Author Topic: Wikipedia  (Read 10151 times)

Fellfrosch

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Re: Wikipedia
« Reply #30 on: May 25, 2005, 04:46:15 PM »
They're not? The real world is such a confusing place.
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Peter Ahlstrom

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Re: Wikipedia
« Reply #31 on: May 25, 2005, 05:43:13 PM »
Boo!!! I prefer "standalone" as one word!! (dictionary.com)
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Chimera

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Re: Wikipedia
« Reply #32 on: May 25, 2005, 05:51:46 PM »
I prefer it as hyphenated, because of Merriam-Websters (and that's the way EUOL has it on his website).
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Re: Wikipedia
« Reply #33 on: May 25, 2005, 06:29:06 PM »
What's dictionary.com's source dictionary on that?

Hyphenated words are so tricky. The reason they're hyphenated is that they're on the transition to becoming a compound word, often.
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Peter Ahlstrom

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Re: Wikipedia
« Reply #34 on: May 25, 2005, 06:34:34 PM »
American Heritage 4th.

However, google examples are overwhelmingly against my preference, especially in the phrase "stand-alone novel." v_v

(We actually use AmH instead of Merriam-Webster's here. One thing I definitely agree with is how it uses "goodbye" instead of m-w's "good-bye." But I reserve the right to disagree with the dictionary...)
« Last Edit: May 25, 2005, 06:35:27 PM by OoklaTheMok »
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stacer

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Re: Wikipedia
« Reply #35 on: May 25, 2005, 06:49:12 PM »
American Heritage is Houghton's dictionary (I mean, we published it). That's the only one we used in the school division, for obvious reasons.
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Chimera

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Re: Wikipedia
« Reply #36 on: May 25, 2005, 06:53:13 PM »
Maybe EUOL will give his opinion at some point.

Good to know that you guys use AmH. I always used M-W's at work, since I worked from the Chicago style guide, and Chicago uses M-W--so that's why M-W is my default. I was the one who changed it, but my final decision wasn't because of M-W but because of the fact that EUOL has it hyphenated on his website, and I'm a stickler for consistency.

It definitely would not be "stand alone" because it is an adjectival phrase describing "novel." It would have to either be hyphenated or closed (according to Chicago, at least). And that is what we are disagreeing about.  ;)

Funny how such a small thing can be so controversial. Sometimes editing gives me headaches.
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EUOL

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Re: Wikipedia
« Reply #37 on: May 25, 2005, 06:55:01 PM »
I'm staying out of this one.  Wikipedia is supposed to be third-party, so I don't really want to stick my fingers into what you're writing.

I do appreciate it, though!
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Chimera

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Re: Wikipedia
« Reply #38 on: May 25, 2005, 07:00:45 PM »
Quote
I'm staying out of this one.  Wikipedia is supposed to be third-party, so I don't really want to stick my fingers into what you're writing.

Very wishy-washy, EUOL.

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Chimera

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Re: Wikipedia
« Reply #39 on: May 25, 2005, 07:09:04 PM »
Okay, since this is a group effort and many of us are online, I have a question. I'm thinking the plot paragraph (much better now, kudos to whoever did that) is a little heavy on its focus on Sarene. I thought Raoden could use one more line. I wrote it, but I don't know if it makes it too long.

The text in red is the sentence I am thinking of adding.
Quote
Struck down by the same plague that turned the gods into walking corpses, Prince Raoden of Arelon is imprisoned in the fallen city while his former subjects are told that he is dead. He toils to overcome the constant pain of his condition and build a meaningful life for himself and the fellow inhabitants of Elantris. Princess Sarene, his bride-to-be, arrives a few days later, held by a legally binding contract that says she is married to a man she never met. Widow of a dead prince and a new member of the dubious Arelon nobility, she struggles to find out just what is going on and to help the downtrodden people.


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Fellfrosch

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Re: Wikipedia
« Reply #40 on: May 25, 2005, 07:11:14 PM »
In my opinion, no dictionary is any more viable than any other as a source, assuming it holds to some kind of internal logic. Hyphen, no hyphen--do what feels good, man.
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Chimera

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Re: Wikipedia
« Reply #41 on: May 25, 2005, 07:15:43 PM »
Thanks, Fell--but I was specifically asking for an opinion on the sentence I was considering adding to Wikipedia (see previous post).
« Last Edit: May 25, 2005, 07:16:08 PM by Chimera »
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Fellfrosch

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Re: Wikipedia
« Reply #42 on: May 25, 2005, 07:39:10 PM »
Sometimes simultaneously-written posts will show up in a weird order and look like they're ignoring context.

As for your question, I don't like the word "toils." It implies boring drudgery to me, rather than the exciting struggles of a fantasy hero. Maybe "strives" is a better word.
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Entsuropi

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Re: Wikipedia
« Reply #43 on: May 25, 2005, 07:39:32 PM »
Nice reformatting of the raoden line, I was never that happy with the flow of those sentences. And yeah, that extra sentence looks good.
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Re: Wikipedia
« Reply #44 on: May 25, 2005, 07:42:06 PM »
Thanks Fell and Entropy. I'll replace "toils" with "strives" and put it in.
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