User talk:Dathor

Promoted! --Lotroadmin (talk) 02:29, 15 April 2014 (UTC)

Boni/Bonuses

Hi there! Thanks for all your work on polishing off the oft-unwieldly prose on the Legendary Items page. I'm wondering about the "bonuses/boni" change, though - the latter seems to be (from my quick Google research) a far less common form of the plural and is one I've never before seen or heard (I live in the northeastern US). Is "boni" more common in some circles or disciplines? While both may be correct, I'd say we should lean towards the more recognizable form (if such a consensus could be made) even if it might sound a little less elegant (bow-nuh-sez, anyone?). Sethladan 13:25, 23 January 2014 (UTC)

Hi Sethlaldan :) I am not from the US (from Germany), so surely I do not know enough about was is common there. In german game forums the latin form "boni" is more common (and I personally like it because it is the original form), and if I remember correctly, in the LI-Article were used both forms, so I wanted to unify. But feel free to change back to "bonuses", if you think this is appropriate. - Another thing: I created a stub in the former missing article Quest:Torso_of_Helgi_Goblinbane, because I am not familiar yet with the tools of this wiki. Perhaps you can find someone who can complete the article? - To finish let me say that this is the best game-wiki I ever saw, every time I check it I am impressed by the overwhelming amount of collected data, the elaborate structure and the nice design. Very well done. --Dathor (talk) 07:55, 24 January 2014 (UTC)

Thanks for the response and all the kind words. A lot of people put a lot of effort into this site, including you. :) No problem at all about Quest:Torso of Helgi Goblinbane - there's still a lot of missing data since the Moria revamp and I agree with you that a little bit of information is better than a red link. Regarding "boni," it doesn't bother me enough to go and change it right now, and if the article already used both then I support your effort to keep it consistent (and now I have learned another German word!). Your English edits all seemed so well-done that I wasn't sure if you were a native speaker or scholar or something. I look forward to more of your excellent work! Sethladan 14:33, 24 January 2014 (UTC)

Etymology is so much fun :)!

In "English" (both American and UK versions) "Bonus" is an "English word," DERIVED from the Latin Bonus!

One reason being, especially in American English -- 99% of the population can't even spell "Latin," let alone has any idea what it means -- including those with a Catholic School Education, where Latin used to be taught as part of the standard curriculum up through Grade 12! (It is no longer part of the curriculum, at least in Philadelphia Parochial Schools).

All that said, keep in mind the "definition" of Dictionary -- I don't recall if this comes from the introduction to Webster or the OED, but simply, "A dictionary is a chronicler of usage, not an arbitrator." This is why you find so many "slang" words and phrases in the Dictionary.

So, what does this mean? --- "everything is relative" -- since "Bonus" is an "English word," the "correct" plural for use on the Wiki is "bonuses" rather than the Latin "boni." This is convention as much as anything, much as we use Tolkien's spellings (i.e. UK English) for words like "Defence" rather than "Defense," "Programmer" rather than "Programer," etc.

Wm Magill - Valamar - OTG/OTC - talk 15:19, 24 January 2014 (UTC)

So while on the subject of Languages. Keep an eye on the thread: User_talk:Lotroadmin#Other_languages_.40Lotro-wiki.3F and several following threads. I don't know if you know Suse (aka ZuMe on the LOTRO forums). She and I are both on the Players council, so I keep in touch with her there.

Wm Magill - Valamar - OTG/OTC - talk 15:19, 24 January 2014 (UTC)

Hi, you two. @Sethladan: sure, Goblinbane is better. Native speaker? Wow :) But as a social scientist you have to understand some English to read the interesting articles. E.g. about world history, where the US are at least 20 years ahead of german scholars (*sigh*). And the game-forums help a bit, too ;) And I remember vivid tactical discussions with an US buddy in the then thrilling game UltraCorps. @Magill: as said before, feel free to change back :) Like Sethladan, I do not bother enough about it. Not when Moria is waiting :) :) :) --Dathor (talk) 23:41, 27 January 2014 (UTC)

I've met a lot of non-native English speakers who learned and improved significantly through gaming, so you are not alone! (And it shows the cross-cultural and educational value of games and networks!) What you say about US scholarship on world history is interesting - I would have expected Europeans to be more engaged in that study since more history happens (happened) on your side. Also, I just took a diplomacy course last term in which the professor was German-born and Cambridge-trained and seemed to know just about everything off the top of his head. :) Sethladan 00:35, 28 January 2014 (UTC)

Yes, games and globalization, interesting issue. Ah, and Ultracorps is still online: https://ultracorps.sjgames.com/ As for World History, take a look here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_history One of the most fascinating research areas. Finally global patterns of history, transcending these unbearable national histories that cut off a lot of the most important cause-and-effect-relations. The answer of historicians to globalization, I guess. Important work, mostly from US scholars. Praise them! :) But there is still a lot more to do. --Dathor (talk) 01:46, 28 January 2014 (UTC)