# Signature lines in a foreign language **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [November 5, 2000, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signature-lines-in-a-foreign-language/39861 "2000-11-05T23:25:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![SkinnyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f14d63/32.png) [@SkinnyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SkinnyGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2000, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signature-lines-in-a-foreign-language/39861/21 "2000-11-06T14:17:52Z")
Look, I’m not going to name names. I could have given everybody chapter and verse in my OP, but I didn’t then and I won’t now. Why? I don’t want to flame this guy, I just want him to get rid of his sig line. Simple as that. > [@](#): > > **tshirts wrote:** > le type maigre est trop jeune pour fumer The skinny one? Are you talkin’ to me? Are you talkin’ to me? Are you talkin’ to me? > [@](#): > > **Coldfire demanded:** > OK, help us out here, Aangeklede Bezemsteel. Nope. And who says I’m wearing any clothes? > [@](#): > > **flodnak stated:** > Lest anyone think the accused is me (though I’m a chick with a post count that’s moderate at best), the second line of my signature says “Do not cross the street before the bus has driven off”. As prosaic as that. And it’s spelled correctly. Although I would translate ‘veien’ as ‘the road’ (isn’t ‘gaten’ the street?), I agree completely with flodnak here. As long as you don’t use any gj-words like ‘gjennom’, I won’t accuse you of using dirty language. (Ever zoomed in on a WYSIWYG gj-combination? Ewww!) > [@](#): > > **UncleBeer confessed:** > Hell, I’m one of the most profane people here Fuckin’ A! > [@](#): > > **picmr said:** > and maybe it would have been better if this had been sent straight to the admins Exactly. Mea culpa. Please, let this thread die. ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2000, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signature-lines-in-a-foreign-language/39861/22 "2000-11-06T14:48:43Z")
For a while I was using this quotation: _Écartons ces romans qu’on appelle systèmes, Et pour nous élever descendons dans nous-mêmes._ A Voltaire quotation, which means “Let’s strip away these novels that we call ‘systems’, and to raise ourselves up, let us descend into ourselves.” It was the epigram of _Voltaire’s Bastards: The Dictatorship of Reason in the West_ by John Ralston Saul. ---
**Author:** ![Danielinthewolvesden](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce7236/32.png) [@Danielinthewolvesden](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Danielinthewolvesden)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2000, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signature-lines-in-a-foreign-language/39861/23 "2000-11-06T22:55:28Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by UncleBeer \* > \*\*Daniel, you are incorrect on all counts. It’s not Wh_mm\*, nor did I edit any posts/sigs. Speculation does nothing in the cause of fighting ignorance. \*\* 1. Ok, but his sig line does indicate that it was edited by you guys. If it was not, then you really should not allow folks to post things that look like a moderator did it. 2. Absolutley- SPECULATION does not- so why not simply tell us, rather than having us guess. If we are here to fight ignorance- inform us. Inquiring minds want to know. Besides, if HE changes his sig- won’t that be only on future postings? SG\_ then simply tell us what the sig is, or what the sig means. But if you did not want to flame the guy- why did you post in the PIT? Or, let us know of a thread where the offending sig is- and we will find it. ---
**Author:** ![Montfort](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Montfort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Montfort)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2000, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signature-lines-in-a-foreign-language/39861/24 "2000-11-06T22:57:39Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Danielinthewolvesden \* > **1. Ok, but his sig line does indicate that it was edited by you guys. If it was not, then you really should not allow folks to post things that look like a moderator did it.** Didn’t someone ( **Homer**?) get in **BIG** trouble doing something like this a few months ago? ---
**Author:** ![yojimbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yojimbo/32/232_2.png) [@yojimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yojimbo)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2000, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signature-lines-in-a-foreign-language/39861/25 "2000-11-07T00:20:35Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Danielinthewolvesden \* > if HE changes his sig- won’t that be only on future postings? Nope. It will change for all posts dating back to the software change. Unless the poster C&P’s the sig. into their posts. ---
**Author:** ![FloChi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/58956e/32.png) [@FloChi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FloChi)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2000, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signature-lines-in-a-foreign-language/39861/26 "2000-11-07T14:26:23Z")
Just on the spelling, the naughty word should have had an r at the end, but not an initial a as skinny guy mentioned. I was quite surprised when I saw it, and it would definitely not have made it if it was in english. ---
**Author:** ![SkinnyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f14d63/32.png) [@SkinnyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SkinnyGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2000, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signature-lines-in-a-foreign-language/39861/27 "2000-11-07T14:48:18Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by FloChi \* > **Just on the spelling, the naughty word should have had an r at the end, but not an initial a as skinny guy mentioned. I was quite surprised when I saw it, and it would definitely not have made it if it was in english.** Not an initial ‘a’, but an ‘a’ _between_ the first and second letters. (Thus making that ‘a’ the second letter of the word. The ‘a’ is nearly silent in pronunciation, but I guess that’s an effect of the language’s metre.) Anyway, the sig’s been changed already, so we can all stop worrying now. ---
**Author:** ![SkinnyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f14d63/32.png) [@SkinnyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SkinnyGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2000, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signature-lines-in-a-foreign-language/39861/28 "2000-11-07T15:01:55Z")
Yeah, right. Good going Skinny. Let’s explain something about Swedish (that was the language the sig was in) to someone from … Sweden! :rolleyes: FloChi, it _is_ supposed to be ka\*, isn’t it? If it isn’t, blame it on the Norwegians, because that’s the language I learned. And it’s pretty obvious this word wasn’t part of the course. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Corrado](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a88e4f/32.png) [@John\_Corrado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Corrado)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2000, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signature-lines-in-a-foreign-language/39861/29 "2000-11-07T15:20:56Z")
Okay, folks, I’m gonna close this thread down. The situation has been resolved, and further speculation as to who did what and what such-and-such means isn’t going to do anyone any good. And please keep in mind the lessons we can learn from this: - Private messages to the mods and admins are easier on everyone than a public accusation, especially when you don’t want to specifically name names. - There are lots of people on this board who speak lots of different languages, so thinking you can do something offensive and disguise it in a foreign language is not good thinking. - Do not put slurs or other offenses in your sig. Thank you. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signature-lines-in-a-foreign-language/39861.md?page=1)