Why 'does' BBC use so many 'single' quotes 'in' headlines?
- FBM
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Why 'does' BBC use so many 'single' quotes 'in' headlines?
It's annoying 'as' fuck. '
' Use teh facking word or don't. Quote somebody or don't. 
"A philosopher is a blind man in a dark room looking for a black cat that isn't there. A theologian is the man who finds it." ~ H. L. Mencken
"We ain't a sharp species. We kill each other over arguments about what happens when you die, then fail to see the fucking irony in that."
"It is useless for the sheep to pass resolutions in favor of vegetarianism while the wolf remains of a different opinion."
"We ain't a sharp species. We kill each other over arguments about what happens when you die, then fail to see the fucking irony in that."
"It is useless for the sheep to pass resolutions in favor of vegetarianism while the wolf remains of a different opinion."
Re: Why 'does' BBC use so many 'single' quotes 'in' headline
Is that cos you 'teach' Engrish ?

Give me the wine , I don't need the bread
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Re: Why 'does' BBC use so many 'single' quotes 'in' headline
'Maybe.' You don't 'find' it annoying 'or' distracting '?'Feck wrote:Is that cos you 'teach' Engrish ?
"A philosopher is a blind man in a dark room looking for a black cat that isn't there. A theologian is the man who finds it." ~ H. L. Mencken
"We ain't a sharp species. We kill each other over arguments about what happens when you die, then fail to see the fucking irony in that."
"It is useless for the sheep to pass resolutions in favor of vegetarianism while the wolf remains of a different opinion."
"We ain't a sharp species. We kill each other over arguments about what happens when you die, then fail to see the fucking irony in that."
"It is useless for the sheep to pass resolutions in favor of vegetarianism while the wolf remains of a different opinion."
Re: Why 'does' BBC use so many 'single' quotes 'in' headline
I 'really' hadn't 'noticed' they 'did' that. Isn't 'usually' used to 'denote' some 'sort' of 'incredulity'?
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Re: Why 'does' BBC use so many 'single' quotes 'in' headline
I 'read' it as 'just' waffling. Ann'oy'ing waf'f'ling. Either quote the fucker or don't.PordFrefect wrote:I 'really' hadn't 'noticed' they 'did' that. Isn't 'usually' used to 'denote' some 'sort' of 'incredulity'?
"A philosopher is a blind man in a dark room looking for a black cat that isn't there. A theologian is the man who finds it." ~ H. L. Mencken
"We ain't a sharp species. We kill each other over arguments about what happens when you die, then fail to see the fucking irony in that."
"It is useless for the sheep to pass resolutions in favor of vegetarianism while the wolf remains of a different opinion."
"We ain't a sharp species. We kill each other over arguments about what happens when you die, then fail to see the fucking irony in that."
"It is useless for the sheep to pass resolutions in favor of vegetarianism while the wolf remains of a different opinion."
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Re: Why 'does' BBC use so many 'single' quotes 'in' headline
I think they are just trying to be obsequious.
A rational skeptic should be able to discuss and debate anything, no matter how much they may personally disagree with that point of view. Discussing a subject is not agreeing with it, but understanding it.
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Re: Why 'does' BBC use so many 'single' quotes 'in' headline
Tyrannical wrote:I think they are just trying to be emasculated.
"A philosopher is a blind man in a dark room looking for a black cat that isn't there. A theologian is the man who finds it." ~ H. L. Mencken
"We ain't a sharp species. We kill each other over arguments about what happens when you die, then fail to see the fucking irony in that."
"It is useless for the sheep to pass resolutions in favor of vegetarianism while the wolf remains of a different opinion."
"We ain't a sharp species. We kill each other over arguments about what happens when you die, then fail to see the fucking irony in that."
"It is useless for the sheep to pass resolutions in favor of vegetarianism while the wolf remains of a different opinion."
Re: Why 'does' BBC use so many 'single' quotes 'in' headline
'because'
Libertarianism: The belief that out of all the terrible things governments can do, helping people is the absolute worst.
Re: Why 'does' BBC use so many 'single' quotes 'in' headline
In a headline, where brevity is king?FBM wrote:It's annoying 'as' fuck. '' Use teh facking word or don't. Quote somebody or don't.
Sub-editor you have never been...
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Re: Why 'does' BBC use so many 'single' quotes 'in' headline
It's an archaic journalist practise to use single quotes in headlines that stems from the inflexibility of movable type.FBM wrote:It's annoying 'as' fuck. '' Use teh facking word or don't. Quote somebody or don't.
Headline writers were told the point size of the headline and the number of columns it was to span, which gave them a "character count" to work with, to convey the point. Most lower case letters are one character (m and w are one and a half) while some are one-half (i, f, j, l, t). Most upper case characters are one and a half, but M and W are two, F, J, L & T become one, and I remains one-half. Double quotes are a full character while single quotes are one-half. When you're instructed to write a headline with, let's say, 23 and a half characters, that tells the gist of the story, those single quotes are a happy thing. Of course they should still only be used to denote a direct quote.
It's one of those things that has just become rote and accepted, even though it's no longer as important with the ability to scale the point size down slightly and kern electronically.
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Re: Why 'does' BBC use so many 'single' quotes 'in' headline
BBC has no balls, well known fact.FBM wrote:Tyrannical wrote:I think they are just trying to be emasculated.
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Re: Why 'does' BBC use so many 'single' quotes 'in' headline
It's the cuts. They've dropped the doulbe quotes as a needless expense.
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