Hi John (and all!),
I have been sitting on a question that I'm not sure has anything to do 
with grammar, but I know that many people on this list will be able to 
answer my question. 

Maybe this new question will lead to an interesting discussion. 

I teach middle school, and my students have asked me why in writing 
from the 1700s, something that looks like an f is sometimes used in 
place of an s.  What is that letter called?  What is the rule about 
when that letter was used?  How did it come to be used?  And why isn't 
it used now?

I have the same questions about the symbol that connects a c to a t in 
writing from the same time period. 

Thanks for your information.  I'll share with my students when we get 
back together on Monday. 
Jan


Quoting John Dews-Alexander <[log in to unmask]>:
And the discussion group gets smaller. We lose members after every 
other exchange it seems these days. 

Please, everyone, moderate thyself. We often have entire classes of 
students join our discussion group; these students, ranging from high 
school students to graduate students, often observe only and deserve 
better than what they sometimes get from us. I've been contacted by 
more than one teacher who has expressed disappointment in the amount of 
unprofessional behavior seen on the list at times. I explain to them 
the nature of a public, unmoderated list with the hope that they will 
understand. However, without stating anything as a "rule," let me share 
some common precepts and expectations that make for successful listserv 
groups:

   *  All those who use this list are expected to maintain quality 
levels of professionalism, ethics, decorum and civility regarding 
postings. 

   Postings and Etiquette/Netiquette

   Postings should exhibit the following:

   * Maturity and tact
   * Audience-appropriate language
   * Cogency when possible

Avoid posting that can be reasonably described as any of the following:

   * Libelous
   * Defamatory
   * Obscene
   * Pornographic
   * Threatening
   * Invasive of privacy
   * Abusive
   * Illegal
   * Constitute or encourage a criminal offense
   * Violate the rights of any individual, group or entity
   * Create liability
   * Copyright infringements

These seem like no-brainers, right? We currently do not moderate or 
censor messages nor do we impose consequences for violations. To do so 
would require interpretation of content, which is subjective. We've 
tried to stay away from this. Please allow us to continue to do so. I 
will be working with ATEG's leadership to review policies for blatant 
offenses such as commercial spam and pornography. I truly hope we don't 
have to expand the policies to encompass more than that. 

John Alexander
ATEG
To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web 
interface at: http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/ateg.html and select 
"Join or leave the list"

    Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/

To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web interface at:
     http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/ateg.html
and select "Join or leave the list"

Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/