Where do you live? Meetup planners want to know
post by Metus · 2011-12-11T21:08:09.977Z · LW · GW · Legacy · 22 commentsDisclaimer: English is not my mother's tongue so I am prone to make mistakes. Please correct and forgive me if I do.
In the recent LessWrong survey 1090 people responded. Sadly, information about the place of residence was not asked for but could have been very useful to people willing to plan a meetup. Since a similar questionaire in German was quite successful with 24 respondents I now translated the form to english and ask you to provide the information.
I ask you only to provide your country and general area of residence via postal code. The form is hosted at Google Docs and the spreadsheet will be published in a few days to ensure anonymity for the first few respondents. The data can not be traced back to specific individuals and would be useless in most cases.
Have fun and please provide feedback in the comments.
22 comments
Comments sorted by top scores.
comment by shminux · 2011-12-11T21:45:28.460Z · LW(p) · GW(p)
Please provide the ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 code
...Like people are supposed to know what it is. "Your country's two-letter domain name, such as 'us' for the USA and 'gr' for Greece" would have been clearer, if not as precise.
Replies from: Metuscomment by Sniffnoy · 2011-12-11T21:46:56.731Z · LW(p) · GW(p)
Note, there's also already the Where are we? page/thread.
Replies from: Metuscomment by prase · 2011-12-11T23:36:03.653Z · LW(p) · GW(p)
24 respondents so far, I am impressed.
When you get 1000 responses, then you should be impressed. (I don't think you will get so many, the Discussion section is read a lot less than the Main. Unfortunately, posting this in the Main section would probably not be received with approval.)
Anyway, thanks for doing this.
Replies from: RobertLumley, Metus↑ comment by RobertLumley · 2011-12-12T00:37:04.582Z · LW(p) · GW(p)
I actually read discussion more. If I want to read something technical, which is what most of main is, I read the sequences, since I haven't finished them yet. But I'm sure you're right, the majority probably read main more.
↑ comment by Metus · 2011-12-12T01:09:06.468Z · LW(p) · GW(p)
I am impressed that I got so many responses in such short time. If one of the moderators thinks this post is more appropriate for main they can move it there.
Edit: So far we have 50 respondents. That is 5% of your mark. Edit2: Change in personal pronoun.
Replies from: Alicorn↑ comment by Alicorn · 2011-12-12T01:41:54.933Z · LW(p) · GW(p)
one of the moderators thinks this post is more appropriate for main he
Mrerererer.
EDIT: I get variable amounts of negative karma for complaining about pronouns, but this one got pretty downvoted pretty fast. Is it something about "mrerererer" as an expression of displeasure in particular? Do I need to expressly state in so many words that I'm complaining about pronouns, even though Metus figured it out right away?
Replies from: Prismattic, RobertLumley, Metus↑ comment by Prismattic · 2011-12-12T02:53:01.208Z · LW(p) · GW(p)
Note a downvoter, but on a note of inferential distance -- prior to the edit, I would have had no idea that "Mrerererer" was a vocalization of displeasure.
Replies from: Viliam_Bur↑ comment by Viliam_Bur · 2011-12-12T19:47:27.839Z · LW(p) · GW(p)
It sounds like a suggestion for a new pronoun, even better than all existing pronouns. :D
Replies from: Prismattic↑ comment by Prismattic · 2011-12-15T02:14:11.458Z · LW(p) · GW(p)
We can rebuild mrererererer. We have the technology.... Better, stronger, faster.
↑ comment by RobertLumley · 2011-12-12T02:52:59.125Z · LW(p) · GW(p)
Upvoted. Please call me out if you ever see me doing it. I try to use Spivak pronouns in any instance where it is not really important whether or not the reader will judge me for using them (ie. not on a term paper) but I rarely think of it.
But I think it would have helped if you were more specific. I wouldn't have understood that you were complaining about pronouns. I may not have understood that "Mrerererer" was a complaint, and not an attempt to mimic the noise my dog makes when he's sucking on his chew toy. ;-)
↑ comment by Metus · 2011-12-12T01:44:01.206Z · LW(p) · GW(p)
I thought of it as a sex-generic "he" but if you think it is more appropriate I can change it to "he or she" (or "it".) Do you want me to?
Replies from: Manfred, Alicorn↑ comment by Manfred · 2011-12-12T01:52:55.196Z · LW(p) · GW(p)
"They" can be used as a neutral third-person pronoun.
Replies from: Dorikka, Metus, occlude↑ comment by occlude · 2011-12-12T04:31:40.760Z · LW(p) · GW(p)
Though widely used, it's technically improper. In fact, English lacks a generic singular personal pronoun. The best way to get around this might be to make the subject plural:
If the moderators think this post is more appropriate for main they can move it there.
EDIT - removed irrelevant links and snarky comment about downvoters, plus:
Researched further, my judgement was hasty: Although some usage writers condemn the use of the "singular they" when the gender is unknown or unimportant, this is often used, both in speech and in writing (e.g. "If a customer requires help, they should contact..."). In fact, a consistent pattern of usage can be traced at least as far back as Shakespeare, and possibly even back to Middle English. It avoids awkward constructions such as he or she. This usage is authorised and preferred by the Australian Government Manual of Style for official usage in government documents. See Singular they. The use of the "singular they" can often be avoided by thinking ahead and rephrasing the whole sentence (e.g. "For assistance, customers should contact...").
From this Wikipedia article.
I am neither the grammar police nor the editor of an English language style guide.
Replies from: Emile, Manfred↑ comment by Emile · 2011-12-12T07:39:05.754Z · LW(p) · GW(p)
From your first link:
In all but strictly formal uses, plural pronouns have become acceptable substitutes for the masculine singular.
English isn't C++, a form is pretty much defined as acceptable by usage.
Replies from: occlude↑ comment by occlude · 2011-12-12T17:23:29.699Z · LW(p) · GW(p)
English isn't C++, a form is pretty much defined as acceptable by usage.
This is certainly true; primary considerations should be comprehensibility and consistency. They in this context is perfectly understandable, if not yet considered strictly "correct."
Frankly, I've forgotten what my intention was in pointing it out in the first place.
↑ comment by Manfred · 2011-12-12T07:17:52.065Z · LW(p) · GW(p)
Randall Munroe says it for me: http://xkcd.com/145/.
comment by Metus · 2011-12-11T23:02:40.124Z · LW(p) · GW(p)
24 respondents so far, I am impressed. Here is the link to the spreadsheet https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0ArVL5H0yXwKFdHJSSEV4Zy0zcXZBeVJyeGtKd0ZncHc