h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Entry ID: A673517 (Edited)

20th-Century design

at a Finchley Station.

Transport for London

public, and

Worth a link to: http://tinyurl.com/53wdtj

However, someone

Linked page not found. Try: http://tinyurl.com/86k8t9

its usefulness

Various numbers found on the net - 270 seems to be right, but worth phoning Transport for london to confirm.

<(which includes the new Jubilee Line Extension)> Not new now.

As far as I can tell, the current record for the 'Tube Challenge', set by Andi James, Martin Hazel & Sara Wearn on 14th December, 2009, is 16 hours, 44 minutes and 16 seconds.

<- everything.'> - everything'.

linked page not found. Try: http://tinyurl.com/65ak984 (one of many)

recognisable.

Links to mention of Trebuchet MS, 'a Close approximation of London Underground's Johnston Font'. Try: http://tinyurl.com/6xzfpff for the real thing.

I've done the following:

20th-Century design - done

at a Finchley Station - done, but I made the s on station lower-case

However, someone - done

its usefulness - done

<(which includes the new Jubilee Line Extension)> Not new now. - parenthesis removed.

Various numbers found on the net - 270 seems to be right, but worth phoning Transport for london to confirm. - I've just accepted your 270.

As far as I can tell, the current record for the 'Tube Challenge', set by Andi James, Martin Hazel & Sara Wearn on 14th December, 2009, is 16 hours, 44 minutes and 16 seconds. - done

<- everything.'> - everything'. -- I've cut out that part because it referred to the previous record.

recognisable. - done

Links to mention of Trebuchet MS, 'a Close approximation of London Underground's Johnston Font'. Try: http://tinyurl.com/6xzfpff for the real thing. - done

Not done:

Transport for London -- I don't understand this change.

public, and - normal grammar would not put a comma here.

The following three links are directly to images. I won't link directly to images, as I consider it close to copyright infringement. I'll happily link to a page that has the image displayed on it, if you can find one.

Worth a link to: http://tinyurl.com/53wdtj

Linked page not found. Try: http://tinyurl.com/86k8t9 -- same applies, and I'm a bit dubious about the legality of that site, anyway

linked page not found. Try: http://tinyurl.com/65ak984 (one of many)

Can I ask something? What's the reason for putting tinyurls in h2g2 conversations? It seems unnecessary and superfluous.

Unnecessary AND superfluous!

It's all part of the service by gosh, Gosho.

" at a Finchley Station - done, but I made the s on station lower-case"


" Transport for London -- I don't understand this change." Please see  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Transport_%28brand%29


" public, and - normal grammar would not put a comma here."

We'll heve to agree to disagree, but see http://www.yourdictionary.com/grammar/conjunctions/coordinating-conjunctions.html


" Various numbers found on the net - 270 seems to be right, but worth phoning Transport for london to confirm. - I've just accepted your 270." I'm not so confident. I had a brief exchange of emails with someone at Transport for London who would do no more than provide me with a telephone number, which I don't intend to call from Madrid.


"The following three links are directly to images." Try the following:

http://ni.chol.as/media/sillytube.html

http://ni.chol.as/media/sillytube.html

http://maeveconwayfried.wordpress.com/texts/the-great-bear-by-simon-patterson/

I was taught that in British English you should never have a comma before and. I know we've relaxed that rule here and have adopted the American style of list: A, B, and C rather than the British A, B and C. But I don't know if we'd go as far as saying it is needed in the sentence you point out.

The tinyurls are no better nor worse than using the actual url. I generally go to the page via the tinyurl that Elf provides, then cut and paste the actual url into the Entry. If Elf provided the actual url, it would usually be shortened by the display software, so I'd do exactly the same.

London Transport vs Transport for London. So Transport for London is the current name. What was the name at the time being talked about in the Entry, that is, when they initially rejected his map?

..Phoning from Madrid... I also am not prepared to phone a company in another country. So we'll leave it for somebody English to do.

I've included those two new links to the versions of tube maps and the Great Bear. Because two linked to the same page, I just reworded the entry slightly at the point talking about Covent Garden.

"I was taught that in British English you should never have a comma before and." The link I gave you is clear enough, but I'll provide some more if you wish... or we can just agree to differ.

We could add, either to the main text or to the footnote, something to the effect that L.T. is now 'Transport for London'.

You didn't like the link?

" Transport for London -- I don't understand this change." Please see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Transport_%28brand%29 "

I received an email at 9:45am today (although I've only just noticed it) advising me that I had been modded because the link contravened one of our House Rules. The post is back now, so I guess they must've changed their minds. I understand that there has been quite a lot of trigger-happy modding lately - I won't trouble to complain.

The link I gave you is clear enough -- it didn't say whether it was British ENglish or American English.

how far apart - you didn't like the link? I did - but it was the same link as for Geographically Accurate map, so I'm not going to repeat it. I reworded the paragraph instead.

"it didn't say whether it was British ENglish or American English."

http://www.bartleby.com/116/401.html Do a 'Control + f' search by typing in ', and', and you'll see how many times it's used in that piece alone.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Watson_Fowler

I agree with RE about the comma before the coordinating conjunction version of 'and'.

It may be possible to construct a sentence which is ambiguous without a comma, but I'd have to think about it.

My rule of thumb with commas is to add one if there's a momentary pause when you say the sentence out loud. You don't for 'fish and chips', but you do (momentarily) with coordinating conjunctions.

It's known as an Oxford Comma isn't it?

Ah, here's something: http://grammar.about.com/od/grammarfaq/f/QAoxfordcomma.htm


Geggs

OK, I'm convinced. I've added that comma.

Hi geggs!

Here's an example of an 'Oxford comma' that I'm suggesting be used on another thread:



Is the final eulogy to be given in a mixture of Yiddish and Lithuanian? For the sake of clarity, I'm recommending an 'Oxford comma' be placed after 'Yiddish'.

I had a feeling you'd see the light, Gnomon.

I understood that to be a "Harvard Comma" (when it is used in a list like that). It's not normal in British English, but is recommended by the Eds in the Guide.