=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= EDline Vol. 3, no. 24 (14 June 1998) Editorial mailing list Published by the Electric Editors =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Contents: Q & A---previous queries [2dt] Apostrophes for 'n'? [2dx] References to unpublished material [2dy] On the subject of the word 'data' Q & A---new queries [2dz] Vanishing adverbs [2ea] What is a wonk? [2eb] Usage - certain and sure [2ec] Indexing names [2ed] Splitting Long Headings [2ef] 'Based on' FYI [3cl] Online bookstores Business matters---previous postings [4au] Equipment---appeal for gizmos and design tips [5] Bookmarks [6] Just for fun [8] Administration =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= ---[2] Q & A --------------------------------------------------------- ** [2dt] Apostrophes for 'n'? Date: Sun, 7 June 1998 From: Christine Shuttleworth, ChristineShuttleworth@compuserve.com Michele Clarke wrote: > Reading about the apostrophes for 'n, I was reminded about the > quandry I had for influenza, abbreviated to 'flu, but not usually > 'flu' which it strictly should be according to the rules. I note > that the OED has with no apostrophes at all - a bit like > which seems to have become a word in its own right. The Oxford Dictionary for Writers and Editors also gives without any apostrophes (what a good idea to put the word referred to in angle brackets to avoid confusion). Similarly for perambulator - no one would think of writing , surely. There must be other examples, but I can't think of any at the moment. +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ ** [2dx] References to unpublished material Date: Sun, 7 June 1998 From: Diana Boatman, Boatmans@compuserve.com Mary Fox writes: > I have been wondering about editorial policy on what can go in > the reference list and what should appear in the text as > unpublished ... My logic goes that text shouldn't warrant a > citation unless the work is actually published. However we > shouldn't hinder the reader removing details of something he > (in the non-gender sense!) may be able to get hold of and read. > At present, I do not remove PhD theses on the premise that they > may be obtainable. Journals have a wide variety of policies on References. Whereas some are very strict over omitting all unpublished material (although it may be recorded within the text as a "private communication", "unpublished work" etc.), others cram everything under "References" --- private communications, unpublished work, erstwhile footnotes explaining the text, names of commercial suppliers of equipment, biographies ... I'm sure anyone can add to this list, which applies to technical texts; I haven't even considered what goes in historical, legal, medical or fictional works, let alone scripts for the media and suclike. There may be good reasons for limiting the number of true References: for instance, when this number is to be recorded on a database as an indication of the nature of the paper or book. Each case needs to be considered on its own merits, however. If there is no precedent, no requirement for consistency with other publications and no constraint on space, material which could be of value to the reader (whoever that may be) should not be discarded without good reason. (Heavily edited of course, if need be!) ---------------------- Date: Mon, 8 June 1998 From: Gillian Clarke, 101625.3601@compuserve.com I agree with Mary Fox about unpublished material as a Reference. Totally useless are the Personal communication references that authors cite from time to time. (I remove these from the References list, and add 'personal communication' in the text citation). Fairly useless are those that say 'In preparation' or 'Submitted for publication' - neither gives the reader any idea where to track down the material, and I try to get the author to be more specific (possibly adding details in proof) or perhaps to delete them. However, something that is unpublished but is obtainable (the Reference includes the organisation and a town or city) by the reader is usually fine - which includes theses. ---------------------- Date: Mon, 8 June 1998 From: Andrew Spink, aspink@baan.nl Mary Fox wrote... > My logic goes that text shouldn't warrant a citation unless the > work is actually published. However we shouldn't hinder the reader > removing details of something he (in the non-gender sense!) may be > able to get hold of and read. At present, I do not remove PhD > theses on the premise that they may be obtainable. The sort of reports she mentions should also be included in a reference list, because they should also be available (form the RSPB and Galloway Forest Park, in that case). It is also quite accepted practice for a source to be cited simply as 'unpublished data' or 'personal observations'. The function there is so that the reader can judge the trustworthiness of a data source, with the idea that a peer-reviewed journal is the highest level, then 'unpublished' articles (that is, not reviewed), then simply unpublished data. If an editor deletes such references, valuable information is removed from the reference list. ----------------------- Date: Tues, 9 June 1998 From: Mary Sheridan, msheridan@bellows.u-net.com References to unpublished material are vital within the scientific community. Very often material is unpublished because the data is collected on an ongoing basis and is only collated for publication on a 10 or 15 year basis; eg Stranded Whale Reports, since 1913, published by the Natural History Museum, scientists working in this field know that the data is not published annually, but is available to be consulted when required. Also museum registers of collections, these are often unpublished but constantly refered to by authors who have examined the collections and wish to refer to specific artefacts. Also data obtained from correspondence files, collectors' notebooks and other similar sources is "unpublished" but relevant and accessible. The following scenario may help explain another reason for citing unpublished material. Scientist A is working on a long-term project which he intends to write up and publish as a series of reports, all the reports to be published at the conclusion of the project. The project is known of by fellow scientists in the same field. Scientist B is working on another project that draws on some of the as yet unpublished data collected by Scientist A. Since Scientist B's report is published before Scientist A's, B cites A's work as unpublished. ----------------------- Date: Wed, 10 June 1998 From: Anne Waddingham, Waddingham@compuserve.com I agree with Mary that it seems unreasonable to exclude a document because it's not officially 'published'. My rule of thumb is to leave it in if I think enough information is available to the reader to make the document reasonable accessible. This includes documents 'published' on the Internet. +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ ** [2dy] On the subject of the word 'data' Date: Sun, 7 June 1998 From: Diana Boatman, Boatmans@compuserve.com Mary Fox quotes the editor of Bird Study on the subject of the word 'data': > For me, it simply is a plural noun and I cringe absolutely every > time I hear/read it as a singular. Fowler says I'm right to feel > this way but nevertheless, I'm well aware that 90% of scientists > treat it as a singular. This results, sometimes, in them saying > datas (yes I've actually heard this from a professor!!!) when > they really do want a plural. I think this needs exposing and > discussed now because I notice some editors are letting it through > with increasing regularity. Is this slopiness, ignorance or just > bowing to the great tide of pressure to let it change. I agree, it is yet another insult to the noble Latin language... but what about "Agenda" and "Agendas", which is perhaps the best you can do for a multiplicity of "thing to be done"? Similarly, I suppose "datas" means more than one collection of information units. "Data" is now almost universally recognised as being singular (a) when it refers to computer data and (b) in the US (I stand to be corrected by our North American friends). I'd be interested to hear how other copy-editors treat "kinetics" and "dynamics", The former, especially in the chemical sense, seems to have become singular lately although plural seems more fluent. Maybe it just depends how many datas you're considering? +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ ** [2dz] Vanishing adverbs Date: Sun, 7 June 1998 From: Diana Boatman, Boatmans@compuserve.com Over the last few years I've noticed an increasing tendency to ignore the distinction between adverbs and adjectives in sentences such as "Consistent with this theory, the volume was found to increase with temperature" or "Similar to the first argument, the second was also plausible". What can we do to stop this erosion of the English language? Eager I look forward to your replies. +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ ** [2ea] What is a wonk? Date: Sun, 7 June 1998 From: Ian Kingston, ian@ikingston.demon.co.uk Actually, I have three related questions about wonks: 1. What is a 'policy wonk'? (I've got a fair idea from the context in which it crops up, but I'm interested in other opinions. None of my dictionaries mentions wonks.) 