New Feature Coming - Targeting Heroes

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  • ThaRoadWarrior
    ThaRoadWarrior Posts: 9,455 Chairperson of the Boards
    OJSP said:
    How much is a small nugget?
    A "nugget" is just a "dollop" that has been left in the sun to dry up
  • IIAlonditeII
    IIAlonditeII Posts: 150 Tile Toppler
    JDFiend said:
    IIAlonditeII said:
    tiomono said:
    IIAlonditeII said:
    tiomono said:
    Few does not mean 2. It means more than one and less than a lot.
    Stop putting specific expectations on things when we were not given specific timing for more information.

    If you had a wait of 52 weeks and had like 6 weeks left it could be appropriate to describe the wait as a few weeks when looking at the total time.
    He also said couple, which means "2".
    Or it could mean an indefinite small number. You are sick and hope to be better in a couple days.

    I'm just saying when we put a strict timeline to statements that are not strictly laid out you will frustrate yourself.
    cou·ple
    /ˈkəpəl/
    noun
    1. 1.
      two individuals of the same sort considered together.
      "a couple of girls were playing marbles"
      Similar:
      pair
      duo
      duology
      twosome
      set of two
      match
      doublets
      twins
      brace
      span
      yoke
      two
      two of a kind
      duplet
      dyad
      duad
      doubleton
      twain
    2. 2.
      two people who are married, engaged, or otherwise closely associated romantically or sexually.
      Similar:
      husband and wife
      twosome
      newlyweds
      partners
      lovers
      cohabitees


    So, I get where you're coming from, but couple actually doesn't mean "indefinite small number". Some people use it that way, and I get that, but that's not what it means. Probably just part of being a southerner, but we really differentiate hard on "couple" vs "several" vs "a li'l" vs "a few". Except when I've been traveling to other regions of the US, I've only ever heard couple mean "two, precisely".
    The defintion shifts between dictionaries. Some including the indefinite period as an informal use. 

    The problem with language is it is fluid. Meaning is not derived from the word alone, but the context surrounding it. It is interpretive, not concrete. 

    Saying 'Morning' to the receptionist as you walk into work would have a totally different meaning than parent saying it to a teenager as they staggering into the house drunk in the middle of the night. A boss saying it was to a late employee could be interpreted as passive aggressive aggressive. Changing the context, you could change the meaning behind that word in hundreds of ways. But the dictionary definition would never change.

    Dictionaries basically suck, as they don't reflect everyday language use. They are more to help you figure out the meaning, given the context rather than provide a concrete interpretation. 
    Right and I've already -also- explained that, aside from the strict definition of couple meaning "2", the way it is used locally is also exclusively "2", and therefore I couldn't have had a way to know that he could've meant anything other than "2". If I start using slang that is more regionally relevant on an internet board I can't expect it to click necessarily 
  • JDFiend
    JDFiend Posts: 37 Just Dropped In
    IIAlonditeII said:
    JDFiend said:
    IIAlonditeII said:
    tiomono said:
    IIAlonditeII said:
    tiomono said:
    Few does not mean 2. It means more than one and less than a lot.
    Stop putting specific expectations on things when we were not given specific timing for more information.

    If you had a wait of 52 weeks and had like 6 weeks left it could be appropriate to describe the wait as a few weeks when looking at the total time.
    He also said couple, which means "2".
    Or it could mean an indefinite small number. You are sick and hope to be better in a couple days.

    I'm just saying when we put a strict timeline to statements that are not strictly laid out you will frustrate yourself.
    cou·ple
    /ˈkəpəl/
    noun
    1. 1.
      two individuals of the same sort considered together.
      "a couple of girls were playing marbles"
      Similar:
      pair
      duo
      duology
      twosome
      set of two
      match
      doublets
      twins
      brace
      span
      yoke
      two
      two of a kind
      duplet
      dyad
      duad
      doubleton
      twain
    2. 2.
      two people who are married, engaged, or otherwise closely associated romantically or sexually.
      Similar:
      husband and wife
      twosome
      newlyweds
      partners
      lovers
      cohabitees


    So, I get where you're coming from, but couple actually doesn't mean "indefinite small number". Some people use it that way, and I get that, but that's not what it means. Probably just part of being a southerner, but we really differentiate hard on "couple" vs "several" vs "a li'l" vs "a few". Except when I've been traveling to other regions of the US, I've only ever heard couple mean "two, precisely".
    The defintion shifts between dictionaries. Some including the indefinite period as an informal use. 

