atw: Re: '24/7' [SEC=UNCLASSIFIED]
- From: Howard Silcock <howard.silcock@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: austechwriter@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Fri, 24 Aug 2012 10:02:54 +1000
Of course not! If the '24' stands for '24 hours a day' and the '7' stands
for '7 days a week', then '365.25' ought to stand for '365.25 days a year'.
Makes no sense at all!
In honesty, though, I was making fun of my own pedantic thought processes
and do realise there are times when it's best to ignore them. If '24/7/365'
hadn't been objectionable for other reasons – mainly because it's so
cumbersome, but also because I hate how the slash (sorry, Geoffrey, I mean
the solidus!) is misused – I might have considered it.
I'm not sure if pedantry can ever be assuaged. But you can ignore the
pedantic impulse when you need to. Well, mostly ...
Howard
On 24 August 2012 09:23, <Peter.Martin@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> Howard:
>
> Does 24/7/365.25 assuage your pedantic instincts at all ?
>
> Yes, there's still the problem of the odd leap second, but how many
> decimal points does it take to let you sleep at night ? :-)
>
>
>
> *Peter M*
>
>
>
> From: Howard Silcock <howard.silcock@xxxxxxxxx>
> To: austechwriter@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Date: 22/08/2012 11:25 AM
> Subject: atw: '24/7'
> Sent by: austechwriter-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> ------------------------------
>
>
>
> A document I'm currently working with refers to "a 24 hour seven days' a
> week, 365 days' a year global network environment". Apart from the misuse
> of apostrophes and the mixture of singular 'hour' with plural 'days', this
> seems a very cumbersome expression for a very clear concept.
>
> I need to refer to this passage in another document I'm writing, and was
> tempted to simplify it to 'a 24/7 global network environment' or to 'a
> round-the-clock global network environment'. But, after consulting the
> Wikipedia article '24/7', I'm wondering if this would be wise. It seems the
> term '24/7' has caused some confusion when used in company promotions,
> especially over whether it implies availability on holidays. I don't really
> want to write '24/7/365' – that's getting cumbersome again, and the pedant
> in me keeps wondering 'what about leap years?'. I like 'round-the-clock',
> but Wikipedia suggests it's a UK usage.
>
> What do you think?
>
> Howard
>
>
>
>
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