Vince

What is the KISS principle you described in your post on another forum ? Thanks.


Mark

Im not Vince, but KISS stands for Keep It Simple Stupid.

Or, better yet, "Keep It Simple, Stupid."


Not just nitpicking, but without the comma, it may sound like "simple stupid" is a single concept. With the comma, it's clear you're saying something akin to "Hey, Stupid, Keep It Simple!"


Later, Greg Raymer (FossilMan)

Greg


Thanks for explaining the comma principle. It's nice when people use these things correctly and therefore it is clear to all what they are trying to say.


Could you please explain the principles of using an apostrophe (which is MUCH more highly misused, and bugs me to death!!!).


Dave in Cali

Dave,


That's a qiestion for John Cole.


Mary.


Mary

Apostrophes are used in contractions to replace letters that have been omitted for brevity. cannot becomes can't, do not becomes don't.


Apostrophes are used to show possession. That cat's meow. The button's hole cards. Stella's groove. One notable exception is the word its. "Its" is ALWAYS possessive, "it's" ALWAYS means it is.


When an s has been added to a word to make it plural the apostrophe follows the "s" to show a possessive plural such as the girls' locker room. Of course it could be the girl's locker room but then it is a locker room for only one girl.


An interesting misuse of an apostrophe shows up in print all the time. How many cards have four spots? There are four 4's in a deck. The apostrophe here is wrong and it should be 4s.

You wrote: "There are four 4's in a deck. The apostrophe here is wrong and it should be 4s."


I have been making the mistake above and I'm pretty sure I picked it up reading the forum. Thanks for clearing this up.


Regards,


Rick


PS Is it PS like this or is it


P.S. like this?

Sammy,


Actually, the apostrophe is used with numbers and letters to form the plural, but it isn't used with dates. "Four A's and three 4's" is the correct use; however, the "1930's" is wrong and should be written as "1930s."


John

"How many cards have four spots? There are four 4's in a deck. The apostrophe here is wrong and it should be 4s. "


THIS is the most irritating mis-use of the apostrophe. For instance, in the medical world, a CBC is an abbreviation for a complete blood count. Well, if you have more than one of these tests to write, it would be "CBCs", NOT "CBC's". It is the mis-use of the apostrophe when pluralizing something that bugs me more than anything else in writing.


"..."Its" is ALWAYS possessive, "it's" ALWAYS means it is. "


Thank you again for pointing this out. This is another mis-used apostrophe situation, though it's not quite as irritating as the mis-used pluralized word.


I see these mistake's (gotcha, did that on purpose!) in ALL KINDS of writing, sometimes even things written by highly edumacated people. C'mon people, I'm not even an english major (I majored in medical technology and biology), but I at least make an effort!


Basically, one of the primary incentives to "get it right" is so that you don't look like a MORON.


Thanks again


Dave in Cali

"cannot becomes can't, do not becomes don't."


How in the heck do the two words "am" & "not" end up as "ain't"?