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More evidence. (Recruitment)

by Kermit @, Raleigh, NC, Wednesday, November 15, 2017, 09:57 (2316 days ago) @ Korny

It's really simple to me. Inside implies being in a confined space. In implies being in an open space. That open space can still have boundaries but by using "in" you're putting emphasis on your location rather than your location relative to the boundaries of the location.


I think you have a predilection for what "inside" means, and it's probably why it's so confusing to me how badly you've been missing the point (no offense, of course). Indoors does mean inside (because indoors is relative to being outside of those doors), but inside does not inherently mean indoors.

It's not just my predilection. It's how it's commonly understood. And I never once said that inside inherently means indoors.


You may not care about common usage but it greatly affects readability, which isn't about whether something makes sense and is about how easily words can be read and understood. You can say you're going for a walk inside the forest and be understood, but you may not be pegged as a native English speaker. :)


See that's where it's weird. I'm not a native English speaker, but I also don't feel like I need to be a "professional MLG writer" to understand such a simple concept.

I don't know what "professional MLG writer" means.


If someone says "I'm going to be in the forest", then obviously he will be in the forest. If he says "I'm going to be inside the forest", then obviously he will be located somewhere within the confines of that forest. I don't need giant walls put up around the forest, or a bright crayon line circling the forest to understand where he will be relative to the forest's border (hint: within the area considered "forest"). There does not have to be a visible thing for it to be contained within to understand that he is giving a point relative to another point that could be considered "outside" of the established area.

Who said you did? Not me. I never said that wasn't understandable. I said that wasn't common usage. It isn't.

Would I wonder why he said that he'd be inside, instead of in? No, and you likely wouldn't either.


I would wonder, at least for a split second, what he means by "inside the forest" instead of "in the forest," and that extra processing gums up efficient communication.

Case in point, When Speed was insisting that the Shadow Realm that he was in was "Outside", and he inevitably screwed up, I deliberately asked "Inside team, what are you doing wrong?" and he immediately started making his patented excuses. Even his brain could process it immediately, because he knew that I was completely right about everything, even if he didn't want to admit it.

Ignoring Korny BS braggadicio™.

I guess what we can take from this entire thread is that sometimes words can have several definitions and contexts, and what may be confusing to some on paper might make perfect sense after all. We just have to start by being able to accept the fact that we might be wrong, even if we consider ourselves experts in a certain field.

If you're saying I'm wrong about common usage, you're mistaken.

Ultimately, as with prior compromises (and the point that Claude's been making since before quoted searches became a deciding factor in anything), we just have to agree to using certain terms once we start the encounter, since people might interpret things differently, even in seemingly bizarre ways (like Kermit said, some people on Xbox refer to the Cleavers/Axes as "Scissors"!).

For comic effect, but I realize you can't resist the opportunity to tease Xbox users.

Just keep in mind that nine times out of ten, pickup groups will probably refer to the contained pocket of space that you get teleported into as "inside", and the real world that you escape back out to as "Outside", but that doesn't mean that you're dumb if you don't see it that way!

A bold claim that may even be right if there is a common understanding among gamers (maybe steeped in fantasy and sci fi) as to what the void is, but I seriously doubt "inside" on it's own will ever be sufficient to prevent confusion simply because EVERYONE conceives of a room as being inside. The funny thing is, this conversation has to happen only once at the beginning, and can be as simple as asking who's staying in the throne room? It isn't nearly as important as the Mars/Venus, past/future confusion.

Good talk all around, and God bless.

/thread

Heh, you wish.


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