Written English, Misc.

[Daniel]

I've decided to use the British- "... ... ... ."

in place of the American convention-

"... ... .... ."

I don't see how the Americans decided on this one. It seems impractical and arbitrary.

I'm 1/2 way to changing my mind about using the UK and European (and others?)-

[Date of the month] [Abbreviation of the month]

I can't use it on formal papers.

I might start using it for everything else.

I think it's far better.

The date should come first because it's the first thing to change.

You shouldn't need to remind yourself 30 times in a row before you need to scan for the date and double check it.

It's distracting.

I'm considering using the writers' convention of the writer interviewing herself, hisself, one's self...

The only reason I haven't done it other than rarely is it seems to make people upset.

This isn't a valid reason not to do it. It isn't even a reason.

[AndyD]

What do you think about the verbing of nouns? It's not a new phenomenon of course, but some are like nails on a blackboard.

Apparently the latest, as an example: you are seated in a restaurant and the waiter will come over and ask
"Have you been menued?