4 ms·

I know meta comments are frowned upon here, but why is the “or:” in headlines (borrowed from Dr. Strangelove I presume) so popular among programmers? I see it

I know meta comments are frowned upon here, but why is the “or:” in headlines (borrowed from Dr. Strangelove I presume) so popular among programmers? I see it done again at least once a week. Is it just because the movie is popular among programmers, or is there something more to it?

toast0 8y ago
Rocky and Bullwinkle did the X or Y style thing years before Dr. Strangelove. Everybody loves moose and squirrel?
chrismorgan 8y ago
This form of subtitle spans back a long way. I don’t know just how far, but I do know that twelve of the fourteen major works by Gilbert & Sullivan had such form, beginning with “Thespis; or, The Gods Grown Old” in 1871. Many of us have a fondness for comparatively old-fashioned approaches to various things; double titles like that are one such example, using em dashes despite space-separated en dashes being more popular is another (though that one varies by locale), and writing “&c.” for “et cetera” is another (there’s lots of fun history around the ampersand ligature).
- Sharlin 8y ago
  Yep, Strangelove simply utilized the existing trope, just like this article.
- irishsultan 8y ago
  Also for example "Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus" by Mary Shelley, which was published in 1818. But actually it goes back even further, at least to the 17th century, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twelfth_Night#/media/File:Twelfth_Night_F1.jpg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twelfth_Night#/media/File:Twel...
- ralfjung 8y ago
  > using em dashes despite space-separated en dashes being more popular is another (though that one varies by locale) Okay so I was told in my English writing class that in US English one uses the longer em dashes without spaces. But I just can't get over how they look, and in German we use en dashes with spaces (AFAIK), so I usually do that when writing English except if it is a paper where my advisor will complain if I do. ;)
panic 8y ago
Probably for the same reason you're referencing the famous quote, "Dr. Livingstone, I presume" -- it's natural to imitate other text in various ways when you're writing.
ralfjung 8y ago
TBH I just wanted to mention both of these things in the title so I stuffed them both in.^^ (I'm also not a native speaker so I kind of borrow what I see. And Dr. Strangelove was probably where I was this kind of title for the first time.)

toast0 8y ago

Rocky and Bullwinkle did the X or Y style thing years before Dr. Strangelove. Everybody loves moose and squirrel?

chrismorgan 8y ago

This form of subtitle spans back a long way. I don’t know just how far, but I do know that twelve of the fourteen major works by Gilbert & Sullivan had such form, beginning with “Thespis; or, The Gods Grown Old” in 1871. Many of us have a fondness for comparatively old-fashioned approaches to various things; double titles like that are one such example, using em dashes despite space-separated en dashes being more popular is another (though that one varies by locale), and writing “&c.” for “et cetera” is another (there’s lots of fun history around the ampersand ligature).

Sharlin 8y ago
Yep, Strangelove simply utilized the existing trope, just like this article.
irishsultan 8y ago
Also for example "Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus" by Mary Shelley, which was published in 1818. But actually it goes back even further, at least to the 17th century, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twelfth_Night#/media/File:Twelfth_Night_F1.jpg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twelfth_Night#/media/File:Twel...
ralfjung 8y ago
> using em dashes despite space-separated en dashes being more popular is another (though that one varies by locale) Okay so I was told in my English writing class that in US English one uses the longer em dashes without spaces. But I just can't get over how they look, and in German we use en dashes with spaces (AFAIK), so I usually do that when writing English except if it is a paper where my advisor will complain if I do. ;)

panic 8y ago

Probably for the same reason you're referencing the famous quote, "Dr. Livingstone, I presume" -- it's natural to imitate other text in various ways when you're writing.

ralfjung 8y ago

TBH I just wanted to mention both of these things in the title so I stuffed them both in.^^ (I'm also not a native speaker so I kind of borrow what I see. And Dr. Strangelove was probably where I was this kind of title for the first time.)