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AndrewWatt2000@aol.com scripsit:
> For some reason I had previously assumed you were benighted Irish. :) ... Not
> sure why.
I bear an Irish name, certainly, and my grandfather emigrated thence.
Of course, American English is essentially Hiberno-English
in the mouths of refugees from Bismarck's Prussia. See
http://www.ccil.org/~cowan/essential.html for much more of this.
> "Lose the plot" means pretty much the same as "lose the thread". But if the
> latter exists in American English it may, as these things can, have a
> different meaning.
"Lose the thread" suggests to me forgetting what one is talking about,
or ceasing to follow a conversation.
> In "standard English" to "lose the plot" indicates a loss of perspective with
> regard to (at least some) important matters. ... :) That sounds terribly
> formal for a phrase which is much more expressive. ... It can also carry the
> sense of, as a result of the loss of appropriate prioritisation, getting
> things into a mess or leaving them in a mess. That seems to me a not
> unreasonable comment about linking. But your mileage may differ. :)
I think I interpreted you correctly, then. If the plot is lost at W3C,
it may indeed be found at some other standards organization in future.
> What I was saying is that I perceive linking at W3C as a bit of a mess and,
> implicitly, it seems to me that more work needs to be done to improve things.
Indeed. But that does not mean that W3C is either an appropriate or a necessary
forum for the purpose.
> Does that help?
Admirably.
--
John Cowan jcowan@reutershealth.com www.ccil.org/~cowan www.reutershealth.com
"In computer science, we stand on each other's feet."
--Brian K. Reid
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