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this post actually is inspired by all of the various Hogwash® entires I've seen, and then taking a closer look at various online dictionary styles. that is, definitions are given variously as:
a) A phrase with capitalization and punctuation. (OED, AHD)
b) a phrase, not capitalized, but punctuated. (compact Oxford, Cambridge)
c) a phrase with neither caps nor punctuation (M-W)
two questions then:
1) do you favor a particular style?
2) in the past, I've tried to "normalize" entries, generally by using c) for all; do you think this matters, or is a waste of energy? (i.e., should they all be left as submitted?)
-joe (stylin' and profilin') friday
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I think the idea of normalizing entries is a good one, for the obvious reason -- yet I know it's a royal pain. HTH.
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But, but--wouldn't that negate some peoples' creativity? Since (obviously) dictionaries do it differently, I feel like ours should be, too. But I'll go with majority rule.
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old hand
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I have a little trouble seeing how having a capitalaization and punctuation style sheet could negate anyone's creativity. Personally I find some offered definitions so far beyond the pale of dictionary style as to make me reject them entirely, but I suppose one could pull a definition off of, say, Urban Dictionary and have a legitimate yet very poorly formed definition as a result.
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We've also had misspellings in previous games -- a dead giveaway if there ever was one. Maybe we can resolve this by leaving the choice up to each individual Hogmaster/mistress.
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Urban Dictionary and... legitimate
hmmm.. must be some standard of legitimacy with which I'm unfamiliar.
-joe (I suppose one shouldn't) friday
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Well, I wouldn't accept a definition from UD that had 3 thumbs up and 746 thumbs down.
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old hand
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Part of the fun is seeing 'obviously' fake definitions, especially when they are witticisms framed to give people a laugh rather than aimed at winning the round. Perhaps hogmasters could suggest spelling corrections to submitters, but I don't see why everything should have to sound as though it came out of OED or Webster. I say leave them as untouched as possible, with Common Sense as the final arbiter.
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I agree - part of the deception can be in trying to make a real definition look so homespun that it couldn't possibly be the real one, now could it...
Spelling and grammar ought to be accurate and consistent, particularly if you want to sound Authentic. Internal consistency is all that should be required, though.
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>I agree - part of the deception can be in trying to make a real definition look so homespun that it couldn't possibly be the real one, now could it...
if you're saying the moderator can partake of deception, with the real definition (which is what this reeks of).. I totally disagree. the game is hard enough without that, and I don't think the hogmaster should be making special efforts to "win".
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A) I don't see how having a capitalization and punctuation style sheet could possibly serve any purpose given that we don't know what dictionary the real definiton is taken from.
2) I definitely agree that the real definition should be taken verbatim from the source.
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c) a phrase with neither caps nor punctuation (M-W)
Could be worth a try, just to see. My computer seems to wanna retire too. But maybe it's Windows urging me to go legal.The system hangs on its last thread. So maybe I will or not - see the entries. In whichever way as long as it takes.
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If I were any way near being 'technical' I would , but my all savant nephew advises a new computer to replace the nine your old, with a legal vista system. Adapting again to some new ways.
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I have a great link to a two minute tutorial on installing Vista. Vista install in 2 minutes!
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Thanks , will talk it over with the 'system manager'.
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old hand
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c) a phrase with neither caps nor punctuation (M-W)
Could be worth a try, just to see. My computer seems to wanna retire too. But maybe it's Windows urging me to go legal.The system hangs on its last thread. So maybe I will or not - see the entries. In whichever way as long as it takes.  hee hee. You'd better hope Bill Gates is not monitoring this conversation. Big Brother is everywhere, remember!
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now that I've had a few days to stew about this, take pronunciation markings.. please.
I can never remember which dictionary uses which convention (i.e., stress marked before or after syllable) and usually have to look up a word I know to figure it out for the particular instance, since I can't remember how to find the p. guide for each online dictionary.
(this is why I decided to use CAPS for stress in my lexicon -- this seems intuitively obvious to me)
-ron o.
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