Planetarion Forums - @ Has To Be The Most Useless Shorthand Ever

acropolis · 16 Mar 2004, 20:51

seriously. When people write on paper, do they really save any time by putting a circly thing around their a instead of putting a t after it? And when you are typing, how much time do you save by holding down shift before pressing 2 versus typing 'a' and then 't'?

The real point of this thread is that I'm now opening threads in a new window. That's not cool

JC · 16 Mar 2004, 20:55

Quote:

Originally Posted by acropolis

The real point of this thread is that I'm now opening threads in a new window. That's not cool

That happened to me earlier. I was majorly freaked out :eek:.

I closed the windows, opened a new one, and it was fine

.

Intrepid00 · 16 Mar 2004, 20:58

This thread is the most useless thread ever. @ is short hand for about. Not at.

Structural Integrity · 16 Mar 2004, 20:58

I think it happens when you open a link that had as target a certain named frame in a new window, and then browse to pirate and start opening threads. That's what I understood of it when it happened to me.

But @ is indeed a stupid thing to use in common day writing/typing.

Stew · 16 Mar 2004, 20:58

Quote:

Originally Posted by JC

That happened to me earlier. I was majorly freaker out :eek:.

I closed the windows, opened a new one, and it was fine

.

I thought it was just me....

Intrepid00 · 16 Mar 2004, 20:59

I kept pounding my shift key. I thought it was stuck.

JC · 16 Mar 2004, 21:01

Quote:

Originally Posted by Intrepid00

@ is short hand for about. Not at.

WTF?*

*short hand for what the ****?

SYMM · 16 Mar 2004, 21:14

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stew

I thought it was just me....

Zar · 16 Mar 2004, 21:19

Quote:

Originally Posted by acropolis

much time do you save by holding down shift before pressing 2 versus typing 'a' and then 't'?

stupid yank keyboards

its shift + '

acropolis · 16 Mar 2004, 21:28

Quote:

Originally Posted by Intrepid00

This thread is the most useless thread ever. @ is short hand for about. Not at.

if you're right then apparently this thread wasn't useless, now was it?

i wasn't actually sure about that, and i tried to google @ but i was unable to do so.

i reopened the forums too and now it works. figured as much, once i noticed that the new windows that open didn't open new windows when i clicked on threads in them.

SYMM · 16 Mar 2004, 21:50

I think he's talking bollocks.
http://www.giussani.com/articles/art...11_atsign.html

Leshy · 16 Mar 2004, 22:06

Is this the cool place to be @?

Embroglio · 16 Mar 2004, 22:18

Nodrog · 16 Mar 2004, 22:24

And in Spain, the @ sign is increasingly used among youngsters as a politically correct way of avoiding specifying gender, as in: "Hola, amig@s!"

Embroglio · 16 Mar 2004, 22:26

amigas are fun

Stew · 16 Mar 2004, 22:28

Quote:

Originally Posted by Embroglio

amigas are fun

I had an amiga 500+ - it was

Intrepid00 · 16 Mar 2004, 22:47

Quote:

Originally Posted by SYMM

I think he's talking bollocks.
http://www.giussani.com/articles/art...11_atsign.html

Explain manual Typerwriters?

SYMM · 16 Mar 2004, 23:04

I think that page explains quite well why it was present on keyboards before email was invented.
Muppet.

Intrepid00 · 17 Mar 2004, 02:25

According to the site it has no clear orgin.

Qdeathstar · 17 Mar 2004, 07:20

@ stands for about?

zlateralus about hotmail.com

or

zlateralus at hotmail.com

MrL_JaKiri · 17 Mar 2004, 10:32

Quote:

Originally Posted by Qdeathstar

@ stands for about?

zlateralus about hotmail.com

or

zlateralus at hotmail.com

He was wrong, but that doesn't mean your argument is valid.

Dante Hicks · 17 Mar 2004, 10:51

Quote:

Originally Posted by acropolis

And when you are typing, how much time do you save by holding down shift before pressing 2 versus typing 'a' and then 't'?

Quite a lot over the course of millions of key presses.

Tomkat · 17 Mar 2004, 13:30

I hate all shorthand with a passion, so I agree.

