IM stuff

[active_apathy]

Because I'm certifiable, I've decided to complete my Trillian's complement of commonly-used instant messaging services with Yahoo!*.‡

Reminiscent of my AIM nick, Y! knows me as 'apathypiratess'. Yay and yarr.

*A question for the fiercely grammatical: Since the name of their company is, in fact, 'Yahoo!', does the exclamation mark count as puncuation in its own right, or is it part of a proper noun - thus calling for an additional stop† should 'Yahoo!' appear at the end of a sentence?
†Which is to say, for those not fiercely punctuated, a character appearing at the end of a sentence - a question mark, exclamation mark or fullstop.
‡Usage confirmed by an actual lexicographer. Wheeee!

Comments

[laurenmitchell.livejournal.com]

I consider the ! in Yahoo! to be a part of the proper noun, and thus would use a . after it if the word Yahoo! appeared at the end of a sentence.

[liadlaith.livejournal.com]

I should say so, but you can easily avoid such ambiguities by restructuring the sentence. For example:

Because I'm certifiable, I've decided to add Yahoo! to my Trillian, thus completing its complement of commonly-used instant messaging services.

[active-apathy.livejournal.com]

I could, but where's the fun in that? :)

[liadlaith.livejournal.com]

What, apart from the satisfaction of knowing you've outwitted evil marketing executives and their devious plans to make the English language look silly?

Ha! I love you icon. Didst thou maketh it?

[active-apathy.livejournal.com]

Evil marketing execs don't know anything about grammar; their only devious plan is to see how long they can get away with making people think there's some kind of intelligence at home within the expensive suit and corner office.

Aye, m'lady. 'Twas but a few weeks ago I found myself rather taken by a sudden fancy for the making of Snoopy icons.

(Read that second paragraph aloud. No, really. I'm quite proud of the way it works, and all without conscious effort.)

[liadlaith.livejournal.com]

I did as thou asked: I was unable to detect anything wholly remarkable to thy sentence, other than a pleasing aural aesthetic. Wast this thy intention?

[active-apathy.livejournal.com]

Intention? Nay, m'lady, though it doth please me so.

[lietya.livejournal.com]

"Yahoo!" is their full name, and the exclamation point is part of it, requiring such foolishness as a second exclamation point after it if such is needed to end the sentence.

The newspaper style guides (including AP) all dictate this, as well. It's the bane of copy editors when companies decide to indulge in random punctuation as part of their names.

[active-apathy.livejournal.com]

Shiny. I thought that'd be the case - counting it as part of the noun and needing an actual stop, that is.

I should buy two style guides (this should be enough to ensure they're different), then sit at my desk and play with them.

AP Style Guide: "Everything looks good from here. Yes, this is a fertile article, and we will thrive. We will rule over all this article, and we will call it... 'This Article'."
Guardian Style Guide: "I call it poor style."
AP: "Curse you and your sudden but inevitable corrections!"
Guardian: "Ha ha HA! Mine is a different dialect. Now edit!"
AP: "Oh, no, God! Oh, dear God in heaven!"

[lietya.livejournal.com]

*giggle* You know, if I didn't already love your mind, this would clinch it.

Playing with style guides is, indeed, a peculiar yet addictive sort of fun.

[leila82.livejournal.com]

This is exactly why companies should not put ending punctuation in their names. Too much confusion.

(incidentally, I vote leaving just the exclamation mark. It would just look weird to have an exclamation mark followed by a period.)

[active-apathy.livejournal.com]

Like I said, I'm certifiable. :)

Do you make them vote? "All those who like the Oxford comma?"

[active-apathy.livejournal.com]

You already have to deal with funny letters on the ends of names, so I can understand this. I'm sure remembering kvanfnobinajanlikjafonamine monosulfate dihydride quadniflandinate X is hard enough.

[leila82.livejournal.com]

Indeed it is. My last test grade would back this up, too, unfortunately.

[active-apathy.livejournal.com]

Bah. When are you ever going to need to know about pharmacology once you get your degree?

...

Oh. Right.

How did all the other unfortunates do?

[leila82.livejournal.com]

The email the prof sent out said "I'm very disappointed at the number of low grades." I'm guessing that the others didn't do so well, either.

Everything I will need to know, I will be perfectly capable of looking up online :) So no point in memorizing it now, really.

[active-apathy.livejournal.com]

I suppose that makes sense, but you wouldn't want to make a mess of, say, the proper amount of px/kg of panda-inna-box that should be shown to a given person.

[leila82.livejournal.com]

There can never be too much panda-inna-box given, really.

[nyctanessa.livejournal.com]

I abuse commas. :X

[nyctanessa.livejournal.com]

Until it grows out of the box.

[leila82.livejournal.com]

*plugs fingers in ears*LaLaLa That's not going to happen Lalalala.

(note to self: find way to stop panda baby from growing. or find bigger box)

[palmer-kun.livejournal.com]

Fake Poll #1337
Do You Like Oxford Commas?
_ Yes
_ No
XSometimes
_ Maybe

Whee.

[active-apathy.livejournal.com]

That you know the Oxford comma, and that it has its proper place, makes me happy.

[palmer-kun.livejournal.com]

I only use it about half the time... when necessary. If I feel that a list is sufficiently unambiguous without it, I don't normally use it. Otherwise I do, when clarity is needed.

I realize this makes me a style guide heathen, as I should be consistent in my punctuation. However, I've found heathenism, in many aspects of life, to be highly satisfying.

[active-apathy.livejournal.com]

That, so far as I care, is pretty much completely right - it's good for showing the end of the penultimate list item in cases where it'd be difficult to identify the last, where list items use multiple words, and where it makes sense to briefly pause if you're reading the list aloud.

Conversely, it's just plain silly to use one where the list is clear, concise and unambiguous.

[palmer-kun.livejournal.com]

It is also of great value when list items logically include the word "and", often as part of a proper noun, such as when talking about things like Punch and Judy, Gilbert and Sullivan, and Penn and Teller.