[darcs-users] darcs patch: Edit Front Page (and 9 more)

[Trent W. Buck]

"Stephen J. Turnbull" <stephen at xemacs.org> writes:
>>> [Possessives: Darcs' vs. Darcs's]
>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apostrophe#Singular_nouns_ending_with_an_.22s.22_or_.22z.22_sound
>
> I think it's pretty clear from that article that the rule that was
> taught to me in New York in the 1960s and was taught to my daughter in
> California in 2008 *is* the widely agreed standard, and the apparent
> balance in presentation of the alternative is basically an artifact of
> Wikipedia's editorial enforcment of the NPOV.

I don't know how much bearing this has on the issue, but I note that New
York, California and Wikipedia all use American English (which is only
one of many English dialects[0]).  The style guide cited in the article
seem to be largely American[1], too.

> In any case, we're doing marketing.  To most educated native speakers
> I know (admittedly, that sample is overwhelmingly populated with
> professional academics, mostly over the age of 40), the partially
> simplified rule[1] looks lazy and unprofessional.

I'm an educated native English speaker raised with Australian English.
FWIW, I received the highest possible mark for English during
matriculation, taking the International Baccalaureate.

When writing, I would put "darcs'", not "darcs's".  To me, the latter
looks like a neologism introduced by those trying to make English
spelling more phonetic.  From a typography standpoint, I prefer the
former.  If I was marking a paper I would accept either.

As the Darcs documentation manager, I decree that either are acceptable.
If the possessive form can be avoided *without* sacrificing readability,
then I suggest documentors do so -- but that's not a rule.

[0] I use the word "dialect" loosely.  No flames, please!
[1] Cf. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fowler's_Modern_English_Usage
    Unfortunately it seems I misremember; the first edition ISN'T in the
    public domain, so I can't easily check what Fowler has to say.