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A comment on Server Retired After 18 Years Running on FreeBSD 2.2.1 and a Pentium 200MHZ. Parent comment

Re:Server Retired After 18 Years Running on FreeBSD 2.2.1 an... by phillc73 on Friday January 22, 2016 @07:04AM (#10952229)
I've just spent five minutes thinking, "what's wrong with this writing style?" I still don't know. As a later poster pointed out, perhaps it is a peculiarly British style, which just doesn't register as abnormal to me.

There are also certain things which grate rather badly with me when reading US "style" too.

For example, "Recall our previous conversation...." Use of recall in this way feels so impolite and demanding. Normal use for me would be, "You may recall our previous conversation...."

Anyway, this is not a bashing session, I just genuinely didn't find anything odd about El Reg's writing style.

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Re:Server Retired After 18 Years Running on FreeBSD 2.2.1 an... by TillE on Friday January 22, 2016 @07:35AM (#10952321)
It's a very tabloid-y tone. Other commenters have used the word "informal", but that's not quite right. There's a certain over-the-topness that clearly distinguishes the tabloid press (British, American, German, etc) from a casual blog covering the same subject, for example.
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Re:Server Retired After 18 Years Running on FreeBSD 2.2.1 an... by phillc73 on Friday January 22, 2016 @09:27AM (#10952850)
And to think I am just a Guardian reader.....
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Re:Server Retired After 18 Years Running on FreeBSD 2.2.1 an... by unethical_ban on Friday January 22, 2016 @09:47AM (#10952967)
When I hear "You may recall...", I don't think of it as asking for permission. I think of it as saying "You might be able to, or maybe not".

Just saying to recall the previous conversation is an indicator that previous context is required.

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Re:Server Retired After 18 Years Running on FreeBSD 2.2.1 an... by timthorn on Friday January 22, 2016 @10:15AM (#10953136)
Indeed - the loss of precision over may, can, might & could is a pet peeve of mine. Often language evolves, but with these words meaning is being lost - and sometimes inverted. I recently disagreed with someone who said that "you may not do something" (because you were allowed to), but it turned out that she meant might.

She was a teacher, too. :(

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