    The problem with language is it is fluid. Meaning is not derived from the word alone, but the context surrounding it. It is interpretive, not concrete. 

    Saying 'Morning' to the receptionist as you walk into work would have a totally different meaning than parent saying it to a teenager as they staggering into the house drunk in the middle of the night. A boss saying it was to a late employee could be interpreted as passive aggressive aggressive. Changing the context, you could change the meaning behind that word in hundreds of ways. But the dictionary definition would never change.

    Dictionaries basically suck, as they don't reflect everyday language use. They are more to help you figure out the meaning, given the context rather than provide a concrete interpretation. 
    Right and I've already -also- explained that, aside from the strict definition of couple meaning "2", the way it is used locally is also exclusively "2", and therefore I couldn't have had a way to know that he could've meant anything other than "2". If I start using slang that is more regionally relevant on an internet board I can't expect it to click necessarily 
    Okay. But it's not a noun. It's an adjective being used as a quanitifer.

    From:-https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/couple
    Couple 
     
    1. quantifier

    If you refer to a couple of people or things, you mean two or approximately two of them, although the exact number is not important or you are not sure of it.

    Across the street from me there are a couple of police officers standing guard. [+ of]

    I think the trouble will clear up in a couple of days. [+ of]

    ...a small town a couple of hundred miles from New York City. [+ of]

    Couple is also a determiner in spoken American English, and before 'more' and 'less'.

    ...a couple weeks before the election.

    I think I can play maybe for a couple more years.

    https://www.dictionary.com/browse/couple

    USAGE NOTE FOR COUPLE
    The phrase a couple of, meaning “a small number of; a few; several,” has been in standard use for centuries, especially with measurements of time and distance and in referring to amounts of money: They walked a couple of miles in silence. Repairs will probably cost a couple of hundred dollars. The phrase is used in all but the most formal speech and writing. The shortened phrase a couple, without of ( The gas station is a couple miles from here ), is an Americanism of recent development that occurs chiefly in informal speech or representations of speech, especially when followed by number terms (as a couple dozen eggs ) or units of measurement (as a couple years ago; a couple gallons of gas ). This use of couple (as an adjective or modifier) is still disliked by many. Without a following noun, a couple is even more informal: Jack shouldn't drive. It's clear he's had a couple. (Here the noun drinks is omitted.)

    So there is a shift in meaning, as it is not the noun... 
  • IIAlonditeII
    IIAlonditeII Posts: 150 Tile Toppler
    JDFiend said:
    IIAlonditeII said:
    JDFiend said:
    IIAlonditeII said:
    tiomono said:
    IIAlonditeII said:
    tiomono said:
    Few does not mean 2. It means more than one and less than a lot.
    Stop putting specific expectations on things when we were not given specific timing for more information.

    If you had a wait of 52 weeks and had like 6 weeks left it could be appropriate to describe the wait as a few weeks when looking at the total time.
    He also said couple, which means "2".
    Or it could mean an indefinite small number. You are sick and hope to be better in a couple days.

    I'm just saying when we put a strict timeline to statements that are not strictly laid out you will frustrate yourself.
    cou·ple
    /ˈkəpəl/
    noun
    1. 1.
      two individuals of the same sort considered together.
      "a couple of girls were playing marbles"
      Similar:
      pair
      duo
      duology
      twosome
      set of two
      match
      doublets
      twins
      brace
      span
      yoke
      two
      two of a kind
      duplet
      dyad
      duad
      doubleton
      twain
    2. 2.
      two people who are married, engaged, or otherwise closely associated romantically or sexually.
      Similar:
      husband and wife
      twosome
      newlyweds
      partners
      lovers
      cohabitees


    So, I get where you're coming from, but couple actually doesn't mean "indefinite small number". Some people use it that way, and I get that, but that's not what it means. Probably just part of being a southerner, but we really differentiate hard on "couple" vs "several" vs "a li'l" vs "a few". Except when I've been traveling to other regions of the US, I've only ever heard couple mean "two, precisely".
    The defintion shifts between dictionaries. Some including the indefinite period as an informal use. 

