What is Digg?73 Comments
- MackenzieWelch, on 10/12/2007, -2/+40Doubleplusgood.
- VillaStraylight, on 10/12/2007, -0/+28"Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word, or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent. This is tricky because much of the writing published on the internet is highly technical."
I've been on the wrong internet, apparently. - InfamousAtheist, on 10/12/2007, -2/+23@mrfoos,
I've read Animal Farm. Several times actually. I'm not a liberal in the smeared-by-the-right sense (I'm a fiscal conservative, social progressive), and I understand the story quite well, but it didn't change my life. It did give me some perspective about the notion of absolute power corrupting absolutely though.
I'm curious why you suggest it will change a liberal's life. Isn't that like me suggesting 1984 would change a conservative's life? Please explain.
@muchocoffee,
Orwell wrote 1984 long before the year 1984. When he wrote it, he was suggesting 1984 would be the point in the future that the real world government would actually have adopted the tactics described in the story and totally subvert the will of the people. - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -1/+13@muchocoffee
You're pretty friggin' stupid. The book's title was "1984" (more accurately "Nineteen Eighty-Four"), but it was written in 1948 (published in 1949). Further, what difference does it make when he was a writer? Smart (or prophetic) people don't lose their relevance quite as quickly as the rest of us.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nineteen_eighty-four - tubaplaya76, on 10/12/2007, -8/+19Brilliantly said by a brilliant man
- FredSpeaking, on 10/12/2007, -5/+15Orwell and his writing are great, but how many times do you have to digg the same essay excerpt as "news?"
http://www.digg.com/offbeat_news/George_Orwell_12_Writing_Tips
http://www.digg.com/political_opinion/George_Orwell_Politics_and_the_English_Language_2 - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+9These 'rules' have been highly criticised. Despite being a good author, his stance on English is outdated and he is a renound English Maven. These are not so much 'rules' as 'the style of writing George Orwell likes best' and thereby a totally subjective opinion. Few if any authors stick to this prescribed style religiously, or even in the slightest, yet there is a lot of worthwhile literature in the world.
- turpialito, on 10/12/2007, -1/+9That and the fact that Dickens was a racists bastard, regardless of how beautiful his prose was. Look at how he portrays other races, nationalities or religions when compared to blond-haired, blue-eyed-white and young english boy. Orwell was extremely objective, if cynical. Reality hitting you in the face with a sledgehammer. Read his short essay "Shooting an Elephant".
- solemnraven, on 10/12/2007, -0/+8march 22nd front page doubleplusungood Rewrite, Full wise, References unpersons.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+8My writing is plagued by the passive voice.
Or should I say "Passive voice plagues my writing"? - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7This is the first time I saw it. I found it interesting. I'm glad it made it to the front page.
- turpialito, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7Doubleplusgood discussion, methinks. Forward to Minitrue for verification, edition and approval.
W.S. - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7Spew: I think you missed the point. MrFoos was saying to read Animal Farm for the message not for the prose.
- Wolfboy, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7Now if we can just get people to learn to correctly use:
affect and effect
their, there and they're
under way and underway
nauseous and nauseated
loose and lose
it's and its
you're and your - underthelinux, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5It is possible that its a different set of people digging it. I haven't seen it before. Things come and go on the front page quickly - if you miss an hour, you might miss an article. You could still digg it if you think other people would benefit.
- EatingPie, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6I read a great article about active vs. passive voice ages ago. It referred to "noun" (passive) style and "verb" (active) style. Readers find excitement, interest.... action in verb-focused writing.
I came.
I saw.
I conquered.
vs.
Mobilization.
Reconnasance.
Conquest.
See why the former sticks with us to this day! Nouns are things, sitting there, doing... nothing. Boring!
Very very difficult to pull off. The linked article actually used the passive voice almost 100% of the time... and it's one of the rules!
-Pie - iupetre, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Here is the original essay from which this article is derived:
http://www.orwell.ru/library/essays/politics/english/e_polit - janmc, on 10/12/2007, -2/+6@ mackenziewelch -dugg for making me notice the similarity between Bush's speeches and doublespeak. Time to re-read 1984.
- stupidverizon, on 10/12/2007, -3/+6I like the the author tried to follow the rules, (or so it seems to me, I'm not being sarcastic)
- EatingPie, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4Change the language, change the way we think. This is the philisophical basis of the PC movement.
People aren't handicapped, they're "special." Not "blind" but "sight challenged" (I saw this on an ATM machine once).
But the PC movement failed. I hear kids yell "You're Challenged!" as an insult all the time. Used to be "You're Retarded!" in my day. Though the PC movement changed the word, it failed to change the meaning. We now have a new set of tags for calling someone "crippled" or "handicapped." They still can't use their arms/legs/whatever, but the word makes that all better... somehow. And yet kids realize what adults don't -- it still means the same thing.
-Pie - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3to two and too
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3@janmc: It is disingenuous of you to not include all politicians. ALL politicians, Republican, Democrat, Socialist, Communist, Nazi, Douche or Turd Sandwich, ALL speak out of both sides of their mouth.
(Oops, how many of Orwell's 5 rules did I break there?) - turpialito, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I thought I was the only one who had noticed it. If tip no. 5 does indeed come from Orwell himself it's impossible the elaboration that follows should come from him too. George Orwell was not around when the Internet went public, therefore he couldn't have referenced it.
@muchocoffee: He didn't write the book IN 1984 (as you said, 23 years ago). It's just the title. According to Wikipedia it was published in1949 - 52577, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3"for making me notice the similarity between Bush's speeches and doublespeak. Time to re-read 1984."
I think you have to have firstspeak down before you can start with the doublespeak. - saahmed, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Great advice.
