4 ms·

Putting "not" to negate a negative isn't always a great idea. "Not Depressing" still has the word depressing, versus "uplifting",pleasant or even hopeful these

• friendly_chap 8y ago
  Very obviously the domain availability is a big problem with that.
• OskarS 8y ago
  It's a perfectly valid rhetorical device. It's called "litotes", and it often conveys a distinct meaning compared to "collapsing" the negatives into a single positive. It's been used liberally by figures such as Homer, Jonathan Swift, Robert Frost, Fredrick Douglass and Shakespeare (as well as pretty much every great writer throughout history). For instance, saying "it's not without issues" usually means something different from "it has issues". In the former case, you probably intending a meaning something similar to "it's has issues, but none of them are serious", while the latter conveys just what it says. The exact thing your trying to communicate obviously varies with context, but it is generally distinct from the "collapsed case" In this particular case, "Not depressing news" puts an emphasis on the fact that most news is depressing, and that this site is different. "Uplifting news" does not communicate that as effectively. Now, it's true that George Orwell complained about a similar construction in Politics and the English Language, but that book is full of terrible ideas about language, and you're doing yourself a disservice if you take any of his advice too seriously.
  • quietbritishjim 8y ago
    > For instance, saying "it's not without issues" usually means something different from "it has issues". Interesting that you go on to say that "it's not without issues" is milder than "it has issues". To me it's the opposite, like a short form of "Is it without issues? No way!" I guess it depends on context and, particularly, how much sarcasm can be detected in the tone of voice (if said out loud). > In this particular case, "Not depressing news" puts an emphasis on the fact that most news is depressing, and that this site is different. "Uplifting news" does not communicate that as effectively. In any case, I agree with this simple explanation.
    • vanderZwan 8y ago
      Your username implies that you're from the UK. Isn't this a well-known cultural difference between British and... just about any other culture? I know we Dutch people get caught by that quite often. (Funny enough, in the Groningen region the expression "kon minder" ("could be worse") is often used as high praise. Whatever it applies to is implied to be fantastic, almost perfect, in a "but don't get cocky about it" kind of way)
      • quietbritishjim 8y ago
        You're right. Actually, I remember a story [1] of a British army commander asking his American superior (on a UN mission) for help by saying "Things are a bit sticky, sir". Unfortunately this was taken to mean that everything was fine, so no reinforcements were sent. I understand that the Dutch are very much at the other end of the spectrum - very direct and straightforward. [1] https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2001/apr/14/johnezard https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2001/apr/14/johnezard
        • vanderZwan 8y ago
          Honestly, after living abroad for five years in total (with one year back in the Netherlands inbetween), that "direct and straightforward" part feels like it has been co-opted as an excuse to not bother with looking at things from the point of view of someone else and reaching out.
      • palunon 8y ago
        > Isn't this a well-known cultural difference between British and... just about any other culture? At least in French, litotes are meant to amplify the negative. The classical example being in Le Cid, "Go, I don't hate you" from Chimène to Rodrigue (who just killed her father), meaning "I love you". Other example can be found, "Not OK" meaning totally unacceptable, "Not bad" meaning excellent, or "Not stupid" meaning very clever. Of course, all litotes can be interpreted literally, and you often need context or tone to convey the meaning
    • OskarS 8y ago
  • animal531 8y ago
    You're not wrong, but I think the OP was rather looking at the psychology of the words, rather than their implication.
• gyvastis 8y ago
  Why do you care about the name? You'd go to that kind of place for the content not because of the title anyway.
  • thecatspaw 8y ago
    because first impressions count
  • mousadafousa 8y ago
    Lol exactly what I was thinking
  • afarrell 8y ago
    ramigb probably spends a not-insignificant amount of time trying to determine what functions and variables do based on what others have named them. This leads to thinking that names are important.
• SkyMarshal 8y ago
  It’s kind of annoying that this is the top comment. “Not + [Negative Term]” has a distinctly different logical meaning than “[Positve Term]”. It means “everything except [Negative Term], while [Positive Term] means [Only Positive Term] unless otherwise qualified. The default hypothesis should be that OP deliberately intended the more inclusive “Not + [Negative]”, not that that this was an accidental misnomer.
  • aisofteng 8y ago
    Natural language is not well described at all with analogies to first order logic. Centuries of thought on the philosophy of language have well established this.
• maw 8y ago
  Nobody shouldn't not undisable the non-undepressing news inhibition disengagement mechanism neither.