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Carpal Tunnel
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OP
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 2,788 |
Has anyone ever seen anyone but themselves in the "Who's Online" function? Or is it just me?
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Joined: Dec 2000
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Dec 2000
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Did you use a singular "they"? 
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Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 3,290
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Aug 2005
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Did you use a singular "they"?
If only I'd been drinking something when I read that, I could've done a spit-take. Hot damn!
Ceci n'est pas un seing.
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Joined: Sep 2000
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Carpal Tunnel
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OP
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 2,788 |
"...a spit-take (the double-take causes the character to spit out whatever he is drinking)." ~ http://www.filmsite.org/filmterms8.html"A spit-take is a comedic technique where someone spits water out of their mouth when they react to a statement. Danny Thomas is sometimes credited for popularizing the use of this in comedy." ~ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spit-take"I invented a certain kind of spit take. You know, you're sipping a cup of coffee, and someone says, "Guess what, Danny, Uncle Tunoose is dead!" and you spew coffee all over the first few rows of the studio audience. That's the classic spit take, but it works just as well with grape soda, or chocolate milk, especially if it shoots out your nose or if you’re sitting on a white couch." ~ http://mfinley.com/articles/zany.htm
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Joined: Sep 2000
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Carpal Tunnel
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OP
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 2,788 |
"The alternative to the masculine generic with the longest and most distinguished history in English is the third-person plural pronoun. Recognized writers have used they, them, themselves, and their to refer to singular nouns such as one, a person, an individual, and each since the 1300s. For example, in 1759 the Earl of Chesterfield wrote, “If a person is born of a…gloomy temper…they cannot help it,” and, echoing this sentiment, W. M. Thackeray wrote in Vanity Fair in 1848, “A person can’t help their birth.” "Modern writers of note, from George Bernard Shaw to Anne Morrow Lindbergh, have also used this construction, in sentences such as To do a person in means to kill them and When you love someone you do not love them all the time. The practice is widespread and can be found in such mainstream publications as Christian Science Monitor, The Washington Post, Discover, and Wall Street Journal. "The use of the plural pronoun to refer to a singular noun or pronoun is hardly restricted to writing, however. Its use is so common in speech as to go without being noticed." ~ http://www.bartleby.com/64/C005/018.html
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Joined: Jun 2001
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Posts: 2,636 |
Quote:
but it works just as well with grape soda, especially if it shoots out your nose
Gaaaaaaak! That actually happened to me when I was about 10. It was a humiliating experience... 
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Joined: Aug 2005
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Aug 2005
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Now, I am confused. I thought you leaned towards prescriptivism and preferred Tuesdays to Thursdays. (?) Guess I had you mixed up with another Padre Juzgado ... 
Ceci n'est pas un seing.
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Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 2,379 |
In fact, from a metaphysical -- and, increasingly, from a psychological, view point -- the referant of the third person singular is uncertain; and plural may well be the more accurate. (edit for typo -- no matter how lovely "view pont." What are you talking about?
Last edited by inselpeter; 10/18/05 02:20 PM.
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Joined: Jun 2001
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 2,636 |
I noticed that it said 3 registered users at the bottom of the screen, so I went to Who's online and it was just me...when I came to post this, though, the bottom of the screen said just one registered user was here and that would most likely be me then, eh?
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 427
addict
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addict
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 427 |
Obviously they all ran away when they saw you, Consuelo... 
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Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 2,636
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jun 2001
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I don't think so. I wear my cloak of invisibility when I come here. 
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Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 7,210
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 7,210 |
Quote:
I wear my cloak of invisibility
perhaps we can all be encouraged to show ourselves? Users Online doesn't do much good if everyone's invisible...
formerly known as etaoin...
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Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 10,561 Likes: 1
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 10,561 Likes: 1 |
Hmm. I get the same non-visibility you all are reporting, and as far as I know I've always tried to be nonymous. (Today's word is "neologist," isn't it?!)
After I post this I'll look myself up again and recheck.
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Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 10,561 Likes: 1
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 10,561 Likes: 1 |
Yes. My preference list includes
Do you want to be visible on the "Who's Online" screen?
... x Yes [pre] ... [/pre] No
Can anybody else see me? No, I didn't think so.
-- Lord High Everything Else (...and the salaries attached to them)
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Joined: Jun 2002
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 7,210 |
well, I saw zjhmejhedzeded earlier, but I ain't seeing you, so, huh. 
formerly known as etaoin...
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Joined: Mar 2000
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 6,511 |
Quote:
nonymous
I love it, wofa!
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Forums16
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