docs/84851: Misplaced apostrophe in "FreeBSD Porter's Handbook"
Gary W. Swearingen
garys at opusnet.com
Sat Aug 13 21:38:21 UTC 2005
Sorry if you've gotten this before; I have a mailer problem here.
Colin Percival <cperciva at FreeBSD.org> writes:
>>Description:
>
> The title "FreeBSD Porter's Handbook" implies that there is only one
> FreeBSD Porter (or at very least, that there is only one Porter who
> uses said Handbook).
The fact that people will infer that is enough reason to change it,
but the title doesn't imply that. The handbook is for each FreeBSD
porter; it is a porter's handbook -- and so it may be called The
FreeBSD Porter's Handbook. See two similar examples of commercial
book titles below.
This issue is bikeshed-color issue, unless the FDP has settled on
something different, which, based on http://www.freebsd.org/docs.html
and (the) "FreeBSD Handbook", it has not.
(BTW, these titles should start with "The", IMO.)
> From intro(1) manpage:
-- "the BSD user environment"
Change to "the BSD users' environment"?
> From (the) "FreeBSD Handbook":
-- "User group" and "Users Groups"
Change to "Users' group"?
-- "Alpha User's Questions"
Change to "Users' Questions"?
-- * The FreeBSD Corporate Networker's Guide, published by
Addison-Wesley, 2000. ISBN: 0201704811
A book title -- Can't be changed.
-- * Ferraro, Richard F. Programmer's Guide to the EGA, VGA, and
Super VGA Cards. 3rd ed. Reading, Mass. : Addison-Wesley,
1995. ISBN 0-201-62490-7
A book title -- Can't be changed.
Similar arguments have been held for the names of groups of users.
Sorry, but a reasonable case could be made for any of these
The FreeBSD Porter Handbook
The FreeBSD Porters Handbook
The FreeBSD Porter's Handbook
The FreeBSD Porters' Handbook
As if it matters, I like the change, and am just noting that change is
not needed and that the title will need to be changed in several documents.
More information about the freebsd-doc
mailing list