[lproven]

`MICROS~1` being how 32-bit Windows abbreviated the first file or folder named "Microsoft $BLAH" for 16-bit code.

So while (IIRC) Office 95 installed into C:\Program Files\MSOffice (in DOS, "C:\PROGRA~1\MSOFFICE"), Office 97 called its folder "Microsoft Office" which in DOS looked like C:\PROGRA~1\MICROS~1".

The Inquirer's name for Microsoft was "the Vole". The British field vole's specific name is Microtus agrestis.

(Former Inq and current Reg writer here.)

[gerdesj]

Perhaps my zombie reference was a little harsh. el Reg is still close to the top of my bookmarks list and has been for over 20 years.

[lproven]

As a full-time staff member there are obviously limits to what I can say.

Yes, it has been toned down a little. This is intentional, and there are good reasons. For example...

* El Reg has more writers in the USA than the UK these days. As a rule, Americans do not react well to British sarcasm and cynicism. Many take it at face value and find it offensive.

* A great many readers these days are not native English speakers and struggle with wordplay and so on. So, we reduce that.

It's all a bit more international. OTOH it's alive and thriving. That is a good thing.

[gerdesj]

I thoroughly understand what you both say and don't say. We are all a little flabbier than we used to be and the world is rather more madder and increasingly so.

"As a rule," - in the main but I have some fabulously sarcastic American mates.

There are some very dodgy commentards on el Reg. I don't mean "Jellied Eel" and other Johnny come latelies, who are clearly state sponsored nonsense.

Back in the day there was a single whipping boy, whose handle was "eadon" (I think). He was obviously human and came across as somewhat mad and seemed to enjoy being a bit bizarre. Nowadays we have amanfrommars who is a bit strange and probably a bot. Then there is the usual collection of noddies from various dictatorships.

As you say, it is thriving but I do think it has lost some of its edge (as I said we are all a little flabbier).

There used to be a fabulously foul mouthed Canadian writer who majored in virty stuff and of course, we all lament the passing of Lester who was frankly barking mad (in a sane way).

I often think that el Reg and Private Eye are in a similar space in the hyper-dimensional space of reporting (yes, I said that without blushing).

Increasingly, both sides of the pond are getting the hang of each other, thanks to the internet and a few other less important things, such as shared values.

"are not native English speakers and struggle with wordplay" - hard disagree (as a HN noddy would say). English is the French language, as you know well. People who are proficient with English as a second language appreciate being stretched and those that are not, have access to enough machine translation to get a good idea of what is going on.

I do think you have lost a little bit of your edge and I think you know what little means in this context. You could quite easily create ... sorry ... re-instate in house personalities and "el Reg ... things" that work for at least both sides of the pond.

What about running a bot outing competition? It could end in tears or be hillarious.

[lproven]

> "As a rule," - in the main but I have some fabulously sarcastic American mates.

Sure, me too. They are my favourite kind of American mate. :-D I stand by the point though.

Parallel example: Lobste.rs bans Reg links being posted as stories, at all, 100%.

The mods said it is "snarky" and mean and mocking and feel it is not worth sharing.

> There are some very dodgy commentards on el Reg.

I said nothing about commentards, and I'm not now.

> As you say, it is thriving but I do think it has lost some of its edge (as I said we are all a little flabbier).

Please note: I am a writer, not an editor. I have zero editorial control and in the context of the Reg I don't want to be an editor again. I've done it, for a much smaller site, and it's very hard work indeed. I do not fancy the job of doing it on such a high-profile high-traffic site, not one bit.

All I will say is this: the change in style is conscious and intentional.

> I often think that el Reg and Private Eye are in a similar space in the hyper-dimensional space of reporting (yes, I said that without blushing).

Fair. Aspirational, I'd say. I like and respect Lord Gnome's mighty organ.

> "are not native English speakers and struggle with wordplay" - hard disagree

Ha!

This again is a policy decision, but at coming up on 3Y full-time there now, they are right. You would be amazed how little people understand. I was.

And the ones who understand least do not know it.

General reading comprehension on the Internet at large is extremely poor.

> English is the French language, as you know well.

You mean, "lingua Franca"?

You know the Franks spoke an ancestor of German, right?

But yes, it is.

I also note I lived in Czechia for nearly a decade, speak poor intermediate-level Czech as a second (er, 6th) language, and in that time I had to totally redefine my understanding of "fluent English speaker".

I stand by what I said.

Globish is a thing. It is not the same as standard English, and British English is, sadly, not the standard form: that is American English.

> enough machine translation to get a good idea of what is going on.

Which is precisely an example of an area where idiom and slang and elliptical figurative speech goes wrong the worst.

The decisions were made, and made knowingly. It's not my place to question them, but anyway, the reasoning was sound.

[CRConrad]

Bookmark? Bah! I've got my browsers trained to fill it in when I write "reg" in the address bar.