Wednesday, February 02, 2005

The Editorial Hand Slaps me with Articles

Hey, read my article!

The headline was originally supposed to be "Facebook: Fuck that Shit," but apparently the Daily Californian is a semi-respectable publication that attempts to limit the crudeness of its content. I say sucks to that, but respect the quest for prudence. Kinda.

One point of contention, however, and I am curious to observe what my readers think:

When one uses "Facebook" as a noun, does one include or omit a definite article? In other words, which of the following sentences is preferable:

(A) If Facebook were a person, I'd make sweet, gentle love to him all night long.
(B) If the Facebook were a person, I'd make sweet, gentle love to him all night long.

(A), right? I guess not.

In my original draft, each nounular (yeah I make up words) reference to this online service lacked a "the," however my editors seemingly disagreed with this nomenclature. While I can see that the official name of the service is indeed "thefacebook," I argue that in a column with such a casual tone that common usage trumps official convention. Who says "I saw your profile on the Facebook"?

My distaste for the article here is uncharacteristic; hailing from Southern California, I steadfastly adhere to preceding freeway names with "the" (i.e., "Take the 5 to the 405, exit Cherry South and I'll meet you at PCH with the stuff, vato.") As we all know, Northern Californians are inclined to skip the article; they are also more inclined to be homely. Like, hella homely.

Anyhow, I agree with the editorial decision here, but am wondering if people out there use or omit the "the" when casually speaking about (the) Facebook.

These clearly are the pressing issues of today's society.

posted by Rebecca C. Brown at 1:42 PM

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