Clean Up or Buy New PC?

[tw]

Originally Posted by dar512

No it was your choice of passive voice. Passive voice is a bad habit.

What is this thing called a passive voice? I only see facts in that post.

But without knowing facts ... then everything is only wild and subjective speculation. Little is useful or in perspective without those basic facts.

I don't see anything 'passive'. But then being forceful or passive is irrelevant to the point.

What is this thing called a 'passive voice'? How would the same sentences be posted to not be in a passive voice? And why does passive or forceful voice make facts difficult or easier to grasp?

[dar512]

Assuming, for the moment, that you are not just jerking my chain.

http://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/hando...sivevoice.html

I might go with "People have already given suggestions."

[classicman]

HA HA HA HA HA HA @ dar. Lemme try:

Beancounters always use passive voice


That should take care of it

[Flint]

My 9th Grade Honors English teacher wouldn't let us use am/is/are/was/were/be/being/been (passive verbs).

[lookout123]

but to bring the thread back on topic: Send the machine to Flint. He'll fix any problem. repeatedly.

[Shawnee123]

Originally Posted by Flint

My 9th Grade Honors English teacher wouldn't let us use am/is/are/was/were/be/being/been (passive verbs).

Well duh. That's because you were always saying things like "His mouth had been buttfucked by another."

[Juniper]

Hey, cut him some slack. I'm in my senior year of college as an English major and I still sometimes have trouble with passive voice.

I don't think it's passive voice, though, so much as odd word order. The Yoda reference.

But anyway...crap...

I did all that stuff: ditched McAfee and got AVG instead, defragged, checked for spyware and cleaned up my registry and now my computer is SLOWER THAN BEFORE.

ACK ACK ACK ACK!!!!!

[Pie]

Whatever you do, stay away from Vista. It is the Debbil.

[dar512]

Originally Posted by Pie

Whatever you do, stay away from Vista. It is the Debbil.

Seconded

[dar512]

Originally Posted by Juniper

But anyway...crap...

I did all that stuff: ditched McAfee and got AVG instead, defragged, checked for spyware and cleaned up my registry and now my computer is SLOWER THAN BEFORE.

ACK ACK ACK ACK!!!!!

Do you have AVG's set up to constantly check your hard drive? If so, that's the new slowdown. It's checking every read and write to the disk.

[tw]

Originally Posted by dar512

Assuming, for the moment, that you are not just jerking my chain.

By now you should know better; I don't jerk chains. I ask a question because the question is targeting an unknown, with intent of grasping like a nuclear explosion focused by a laser. The citation finally explained active verse passive - which most "English nazis" cannot do because they worry more about rules rather than provide facts in a useful manner.

Apparently the 'passive' sentence was "Provided are many suggestions." That sentence should be in active voice? "God provided many suggestions" which is no different from "I provided many suggestions" which also should not read "To dar512 are provided many suggestions". Every 'active' sentence completely and obviously detracts from the (not 'my' - the) only relevant point: "provided" and "many suggestions". Only passive voice says what I meant.

That 'passive voice' post was blunt and directed at the only thing relevant. At no time did I honor or worship an irrelevant "I", "You", "they", or "god". Those references are used excessively by others who need to believe people are somehow more important than a subject/object.

What did they teach in that English course on technical writing? Get rid of what I now know as active voice. When I write a technical paper, a lack of technical knowledge by the editor becomes obvious. She changed sentences to active voice because she was more into humanizing and "English nazism", could not grasp the topic and therefore had to personalize it, and never learned how to write technically. (Notice use of active voice because 'she' is relevant in that sentence.)

Active voice has limited place in a technical answer. References to persons, when not necessary, only creates confusion and adds irrelevance.

Many want an active voice because they don't like being put where they belong - secondary and irrelevant to a subject - therefore unmentioned. 'Passive voice' used because it (and not active voice) best made the statement intended. Again, screw those "English nazis" who are too busy worshipping English rules rather than learning how the world works.

Provided earlier were three tasks to address that computer's speed. Again, no silly references to what is irrelevant to the topic - me, you, Zengum, they, Cellar dwellars, a false idol called god, George Jr, ... I am neither relevant nor so egotistical as to include myself in that sentence.

From that citation:

A passive construction occurs when you make the object of an action into the subject of a sentence.

Exactly. There was no difference between the object and subject. They are one and the same. "Provided were three tasks". "Provided are many questions". Converting either sentence to active voice only adds irrelevant words - wastes bandwidth - distorts what was intended. "English nazi" would rather add more useless words.

[theotherguy]

Are you stuck with Windows or can you explore other operating systems?

[tw]

Originally Posted by dar512

Do you have AVG's set up to constantly check your hard drive? If so, that's the new slowdown.

That and a long list of other potential problems are all quickly identified and later solved by the three tasks in that previous post.

I suspect (not confirmed) that AVG is less efficient than other malware programs (notice the active voice because 'I' am relevant in that sentence). But still unknown are important basics such as CPU, memory size, or what that process is. Those other recommendations such as ditching McAffee (not recommended), cleaning the registry (obviously accomplishes little), and defragging would do little to solve a slowness problem. Those three task are the best solution if only because it is not obvious why.

[dar512]

Originally Posted by tw

What did they teach in that English course on technical writing? Get rid of what I now know as active voice.

When did you take this course, tw? I believe the current recommendation is to prefer active voice, when possible.

I don't buy the passive-voice recommendation for technical subjects either. There is always a subject even if it is implied. The use of passive voice doesn't eliminate bias, it just hides it.

[theotherguy]

Oh sweet Jesus! This is a thread about computer issues. English class is down the hall.