"Happy Clappy" Forum

[Keithcaley]

Does anyone know if the "Happy Clappy" Forum has been discontinued, or whether it's down because of an attack or some other factor?

[Dalartokat]

Looks like it's down Keith for some reason, I have to access through Google Chrome, just tried and not responding, comes up with this message.



Oops! Google Chrome could not find northerncyprus.createforumhosting.com

Did you mean: createforumhosti­ng.­com

[jofra]

I've just googled createforumhosti­ng.­com, found many links to forums (fora?) that use this service/domain, clicked on several and about 50% are not accessible (can't be found), so perhaps some problem with the creativeforum servers?

[a1sysman]

Does anyone know if the "Happy Clappy" Forum has been discontinued, or whether it's down because of an attack or some other factor?

Try emailing Gary.

[Keithcaley]

I would have emailed him in the first instance rather than posting on here - if I had his email address

[sophie]

Unless it's changed Garys email address is dj_garyweston@hotmail.com. In its hay-day I used to be a regular, left it for about three months and then tried to go back on. It didn't recognised name or password and after a few times I just gave up. I met one of the Admin people who said there was no reason why, but I still gave up.

[rigsby]

It's been down for over a week now. I hope we get it back.

[Keithcaley]

Thanks sophie, I've emailed him...

[Dalartokat]

Sophie that is exactly what happened to me and Gary couldn't give an explanation and that's why I can only access that particular board through Chrome, was on there only last Friday.

[sophie]

I don't do Google Chrome - just have a thing against it. Can't even say why really.

[kaiserphil]

I get "Server not found" in Firefox.

[Keithcaley]

Just received a response from Gary - he thinks that the hosting company may have closed down, but they didn't get any advance warning!

Will let us know more 'as and when'...

[Ragged Robin]

Off topic a bit but I noticed Jafra's question mark re the plural of "forum"

I wondered about this some time ago, and since I was once an English teacher and should know! found one of the discussion forums on English usage. The consensus was that the use as a Internet place for discussion had now become so common that it could be regarded as adopted into the English language and the English form of plural used.

Of course if you happen to be talking about public open spaces in ancient Rome, then you can impress by sticking to the Latin plural fora!

[Keithcaley]

Off topic a bit but I noticed Jafra's question mark re the plural of "forum"

I wondered about this some time ago, and since I was once an English teacher and should know! found one of the discussion forums on English usage. The consensus was that the use as a Internet place for discussion had now become so common that it could be regarded as adopted into the English language and the English form of plural used.

Of course if you happen to be talking about public open spaces in ancient Rome, then you can impress by sticking to the Latin plural fora!

A sure sign that you've not got enough to worry about!

[Groucho]

Off topic a bit but I noticed Jafra's question mark re the plural of "forum"

I wondered about this some time ago, and since I was once an English teacher and should know! found one of the discussion forums on English usage. The consensus was that the use as a Internet place for discussion had now become so common that it could be regarded as adopted into the English language and the English form of plural used.

Of course if you happen to be talking about public open spaces in ancient Rome, then you can impress by sticking to the Latin plural fora!

A sure sign that you've not got enough to worry about!

We all need less to worry about - except where the degrading of the English language is concerned - then we should keep some standards alive lest we all end-up speaking like 'rappers'.... That simply won't do... respect!

[Ragged Robin]

Keith: No it is a sign I cannot cope with my problems and am indulging in "displacement activity" to postpone them :

Groucho: I could not agree more. The correct use of English is a hobby horse of mine, and I have to sit on my hands to avoid commenting on some of posts here and starting a riot. I also deplore and get very confused by the Internet adopting words in common use and changing the meaning. However in this case, I think we may have to accept that all languages do develop and forum is a "fait accompli"

As Professor Higgins said in "Why can't the English teach their children how to speak" ......"there are places where English totally disappears , in America they haven't spoken it for years" . I keep having arguments with my spell check about words like "programme" and s's and z's. Is it not racial prejudice that although the rest of my computer is set to "British English" the spell check only gives me the option of "American English"?

[Groucho]

A lot of Americanisms are actually based on a spelling version that pre-dates our own - hence they spell connection as connexion which we used to use in Shakespeare's day .... so we can't have it all our own way.

PS pet hate of mine is the media referring to tragic events as a 'tragedy' - when we all know a tragedy is a Greek play depicting tragic events.... If it's not a play don't call it a tragedy please...

[sophie]

An English professor once explained to me that loads of American words, both in spelling and meaning, were correct i.e. they were taken over by settlers on the Mayflower and earlier. It's the UK that has changed over the years.

[jofra]

Drifting ever further from the original topic (apologies!) - I fondly recall a tale regarding the American confusion with name and title usage - while Mister and Lord can be announced with only a surname, a knight is normally announced with christian name followed by surname.
Unfortunately, Sir Percy Claude Spender (Australian politician and Ambassador to the United States, 1951–58) was apparently announced at a function by title and surname only - try saying it, preferably with an american accent....

[Ragged Robin]

I have heard that point of view about American English before as well: but in Shakespeare's time there were several different spellings of most words in use and they varied inter alia according to the accent the ,accent of the person concerned. Americans also shift spelling phonetically according to their accent. However I still think I should have to option of a spell check in MY language .

Wandering further ot I have heard a similar argument about mainland and Cypriot Turkish. The Cypriots claim they have maintained a language closer to the original. Though that is more a matter of dialect and vocabulary than spelling