Re: [PATCH 1/3] doc: fix some typos and grammar

["Štěpán Němec" <stepnem@smrk.net>]

On Mon, 16 Oct 2023 21:13:20 +0000
Eric Wong wrote:

>> --- a/TODO
>> +++ b/TODO
>> @@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ all need to be considered for everything we introduce.)
>>    archive locations to avoid SPOF.
>>  
>>  * optional Cache::FastMmap support so production deployments won't
>> -  need Varnish (Varnish doesn't protect NNTP nor IMAP, either)
>> +  need Varnish (Varnish doesn't protect NNTP or IMAP, either)
>
> I'm not sure about this change, I seem to remember `nor' being
> more suited for negatives.

I'm about 100% sure about this :-P

> Any citations or comments from others reading this?

I'm sure you will find many explanations in books / guides /
Internet, here's from one of the first DDG hits:

https://grammarhow.com/or-vs-nor/

  1. When making a negative statement that doesn’t contain
  “either” or “neither”, and the second item is a noun,
  adjective, or adverb phrase, you should use “or” instead of
  “nor” to continue the negation.

    He doesn’t like pizza or pasta. 
    He isn’t coming tonight or tomorrow because he is sick.
    He doesn’t speak English clearly or fluently.

If you wanted a version with "nor", that would be "Varnish
protects neither NNTP nor IMAP", but the meaning is slightly
different.

In short, you either use the n-words or the non-n-words (the
two pairs don't mix), and if the verb itself is negated, you
use either/or.

>>  Files in this directory are designed for:
>>  
>> -* users using from git or tarballs (and not the OS package manager)
>> +* users using git repo or tarballs (and not the OS package manager)
>
> I wonder if:
>
>   * users using our code from git or tarballs (and not the OS package manager)
>
> ...is better.  I always feel the need to clarify git the software
> vs. our code repo vs. our mirror on public-inbox.org/git   *shrug*

Yeah, I agree that's better.  Maybe also change "using" to
"running"?  "Users using" is a bit awkward.

Thank you for the date-related explanations, and the rediff tip!

-- 
Štěpán