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Joined: Apr 2000
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Carpal Tunnel
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OP
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542 |
this is one of the words which made it into MWCD-11. do you agree with this article that they rushed the gun by including this? http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,4149,1201408,00.asp
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Joined: Dec 2000
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Perhaps you could make of it a wwftd.
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Posts: 1,692
Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
Joined: Mar 2002
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No, I don't think I agree. There are many terms that are not relevant to modern life but can be found in the dictionary although admittedly they were probably in use for more than five years. But the significance of the phenomenon (or whatever) to which the word referred must also play a part in the decision as to whether to store it up for posterity. The 'dotcom' fiasco probably falls into the same category as the 'South Sea Bubble'; that stock market crash dates back to 1720 and is still taught in History lessons. I suspect that in the future the 'dotcom' crash may also be taught. For some stuff on the SSB see: http://www.dal.ca/~dmcneil/sketch.html
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Joined: Dec 2000
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Aside from the overall rush of the 'information age' *seemingly promoting/teaching common usage at an exponential rate (which may justify its inclusion), I imagine there are a number of slang (which is what I would call it) werds and spellings with a similar "distribution x frequency x age" product.
This one just ain't that special.
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Joined: Sep 2000
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Yes - probably too rushed: how useful a piece of our language will it be in another ten years? But that seems to fit with the frame of reference, too! Now we could mebbe use dot-conner to refer to all those modern South Sea Bubblers who could see no further than the stinking riches of the IPO... or dot-comma for the multitudes who sprinkle their langauge with a haphazard scattering of puctuation marks without regard to intelligibility or style... 
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Joined: Jun 2002
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jun 2002
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or dot-calm, when the computer gets shut off for the night...
formerly known as etaoin...
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,156
old hand
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old hand
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,156 |
But the significance of the phenomenon (or whatever) to which the word referred must also play a part in the decision as to whether to store it up for posterity.
I've been thinking about this since I first read this thread...what if someone starts to read old newspaper articles in 20 years, for a research project, and needs to know what "dot-commer" means? Even if the word has fallen out of use, it is still useful to have recorded its meaning. Haven't you ever read a book with an archaic word and looked it up, and been (a) thrilled it was in the dictionary anyway, or (b) annoyed because it wasn't?
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Good thinking indeed, Bean! [nod of approval] maverick-- 
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Maverick, that was so subtle I had to go back and re-read after Jackie's post! Bean, I agree with you. Now how 'bout we further refine it and have "dot-com" as the main entry with the adjectival form listed in that entry (as is the usual way)?
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