+Azisbest Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 I hate cutesy argot. How about civilians? Quote Link to comment
+GeoGeeBee Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 I hate cutesy argot. How about civilians? That's still "cutesy argot," as well as being inaccurate. How about "people?" As in, "I knew where it was as soon as I drove into the parking lot, but I had to wait for some people to leave the area before I could grab it and sign the log." Quote Link to comment
+RobDJr Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 I don't have any problem with Harry Potter, and I actually like the term 'muggle', both in the books and in geocaching. As I see it, the reason it has become so popular is that it is a small and precise word that perfectly captures the essence of the spirit of geocaching (and parallels the book's spirit of magic vs. non-magic). The term just resonates. As others have said, if you don't like it, you don't need to use it. But if anyone wants to make a change, bringing it up in the forums probably isn't going to accomplish anything. That'd be like standing in front of a stampede and holding up your hands while yelling, "Stop!" To change the term, someone needs to come up with a term that not only captures the spirit of geocaching and resonates, but does it better. In other words, Muggle is gonna be champion until a better term comes along and knocks it to the mat for a ten count. Quote Link to comment
+Azisbest Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 I hate cutesy argot. How about civilians? That's still "cutesy argot," as well as being inaccurate. How about "people?" As in, "I knew where it was as soon as I drove into the parking lot, but I had to wait for some people to leave the area before I could grab it and sign the log." Civilian in this case is perfectly accurate, one of the definitions is someone considerded an outsider by a profession or special interest group. If you think civilian is cutesy, then we will have to agree to disagree on that point. However, the accuracy part is not debatable, you are wrong. Quote Link to comment
+addisonbr Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 I always thought 'civilian' meant 'non-military'. Quote Link to comment
+tozainamboku Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 I always thought 'civilian' meant 'non-military'. Formally it means this, but in informal speech it may mean someone considerded an outsider by a profession or special interest group. However argot, cant, colloquialism, informal speech, jargon, and slang are synonyms. So it's definitely still cutesy argot. Quote Link to comment
+lil_cav_wings Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 (edited) I always thought 'civilian' meant 'non-military'. But what if the non-cachers in question are in the military? Would they then be military "civilians"? Edited January 6, 2011 by lil_cav_wings Quote Link to comment
+Azisbest Posted January 7, 2011 Share Posted January 7, 2011 I always thought 'civilian' meant 'non-military'. Formally it means this, but in informal speech it may mean someone considerded an outsider by a profession or special interest group. However argot, cant, colloquialism, informal speech, jargon, and slang are synonyms. So it's definitely still cutesy argot. Argot in the context in which I used it means simply words used by a particular group of people. Argot I have no problem with its 'cutesy argot' I spoke of, and again, I do not consider "civilian" cutesy, you may disagree. Your saying it is DEFINITELY cutesy argot is simply false because of course cutesy is subjective. Quote Link to comment
+WRASTRO Posted January 7, 2011 Share Posted January 7, 2011 I always thought 'civilian' meant 'non-military'. Formally it means this, but in informal speech it may mean someone considerded an outsider by a profession or special interest group. However argot, cant, colloquialism, informal speech, jargon, and slang are synonyms. So it's definitely still cutesy argot. Argot in the context in which I used it means simply words used by a particular group of people. Argot I have no problem with its 'cutesy argot' I spoke of, and again, I do not consider "civilian" cutesy, you may disagree. Your saying it is DEFINITELY cutesy argot is simply false because of course cutesy is subjective. I had to read some of the prior posts to figure out you all were just talking about muggles. Why does this have to be so complicated? Quote Link to comment
+California66er Posted January 7, 2011 Share Posted January 7, 2011 I've actually never read a Harry Potter book, never seen a Harry Potter movie, and happen to like the term muggles. It just kind of... fits. Maybe because, to me, it IS a Geocaching-specific term, since I'm not a HP person. Quote Link to comment
+Manville Possum Posted January 7, 2011 Share Posted January 7, 2011 I've actually never read a Harry Potter book, never seen a Harry Potter movie, and happen to like the term muggles. It just kind of... fits. Maybe because, to me, it IS a Geocaching-specific term, since I'm not a HP person. I feel the same way. The term "Muggle" was something I learned through geocaching. Quote Link to comment
sp1tf1re Posted January 7, 2011 Share Posted January 7, 2011 For me I have read the HP stories many times over and I also watch the movies. When I just recently got into caching and read the term I immediately knew what they were referring too. I like the term, as does my wife. Quote Link to comment
+Mr_Toads Posted January 7, 2011 Share Posted January 7, 2011 While I like to think of them as the "unenlighted masses" I am glad we have Muggles. Makes the entire game fun. Also, have found that when trying to explain geocaching to most people, both adults and kids, the term actually makes sense thanks to that Potter kid. Most people have seen it, read it, or know about it, so to explain that you are trying to do it without someone seeing you, they can grasp it. So, while term has been around for decades, it has great use now... so anyone know where the Potter lady got the term to use in her books.. maybe she is a closet English GeoCacher? Quote Link to comment
+southeastalaska Posted January 7, 2011 Author Share Posted January 7, 2011 63 comments on a meaningless topic. Cool. It turns out people will comment on anything. Attention all units, stop posting on the forums and go caching. Quote Link to comment
+The Jester Posted January 7, 2011 Share Posted January 7, 2011 63 comments on a meaningless topic. Cool. It turns out people will comment on anything. Attention all units, stop posting on the forums and go caching. Pot meet kettle... Quote Link to comment
+KI4HLW Posted January 8, 2011 Share Posted January 8, 2011 Ok, I hate to state the obvious, but when you are thinking about how corny and embarrassing the term "muggle" is just remember that this is a hobby involving the use of an electronic device that can cost hundreds of dollars to find Tupperware containers in the woods filled with kids toys and dollar store nick-nacks. Just saying, if your worried what people think of your hobby you might want to look into something else like golf... I mean whats corny about "pars", "eagles", "birdies", "mulligans".... and don't forget those plaid pants! Quote Link to comment
+Azisbest Posted January 8, 2011 Share Posted January 8, 2011 63 comments on a meaningless topic. Cool. It turns out people will comment on anything. Attention all units, stop posting on the forums and go caching. Jeneau I cache when I wanna???? Quote Link to comment
+Don_J Posted January 8, 2011 Share Posted January 8, 2011 (edited) 63 comments on a meaningless topic. Cool. It turns out people will comment on anything. Attention all units, stop posting on the forums and go caching. Considering that you started the "meaningless topic", you admit that you're just a troll? Edited January 8, 2011 by Don_J Quote Link to comment
+southeastalaska Posted January 8, 2011 Author Share Posted January 8, 2011 Not completely sure what a troll in this context is. If it is what I think it is my number of posts seems to prove otherwise, lol. Quote Link to comment
+TerraViators Posted January 9, 2011 Share Posted January 9, 2011 My wife still thinks the term is "mogul." Quote Link to comment
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