Re: "Four days" promise for Debian Mentees

[forthurst <f0rthurst@tiscali.co.uk>]

Jeremiah Foster wrote:

On Oct 19, 2010, at 05:21, Justin B Rye wrote:

  

Andrei Popescu wrote:
    

I thought only masters have disciples ;) and the online Merriam-Webster 
confirms the term.
      

I've got to admit I'm not keen on the word "mentee" either; if all
Debian mailinglist posts went through debian-l10n-english for usage
checking I'd have suggested finding a better word.
    

It is proper English.

  

 Those plaintive
please-upload-my-package posts on debian-mentors are looking for a
(one-time) sponsor, not a mentor, so maybe it would be better to
call them "prospective sponsorees"?
    

Fair enough, but that seems equally awkward.

Jeremiah

  

The richness and variety of the English language cannot be constrained by the Merriam-Webster;  according to the Oxford (World) English online,   'disciple' means  "a follower or pupil of a teacher, leader , or philosopher".  If that sounds  too Messianic and not enough the recipient of advice  then so be it.

On the issue of 'mentee', the objection would be not that it has not wormed its way into a dictionary, but that it sounds like a confection of a putatively pharmaceutical conceit, probably sold by Hersheys. Furthermore, as 'mentor' is derived from the name of Telemachus' Grecian mentor,  a more appropriate derivative would be 'telemachite' (which, so far, has not made its way into a dictionary ).  

If however, the relationship  sought is ephemeral and in essence with a sponsor, as suggested, 'supplicant'  or  'suppliant' might suffice? If advice is still implicated, then 'client'.

but if you don't like the foregoing  or have no alternatives, then you are stuck with 'mentee'.