection, in which case shout it all you want ...
Steph L. - Jan 13, 2004 11:00:22 am PST #6506 of 10005
I look more rad than Lutheranism
I think that we would choose a date on which to threadsuck and no posts would be taken after that date. However, if the last 1000 posts on that date were FOAMY! FOAMY! FOAMY! the linguists might get a tad annoyed. Just FYI.
I think you shouldn't tell us the date. Seriously. You know how, when someone's watching, you act differently, less natural? Well, if we know an ending date, I think we can't help but be aware of it, and it would affect our posts.
Jon B. - Jan 13, 2004 11:03:55 am PST #6507 of 10005
A turkey in every toilet -- only in America!
Another reason to let erin make the formal proposal: Under our rules, once the proposal has been made and secondses are received there's four days of discussion and then three days of voting. If we jump the gun and propose before erin has all the details, we could be voting before we know exactly what we're voting on. There's no reason to rush.
Wolfram - Jan 13, 2004 11:07:03 am PST #6508 of 10005
Visilurking
If we jump the gun and propose before erin has all the details, we could be voting before we know exactly what we're voting on.
That's what I meant, but Jon says it better.
erinaceous - Jan 13, 2004 11:36:33 am PST #6509 of 10005
A fellow makes himself conspicuous when he throws soft-boiled eggs at the electric fan.
I've just sent a long and question-filled email to the Guy Not In Charge But Who Handles All The Practical Details.
And I think not telling y'all the cutoff date is a good idea. Also, it means I won't be up all night threadsucking to make an arbitrary deadline.
DavidS - Jan 13, 2004 11:44:25 am PST #6510 of 10005
"Look, son, if it's good enough for Shirley Bassey, it's good enough for you."
Also, it means I won't be up all night threadsucking to make an arbitrary deadline.
I'm pretty sure DXM has all the threads archived already and could send you everything except the currently active or unarchived threads. Should we decide to go that way. And I'd like to.
Steph L. - Jan 13, 2004 11:45:25 am PST #6511 of 10005
I look more rad than Lutheranism
could send you everything except the currently active or unarchived threads.
Even better, because then there's no chance of the Observer Effect.
amych - Jan 13, 2004 12:55:02 pm PST #6512 of 10005
Now let us crush something soft and watch it fountain blood. That is a girlish thing to want to do, yes?
And yes, 'foamy' doesn't count unless it's in context. Unless you are angling for 'foamy' to be an interjection, in which case shout it all you want ...
Shiny!
erinaceous - Jan 13, 2004 1:04:45 pm PST #6513 of 10005
A fellow makes himself conspicuous when he throws soft-boiled eggs at the electric fan.
Ooh! If DX has all the archived threads that would be FOINE. Thanks for pointing that out. 10 hours (I am not joking) in the office (a real office, not my home one, where I can do ten hours standing on my head) has be-liquided my brain.