You Cannot Graciously Accept

[dodar]

Originally Posted by Caleb Sykes

But they have to give someone the offer, just like my NCAA bracket has to have a winner.

EDIT: I really should have just stayed out of this conversation, I truly care very little about how teams accept invitations.

Would you not like an NBA or NFL draft pick to say thank you to the team that picked them?

[beurwonderwall]

After hearing an FTA explain why you should never use "graciously accept", we began saying, "Team 2959 would love to unleash the beast with you". (We refer to our mascot and robot as "The Beast".) At Lansing, our field captain used a play on what the MC said about our captain though. (Something about comets... I don't remember.) I'm a fan of "punny" ones, honestly. Have fun with whatever you choose to say!

[TheNerdJedi]

Alliance Selections have been a lie!

[NShep98]

Let me pose a question here:

What's the big deal?

The fun thing about language is that if everyone knows what you mean, it doesn't actually matter what you say, and I think there are better uses of our time than language/grammar-policing alliance selections. If you want to use "graciously accept", more power to you. If you don't, then don't.

So long as you don't trip over your own words like last year at RIDE and mash together "graciously" and "gratefully" forming something like "grashfully", which ends up sounding like "gracefully" with a lisp.

[Alan Anderson]

Originally Posted by NShep98

Let me pose a question here:

What's the big deal?

The fun thing about language is that if everyone knows what you mean, it doesn't actually matter what you say,...

On the other hand, many of us are engineers who value precision and accuracy in communication. Words mean things.

[NShep98]

Originally Posted by Alan Anderson

On the other hand, many of us are engineers who value precision and accuracy in communication. Words mean things.

I understand that precision and accuracy are important, but there are times and places to enforce (not) wording something a specific way, which I personally reserve for tools, measurements, and the like, and not for general speech.

[dubiousSwain]

Originally Posted by NShep98

I understand that precision and accuracy are important, but there are times and places to enforce (not) wording something a specific way, which I personally reserve for tools, measurements, and the like, and not for general speech.

No one is trying to "enforce" anything, but for a lot of us nerds, seeing people willfully do/say something wrong, is frankly kind of annoying. We aren't trying to act superior or be pedantic, we are simply asking everyone to consider the words they say and what they mean. Words only have the power and meaning we give them. Using commonly agreed upon definitions keeps our speech robust and accurate and makes sure everyone can understand each other.

An example: the difference between nauseated and nauseous. Consider this situation: someone in the pits forgot to put on deodorant and is standing right next to me. I want to tell them they are nauseous, but when I do, they think I mean they are nauseated, and they are rightly confused.

Of course, it is the responsibility of the speaker to make sure his point is conveyed accurately, but wouldn't it be so much easier if we could all be concise and precise.

Using words sloppily like this isn't the end of the world, but at the end of the day, it makes it that much harder to convey what you want in the way you want to.

I leave you with a relevant xkcd:

[Ether]

Originally Posted by NShep98

if everyone knows what you mean, it doesn't actually matter what you say

Actually, it does matter.

Here's the problem with that line of thought:

When it leads to the creation of new words with a specific and generally-understood meaning, it can be a good thing.

But when you take an existing useful word and make it ambiguous, it can be a bad thing, especially if that word has no suitable unambiguous replacement.

[Rook42]

I panicked as my team representative and said "Thanks, we're in."

[SenorZ]

I graciously accepted a bunch of food this Easter Sunday.
I said "Thank you."
I did not say "I graciously accept this food."
I'd have been shunned for saying that.

[Ether]

Originally Posted by SenorZ

I graciously accepted a bunch of food this Easter Sunday.

Was the food really that bad?

[IronicDeadBird]

Originally Posted by SenorZ

I graciously accepted a bunch of food this Easter Sunday.
I said "Thank you."
I did not say "I graciously accept this food."
I'd have been shunned for saying that.

On behalf of my stomach I graciously accept...
Yeah that'll get you a robotics intervention.

[Sperkowsky]

Originally Posted by IronicDeadBird

On behalf of my stomach I graciously accept...
Yeah that'll get you a robotics intervention.

Funny you say that. I learned the hard way that it is a good idea to eat before alliance selections. Although it did keep me from being completely devastated when we got eliminated since that meant food.

[George C]

Originally Posted by NShep98

I understand that precision and accuracy are important, but there are times and places to enforce (not) wording something a specific way, which I personally reserve for tools, measurements, and the like, and not for general speech.

To graciously accept is a bit of an insult to the inviting team. My OED defines gracious as "kind, indulgent and beneficent to inferiors". That's usually nowhere near what the user intends. I can understand referring to a Robertson screwdriver as a square screwdriver or a twist drill as a drill bit as the words could be construed to mean the same thing.