3X Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Nightingale used the expression "(not)Mormon" in > another post. A more economical expression, as > used in some programming languages, would be: I grant that this suggested alternative would save the space of four characters every time it was used, but I do not see any value in this economy. If RfM instituted a new preferred practice which said: From this point forward, we recommend, every time you want to say "and," that you use the ampersand instead, so two spaces per "and" will no longer be necessary, I think most everyone would be inquiring if it was advisable to begin a new and immediate fund-raising drive.
I would also predict an immediate and dramatically elevated level of swearage worldwide, due to the fact that so many people here keyboard in the dark. ;)
> !Mormon We have many members here who are fluent in programming languages, but I think I am safe in saying that most of us are not. As a writer, what I understand when I encounter a "!" is "ATTENTION!" I think most of us (programmers aside) were taught this, as a reflex, when we were in school--and this is not what your suggestion intends.
> Perhaps we should adopt it? My vote is "no," for the reasons above (especially my point about keyboarding in the dark).
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/15/2018 10:12PM by Tevai.
3X Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > In the sense you describe above, "!Mormon" still > has a delightful perversity associated with it - > as if one wrote: > > "You're still MORMON, regardless of what you call > yourselves."
Three programming languages come immediately to mind: C, C++, and Java. [C++ is pronounced Cee Plus Plus]
The "!" operator is termed a "logical not" - and one could write something like (a contrived example) !(Joseph Smith was a great man) - negating the parenthetical expression.
In the Pascal programming language, the logical not operator is "not" - something Tevai would heartily endorse.
In the PL1 programming language, the logical not operator is/was a special character (available only on IBM keyboards) that looked like a horizontal "L" flipped around so that the short leg was to the right, pointed downward, the short leg shorter than that of an actual "L".
Based on my research, "fkn Mormon" is correct for general usage.
According to Weebster's Manual of Style: "fkn is the correct abbreviation for the phrase 'formerly known nickname' and should be used in front of any nickname that has been disavowed by the nicknamed party or organization."
So, I think we should all get in the habit of writing "fkn Mormon" whenever we refer to, well, any fkn Mormon stuff. It's the respectful and decent thing to do.
This whole exercise in using the full name of the TCOJCOLDS is extremely inconvenient! Instead of saying they are "mormon", it is now they are "members of thechurchofjesuschristoflatterdaysaints!" That is 11 freaking words instead of 1! Try doing that in a text message and see how much space it uses! Or on Twitter! Good grief!