    The problem with language is it is fluid. Meaning is not derived from the word alone, but the context surrounding it. It is interpretive, not concrete. 

    Saying 'Morning' to the receptionist as you walk into work would have a totally different meaning than parent saying it to a teenager as they staggering into the house drunk in the middle of the night. A boss saying it was to a late employee could be interpreted as passive aggressive aggressive. Changing the context, you could change the meaning behind that word in hundreds of ways. But the dictionary definition would never change.

    Dictionaries basically suck, as they don't reflect everyday language use. They are more to help you figure out the meaning, given the context rather than provide a concrete interpretation. 
    Right and I've already -also- explained that, aside from the strict definition of couple meaning "2", the way it is used locally is also exclusively "2", and therefore I couldn't have had a way to know that he could've meant anything other than "2". If I start using slang that is more regionally relevant on an internet board I can't expect it to click necessarily 
    Okay. But it's not a noun. It's an adjective being used as a quanitifer.

    From:-https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/couple
    Couple 
     
    1. quantifier

    If you refer to a couple of people or things, you mean two or approximately two of them, although the exact number is not important or you are not sure of it.

    Across the street from me there are a couple of police officers standing guard. [+ of]

    I think the trouble will clear up in a couple of days. [+ of]

    ...a small town a couple of hundred miles from New York City. [+ of]

    Couple is also a determiner in spoken American English, and before 'more' and 'less'.

    ...a couple weeks before the election.

    I think I can play maybe for a couple more years.

    https://www.dictionary.com/browse/couple

    USAGE NOTE FOR COUPLE
    The phrase a couple of, meaning “a small number of; a few; several,” has been in standard use for centuries, especially with measurements of time and distance and in referring to amounts of money: They walked a couple of miles in silence. Repairs will probably cost a couple of hundred dollars. The phrase is used in all but the most formal speech and writing. The shortened phrase a couple, without of ( The gas station is a couple miles from here ), is an Americanism of recent development that occurs chiefly in informal speech or representations of speech, especially when followed by number terms (as a couple dozen eggs ) or units of measurement (as a couple years ago; a couple gallons of gas ). This use of couple (as an adjective or modifier) is still disliked by many. Without a following noun, a couple is even more informal: Jack shouldn't drive. It's clear he's had a couple. (Here the noun drinks is omitted.)

    So there is a shift in meaning, as it is not the noun... 
    I'm not arguing that it's pretty semantical, what I'm arguing is that it's not a fault to not know the improper / slang uses of a word being used a different way outside of your region. I'm not mad at you guys for knowing that "couple" is used to mean "few" in your region. I'm just saying I couldn't be expected to be aware of that.
  • JDFiend
    JDFiend Posts: 37 Just Dropped In
    IIAlonditeII said:
    JDFiend said:
    IIAlonditeII said:
    JDFiend said:
    IIAlonditeII said:
    tiomono said:
    IIAlonditeII said:
    tiomono said:
    Few does not mean 2. It means more than one and less than a lot.
    Stop putting specific expectations on things when we were not given specific timing for more information.

    If you had a wait of 52 weeks and had like 6 weeks left it could be appropriate to describe the wait as a few weeks when looking at the total time.
    He also said couple, which means "2".
    Or it could mean an indefinite small number. You are sick and hope to be better in a couple days.

    I'm just saying when we put a strict timeline to statements that are not strictly laid out you will frustrate yourself.
    cou·ple
    /ˈkəpəl/
    noun
    1. 1.
      two individuals of the same sort considered together.
      "a couple of girls were playing marbles"
      Similar:
      pair
      duo
      duology
      twosome
      set of two
      match
      doublets
      twins
      brace
      span
      yoke
      two
      two of a kind
      duplet
      dyad
      duad
      doubleton
      twain
    2. 2.
      two people who are married, engaged, or otherwise closely associated romantically or sexually.
      Similar:
      husband and wife
      twosome
      newlyweds
      partners
      lovers
      cohabitees


    So, I get where you're coming from, but couple actually doesn't mean "indefinite small number". Some people use it that way, and I get that, but that's not what it means. Probably just part of being a southerner, but we really differentiate hard on "couple" vs "several" vs "a li'l" vs "a few". Except when I've been traveling to other regions of the US, I've only ever heard couple mean "two, precisely".
    The defintion shifts between dictionaries. Some including the indefinite period as an informal use. 