2. What is 'wonk' derived from? 3. Is there any kind of wonk other than a policy wonk? +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ ** [2eb] Usage - certain and sure Date: Tues, 9 June 1998 From: Petra Kopp, kopp@zetnet.co.uk Can anyone enlighten me as to the difference in usage between "certain" and "sure"? Collins defines certain as "positive and confident about the truth of something; convinced" and sure as "free from hesitancy or uncertainty". So - the former seems to express, well, a positive conviction whereas the latter suggests the absence of doubt. A subtle difference in usage, but perhaps there is also a distinction among speakers of AmE and BrE? Does contemporary British usage tend towards "sure"? +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ ** [2ec] Indexing names Date: Thurs, 11 June 1998 From: Eddie Kent, EDDIE.KENT@MCR1.poptel.org.uk I read in The Times yesterday that last Saturday Princess Alexandra of Denmark married the German born Jefferson-Friedrich Graf von Pfeil und Klein Ellguth. Can someone tell me under what letter of the alphabet I should expect to find them in an index. +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ ** [2ed] Splitting Long Headings Date: Thurs, 11 June 1998 From: Lane Lester, llester@athens.net In the magazine I'm producing I'm plagued with long titles to articles, and the continuing decision of where to split them into two lines. I searched the Chicago manual without success for some general principles ... although they're probably there. Here's an example: Bridging the Artificial Dichotomy Between the Putative "Physical" and "Metaphysical" Realities The page width would divide the line after "and", but that puts too much on the first line and not enough on the second. I have the option of rewriting the titles to a small extent. Recommendations? +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ ** [2ef] 'Based on' Date: Thurs, 11 June 1998 From: Douglas Meekison, dmeekison@aspects.net Is the unattached use of 'based on' (see 'unattached participles' and 'based on' in Fowler 3e) now considered correct, in either British or American English? A particularly bad example I came across recently was 'Norton AntiVirus, using techniques that defeat any attempts viruses may make to avoid detection, detects viruses based on their telltale virus signatures' (the viruses are not in fact based on their signatures, the process of detection is). ---[3] FYI ----------------------------------------------------------- ** [3cl] Online bookstores Date: Fri, 12 June 1998 From: An Sonjae (Br Anthony), anthony@ccs.sogang.ac.kr The best overall guide to online Bookstores that I know is that at Oxford: < http://www.comlab.ox.ac.uk/archive/publishers/bookstores.html > and I might add that personally I am very happy with Blackwells, which I always access through their 'Tour of the Oxford Bookshop': < http://www.blackwell.co.uk/bookshops/oxtour/oxtour.html > They offer the mailing option know as Accelerated Surface Mail which brings books to Korea almost as quickly as Airmail at almost the cost of Surface mail (otherwise we have to wait 3 months). Another possibility is the quickly growing Internet Bookshop. Or any of the innumerable others in the Oxford list, for which we are extremely grateful, be it said ... ---[4] Business matters ---------------------------------------------- ** [4au] Equipment---appeal for gizmos and design tips Date: Mon, 8 June 1998 From: Naomi Laredo, naomi@smallprt.demon.co.uk Jane Bryant writes: > I use a Macintosh Powerbook, which sits in a corner of my desk, > taking up an area under the eaves where nothing else will go. > Because I do almost all my editing on screen and do page make-up, > I have it attached to an A3 monitor - also to the keyboard I have > been happily working on for the last 7 years, and (because I > cannot get the hang of the trackpad) a mouse. This is the problem with laptops: by the time you've added a bigger screen and a 'proper' keyboard (necessary for comfort, in my view, if you're spending hours daily at the computer) you haven't saved much space at all, only the footprint of the processor itself. I keep this under the right-hand pedestal of my desk -- bending down to insert CDs and floppies keeps the waist supple! Jane also mentions portability, which may indeed be an advantage of a laptop if you do much work at other premises or on the train. ----------------------- Date: Tues, 9 June 1998 From: Hannah Hyam, hhyam@globalnet.co.uk I am particularly fond of my writing/reading stand, which is a piece of chipboard slightly bigger than A3 size, supported at an angle of approx. 20 degrees by a small piece of wood fixed to the back of it. A strip of plastic stuck to the front edge so that it protrudes slightly stops papers from falling off. (As you will have guessed, I made it myself from odd bits and pieces, but similar things are no doubt available commercially.) This enables me to read/write without bending down over the desk - good for posture - and is big enough to take two sheets of A4 side by side, so is ideal for proofreading. I now feel very uncomfortable when reading or writing with papers flat on my desk. When not in use the stand fits perfectly on top of my plastic vegetable rack (which is another favourite item, very useful for storing files etc., and on castors so you can move it around), thus forming a useful additional surface next to my desk. ---[5] Bookmarks ----------------------------------------------------- Date: Tues, 2 June 1998 From: David Green, david@ninch.org [Extracted from The Scout Report (22 May 1998)] Book Arts