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News Mozilla coughs to developer database leak

Discussion in 'Article Discussion' started by Gareth Halfacree, 4 Aug 2014.

  1. Gareth Halfacree

    Gareth Halfacree WIIGII! Lover of bit-tech Administrator Super Moderator Moderator

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    Gareth Halfacree, 4 Aug 2014
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  2. RedFlames

    RedFlames ...is not a Belgian football team

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    I got that email, having recieved it it explains why Gmail's spam filter has been going nuts on that account...
     
    RedFlames, 4 Aug 2014
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  3. bawjaws

    bawjaws Multimodder

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    Do you guys have an algorithm that translates article titles from plain English into Techwebsitespeak? I swear that I've never seen "cough" used as a synonym for admit or "tease" for preview anywhere other than on Bit and a handful of other tech sites. :D
     
    bawjaws, 4 Aug 2014
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  4. RedFlames

    RedFlames ...is not a Belgian football team

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    Mr Halfacree probably writes for those sites... he gets around a bit...

    I thought using 'cough [up] to' for admit and 'tease', one of the dictionary definitions being 'To entice, to tempt.' for a preview were pretty common...
     
    RedFlames, 4 Aug 2014
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  5. Gareth Halfacree

    Gareth Halfacree WIIGII! Lover of bit-tech Administrator Super Moderator Moderator

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    True, dat.

    Seriously, though, "tease?" Bawjaws, you've *never* heard the word "tease?" They're even called teaser trailers! Just you wait til you see me use the word "hiccough," it'll blow your mind...
     
    Gareth Halfacree, 5 Aug 2014
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  6. Corky42

    Corky42 Where's walle?

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    Maybe it's an English thing :confused: I wouldn't say using cough as a synonym for admit is common, but it's certainly used, in most English dictionaries, although i get the feeling it maybe slang.
     
    Corky42, 5 Aug 2014
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  7. bawjaws

    bawjaws Multimodder

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    Of course I have :D But I've not seen it used in the context "Manufacturer X teases new product Y", which is the usage I've seen on this site. Why are those manufacturers making fun of those new products? :D

    My point was more that there are a couple of turns of phrase that appear in the article titles here that I've genuinely never heard used outwith a handful of websites, all of which are computer or videogame sites (and none of which, to my knowledge, feature the fine work of Mr Halfacree). I merely wondered whether there was some editorial policy at Bit that was responsible, and whether there was some attempt being made to mimic other sites that use this style.
     
    bawjaws, 5 Aug 2014
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  8. Nealieboyee

    Nealieboyee Packaging Master!

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    All these words sound very sexual....


    Its all so exciting! :)
     
    Nealieboyee, 5 Aug 2014
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  9. Gareth Halfacree

    Gareth Halfacree WIIGII! Lover of bit-tech Administrator Super Moderator Moderator

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    You're aware that words often have more than one meaning, yes? In this case, the reason we say a product is "teased" or that a manufacturer (or publisher, or film maker) is releasing a "teaser" is because of definition 1.1 in the Oxford English Dictionary: "Tempt (someone) sexually with no intention of satisfying the desire aroused." Naturally, the use of the word is in the slang; there's no sexual element to a new case or piece of software. It's used in much the same way that one might say a new piece of hardware is "sexy" when there is no actual sexual arousal, and most commonly - as in the "teaser trailer" I linked above - when, like the sexual frustration of the OED's definition, the information released is enough to pique one's interest but not enough to fully satisfy the reader's curiosity. It is, in short, a metaphor, translating intellectual disappointment into the sexual realm.

    If there is an editorial policy - or, hell, even a style guide - at Bit, I've never been made aware of it in the time I've worked here. My words are my own, no-one else's. (Also, you're finding "cough" as a synonym for "admit" difficult to follow, but you've used the word "outwith?" Even I don't use the word "outwith!")
     
    Gareth Halfacree, 5 Aug 2014
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  10. bawjaws

    bawjaws Multimodder

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    That's because you're not Scottish :D It's pretty commonly used here, but not, er, outwith, Scotland.

    Anyway, thanks for answering my question regarding the style guidelines (or absence thereof). I should say that I very much enjoy reading your articles, despite my obvious inability to grasp that words often have more than one meaning :D
     
    bawjaws, 5 Aug 2014
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  11. Gareth Halfacree

    Gareth Halfacree WIIGII! Lover of bit-tech Administrator Super Moderator Moderator

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    That I did not know.
    Why, thank you. I aim to please!
     
    Gareth Halfacree, 5 Aug 2014
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  12. bawjaws

    bawjaws Multimodder

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    Good of you to cough to that. ;)

    Get yourself up here for a bit and a) I'll buy you a pint and b) you can marvel at how two countries can speak the same language so differently (although if you're from Yorkshire then you probably already speak a different language from other parts of England) :D

    I do find the vernacular of computer journalism quite interesting, and those particular examples are just a couple that I've noticed becoming more widespread over time. Was just idly wondering whether those were uses that you'd picked up from somewhere, or indeed if you'd use them in a context other than the headline for one of your articles.
     
    bawjaws, 5 Aug 2014
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  13. Gareth Halfacree

    Gareth Halfacree WIIGII! Lover of bit-tech Administrator Super Moderator Moderator

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    Oh, I've been to Scotland before, but never managed to get myself into a conversation involving the world "outwith!"
    Eee bah gum and all that.
    Would I use "cough" instead of "admit" outside of a headline? Yes, even though it's not particularly elegant - especially given it's a corruption of "cough up," which is more commonly used to refer to the reluctant parting of a person and a sum of money than information or admissions. It is, however, short and sharp, making for good headline fodder. There is also the delightful mental image it conjures of a PR person trying to mask the word "yes" with a cough when asked whether a particularly bad story is true - again a key feature of headlines, which need to grab the reader's attention with mental imagery in order to get them to read the story itself.

    As for its usage outside headlines, you'll find it used in several of my stories over the past few years - usually as the past-tense "coughed." Paragraph three, paragraph one, paragraph four, paragraph two to name but a few examples.
     
    Gareth Halfacree, 5 Aug 2014
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