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#55478 02/06/02 03:17 AM
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I've been sitting all morning making changes to a (rather official) document (and attempting to keep my attention away from all the new posts on this site ).

I was doing some work in a section of the document entitled Key Performance Indicators which then had the abbreviation "(KPIs)" after it... aaargh . Surely if the statement is plural, then the abbreviation should not also be pluralised!

Aside from the surprise I have at the volume of punctuation and grammatical corrections I'm having to make to this document, I'm stunned that all these things have been let slide for ... gosh .. who knows how long in a (supposedly) professional business environment. I'm a contractor, I'm allowed to level these criticisms at Management ... especially when they are not looking .

The point of my post (sorry it's taken so long to get here) is that this is one of my pet peeves, along with statements like "ATM Machines". Anyone else wanna share? Or commiserate?

I'm hoping like mad that I haven't made a typo or grammatical error in this post or I'm done for...

Hev

"friend you haven't met yet..."

#55479 02/06/02 01:47 PM
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Is this a Yart*?
Well of course it is, but i mean is a recent one? was it here or somewhere else, I recently read a list of pleonastic terms?

We have done this before-- but it might be fun if we can come up with something aside from the tired old ones (which are the only ones i can think of --PINnumbers and the like.)

*for the newbies and strangers here about--
YART is short hand for Yet Another Rehashed Topic--

if you are new, try doing a search, and see if we have discussed the topic.. if we did 6, 10, 18 months ago...we might enjoy a rehash.. especially if you can add something new. otherwise, the thread is likely to die.


#55480 02/06/02 02:48 PM
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you've hit on a sore point ... one that gets into newspapers and newscasts is "the NATO organization" when NATO is North Atlantic Treaty Organization ... especially annoying when there is a AP Stylebook entry suggesting alliance to follow NATO. Arggggh


#55481 02/06/02 11:27 PM
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In reply to:

Is this a Yart*? ...
*for the newbies and strangers here about--
YART is short hand for Yet Another Rehashed Topic--


My HUMBLEST apologies ... by all means let the thread die . (If anyone else is interested, here is the previous Pet Peeve thread http://wordsmith.org/board/showthreaded.pl?cat=&Board=miscellany&Number=49360.) I will hereby amend my ways, and conduct exhaustive searches before ALL posts .

But (is anyone's pet peeve people who start sentences with But?) on the topic of YART, I can appreciate why all you enthusiasts, Pooh Bahs, people with Carpal Tunnel and others don't want to read posts about topics you've already covered, but is there a different way that the Board can describe topics already discussed? The acronym is simple, but when it is explained the words seem a little harsh. When I read the above about my post, I felt duly chastised (Yet Another (sigh) Rehashed (roll of the eyes) Topic ... sigh). (of troy, this is not to make you feel bad, because I know there were probably a bunch of you out there drawing straws to see who got to deliver the news .)

I know I'm a 'stranger' (stranger than most) who is almost a 'newbie' but I'm going to take a risk and attempt to change a tradition. Can we come up with a more stranger/newbie friendly term? What about:

Read About This At (provide link) or...

Suggestions anyone?

Can someone kick me under the table (PM) if I'm just being silly or if I'm touching on nerves here? Much appreciated . BTW, I did a search on this topic before I posted, so if this is a YART I couldn't find it, ok?

Hev

Faldage.. Am I redeemed? Would have thought it would have taken a lot more than shortening a url link ...go figure!


#55482 02/07/02 12:11 AM
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Howya Hev

I was a stranger here meself, not so long ago. I'm a Journeyman now, ya know. I hadn't heard of the YART topic (oops!) meself until now. I can see how ya might find it a bit harsh - specillay as not all strangers, newbies
and perhaps the odd journeymen, like meself - may not have read all the archives.

Anyways, yer suggestion fer a change of term is good.

I, meself hate bits and pieces of big huge tautology and repetition - so perhaps mabee ya could steer and guide yer post towards that side of things.

Be seein ya

GallantTed JOURNRYMAN




#55483 02/07/02 12:18 AM
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A belated welcome, hev!

Glad you restarted this subject. We've already come up with two that we'd missed before: ATM Machine and NATO Organization.

How does one refer to attacks on "al-Qaida bases", given that al-Qaida means "the base"?



#55484 02/07/02 03:22 AM
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I coined the word yart in this post:
http://wordsmith.org/board/showthreaded.pl?Cat=&Board=wordplay&Number=4097

it was coined in jest, as one of my pet peeves is the ridiculous overuse of acronyms in my work and initialisms on the 'net. having said this, I must add that I take a certain proprietary pride that this makes the 451st post to use, abuse or justify the word (not counting posts that referred to it without actually using it).

I'd be mortified if it were to be obsoleted.

-joe (factitiously) friday

#55485 02/07/02 03:34 AM
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Hev, please let me rush to assure you that inadvertently committing a YART is not a high crime or misdemeanor, nor do we expect anyone to spend hours (it might be weeks now that AWADTalk has grown to where it is) looking up and reading old threads. Generally someone will mention it not to chastise, but to gently let you know that the thread is likely to be short-lived, as in fact happened. No apologies necessary and don't feel bad. Even the oldest members Yart now and then.


#55486 02/07/02 03:38 AM
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I'd be mortified if it were to be obsoleted.

Yeah...and not to mention all the royalties! hev and GallantTed, you'll get your YART bills in the morning


#55487 02/07/02 03:52 AM
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yes, HEV, let me second that.. since i couldn't remember when or where i read my last thread about pleonastic terms, and since i couldn't think of new ones... i was just letting you know, better mind than mine might not respond.. but being awad,.. we are off and running..

Pet peeves gets going over every couple of months too.. we all get a little bitchy, and sometimes want to
[rant]--and then fill in text with a rant[/rant]

rants are usually directed at the world at large.. they sometimes extend to cosmic proportions.. its not just a peeve, it is the whole of the universe conspiring against us!

and who was it, that last week (it was you, my dear Mr. bingley, wasn't it?) pulled out a [soapbox] that was a new one.. sometime soon i expect to see a [hyde park] post! but only on sunday afternoons, mind you!
you'll find.. rehashed topics come round and round, just like the tax man-- they keep turn up! and for some of us, its alway too soon, and for others well its just one more go round--and what's the problem with that?


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