Monday, February 12, 2018

Proposal: ‘Til May Be Out [Appendix]

Timed out 3 votes to 1. Enacted by Kevan.

Adminned at 14 Feb 2018 10:07:30 UTC

Remove the entries for “may” and “may not” in the Keywords.

The dictionary definition of “may” is both “used to express possibility” and “used to express opportunity or permission”. I’m not sure we gain all that much in the long run by limiting BlogNomic’s use of the word to one but never the other, when the plain English meaning will be apparent from context, and when it’s very easy to accidentally or scammingly write (and vote through) a sentence that people read as using the word in the “express possibility” sense.

Arguments like “players may be on fire, players in the furnace catch fire, therefore I stand in the furnace and choose not to exercise my permission to be on fire” should not be endorsed by the appendices, they should be a plainly perverse reading of a rule.

posted by Kevan at 12 Feb 2018 09:36:00 UTC Comments (6)

Comments

Madrid:

12-02-2018 10:24:26 UTC

I’d prefer if it had some kind of better definition rather than removing it.

card:

12-02-2018 14:10:13 UTC

for

Madrid:

12-02-2018 18:46:56 UTC

against

card:

12-02-2018 20:29:18 UTC

from webster
“Definition of may
past might play \ˈmīt\; present singular and plural may
1 a archaic : have the ability to
b : have permission to
  you may go now
: be free to
  a rug on which children may sprawl —C. E. Silberman
—used nearly interchangeably with can
c —used to indicate possibility or probability
  you may be right
  things you may need
—sometimes used interchangeably with can
  one of those slipups that may happen from time to time —Jessica Mitford
—sometimes used where might would be expected
  you may think from a little distance that the country was solid woods —Robert Frost
2 —used in auxiliary function to express a wish or desire especially in prayer, imprecation, or benediction
  may the best man win
3 —used in auxiliary function expressing purpose or expectation
  I laugh that I may not weep
or contingency
  she’ll do her duty come what may
or concession
  he may be slow but he is thorough
or choice
  the angler may catch them with a dip net, or he may cast a large, bare treble hook —Nelson Bryant
4 : shall, must —used in law where the sense, purpose, or policy requires this interpretation”
what better definition did you have in mind?

Madrid:

12-02-2018 22:11:45 UTC

Defining it better as in outlining it better.

Diabecko:

12-02-2018 22:20:24 UTC

for