Message-ID: <3A969C20.50A854E@csi.com>
Date: Fri, 23 Feb 2001 12:21:36 -0500
From: John Colagioia <JColagioia@csi.com>
Organization: No Conspiracy Here...
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Subject: Verb Conjugation (was Re: [Inform] Where is French.h?)
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Same deal as my other recent message.  News server failure.  Mismatched
threads.  Apologies.  Argh.

Magnus Olsson wrote:

> In article <3A840186.853AD4C6@csi.com>,
> John Colagioia  <JColagioia@csi.com> wrote:
> >Magnus Olsson wrote:
> >
> >> In article <3A82AD21.D260DDD0@csi.com>,
> >> John Colagioia  <JColagioia@csi.com> wrote:
> >> >I was just pointing out that many instruction booklets.
> Uhm...let's
> >> >see...Wishbringer looks like a good example:  "Wishbringer
> usually acts
> >> >as if your sentence begins with 'I want to...,' although you
> shouldn't
> >> >actually type those words."  Looks like most of the other Infocom
>
> >> >guides make this comment.
> >> But that's a late-time corruption! :-)
> >
> >(Feels kind of weird to go back to thinking of Infocom as "the new
> guys"...)
>
> Which is why I put a smiley on that sentence...

Yeah, I know.  Just ribbing you.  That, and it was such a cute comment
that I didn't want to delete it, and figured I should contribute
SOMETHING if I wasn't going to chop it out to conserve bandwidth...


> >> The help texts for the Inform port of Advent says the following:
> >>
> >> > I know of places, actions, and things. You can guide me using
> >> >commands that are complete sentences. To move, try commands like
> >> >"enter," "east," "west," "north," "south," "up," "down," "enter
> >> >building," "climb pole," etc.
> >>
> >> (and I think this help text is taken from the original FORTRAN
> >> version).
>
> (...)
>
> >I really want to say something cleverly snide about FORTRAN
> programmers
> >(which I still do on occasion, before anyone gets offended), but I'm
> drawing
> >a blank.  Insert your own punchline about the literary skills of
> FORTRAN
> >programmers here.
>
> You're questioning the literary skills of Crowther, inventor of the
> adventure game, because he wrote in FORTRAN?

I specified punchline, didn't I?  I was kidding.  I just don't do
smiley-faces, because...well, I really, really hate them as excessively
cute.


> May I ask what you have been
> smoking?

Nothing.  Though I did work in FORTRAN for a few months, so I feel I
have a right to poke fun...


> (And what on earth has his literary skills to do with the
> imperative/infinitive debate?)

Specifically (since I feel the need to dig myself out of the hole,
here), I meant to jokingly dismiss his ability to choose on the basis
that he worked in FORTRAN, which has no such verb concepts other than
"imperative."


> I think it's time for a big, fat reality check here.

Heh...If I wanted reality...

[...remainder snipped away, since it stems from the major
misunderstanding...]

Incidentally, I managed to stalk a copy of the German beta Zork (well,
sort of temporarily fabricated it from the patch files at GMD), and the
first few commands (after much hacking through dictionaries and
semi-text dumping the game) were:

] ffne briefkasten
Der kleine Briefkasten, der geffnet ist, enthlt ein Zettel.

] hol zettel
Genommen.

] seh an zettel
"Willkommen in Zork!

Zork ist ein Spiel voller Abenteuer, Gefahren und gemeiner Schlauheit
Beim Spielen wirst du einige der wundersamsten Welten entdecken, die
irgend ein Sterblicher gesehen hat. Kein Heimcomputer sollte ohne
dieses Spiel sein."

Now, alas, I don't actually read, speak, or write German (in fact, it
took me about three days to get to the darn trapdoor in the living
room), but I hope this is enough information for someone to tell us
"imperative or infinitive."


