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

Yes, there was a sudden outbreak of ranting and name-calling just after you visibly arrived in this thread, azahar. I'm still trying to work out how exactly that was your fault. Maybe it was just a coincidence instead.

I think Spook is fairly obviously not a moron or anything else along those lines. He would certainly beat the representative of a newspaper who came to my door the other day and got so flummoxed by my very first reply that he couldn't figure out where to continue with his prepared script and wandered off instead when I waved cheerily at him. Spook was right that the absence of HVL during one period could count for his previous statement of "hvl wasn't on h2g2". However, I also wish his English was better - though I blame the education system for not valuing that highly enough any more rather than Spook per se.

The trouble is that Hoovooloo, for all his apparently superior verbal resources, still resorts to name-calling and irrelevant insults. If this thread was in any way going to be taken as a serious debate, sticking to the point(s) would help. Unfortunately there is no shortage of people willing to throw in red herrings such as religion.

Speaking of : Owl, are you sure you're not a gull instead of a ?

I'm not going to decloak just now. The wagering on my identity is offering some comic relief, which this thread needs.

A whole category of likely outcomes here is being neglected.

1. Neither party backs down. One or both get an offical warning and a war of innuendo instead of outright flames ensues.

2. Neither party backs down. One or both get put on premoderation.

3. Neither party backs down. One or both get suspended and a war of innuendo instead of outright flames ensues after the suspension period has ended.

4. One party or the other finds undeniable proof that he is correct.

The issue at hand seems to have become a bit clouded. Hoovooloo can't be claiming to have never lied at h2g2, since that is demonstrably untrue. Is the accusation under consideration that Hoovooloo told a single, specific lie or Hoovooloo tells lies that fall within a certain category?

Do the principals here even agree on what it is they're arguing about?

SEF,

A serious outbreak of ranting and name-calling since I visibly arrived on this thread? Yeah right. It's been quite a lot of postings, have read them all, and have seen quite a bit or ranting going on previously. Anyhow, I have not been name-calling, rather just asking questions.

<>

It's hard to tell whether you are supporting or insulting Spook with that paragraph.

Anyhow, I didn't call Spook a moron, only warned him that he was beginning to shoot himself in the foot and perhaps appear as one the more he prattled on. And I also don't understand why he is so proud of his lack of English grammar. But oh well.

never mind.

going to bed now

azzzzzz

Yes, there was name-calling before but it was rather odd that it suddenly escalated just then. I never said that you, azahar, had been name-calling. Please read the words more carefully. I merely jested that there was a connection. The rest of the message was nothing to do with you - hence why it was separated into different paragraphs.

Why do you assume that I have to give blanket support to one or other participant, azahar? I'm not that partisan. I'm much more accurate and objective. Again the comment was not actually directed at you but the previous users of the term "moron" in those other posts which you claim to have read. It was all quite easy to follow really.

Now, getting back off-topic to the side points, I also don't accept why someone should be proud of being bad at English. I remember the time when people were merely absurdly proud to be bad at maths and science. However, I do understand this position in a way. It's a natural rejection of anything at which the person is bad as unimportant - without objectively assessing whether or not the skill is genuinely unimportant and could in fact be acquired with some extra effort.

lack of grammar is part of the modern texting age, where things like commas and full stops are sometimes abandoned for a few extra characters of letters. i know someone who doesn't use grammer when msning cause they find it more fun not too.

one comma missing cannot be called bad grammar as it depends on how it is meant to be said, and how the person reading it interprets it. i was simply making a claim that not everyone cares about accurate grammar, and that the meaning getting across is what really matters, and hvl certainly got the meaning.

spook

Accurate grammer, or at least a spirited attempt at it, does help in getting one's meaning across. That is what it is there for.

Without making any comment on the content of the postings. I find yours far harder to read than Hoovooloo's. I believe that as a result you are not getting your message across as best you could.

This post has been removed.

". i was simply making a claim that not everyone cares about accurate grammar, and that the meaning getting across is what really matters,"

Trouble is Spook, that's the problem. A lot of the time the meaning of your posts is not clear because of bad grammar, spelling, and punctuation.

"one comma missing cannot be called bad grammar"

Oh yes it can. Earlier today I posted this-

"All right, I'll believe you. Thousands wouldn't mind".

I meant:

"All right, I'll believe you. Thousands wouldn't, mind".

The meaning of those two sentences is totally changed by the addition or omission of a single comma.

That's why poor grammar and spelling are big problems, and are certainly not excusable on the grounds of "It's more fun not too".

I know you can apply correct grammar and spelling, I've seen entries you've written. Therefore neglecting these areas in posts, particularly posts that aren't just 'chat', and are meant to be taken seriously, smacks of laziness and arrogance.

Um, which posting's gone? I must have read it at the time, but can't for the life of me remember what it was.

hvl's insulting off me post.

spook

spook- doesn't ring abell, I'm afraid. Don't suppose you could email me the gist, could you?

sure. what's your e-mail?

If you click the "my homepage" link in my space it's got an "email me" option.

I didn't insult you spook.

I pointed out that the thing you had omitted was something the rest of us call an "apostrophe", not a comma. I bemoaned the fact that you probably wouldn't want to know this.

How can my pointing out your ignorance be insulting when you yourself have revelled in it in previous posts in this thread???

The fact that the post has actually been hidden has only compounded my feeling that there is a double standard at work here.

If my last post to spook was "offensive", then by the same standard, every single post spook has ever made on this site is "offensive".

Moderators - expect an increase in workload. Since spurious yikesing is apparently not against House Rules, stand by.

H.

e-mail sent Egon.

spook

i prefer tea breaks.

"Moderators - expect an increase in workload. Since spurious yikesing is apparently not against House Rules, stand by."

Abuse of the complaints button is against the <./>HouseRules</.>, they state:

Please don't abuse the complaints system. The complaints button exists to enable visitors to let us know about content which breaks these rules. We take complaints very seriously, and we've set a system in place which will enable us to deal with them as a priority. Please do not use the complaints system to alert us to multiple Postings, spelling mistakes and so on: anyone who abuses the complaints system repeatedly may have their account suspended.

Hmm... the first appearance by an italic.

Could we be building towards some kind of a climax to the disputes here?