Pedants sign here.

[lionheart]

Is this new topic an attempt to contain the rampant pedantry that exists on MN?

Discuss.

Yes, I do tend to still use the apostrophe for 'phone.

You may laugh, but it isn't incorrect, and it never will be. It is a quirk, rather than an error.

I agree that it is a quirk and not an error.
My point was that it will be believed to be an error. Not in photo' but in photo's. However, to each his own.

That will be LIGHTENING before we know where we are.

aaaaaaaaaaaaargggggggghhhhhhhhhhhh

Desiderata - I'm not laughing; consistency is to be encouraged! As long as you are using aspostrophes consistently to denote the omission of letters, that's great!

In fact, as pedants go, you are as pure as they come. We should vote for you to be our president here in Pedants' Corner!

what's wrong with lightening? it is a valid hairdressing procedure.

Oooh can't believe I missed this thread. I do love a good debate about punctuation and grammar. Sad sack that I am!

Ah, yes, lightening ... I suppose that, over a long time the accepted spellings of words do change (consider spellings in Shakespeare et al) but please, please, don't let sloppy spellings become 'correct' in the near future!

Oh pooh! I'll try that again ...

lightening

Thank you, tigerschick!

Oh, bliss. I loveit here. Can't wait for Coddy to drop in

I'm also unsure of whether or not an emoticon requires a full stop. Am presuming it doesn't, as full stop would look a little lost . See?

Sorry about the 'loveit' typo

oh at last a thread for me! I really hate it when people put commers in the wrong places, I read on a sign the other day "Sandwiches sold here" fgs! I just can't help myself though, were I live they can't use apostrophes for toffee. Bloody plebs' all of them.

Thank goodness for you lovely lovely people!

what's wrong with "sandwiches sold here" ?

Sorry guys!

May I join? (Although I am a slightly scared and will preview my messages with even more care!)

I knew I would slip up.
Should read "I am scared." or "I am a scared person."

im not!

Once at court, Lord Oxford bowed too quickly when Elizabeth I stopped to talk to him, and farted loudly enough for everyone to hear. He was so mortified at having blown off in the Queen's presence that he left court and spent the next few years wandering the continent of Europe. Finally he returned and obviously hoped that no one would remember. He reappeared at court, and the Queen rebuked him for having been away so long, and told him his years of wandering had been entirely unnecessary.

"My lord, I had forgot the fart," she reassured him in front of the assembled courtiers.

The thing is, should she have said "forgot", or should it have been "forgotten"?

She was the fucking queen, she could say it any way she liked!

Well, yes WW, she could say it which ever way she liked.
Also, as I said further down, language changes as time goes on. It is perfectly reasonable to believe that she was correct in 1590 (or whenever she said it) but today I'd say it should be 'forgotten'.
As always I'm happy to be corrected, though

Melchett: Grey, I suspect, Majesty.
Queen: I think you'll find it was orange, Lord Melchett.
Melchett: Grey is more usual, ma'am.
Queen: Who's queen?
Melchett: As you say, Majesty. There were these magnificent orange elephants...

Please excuse me for the expletive, tigerschick - it's a quote from somewhere and it just slipped out

Love the orange elephants. We have the whole of Blackadder on DVD, I must rewatch.