I can type a regular, well punctuated, spelling-endowed sentence faster than some ass with their "we dnt uz vowls much". In fact, I have to THINK about what I'm doing to write that crap.

MrL_JaKiri · 17 Mar 2004, 13:33

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tomkat

I hate all shorthand with a passion, so I agree.

I can type a regular, well punctuated, spelling-endowed sentence faster than some ass with their "we dnt uz vowls much". In fact, I have to THINK about what I'm doing to write that crap.

That's more an argument about you not being very good at something you're not very good at.

Structural Integrity · 17 Mar 2004, 16:18

I have to try very hard to even make any spelling mistakes in my typing... in Dutch that is... When typing English I just drivel a bit and hope it comes across.

Tomkat · 17 Mar 2004, 16:21

Quote:

Originally Posted by MrL_JaKiri

That's more an argument about you not being very good at something you're not very good at.

YOU'RE not very good at being ... good!

Aw crap.

acropolis · 17 Mar 2004, 16:25

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dante Hicks

Quite a lot over the course of millions of key presses.

noting that t&a are two of the more accesible keys on the keyboard and shift and 2 are both out of the way, I'd hazard it takes more time for an @ then an 'at'.

Qdeathstar · 17 Mar 2004, 22:19

Quote:

Originally Posted by MrL_Jakiri

He was wrong, but that doesnt make your arguement valid

Well, despite the fact that it was empirical evidence... IT WASNT AN ARGUEMENT, IT WAS AN OBSERVATION, dumbo.

:-/.

MrL_JaKiri · 17 Mar 2004, 22:22

Quote:

Originally Posted by Qdeathstar

Well, despite the fact that it was empirical evidence... IT WASNT AN ARGUEMENT, IT WAS AN OBSERVATION, dumbo.

:-/.

Can I keep him mommy? Can I? Can I? Can I?

Qdeathstar · 17 Mar 2004, 22:25

Quote:

Originally Posted by MrL_JaKiri

Can I keep him mommy? Can I? Can I? Can I?

depends on how much your willing to pay. Down boy.

KraKto$is8 · 17 Mar 2004, 22:51

@ is called "at" in English. And Arabic. But some languages give it a different name.

http://home.bluemarble.net/~langmin/...ures/@name.htm

SYMM · 17 Mar 2004, 22:53

I'm not seeing any references to it meaning "about" mr Intrepmuppetid00

Phang · 17 Mar 2004, 23:50

the etymology is unclear therefore the definition is too!

Qdeathstar · 18 Mar 2004, 03:54

Dude. Bread. Exactly.

queball · 18 Mar 2004, 04:00

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dante Hicks

Quite a lot over the course of millions of key presses.

Yeah. Also, consider spaces: "a at b" == "a@b", reducing keypresses by a factor of 4.

the_dastardley_chihuahua · 18 Mar 2004, 09:17

Quote:

Originally Posted by acropolis

noting that t&a are two of the more accesible keys on the keyboard and shift and 2 are both out of the way, I'd hazard it takes more time for an @ then an 'at'.

only on your stupid american keyboards, here the @ is above and just to the left of the right shift key, making it FAR easier to use than 'a t' or 'shift 2'

Tomkat · 18 Mar 2004, 13:53

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

It looks quite cool in a big line like that.

sayonara · 19 Mar 2004, 12:04

Quote:

Originally Posted by SYMM

I think that page explains quite well why it was present on keyboards before email was invented.
Muppet.

No it doesn't. It mentions it vaguely, then jumps of into a few historical examples from other cultures.

Incidentally, a single-point source based on an interview with a single-point source is not the best evidence of anything.

SYMM · 19 Mar 2004, 12:36

It (and the subsequent posted link) are infinitely more evidence then he gave to support his "about" theory (that would be nothing...).

sayonara · 19 Mar 2004, 12:55

Evidence about what? I don't see them disproving the "about" theory per se - they simply provide evidence for a different stance.

I agree this @=about thing is unevidenced, but that doesn't mean you can throw anything at him and it automatically "wins", and it certainly doesn't put you in such a tenable position that you can call him "muppet". Particularly since you were wrong on that point.

Y'know, "I'm just saying."