4 ms·

> 'fesses up Can we have proper English at least in the HN submission titles? I know that this is a direct quotation of the original, but "confesses" is much c

> 'fesses up Can we have proper English at least in the HN submission titles? I know that this is a direct quotation of the original, but "confesses" is much clearer and more readable than the original slang term.

TheChaplain 7y ago
Agreed. I am non-native English speaker and first I thought it something about Twitter had messed up..
- simonswords82 7y ago
  It is something that Twitter has messed up (edit: Again). They shared data that they should not have.
JustSomeNobody 7y ago
Can we just not post anything from TechCrunch? Their website is horribly anti-user.
- giancarlostoro 7y ago
  Heh on my HN client for Android (Material) I never could open TechCrunch articles with the built-in browser. I gave up on using the built-in browser as a result. I wouldnt outright ban TechCrunch but I agree it can be entirelt unusable. Sidenote: Wondering if anybody outside of Google offers an embedded browser component for Android like Mozilla and co. They might be able to provide a better experience.
  - t0astbread 7y ago
    Mozilla has GeckoView[1]. They also distribute a set of helper components for building browser-like applications on Android called Mozilla Android Components[2]. [1] https://mozilla.github.io/geckoview https://mozilla.github.io/geckoview [2] https://mozac.org https://mozac.org Aside from that I'm also using this client on my phone, and I stopped using the built-in browser as well. I've configured the app to use my native browser which means I now get all the benefits from that when reading articles in Material (like having uMatrix on).
  - deleted 7y ago
    [deleted]
  - Semaphor 7y ago
    RE: Sidenote I think the FF preview works as webview?
- joosters 7y ago
  Techcrunch pages seem to have the highest number of adware/spyware scripts and links attached to them. I'd be amazed if the site hasn't also got a huge number of GDPR breaches in its workings.
  - wastedhours 7y ago
    Oath does have that truly awful preferences dialogue that pops up on first visit. It's frankly enough to make me navigate away most times.
  - userbinator 7y ago
    The linked page displays surprisingly well when visited with JS off, although it's ~10KB of article text embedded in 365KB of other (inline) crap. There's not even a nag to goad you into turning JS on.
jasode 7y ago
>Can we have proper English [...] , but "confesses" is much clearer and more readable than the original slang term. I can't speak for non-native English readers' difficulties but as an fyi... "confess" is not an exact replacement for "fess up" because both have different connotations. Therefore, if the (USA) writer is deliberately using connotations to shade the text, then the more informal "fesses up" is also proper English. E.g. respectable publications such as The New York Times have had writers and editors using the the phrase "fess up" for decades: https://www.google.com/search?q="fesses+up"+site%3Anytimes.com https://www.google.com/search?q="fesses+up"+site%3Anytimes.c...
- dub 7y ago
  Both "confesses" and "fesses up" seem like improper English here. The article does not provide any evidence to suggest that Twitter was reluctant about sharing this information or lied about it previously. "Disclosed" seems like a more sensible and less sensationalist word to describe an entity sharing new information. The writer knows this: "Twitter has disclosed" are the first words of the article. Twitter also apologized, said they're taking steps to avoid making this mistake again, and provided a way to contact their Office of Data Protection for questions. That part didn't make it into the headline, though.
- GordonS 7y ago
  Agreed, but "proper" English could still be used; "admits" works as an alternative to "''fesses up"
tempguy9999 7y ago
Monolingual Brit here with very good English. I'm happy for others to alter, amend, extend and evolve this language. I am less interested in the finer points of grammar or vocabulary than people use it properly; to put across a statement that is relevant, precise, concise and in all other ways, well-expressed. IOW I'm OK with this.

TheChaplain 7y ago

Agreed. I am non-native English speaker and first I thought it something about Twitter had messed up..

simonswords82 7y ago
It is something that Twitter has messed up (edit: Again). They shared data that they should not have.

JustSomeNobody 7y ago

Can we just not post anything from TechCrunch? Their website is horribly anti-user.

giancarlostoro 7y ago
Heh on my HN client for Android (Material) I never could open TechCrunch articles with the built-in browser. I gave up on using the built-in browser as a result. I wouldnt outright ban TechCrunch but I agree it can be entirelt unusable. Sidenote: Wondering if anybody outside of Google offers an embedded browser component for Android like Mozilla and co. They might be able to provide a better experience.
- t0astbread 7y ago
  Mozilla has GeckoView[1]. They also distribute a set of helper components for building browser-like applications on Android called Mozilla Android Components[2]. [1] https://mozilla.github.io/geckoview https://mozilla.github.io/geckoview [2] https://mozac.org https://mozac.org Aside from that I'm also using this client on my phone, and I stopped using the built-in browser as well. I've configured the app to use my native browser which means I now get all the benefits from that when reading articles in Material (like having uMatrix on).
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
- Semaphor 7y ago
  RE: Sidenote I think the FF preview works as webview?
joosters 7y ago
Techcrunch pages seem to have the highest number of adware/spyware scripts and links attached to them. I'd be amazed if the site hasn't also got a huge number of GDPR breaches in its workings.
- wastedhours 7y ago
  Oath does have that truly awful preferences dialogue that pops up on first visit. It's frankly enough to make me navigate away most times.
- userbinator 7y ago
  The linked page displays surprisingly well when visited with JS off, although it's ~10KB of article text embedded in 365KB of other (inline) crap. There's not even a nag to goad you into turning JS on.

jasode 7y ago

>Can we have proper English [...] , but "confesses" is much clearer and more readable than the original slang term. I can't speak for non-native English readers' difficulties but as an fyi... "confess" is not an exact replacement for "fess up" because both have different connotations. Therefore, if the (USA) writer is deliberately using connotations to shade the text, then the more informal "fesses up" is also proper English. E.g. respectable publications such as The New York Times have had writers and editors using the the phrase "fess up" for decades: https://www.google.com/search?q="fesses+up"+site%3Anytimes.com https://www.google.com/search?q="fesses+up"+site%3Anytimes.c...

dub 7y ago
Both "confesses" and "fesses up" seem like improper English here. The article does not provide any evidence to suggest that Twitter was reluctant about sharing this information or lied about it previously. "Disclosed" seems like a more sensible and less sensationalist word to describe an entity sharing new information. The writer knows this: "Twitter has disclosed" are the first words of the article. Twitter also apologized, said they're taking steps to avoid making this mistake again, and provided a way to contact their Office of Data Protection for questions. That part didn't make it into the headline, though.
GordonS 7y ago
Agreed, but "proper" English could still be used; "admits" works as an alternative to "''fesses up"

tempguy9999 7y ago

Monolingual Brit here with very good English. I'm happy for others to alter, amend, extend and evolve this language. I am less interested in the finer points of grammar or vocabulary than people use it properly; to put across a statement that is relevant, precise, concise and in all other ways, well-expressed. IOW I'm OK with this.