Re: [boost] Re: Re: [iostreams] Review Results -- Iostreams Accepted

From: Rob Stewart (stewart_at_[hidden])
Date: 2004-10-05 16:29:51

From: "Jonathan Turkanis" <technews_at_[hidden]>
> "Rob Stewart" <stewart_at_[hidden]> wrote in message:
> 
> > I'm the one that raised the issue.  Was I offended?  No.  I was
> > bothered by the example, however.  Why?  Because it belittled an
> > important political figure -- President Bush -- during an
> > election year
> 
> FWIW, I wrote it last year.
> 
> > and smacked of being anti-Bush.
> 
> I think that's the main point. You can't tell from the example whether the
> author (I in particular or Boost as a whole) is poking fun at the well-known
> mannerisms of a beloved figure or belittling someone who is reviled. I want the
> iostreams library (and Boost) to be as widely used as possible, and I wouldn't
> want to scare off people (if only a few) who assume the second interpretation.

Right.

> What would your feelings be if I called the filters in question 'dictionary
> filters' and then in a usage example said something like this:
> 
>     "We might use a dictionary filter to correct malapropisms, like so:
> 
>     struct malapropism_filter : dictionary_filter {
>         malapropism_filter()
>         {
>             add_entry("subliminable", "subliminal");
>             add_entry("misunderestimate", "underestimate");
>             ...
>         }
>     };"
> 
> Would this still be objectionable, in your opinion?

Some might still recognize them as being from President Bush, but
there's no direct connection.  The connection can be lessened
further by adding others not used (one might assume) by him.

Even better would be to use real malapropisms, though they don't
involve simple word replacements:

   fire distinguisher (extinguisher)
   pigment of ones imagination (figment)
   wolf in cheap clothing (sheep's)
   The Sixteenth Chapel (Sistene)
   extra-century perception (extrasensory)
   dissolve a mystery (solve)
   pineapple of good taste (pinnacle)
   I have a preposition for you (proposition)
   dangerous as an allegory in a swamp (alligator)
   little affluence over it (influence)

There are plenty more examples available, of course.

Another approach is, if you have it handy, to look at the list of
AutoCorrect'ions that Microsoft Word is programmed to make.  For
example, it will change "hte" to "the."  Those are typographical
mistakes, so the filter might be called the
typographical_error_filter.

-- 
Rob Stewart                           stewart_at_[hidden]
Software Engineer                     http://www.sig.com
Susquehanna International Group, LLP  using std::disclaimer;