Dgeigh, this message board has been wacky the past week or so! I'm sorry you had gremlins attack your attempt to delete your post; at the same time, I don't understand why you wanted to delete it. Stinking?

Anyway, on the pre- vs. des- issue, I sit squarely in the middle, on the fence. I'm a firm prescriptivist when it comes to style, while lexically I'm a descriptivist. Go figger.