- janmc, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2@ h00paj00 - good point. I just could hear Bush saying "war on terror" and "weapons of mass destruction" in my mind as I read the comment. Amend that to read most politicians ;)
- proghead, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1"When one watches some tired hack on the platform mechanically repeating the familiar phrases ... one often has a curious feeling that one is not watching a live human being but some kind of dummy."
eerie... - jefdub, on 10/12/2007, -0/+11) This rule is as true today as true today as it was then.
2) This is a rule of exactitude.
3) I cannot possibly say enough about this rule…
4) This rule has taught me a lot.
5) IMHO, a great rule.
6) I uphold this rule no matter what. - stupor, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2He used the passive voice to tell us we shouldn't. Hmmm.
- EatingPie, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1@turpialito: "He didn't write the book IN 1984 (as you said, 23 years ago). It's just the title. According to Wikipedia it was published in1949"
The title 1984 comes from the transposition of 1948... when Orwell wrote the book. Don't know if that's on the wiki or not.
-Pie - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I love the way that the fascistic neo-con media counter intelligence provocateurs (Bill Kristol and his Neo-Con buddies), who are carrying out operation mockingbird propaganda quote Orwell. Then then subvert his message to make it appear that Orwell would have backed their repulsive genocidal illegal cause!!!
I give you Bill Kristol and the 'As George Orwell would have said, the quickest way to end a war is to lose it! ', when justifying their failed Iraq war and bogus war on terror. Quoted completely out of context, George Orwell is now a neo-con, talk about doublethink!
What Kristol and his neo-ziono-fascist don't quote is Orwell from one of his most important works 'Why I Write' as follows:
George Orwell, Why I Write.......'Political language is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind' - batfink3312, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3If you are talking to an English person don't use underway at all - ref (www.askoxford.com).
Must be an Americanism (which is probably not a word).
And if you are so pedantic, why not punctuate your list correctly ? - Estaris, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1@muchocoffee
You made me smile. :)
Maybe you should read the book.
Then you might understand why what George wrote was so applicable.
It's an alarming book. It's worth the read. - chulium, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1No bleepin way! I just did a report on 1984 and saw this list... looks like I should have submitted it last week :(
- dmsean, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1RE: mrfoos
That book *made* me liberal in the sense you think (obviously limited viewpoint if you call people liberals).
It made me see the similarities to American Capitalism and Soviet Communism.
Do yourself a favor, and stfu. - striderelite, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0"It's crazy to me that Orwell could predict the future like that. Kind of reminds me of Reagan's "Gobbledegook.""
He didn't actually "predict" anything, but rather was aware of the direction in which the system was going. He had a very keen sense of the global conspiracy behind politics and the business elite, so this allowed him to "foresee" the future. It just takes research and wisdom, and he was wise because he did his research. - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1Using deliberately protracted, convoluted terminology should be a crime.
- liquidindian, on 10/12/2007, -3/+3turpialito - Judging Dickens by today's standards is harsh. He lived at a time when people did genuinely think that certain races were superior to others - not just the uneducated, but those studying peoples. You could also level the same at Orwell - Burmese Days comes across as being rather racist, in my opinion.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1Notably, the Economist style guide includes these tips as well, in various sections:
http://www.economist.com/research/StyleGuide/ - Copywritinguk, on 10/27/2007, -0/+0Interesting point of view on Orwell's writing rules. I guess I'm not convinced all of them are entirely true. Found this http://www.copywriting-on-demand.com/markets.htm writing resource which is perhaps a little more up to date
- mendigg, on 10/11/2007, -0/+0These 'rules' have been highly criticised. Despite being a good author, his stance on English is outdated and he is a renound English Maven. These are not so much 'rules' as 'the style of writing George Orwell likes best' and thereby a totally subjective opinion. Few if any authors stick to this prescribed style religiously, or even in the slightest, yet there is a lot of worthwhile literature in the world. http://www.rolid.org http://www.se-ua.com
- indiandoctor, on 01/27/2008, -0/+0The last rule - wow. Could you be more ambiguous?
- InstantABS, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1Tripleplusgood.:) I have to admit, I use some of Orwell's rules in my everyday writing practice.
- BattleBaconXXL, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1digg rerun
- ModestMoby, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1These are great except the rule pertaining to the passive voice. This is simply a notion held by native English speakers. I've been tortured with enough Latin to realize that passive sentences are often much easier to read and understand when used with a passive verb. In Latin, when an action in the perfect tense requires two accusatives it's considered good form to change the sentence into the Perfect Passive with a supine stem. It depends on the situation and this is a stupid blanket rule.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1If anything, this made me look up the difference between "Toe the line" and "Tow the line"
I learned something for today. I can go back to sleep until tomorrow. - InstantABS, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1Hmm... what makes some web writing very attractive are these foreign words...
- cameronfrye, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0It's all good information to consider when writing, but you can find all this and more in Strunk & White's "Elements of Style" - a quick-reading book I was told to read in high school and have since used everytime I sit to write.
- dmitriyvoz, on 10/11/2007, -0/+0The author has mentioned very much a vital topic today. It seems to me that the problematics of this clause enables to reflect and draw conclusions. You can as to look sites in Russian which mention this theme: http://www.rolid.org http://www.se-ua.com
- turdigg, on 10/11/2007, -1/+0These 'rules' have been highly criticised http://www.voyage-voyage.info . Despite being a good author, http://www.vip-tour.biz his stance on English is outdated and he is a renound English Maven http://www.viptraveler.info . These are not so much 'rules' as 'the style of writing George Orwell http://www.automig.info likes best' and thereby a totally subjective opinion http://www.ukrtravel.org . Few if any authors stick to this prescribed style religiously, http://www.megatourism.info or even in the slightest, yet there is a lot of worthwhile literature in the world http://www.autorial.info .
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