Grammar, Was: PLUG Logo Update!

Robert Bushman plug-discuss@lists.plug.phoenix.az.us
Sun, 30 Jun 2002 15:11:44 -0400 (EDT)


IMHO, the two grammatically rational ones are "User" and "Users'":

User Group: a group whose elements are of type "User"
Users' Group: a group owned by many users

Users Group: a group whose elements are of type array of users
User's Group: a group owned by a single user

I would lean towards "User" as it has the least characters,
and is the most used of the four options according to Google:
"user group": 982,000
"users group" & "users' group": 752,000 (can't get them separated)
"user's group": 79,900

On Sun, 30 Jun 2002, Robert N. Eaton wrote:

> On Saturday 29 June 2002 03:38 pm, you wrote:
> > Hmm...  Any English professors in the audience?  We could do:
> >
> > User
> > Users
> > User's
> > Users'
> >
> > All of these examples can be found in use by other Linux groups on the
> > 'net.  We're a group of "Linux users," but we're also a "user group."  So
> > I guess it depends on where you put the emphasis on the phrase.  The Linux
> > group in Portland uses:
> > "Portland Linux Unix Group" which gets rid of the "is it plural or not"
> > problem all together.  ;-)
> > ~M
> If you want to get excessively grammatical:
>
> 	User = noun, sungular
> 	Users= noun, plural
> 	User's = noun, singular, possessive
> 	Users' = noun, plural, possessive
>
> Any of the four could grammatically appear before "Group" .
>
> "User's" implies "only one".  Sort of "I am the only Linux user."
> "Users'" implies "many."  "I am one of many Linux users."
> "User" and "Users" act as noun adjuncts; that is, nouns acting as adjectives
> telling "what kind of" group just as in "school house" , "school" tells "what
> kind of house.
>
> My choice would be "Users" as it implies multiple users, and lacks the
> clutter of the apostrophe, which, in a logo, is really unnecessary.
>
> --
> Bob Eaton
>
> Curiosity didn't kill the cat: it was lack of information.
>
> --
> Bob Eaton
>
> Curiosity didn't kill the cat: it was lack of information.
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