Random underlining and highlighting of words...?

[Guest]

What is it? How does it happen? Why those words?

and how can I switch it off?

[eFestivals]

it's something within your web browser.

Try pressing ctrl-F5 to force a full refresh.

If that doesn't work then it's something within the settings from your browser's menus.

[The Nal]

What are you smoking today Tone? And can you tell me where you got it? Seems like its good strong stuff.

Edited July 20, 2012 by The Nal

[The Nal]

it's only me..?

[eFestivals]

I tried ctrl-F5, which stopped me being able to do anything.

then I'm starting to assume that the problem is user error.

I had to re-start my PC

the highlighting of random words are still happening

it's your browser settings then.

[eFestivals]

oh, and when I want to quote to reply, it automatically doubles up the original quote...

?

how do you mean?

[jump]

It's one of those things where a word is highlighted and you put the cursor over it and a block comes up telling what it is with a link?

[AcademicPistol]

I used to get that (the link thing) is your browser the lastest version?

[windy_miller]

I imagine you have some horrible malware installed in your browser. What browser are you using?

[russycarps]

It's WHEN other peoples posts start looking funny you need to worry

[The Nal]

Heres a funny post

[worm]

The word you're looking for is arbitrary, not random.

[kaosmark2]

Because there will be a system to it. Random implies no system, but the words will be selected somehow following some rules or system.

[worm]

Incorrect.

Random accords to a given sum. For instance, you may have 70 songs from which a blind selection can be considered random. However, arbitrary has no given sum. It's an occurance that has no logical basis.

[windy_miller]

Click on the spanner in the top right corner, then Settings. Then select Extensions from the left hand side. What extensions do you have installed?

Edited July 21, 2012 by windy_miller

[windy_miller]

Incorrect.

Random accords to a given sum. For instance, you may have 70 songs from which a blind selection can be considered random. However, arbitrary has no given sum. It's an occurance that has no logical basis.

[worm]

Language has moved on and left you behind.

[windy_miller]

No, people are just using the wrong word. Regardless of how people use the word 'random', it still refers to arbitrary, is understood as arbitrary and always will.

Common misuse will never leave language behind.

[eFestivals]

Whatever is happening with tony, it is certainly not arbitrary. What is happening is happening for a reason, and not no reason.

Random is definitely the more correct word (not necessarily 'actually correct') for use here.

What is happening is happening - as far as tony is concerned - without having a specific pattern, purpose, or objective (which is 'random'), while at the same time he's not suggested that what is happening is happening for no reason (which it would need to be to be 'arbitrary').

As ever, Worm does a great job of making his claims of being 'a language expert' rather smelly.

Edited July 21, 2012 by eFestivals

[Paul ™]

Trash them mate

[AcademicPistol]

Random is definitely the more correct word (not necessarily 'actually correct') for use here.

[worm]

Yes people use it wrongly, but then it takes on a new meaning.

[worm]

What is happening is happening - as far as tony is concerned - without having a specific pattern, purpose, or objective (which is 'random')

[Ed209]

Tony's right. Worm's talking crap. Random is absolutely fine, arbitrary is fine as well, but I agree with Neil, random is more correct.

Random is the lack of predictability. It's subjective. There might be some process controlling it which if we knew would make it non-random, but we don't know what it is, we can't predict it, and therefore it's random.

What's happening to Tony is random to him.

Its like a coin, We think that tossing a coin is random, and to us it is, but there is a completely non-random well defined physical process going on. if we knew all the equations of motion and all the initial conditions when we tossed the coin in theory we would be able to predict its final landing position. But we can't, so its random.

Arbitrary would imply that on top of the randomness there is no system either, which is probably less likely to be true.

Anyway, we all know what he meant, and that's the purpose of language.

Edited July 23, 2012 by Ed209

[eFestivals]

Tony's right. Worm's talking crap. Random is absolutely fine, arbitrary is fine as well, but I agree with Neil, random is more correct.

For tony's use here, arbitrary cannot be correct.

Arbitrary requires there to be no reason to what is happening. But Tony started this thread to try and find out what the reason for it happening was. Look....

What is it? How does it happen? Why those words?

and how can I switch it off?

The fact of him understanding that there was a reason behind what was happening gets to show that arbitrary cannot ever be correct for what tony said.

Anyway, we all know what he meant, and that's the purpose of language.

Absolutely. The only meaningful rule of language is that two people are able to communicate in the intended way.

All the rest is made up bollocks, made up as 'rules' after the event (which by itself proves they're not 'rules'), and in every case there's exceptions which gets to prove the meaningless of those 'rules'.

Edited July 23, 2012 by eFestivals