“I just chose words carefully”

Post by internet_points » Mon, Aug 31, 2026, 8:06 AM UTC

AgentOrange1234 wrote: post #109

In programming certain word choices are valuable in this way. It's sad that pairs like true/false, good/bad, first/rest, and left/right are unequal length. But there are nice pairs like old/new, head/tail, fast/slow, same/diff, and right/wrong, which can help with create natural vertical alignment throughout a function.

    min
    max

    row
    col

    beg (vs start)
    end

    key
    val

    src
    dst

    pos
    len

    public_key
    secret_key (vs private)

    from
    till

    push
    pull

    load
    save

    init
    done

    inner
    outer

    ja    yes
    no    nei

Post by edanm » Mon, Aug 31, 2026, 8:09 AM UTC

AgentOrange1234 wrote: post #109

In programming certain word choices are valuable in this way. It's sad that pairs like true/false, good/bad, first/rest, and left/right are unequal length. But there are nice pairs like old/new, head/tail, fast/slow, same/diff, and right/wrong, which can help with create natural vertical alignment throughout a function.

Post by tonyedgecombe » Mon, Aug 31, 2026, 8:13 AM UTC

wombatpm wrote: post #110

rectang wrote: post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Forming every paragraph of dialog into perfect rectangles is way more extreme than just avoiding "widows". The usual term for this is "full justification" and typographically when it's done it's typically through word spacing and letter spacing. Full justification in monospace through word choice (which is what the Ares Luna article is about) is bonkers, but I can't see that happening for TV dialog. I've sometimes he…

Widows are when the final line of a paragraph starts the next page. Orphans are when the first line of a paragraph ends a page.

Post by delis-thumbs-7e » Mon, Aug 31, 2026, 8:14 AM UTC

fasterik wrote: post #56

sho_hn wrote: post #2

There's a similar anecdote Gillian Anderson recently revealed during an interview on the X-Files , saying Chris Carter had an OCD-like habit to write dialog to conform to certain text layout preferences (no widows[1]) in the script, which made for the show's distinctive style of dialog cadence. 1 = https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Widows_and_orphans

I'm also reminded of how David Milch supposedly wrote a lot of Deadwood in iambic pentameter. I only learned about this after seeing the show, but I did pick up the "Shakespearean" feel of some of the dialogue. Constraints often force creativity.

  ELLSWORTH (CONT'D)
  I tell you what -- I may have fucked
  ~~ life up flatter"n hammered shit,
  but I stand before you today
  beholden to no human cocksucker
  and working a paying fucking gold
  claim -- and not the U.S. Government
  saying I'm trespassing or the savage
  fucking Red Man himself or any of
  these other limber-dick cocksuckers
  passing themselves off as
  prospectors had better try to stop
  me.

Post by lloeki » Mon, Aug 31, 2026, 8:19 AM UTC

rmunn wrote: post #76

eru wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Should be missels then?

Let's settle the argument by all agreeing on mussels instead, and enjoy a nice seafood dish with garlic and a white wine sauce. Delicious.