    The problem with language is it is fluid. Meaning is not derived from the word alone, but the context surrounding it. It is interpretive, not concrete. 

    Saying 'Morning' to the receptionist as you walk into work would have a totally different meaning than parent saying it to a teenager as they staggering into the house drunk in the middle of the night. A boss saying it was to a late employee could be interpreted as passive aggressive aggressive. Changing the context, you could change the meaning behind that word in hundreds of ways. But the dictionary definition would never change.

    Dictionaries basically suck, as they don't reflect everyday language use. They are more to help you figure out the meaning, given the context rather than provide a concrete interpretation. 
    Right and I've already -also- explained that, aside from the strict definition of couple meaning "2", the way it is used locally is also exclusively "2", and therefore I couldn't have had a way to know that he could've meant anything other than "2". If I start using slang that is more regionally relevant on an internet board I can't expect it to click necessarily 
    Okay. But it's not a noun. It's an adjective being used as a quanitifer.

    From:-https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/couple
    Couple 
     
    1. quantifier

    If you refer to a couple of people or things, you mean two or approximately two of them, although the exact number is not important or you are not sure of it.

    Across the street from me there are a couple of police officers standing guard. [+ of]

    I think the trouble will clear up in a couple of days. [+ of]

    ...a small town a couple of hundred miles from New York City. [+ of]

    Couple is also a determiner in spoken American English, and before 'more' and 'less'.

    ...a couple weeks before the election.

    I think I can play maybe for a couple more years.

    https://www.dictionary.com/browse/couple

    USAGE NOTE FOR COUPLE
    The phrase a couple of, meaning “a small number of; a few; several,” has been in standard use for centuries, especially with measurements of time and distance and in referring to amounts of money: They walked a couple of miles in silence. Repairs will probably cost a couple of hundred dollars. The phrase is used in all but the most formal speech and writing. The shortened phrase a couple, without of ( The gas station is a couple miles from here ), is an Americanism of recent development that occurs chiefly in informal speech or representations of speech, especially when followed by number terms (as a couple dozen eggs ) or units of measurement (as a couple years ago; a couple gallons of gas ). This use of couple (as an adjective or modifier) is still disliked by many. Without a following noun, a couple is even more informal: Jack shouldn't drive. It's clear he's had a couple. (Here the noun drinks is omitted.)

    So there is a shift in meaning, as it is not the noun... 
    I'm not arguing that it's pretty semantical, what I'm arguing is that it's not a fault to not know the improper / slang uses of a word being used a different way outside of your region. I'm not mad at you guys for knowing that "couple" is used to mean "few" in your region. I'm just saying I couldn't be expected to be aware of that.
    But it is not improper or slang. It's just not a noun. 
  • bluewolf
    bluewolf Posts: 5,821 Chairperson of the Boards
    I noted today that the comment from Ice was "the next couple weeks" while the initial announcement says:

    "We're excited to provide you more info in the coming weeks, but wanted to provide you with a little teaser today!"

    So maybe there was a small slip on Ice's part when he posted his comment.

    "Coming weeks" is much more open ended and says to me more than 2...probably at least 3-4, and easily more than that.

