On Sun, 25 Mar 2007, Mike Kelly wrote:
> On Sun, 25 Mar 2007 02:21:46 +0200
>
> Alin Năstac <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> > Christopher Sawtell wrote:
> > > In which case it must be a feature, so why not use the keyword
> > > FEATURE?
> >
> > Why would we need a keyword for that? We already have "enhancement"
> > as a possible value of the severity field.
>
> I think he was making a joke there (along the lines of the saying,
> "It's not a bug, it's a feature!").
He was, but at the same time he was testing the water ( more idiom )
to see what would happen. He would also like to point out that "Many a true 
word is spoken in jest" is a true proverb. He thinks, and hopes, that it 
applies in this context, and would still like to see INVALID replaced by 
FEATURE. Is going to make a fuss about it? No, he is not. It's not that 
important.

> Sadly, this just goes to show how people need to be more careful in
> their wording in a community like ours with people coming from so many
> different cultures. Or maybe people need to lighten up a bit more, I
> don't really know which.
A bit of both I suspect.

> Anyone have any further suggestions how we as a community can avoid
> this sorta confusion from in-jokes, idioms, etc?
All of us who are native English speakers need to remember that folks who 
learnt English at school often just don't 'get it' when it comes to English 
jokes. Similarly what passes for a harmless joke, or phrase, in one English 
speaking society can be really offensive in another.

Also one of the intrinsic cultures of people who live to the East of a hazy 
line drawn more or less along the Rhine and Danube rivers is that when they 
are talking to each other on a day-to-day basis they are very honest and 
frank with each other. Those of us who are used to layers of nuance find the 
direct transliteration of very clear phrases difficult to understand 
emotionally. 

> It seems to be happening very often now-a-days
> (or maybe I'm just paying more attention than I used to).
I suspect both.

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CS
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