Urban Dictionary

Wed Jan 8 16:47:11 UTC 2014

>  Is anyone writing a letter to the Times?

No.

JL

On Wed, Jan 8, 2014 at 11:12 AM, Joel S. Berson <Berson at att.net> wrote:

> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       "Joel S. Berson" <Berson at ATT.NET>
> Subject:      Re: Urban Dictionary
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> At 1/8/2014 09:27 AM, Dave Wilton wrote:
> >UD can be a useful tool if used with discretion, however. It is a
> >quick-and-dirty tool for checking if an alleged slang term is in actual
> >circulation or to see what the possible range of meanings for a term might
> >be. And it is often easy to distinguish the joke or made-up senses from
> >those that are recorded by thoughtful amateurs (the latter of which can
> >actually be useful and sometimes do contain actual usage citations).
> >
> >Like any dictionary, one needs to know the particulars of its scope and
> >methodology before employing it usefully.
>
> Regardless of the above, which I suspect is true infrequently,* the
> UD requires a large-print "Hazard" sign rather than uncritical praise
> or the positive tone of the NYTimes article.  Is anyone writing a
> letter to the Times?
>
> Do any of the "actual usage citations" cite written evidence, or
> reputable oral evidence?
>
> Joel
>
>
>
> >-----Original Message-----
> >From: American Dialect Society [mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] On Behalf
> Of
> >Jonathan Lighter
> >Sent: Wednesday, January 08, 2014 8:44 AM
> >To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> >Subject: Re: Urban Dictionary
> >
> >Now that UD has a swado-hip following, however, some its coinages will
> >certainly get into the shite-geist.
> >
> >JL
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >On Wed, Jan 8, 2014 at 8:31 AM, Jonathan Lighter
> ><wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com>wrote:
> >
> > > I used to refer to Urban Dictionary daily.
> > >
> > > If you know what you're looking for, it's like going into a playground
> > > and saying, "Hey, teens! What do you think of this groovy word?" And
> > > believing whatever they say.
> > >
> > > Without analysis.
> > >
> > > If you're looking for new terms in actual use, however, dream up your
> own.
> > >  My professional opinion is that the majority of entries that are
> > > unfamiliar to say, us, are jokes and coinages used by more or less
> nobody.
> > >
> > > I think it was 1946 when Morroe Berger wrote in _American Speech_ on
> > > "Some Excesses of Slang Compilers." That essay goes double now.
> > >
> > >
> > > JL
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > On Wed, Jan 8, 2014 at 8:12 AM, Christopher Philippo <toff at mac.com>
> wrote:
> > >
> > >> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> > >> -----------------------
> > >> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > >> Poster:       Christopher Philippo <toff at MAC.COM>
> > >> Subject:      Urban Dictionary
> > >>
> > >> ---------------------------------------------------------------------
> > >> ----------
> > >>
> > >> Wortham, Jenna. "A Lexicon of Instant Argot." N.Y. Times. January 3,
> > >> 2014.
> > >> http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/04/technology/a-lexicon-of-the-interne
> > >> t-updated-by-its-users.html
> > >>
> > >> A claim in the article that Urban Dictionary documents regional
> > >> Internet vernacular in real time in an important way is absurd. The
> > >> majority of it appears to be immature (and not infrequently
> > >> disgusting or bigoted) attempts at humor, not actual words anybody
> > >> uses.  Wortham mentions "recent casual references by figures like Jon
> > >> Stewart on 'The Daily Show'".  That's
> > >> misleading: when I've heard him mention it, it's in reference to the
> > >> disgusting contrived sexual acts people invent solely for Urban
> >Dictionary.
> > >>  The often terrible examples and the lack of citations or even
> > >> information about what regions of the world or the Internet where the
> > >> terms are allegedly being used keeps the site at sub-amateur level.
> > >> ADS doesn't seem to think it is "important" or "the anthropologist of
> > >> the Internet" (but if I'm wrong, please correct me):
> > >>
> > >> "A freewheeling and erratic compilation of words, invented and real,
> > >> submitted, defined, and approved by users."
> > >> http://www.americandialect.org/urbandictionarycom
> > >>
> > >> Kaufman, Leslie. "For the Word on the Street, Courts Call Up an
> > >> Online Witness." N.Y. Times. May 20, 2013.
> > >> http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/21/business/media/urban-dictionary-fin
> > >> ds-a-place-in-the-courtroom.html
> > >>
> > >> That there are judges citing Urban Dictionary in decisions is fairly
> > >> alarming - and that it's cheaper than using an expert because it's
> > >> free is not a good reason to use it.  It calls to mind a worse
> example:
> > >>
> > >> "In determining whether to release the documents [in response to a
> > >> Freedom of Information Law request], the school searched both
> > >> Wikipedia and Google, Gauthier said."
> > >> http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/sports/college/mensbasketball/ameast/s
> > >> tory/2012-03-29/stony-brook-steve-pickiell-contract-secret/53838432/1
> > >> The State University of New York Freedom of Information Law Appeals
> > >> Officer citing Wikipedia is troublesome, and her citing "Google"
> > >> (i.e. "the
> > >> Internet") is akin to citing "the library".  Ms. Gauthier has a
> > >> salary of about $90,000 (
> > >> http://new-york-employees.findthedata.org/l/2282018/Geraldine-M-Gauth
> > >> ier) yet does work that wouldn't be accepted in a report by an
> > >> elementary school student.  I've found writing her about problems of
> > >> SUNY compliance with FOIL, the NY Personal Privacy Protection Law,
> > >> and the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act to be useless:
> > >> she's never responded once.  (Among other things, I once had to file a
> >FOIL request for my own grades for a class !
> > >>  because the professor wouldn't provide them, and my department
> > >> advisor, the Registrar, and others wouldn't help me obtain them.  I
> > >> was charged
> > >> $30.00 to obtain my own grades for a class.  Nice scam they have
> > >> going
> > >> there!)
> > >>
> > >> Christopher K. Philippo
> > >>
> > >> ------------------------------------------------------------
> > >> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> > >>
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > --
> > > "If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the
> > > truth."
> > >
> >
> >
> >
> >--
> >"If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the
> truth."
> >
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> >The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> >
> >------------------------------------------------------------
> >The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>

--
"If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."

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