You miss my point. What is the difference between something that is “false to facts” and something that is “false”?
The “to facts” bit is necessary to make it clear that you don’t mean what, exactly?
I’ve seen you use the expression several times and it just seems like an unnecessary affectation, so I thought I’d brighten your day by getting up you about it. I think I need to find a a better hobby! 
It distinguishes between different kinds of falsity:
factually false
legally false
logically false, etc.
Exactly why I explained to her why she’s not going to get a positive reaction from starting this thread. Since she didn’t know, it’s an even better point.
Lighten up yourself, asshole.
Ah, I use it partially to avoid stylistic rigidity.
I think I picked it up while reading some stuff on General Semantics
Keep up the good work though. 
But if you just say “false” then what is the assumption?
Sorry that was in response to Desmo, but you slipped an additional post in on me.
Your apology is too late! I demand blood.
But seriously… something being false-to-facts, in my mind at least, goes towards making a statment that someone’s model doesn’t jive with the reality. In other words, their generalization is falsified by the facts.
Or some such.
That it’s false, but that statement adds no information regarding the source of the error. Are the facts correct but the conclusion incorrect because of a logical falsity, or is the conclusion incorrect because the facts are incorrect, etc.
OK I give in. False to facts it is.
“False to facts” does sound kinda strained. “Wrong on the facts”, I guess, is what you’d be more familiar with.
FinnAgain’s posts tend to set my teeth on edge, for some reason, even though I rarely disagree with what he’s actuall trying to say.
Curiouser and curiouser.
If we’re not careful this will be epic, meantime these highjnks paint a pretty poor portrait of both you young men.
Hijack here, but this seems as good a place as any to bring this up.
I don’t care for the widespread and seemingly unquestioned assumption that a handful of “elder Dopers” (or at least especially prolific ones) are entitled to make the rules, dictate board culture, set the tone, declare what is appropriate and what is not, etc. This is not high school; the “cool kids” do not rule the roost. This is a public message board and we’ve all paid our money.
Know what I always observed about the self-proclaimed “in crowd” in high school? No one likes them. They’re only “in” with each other. The rest of us are just fine without them, thank you, and certainly don’t crave their approval, no matter how significant they’ve convinced themselves they are.
This is not directed at any particular Dopers, but rather the nebulous “They” who supposedly dominate the Straight Dope.
I’m sorry, but this is bullshit.
It is not about rules being dictated by a so-called “clique.” It is about the habits and customs of this board, which have developed over time, based on, well, what works best.
This is true in real life. Do you just join a new group of people, and then complain because they have certain habits, a certain way of doing things? I bloody well hope not! That’s the surest way to alienate the rest of the group and make a pest of yourself. You take the time to get a feel for how things work, and then you try and go with it.
We’re trying to help people get along here. We’re saying, “Hey, Sally, if you’re gonna post here in the Pit, you have to roll with the punches. If you can’t take it, don’t dish it out.” And this isn’t a personal insult to Sally, it’s just some advice.
Yeah, what Guinastasia said!
Actually, there is a group of elder Dopers that do indeed make the rules and set the tone. They’re called Moderators and Administrators. Beyond that, someone who is an elder doper is probably someone who has figured out a way to interact here successfully, so it makes a kind of sense that the old-timers would have some characteristics in common.
And there is no clique.{slips Guin a secret handshake on the way out}
I still don’t buy it. Piling on a new poster, insulting her, and calling her names is “helping people get along”? I don’t know what to say to that.
My question remains, who says what the way of doing things here is? There are no Straight Dope Commandments carved in stone by God. It’s what we all make of it. Some Dopers are put off that SallyCan’tDance started this thread, but instead of ignoring it and moving along to something more to their liking, they take it upon themselves to “correct” her because What They Say Goes. They rip her a new ass because starting a thread like this doesn’t “work”…because people will rip her a new ass for it…because it doesn’t work…because people will rip her a new ass…
I’m seriously not looking to pick a fight here and I have no problems with any individual Dopers. I’m just pointing out something I’ve noticed here as a longtime lurker and relatively new poster.
I’m not talking about the Moderators and Administrators, and I am familiar with the official rules. I’m talking about the self-appointed mods and admins who have “figured out a way to interact here successfully”…and prove it with hostility and outright cruelty to newbies and anyone who doesn’t toe the line or wear the brand of shoes that they deem the coolest.
I’m not trying to buck the system and I’m not averse to learning things, reconsidering my stance, or revising my approach when appropriate. What I object to is the general atmosphere of “Shhhh…don’t say that…THEY might hear you!”
Actually, there are. Depending, of course, on whether the being known as “Cecil” (said being is suspected by certain of the faithful of being Cthulu) can be equated with “God”.
I always love reading paragraph 3 of the Commandments, regarding the proscription of vulgar, abusive and hateful remarks.
I haven’t seen anyone here truly “rip her a new one.” What I’ve seen is some basic, albeit sarcastic, hints.
Basically, she came here, all aflame because she posted in a forum where insults are pretty much expected. She gets upset because people are using the Pit EXACTLY as it’s meant to be used. And others point out, well, yeah, we may not agree with him, but what he said is pretty much standard for this place, and instead of starting a new thread, just stay in the old one and stand up for yourself. And not to get so upset-if you’re going to post in the Pit, you have to have a thick skin.
And some, trying to help, pointed out how she might avoid getting insulted.
Sally doesn’t accept that, and instead continues to whine about how “immature” and “mean” we are. And then, because the thread wasn’t going the way she wanted it to, asked the mods to close it. That’s a big no-no. You don’t get to shut things down when they don’t go the way you want. (Not to mention, that’s a very, how do we say it, “immature attitude”?)
Look, Sally, basically, if you want to debate without ad hominems, you need to go to Great Debates. If you want to stay in the Pit and argue, you’re going to have to learn to deal with people spewing insults and not being all nicey-nice. If you can’t handle that, well, I don’t know what to tell you then.
Actually, Nordic has a point. There certainly is an attitude directed at new posters that they should listen more, speak less, and defer to their “elders who know better.” I was on the receiving end of it several times. And, we have all paid our money to be here, and just because we haven’t been at this website since 1999 or 2000 doesn’t mean we don’t have valid opinions.
Guin, I think you and featherlou are being a little disengenuous to say that such an attitude doesn’t exist. I’ve seen you both call people “newbies” in a rather derisive way.
Yes, this is the Pit. And, just by reading the thread titles you should get a pretty good idea that the insults flow fairly freely, and sometimes Pit threads have a way of rebounding on one. Sally should definitely have addressed Finn in the same thread; none of us would have minded and frankly, I was expecting it.
I will echo what others have said here, Sally. Grow a thicker skin, and go ahead and blast away when you feel blasted on. That’s what the Pit is for. But you will get called on it if someone feels it’s baseless. Sometimes even if they don’t, just to mess with you because you’re new, to push your buttons, whatever. Some people are assholes. Me included, sometimes.