“Slash”: Not just a punctuation mark anymore
At the beginning of each class, university professor Anne Curzan asks her students for two new slang words.
Two weeks ago, one student brought up the word slash as an example of new slang, and it quickly became clear to me that many students are using slash in ways unfamiliar to me. In the classes since then, I have come to the students with follow-up questions about the new use of slash. Finally, a student asked, “Why are you so interested in this?” I answered, “Slang creates a lot of new nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs. It isn’t that often that slang creates a new conjunction.”
Read the rest …
Flowchart from Creative Commons Australia
This flowchart from Creative Commons Australia makes selecting a license simple.
CreativeCommons.org has an interactive page that helps you select a license (it will also create a CC icon for your webpage).
I prefer the flowchart. Maybe because I can see everything at once, including the choices I don’t select.
Periodic Table of Google Analytics
A readable Terms of Service
Maybe the only people who read them are the writers who have to craft one. They’re looking for ideas about how to get people to read and understand the TOS.
500px uses a welcoming solution for both its TOS and its Privacy Policy. The legalese version is on the left; the plain language version on the right — bolder, shorter, conversational. This style is more effective than having the complete plain language version at the top.
Terms of Service; Didn’t Read
“I have read and agree to the Terms” is the biggest lie on the web. We aim to fix that.
TOS;DR brings your attention to important aspects of the TOS agreements of popular websites.
”We’ve just launched KTR 451, a game I developed for the Toronto Public Library. Drawing on the themes and characters in Fahrenheit 451 (the TPL’s One Book this year), it’s a simple alternate reality game — part scavenger hunt, part audio drama — and people in Toronto can play it by calling (647) 931-1585. There’s three missions, one per week, until a live event on April 22nd.”
via boingboing
Why are some words more persuasive than others?
Wonder-Wench: Twitter Handle? Super Hero?
Obsolete word. Ah, there are some good ones. Which is your favourite?
Photo: Spencer’s Toy Parade, Vancouver, 1929. Photographer Stuart Thomson.
City of Vancouver Archives #99-2054
