Talk:friends list

Latest comment: 11 years ago by -sche in topic RFD discussion

RFD discussion edit

 

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Really just a list of friends. Sense 4 of friend would seem to cover this use. -- Liliana 16:34, 17 November 2012 (UTC)Reply

Delete, I've also come across buddies list. This is not an idiomatic use of friends or of list. Mglovesfun (talk) 18:16, 17 November 2012 (UTC)Reply
Delete : And, surely, it ought to be friends' list? Furius (talk) 00:16, 18 November 2012 (UTC)Reply
No, it's not a list owned or possessed by friends. Equinox 00:22, 18 November 2012 (UTC)Reply
But it's a list of friends - shouldn't it be a partative genitive? Furius (talk) 00:47, 18 November 2012 (UTC)Reply
Compare something like "favorites bar" or "bookmarks menu" in a Web browser. It is a bar of favorites, not one belonging to them. Equinox 00:51, 18 November 2012 (UTC)Reply
Comment: it is pretty obvious what friends list means, but it may need an explanation why people call it so, not list of friends or friend list. It is a long trend of English to avoid of in a compound and to use a noun adjunct instead (I have explained it in of), and I think it is a recent trend to use a regular plural form as a noun adjunct instead of singular. Google Ngram gives several interesting results:
Friends list and students list have different trends from others, which suggests they have narrower senses, probably a list of friends on network software and a list of all students in a school in question respectively. — TAKASUGI Shinji (talk) 07:03, 21 November 2012 (UTC)Reply
Keep. It's called a "friends list" rather than a "friend list" that violates a typical rule of English grammar. You don't ever refer to a "50 cents arcade game" or a "four wheels drive". 4.238.2.100 04:25, 28 November 2012 (UTC)Reply


Delete. "friends list" does not mean a list of friends, but a list called "friends" and therefore does not violate English grammar. --WikiTiki89 07:23, 28 November 2012 (UTC)Reply
I disagree with that explanation. Is a "games room" a room called games, or a room for games? Equinox 10:23, 28 November 2012 (UTC)Reply
I never researched the subject, but I wouldn't be surprised if it originated from a room called "games" (presumably because it was for games). The proper compound "game room" is also common. --WikiTiki89 11:20, 28 November 2012 (UTC)Reply
IP is just wrong on this issue, plurals can be used in attributive form, for example we have Leeds Children's Circus adults session (to avoid saying 'adult session' which could be interpreted in a different way). Mglovesfun (talk) 17:13, 28 November 2012 (UTC)Reply
Keep. Also occurs as friendslist, which to me indicates some people regard it as a specific feature of social-networking sites, MMORPGS, etc., rather than just a list of friends. Even "friends" in the Facebook sense. After all, I could create a list of some Facebook "friends" interested in, say, helping me start a letter-writing campaign, but it wouldn't be the same thing as my Facebook friends list. Astral (talk) 02:25, 29 November 2012 (UTC)Reply
Speedy keep per COALMINE. - -sche (discuss) 19:02, 29 November 2012 (UTC)Reply
Speedy kept per COALMINE / HOUSE_WALL. - -sche (discuss) 02:52, 30 November 2012 (UTC)Reply


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