User talk:The JPS/archive18/tense

Dispute the given reasoning
''The vast majority of television programmes still exist. Many nostalgic shows exist on DVD or video, or languish on the dusty shelves in an archive.''

Two quick technical errors, first: While we may very well have "nostalgic" feelings for these shows, they are not nostalgic in and of themselves, and DVD, widespread misuse notwithstanding, is a video format, just as laser disc was. Which brings me to my first objection to the reasoning here. Laser disc as a format is dead; even though discs survive, it deserves and gets the past tense. And the other: What about programmes that do not survive? The BBC produced two separate Sherlock Holmes shows, one in the early 60s with Peter Cushing and the other c.1966 with Douglas Wilmer. It is my understanding that not one episode—or even clip—of either survives to be seen. This is reportedly typical of the BBC. Also, a great many shows from the 1950s which were produced live do not remain to be seen. A few scattered episodes survive in many cases, I admit, but not as a series. I submit that in such circumstances the past tense is not only acceptable but mandatory, and the regs here should acknowledge such exceptions. --Tbrittreid (talk) 22:27, 23 August 2009 (UTC)
 * Hello. There are indeed cases when shows have been wiped, particularly from the days when videotape was considered more expensive than the shows. This is what is meant by the sentence "The vast majority of television programmes still exist." Common sense should be used for exceptions, such as those you mention. Indeed, someone drew my attention to once such exception earlier today, which I altered myself. However, I'm sure you'll appreciate that these guidelines are appropriate for the vast majority of television texts. This page is not a regulation as such (I assume that is what you mean by "regs"?). I created this page for the edit summaries to explain the changes I was making, and to help other editors uphold these standards in future. So, feel free to ignore these guidelines when appropriate, so long as the article is sensible. Laser discs passed me by, my bank manager was glad to hear, but I'd be very surprised if there isn't a player somewhere working. (I see that the LaserDisc article describes the format in the present tense, but highlights it as obsolete. This makes sense as it still is a "video format" -- the phrase "is dead" is rather journalistic and colloquial in this context.) How would you describe a dusty watercolour in an attic that no-one has seen for decades? Is it still a painting? Similarly, just because no-one is actively using a videotape in an archive, it still exists. The JPS talk to me  22:56, 23 August 2009 (UTC)


 * Fine. Despite the phrase "The vast majority...," there was no real allowance for those that didn't survive at all in the text. Done and great. My apologies for assuming that "regs" as short for regulations was universally (in English-speaking cultures, anyway) known. The more I've thought about it, the laser disc situation wasn't really particularly analogous and I should not have brought it up. Thanks for the promptness. --Tbrittreid (talk) 23:16, 23 August 2009 (UTC)