    Alright, you may resume debating the meaning of the word "couple".
  • pheregas
    pheregas Posts: 1,721 Chairperson of the Boards
    It seems you can define couple a couple different ways.
  • Aldaen
    Aldaen Posts: 24 Just Dropped In
    edited November 2019
    A point I made earlier is that it doesn't matter what YOUR personal definition of couple is.  This isn't a grammar competition.  It is a company making a public statement to its customers.  The point is that "couple" means "2" to a lot of people.  If I were a PR person trying to set expectations for my customers, I would be more careful about my word choices so I don't set bad expectations and turn a positive message into a negative one. If we don't get some info today, then this was a bad job of setting expectations.
  • Godzillafan67
    Godzillafan67 Posts: 598 Critical Contributor
    "Couple"?  We need to switch to analyzing "next" when used to modify a passage of time.
  • ThaRoadWarrior
    ThaRoadWarrior Posts: 9,455 Chairperson of the Boards
    pop quiz: Today is (hypothetically monday). I tell you something is coming "next friday." Do i mean the very next friday, that same week, or do I mean the friday that's part of the "next" week after the one we're currently in? Discuss.
  • HoundofShadow
    HoundofShadow Posts: 8,004 Chairperson of the Boards
    Just get over it. It smells like "neutral", "expert players", "soon" debates. Time to stop nitpicking what the devs posted here. It's no wonder they rather post in discord than in here. We have so many lawyers and Investigating Officers in here treating them like criminals and waiting to lay charges on them. 
  • Godzillafan67
    Godzillafan67 Posts: 598 Critical Contributor
    ThaRoadWarrior said:
    pop quiz: Today is (hypothetically monday). I tell you something is coming "next friday." Do i mean the very next friday, that same week, or do I mean the friday that's part of the "next" week after the one we're currently in? Discuss.


    The Friday of the current week is "this" Friday, so "next Friday" is 11 days away, or a fortnight less a triplet of days.  If it were Wednesday and you said "next Monday", then it's the Monday that's only 5 days away.  At least that's how people around me seem to use it.

    There seems to be less consensus for the situation where someone is actively navigating you and their use of "take this/the next exit".

  • JDFiend
    JDFiend Posts: 37 Just Dropped In
    RickOShay said:
    Anyone engaging in this ridiculous debate owes me for the wasted 10 minutes spent reading the last couple of pages. 

    I'll send you my hourly rate and it can be split among the few of you. 


    Now please may we all just agree that the Targeting system is coming in a few to several weeks, and wait patiently for any further updates? 
     
    Obviously the sooner the better.

    No more debating about one specific word please, this stuff potentially drives away players who would otherwise be excited to engage in worthy forum discussions.
    Sorry. Linguist, so do find debates like this really fun and fascinating. It's interesting stuff, could literally write papers on it. 

    Didn't mean to bore anyone. 
  • Daredevil217
    Daredevil217 Posts: 3,966 Chairperson of the Boards
    Godzillafan67 said:
    "Couple"?  We need to switch to analyzing "next" when used to modify a passage of time.
    Agreed. If I say “next Saturday”, does that mean tomorrow, or 8 days from now?

    Does “next couple of weeks” mean 2 weeks, or the two weeks following 2 weeks?

    🤔
  • pheregas
    pheregas Posts: 1,721 Chairperson of the Boards
    DarthDeVo said:
    ThaRoadWarrior said:
    pop quiz: Today is (hypothetically monday). I tell you something is coming "next friday." Do i mean the very next friday, that same week, or do I mean the friday that's part of the "next" week after the one we're currently in? Discuss.
    It's Friday, Next Friday, and Friday After Next. Everyone knows this. And since it's a Friday we're talking about (no matter which one), odds are that It Was A Good Day.
    Apparently the "next" indication also has a region-based modifier.  In the midwest, next Friday could be in a few days if it's a Tuesday.  Not necessary the Friday after the upcoming one like most other places.

    If @IceIXwants to pop on and tell me to keep my posts on topic and give us an update, that's cool.
  • DarthDeVo
    DarthDeVo Posts: 2,178 Chairperson of the Boards
    pheregas said:
    DarthDeVo said:
    ThaRoadWarrior said:
    pop quiz: Today is (hypothetically monday). I tell you something is coming "next friday." Do i mean the very next friday, that same week, or do I mean the friday that's part of the "next" week after the one we're currently in? Discuss.
    It's Friday, Next Friday, and Friday After Next. Everyone knows this. And since it's a Friday we're talking about (no matter which one), odds are that It Was A Good Day.
    Apparently the "next" indication also has a region-based modifier.  In the midwest, next Friday could be in a few days if it's a Tuesday.  Not necessary the Friday after the upcoming one like most other places.

    If @IceIXwants to pop on and tell me to keep my posts on topic and give us an update, that's cool.

    Ooooooh, sounds like we're going on a road trip. Straight Outta Compton to the Midwest. Are We There Yet?

    Totally unrelated note, does anyone know if @IceIX is related to Ice Cube? 

    (I'll shut up now, just trying to inject a little levity into a thread that's gone off the rails like a crazy train...)


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