Re: [LCFC] templates://egroupware/{egroupware-core.templates}

[Justin B Rye <jbr@edlug.org.uk>]

Christian Perrier wrote:
> Quoting Esko Arajärvi (edu@iki.fi):
>>  This page allows further configuration steps, initialization of the
>>  database, and registering of installed eGroupWare applications.
>>          ^
>> ---------|
>> 
>> This string could also mean that the further configuration steps are the 
>> initialization of the database and application registration, but I would then 
>> expect some other punctuation mark than comma. (colon? semicolon?)
> 
> Hmmm, that could be my French, here. We *never* put commas before
> "and" ("et" in French).
> 
> Seeking advices from native speakers....

The current version is indeed mildly ambiguous; depending on how
egroupware behaves, it might mean something that would be better
punctuated as:
 
  This page allows further configuration steps:
      initialization of the database
  and registering of installed eGroupWare applications.

Or it might be:

  This page allows
      further configuration steps,
      initialization of the database,
  and registering of installed eGroupWare applications.

I *think* the truth of the matter is the second, in which case most
en_US style manuals would tell us it would be better with a comma
before the "and" (and I think I agree with them).  However, see
Wikipedia on "serial comma"; we probably shouldn't adopt a strict
policy of enforcing it everywhere.

(By the way, if we need any justification for treating egroupware as
an exception to our usual punctuation rules, note that the control
file ${commondesc} text is double-spaced.)
-- 
JBR	with qualifications in linguistics, experience as a Debian
	sysadmin, and probably no clue about this particular package