News for hackers. Stuff that matters.

A comment on I wrote to the address in the GPLv2 license notice (2022). Parent comment

Re:I wrote to the address in the GPLv2 license notice (2022) by oxguy3 on Thursday April 24, 2025 @10:34AM (#43783323)
One time at my old job I was trying to load the printer, and I said something like "Oh shoot, these are oversized sheets; I need the 8.5x11."

My coworker looked at me like I was crazy. "The what?"

"The normal printer paper, the 8.5 by 11 inch paper"

"Why do you know the exact size of printer paper??"

I did not know how to respond to this question.

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:I wrote to the address in the GPLv2 license notice (2022) by loloquwowndueo on Thursday April 24, 2025 @10:53AM (#43783557)
Whenever someone questions what you know, the correct answer is “why don’t you?” - I will not be trivia-shamed!
[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:I wrote to the address in the GPLv2 license notice (2022) by pavon on Thursday April 24, 2025 @11:27AM (#43783940)
Ha, I'm trying to remember where I learned that as well. I know we covered it in drafting where we learned an 8.5x11 A paper is half a sheet of 11x17 B paper which is half a sheet of 17x22 C paper, and so on. But I thought I knew the size of A paper long before that, and that it was common knowledge, though I can't think of where or why I would have needed to know. Then again I also know that legal paper is 8.5x14 even though I have never had to use it.
[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:I wrote to the address in the GPLv2 license notice (2022) by omegaham on Thursday April 24, 2025 @12:50PM (#43784839)
Grade school for me - teachers would say "8.5x11" instead of "letter size" or even just "printer paper." I don't know why they did it, and I assume it's for the same reason that I say it too. It's probably what their teachers said to them!
[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:I wrote to the address in the GPLv2 license notice (2022) by adastra22 on Friday April 25, 2025 @12:01PM (#43795096)
Because that’s the size of the paper.
[ Parent | on HN ]