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"Login" is not a verb

loginisnotaverb.com

21–30 of 67 posts

Re: "Login" is not a verb

#21

I'm beginning to think that linguistic prescriptivism is going to have a hard time holding up against the crazy mixing bowl that is the Internet and, to a wider extent, globalization. It's fun to play grammar nazi and all, but I've started to resign to the fact that people are simply going to do what they're going to do. Look at the state of English only a couple centuries ago. Language evolves quickly. Who's to say…

> "Google" and "email" did

"Google" and "email" don't contain prepositions.

I log in. You log in. We all logged in.

I login. You login. We all logined. What? We all loggedined? We all loggedin?

If we just acknowledge that "login" is a noun referring to your credentials, where as "log in" (or "log on") means to supply one's login/credentials, then it's all hunky-dory.

Re: "Login" is not a verb

#22

TL;dr - People "log in" to your site using your "login" page. You use your "login" details to "log in."

Technically, I don't think "log in" is a compound verb. It's a verb followed by a preposition.

Interesting. While what you say has "logical" written all over it (given variants like "logged out" where "logged" is clearly the verb), "log" as the verb for this activity doesn't feel right to me. I will, however, update my previous post :-)

Re: "Login" is not a verb

#23

I'm beginning to think that linguistic prescriptivism is going to have a hard time holding up against the crazy mixing bowl that is the Internet and, to a wider extent, globalization. It's fun to play grammar nazi and all, but I've started to resign to the fact that people are simply going to do what they're going to do. Look at the state of English only a couple centuries ago. Language evolves quickly. Who's to say…

> "Google" and "email" did "Google" and "email" don't contain prepositions. I log in. You log in. We all logged in. I login. You login. We all logined. What? We all loggedined? We all loggedin? If we just acknowledge that "login" is a noun referring to your credentials, where as "log in" (or "log on") means to supply one's login/credentials, then it's all hunky-dory.

Logdin, or perhaps, logdone.

Re: "Login" is not a verb

#24

Not worth getting upset about. Personally, I'm more concerned that we're going to lose the word "lose". Everywhere I look, I see people sticking an extra o in there. "You loose" etc.

I suggest a new, combined form: looose. The meaning will be drawn from context. I anticipate efficiency improvements world-wide.

The English language doesn't have a word with three or more repetitions of a letter. "LOOOL" and "mmmmmmuah" excepted.

Re: "Login" is not a verb

#25

    "First they came for the verbs, and I said nothing
    because verbing weirds language. Then they arrival
    for the nouns, and I speech nothing because I no
    verbs."
                 -- Peter Ellis.
And from the wonderful Calvin and Hobbes:

    Calvin: I like to verb words.
    Hobbes: What?
    Calvin: I take nouns and adjectives and use them
            as verbs. Remember when "access" was a thing?
            Now, it's something you do. It got verbed.
            Verbing weirds language.
    Hobbes: Maybe we can eventually make language a
            complete impediment to understanding.

Re: "Login" is not a verb

#27
No other verb in the American language behaves that way. Even in the arcane, deprecated predecessor of American (English), no verb behaves that way.

Wait, what? American language? Deprecated predecessor? Somebody really seems to hate the English people. The name of the language is still English. American English. Just as the language they speak in Australia is Australian English. See here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_language#Countries_in_o...

Re: "Login" is not a verb

#28
Language mutates, often in unfortunate ways. "Login" is not actually a verb if you follow the "rules" of English. You log in. "Log" is the verb. As much as it bugs me, though, I've learned to accept misuses becoming the norm; this is hardly the first time a word has evolved from butchery. There used to be a billboard in SF on which a gym advertised that you could "workout in your pajamas!" I've learned to grimace inwardly about that, "alot", "alright", and other "violations". Because -- as in the case of "alright", we already have ... "already".

Re: "Login" is not a verb

#30
post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I suggest a new, combined form: looose. The meaning will be drawn from context. I anticipate efficiency improvements world-wide.

The English language doesn't have a word with three or more repetitions of a letter. "LOOOL" and "mmmmmmuah" excepted.

orly? http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/viii
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