Web < http://www.dreamscape.com/pdverhey/ > Peter Verheyen, Conservation Librarian at Syracuse University, has put together this gateway to book arts related web sites. ... Included are several listservs with searchable archives, specialized bibliographies and links to a variety of arts organizations. +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ Date: Sun, 14 June 1998 From: Iain Brown, i_brown@compuserve.com We are delighted to announce that Sue Lightfoot has kindly agreed to compile a subject index for the EDline bookmarks, as mooted in last week's issue by Michele Clark. This index will be ready as a file download in July, and will cover the first six months of EDline issues. Watch this space for news! --- Jesse's word of the day: < http://www.randomhouse.com/jesse/ > I found this URL during a clean-out of my in-basket. I have, unfortunately, deleted the source, but this is the blurb: Visit the most popular language site on the Internet and win fantastic prizes when you play Jesse's Lexicon Madness! At Jesse's Word of the Day, language expert Jesse Sheidlower offers witty and informative answers to the most interesting real-life language questions posed by visitors to his site. What are the origins of phrases like "bated breath" and "skin of the teeth"? "Yada-yada-yada" predates Seinfeld, but where does it come from? How about "canoodle" or "gung ho"? Jesse's Word of the Day answers the language questions you've always pondered, and some you haven't even thought to ask! ---[6] Just for fun -------------------------------------------------- "Lines from the slushpile", no. 38 The garage was littered with greasy wenches and screwdrivers. +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ "Beguiling ideas about science", no. 9 Most books now say our sun is a star. But it still knows how to change back into a sun in the daytime. +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ Origins Date: Thurs, 11 June 1998 From: Eddie Kent, EDDIE.KENT@MCR1.poptel.org.uk So the Universe began as a tiny particle. Would Professor Hawking explain . . . how this particle got there? -- Letter to The Times. Get where? -- Subsequent letter to The Times. (Quoted in the Weekend Times, 7 March 1998) +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ Black Date: Thurs, 11 June 1998 From: Eddie Kent, EDDIE.KENT@MCR1.poptel.org.uk In The Times of 26 May, reporting on a history of viticulture, the author mentioned 'a former non-white winemaker'. Do we assume that he has now become white? This sounds like a very old racist joke. ---[8] Administration ------------------------------------------------ EDline provides the opportunity for a weekly online discussion of matters editorial and editorial business. * POSTING MESSAGES TO THE LIST All messages to be posted to the list should be sent to Iain Brown, at: i_brown@compuserve.com Include as the subject line, "EDline [topic]", where [topic] is the subject under discussion. Topics might include areas such as Grammar, Spelling, American English or Punctuation. Messages should be pertinent to the basic premise of the list; they may be withheld, or redirected if more pertinent to one of the other mailing lists. The spelling and grammar of messages will *not* be corrected, but some editing of length may be undertaken. Quoting from previous messages: quote as much as you need to make the context of your reply clear, but no more. The sections of EDline are as follows: [2] Q & A -- questions and answers [3] FYI -- items of general interest [4] Business matters -- items of a business nature [5] Bookmarks -- useful Web pages [6] Just for fun -- time for letting hair down! [7] Miscellaneous -- odds and sods * Administration All messages of a subscription or administrative nature should be directed to Jane Kerr, at: bywater@zetnet.co.uk with "EDline ADMIN" in the subject line. * To subscribe to Grapevine To subscribe to Grapevine, the discussion list concerned with matters computing, please e-mail Electric Editors at: ElectricEds@bigfoot.com with [Subscribe Grapevine] in the subject line. * To subscribe to LANGline To subscribe to LANGline, which discusses modern languages, translation and editing in non-English languages, please e-mail Electric Editors at: ElectricEds@bigfoot.com with [Subscribe LANGline] in the subject line. *Homepage and back issues: Visit the Electric Editors at: < http://www.ikingston.demon.co.uk/ee/home.htm > Back issues of all three mailing lists are available on the Mailing Lists archive page. --------- ** The views expressed in this mailing list are strictly those of the individual contributors, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the moderators or of the Electric Editors. ** Articles (c) 1998, by individual contributors Design (c) 1996, 1997, Iain Brown Compilation (c) 1998, The Electric Editors =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= END OF EDline 3.24 Next issue: 21 June 1998 =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=