Re: Help to improve new package (djmount)
Justin B Rye <jbr@edlug.org.uk> wrote:
> MJ Ray wrote:
> > Justin B Rye <jbr@edlug.org.uk> wrote:
> >> [...] Oh, and we've been standardising on two-word "file system".
> >
> > In general, I agree with Justin B Rye's points, but for this I ask:
> > Why??? Generally, compound nouns tend to become single words and
> > "Filesystem Hierarchy Standard" shows the one-word version is in
> > common usage.
>
> I'm surprised to see that Wikipedia still makes it two words, but
> I'd prefer to follow their lead.
Isn't that just a hangover of the first-used name? In general,
Wikipedia is not a primary source and should not be cited itself.
> As with "web server", the problem is that technical specialists are
> always the first to think of these terms as words in their own
> right, while the general public still sees that as obscure and
> intimidating.
I'm not convinced by that: got data?
Anyway, the general public is going to be intimidated selecting
filesystem settings manually - this isn't something to be enterprised
or taken lightly. So, this description is mainly for specialists and
the benefits of using the modern word (avoiding the small risk of
confusion with a system for filing things) would seem to outweigh the
drawbacks (the claimed intimidation).
> For "filesystem" there's also the consideration that
> even the techies still mostly abbreviate it as FS, except in odd
> cases like FHS (and FUSE).
I think techies will abbreviate it the way it looks/sounds coolest.
> >> [...] Also, "automatically discovers", not vice versa.
> >
> > Leading adverbs make phrases harder to understand because it is not
> > yet clear what action is being done when one reads "automatically".
>
> And yet this is a word order that native speakers naturally use in
> conversational English (look, I just did it again). If the
> reasoning about processing difficulty held water, we'd all speak
> verb-initial languages...
There are many reasons why only some native speakers can be understood
easily in conversation and and this is just one.
> Not that there's anything wrong with "discovers X automatically".
So, all else being equal, adverbs after verbs!
Hope that explains,
--
MJR/slef
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