Are there an unusually small number of Americans in AH?

[TheLobster]

Americans seldom identify ourselves as such, because we assume everybody is an American.

And ironically, this is exactly the assumption @AG31 had been making; otherwise she wouldn't have made this thread.

 

[WCSGarland]

Ironically, I was leaning toward assuming most everybody here was not American.

 

[AG31]

Please be aware that some of us prefer not to have people speculating too much about who we are and where we're from. I'm not ashamed of writing here on Lit, but I have clients that might prefer not to be associated with it. And not just the 2P POV thing either.

I won't worry about this. If a person doesn't want to reveal their location, all they have to do is not reveal it.

 

[AG31]

And ironically, this is exactly the assumption @AG31 had been making; otherwise she wouldn't have made this thread.

I wasn't making an assumption. I was asking a question.

 

[WCSGarland]

I reside in the state of confusion most of the time.

 

[MrPixel]

...Brits, Aussies, Kiwis...

Yeah. The folks who speak and write real English.

 

[Kumquatqueen]

If this was a knitting site then the various cultural differences wouldn't come up very often and where everyone was from would be irrelevant. Since we are frequently discussing language our Brits, Aussies, Kiwis and the rest end up self identifying more.

You say that, but there's some particular differences in knitting vocab between countries. Including one word common in the US, which GPT got very confused by, as would most Brits ('sock weight' or baby weight or 4-ply are the UK usual terms):

 

[Britva415]

Also there's lots of people from other countries beyond those English-native ones you list - there's Finns and Germans and others on AH.

Great point. I know because I've seen them say so that there are many Lit users for whom English is a second language. But they're really good with English because of the priority their nations put on education.

That right there is a concept that's utterly foreign to Americans: The notion that someone can become very fluent in another language as the result of lower schooling (not as the result of being multi-lingual at home) before they ever even go to college or travel abroad.

 

[Britva415]

For me, one of the most common tells is US-centric assumptions. For instance, this headline screams "written by an American":

View attachment 2446745

Or a Northern Hemispherian, at any rate, amirite?

But what is the audience of that site? I don't know it, but, what's wrong with stuff written by Americans for Americans?

 

[Britva415]

an unusually high number of the people who I happen to discover their nationality are not American. (If someone could re-structure this sentence, I'd love to see it.)

I'd restructure it by spelling out, "unusually small/high compared to what?"

What's the "usual" number of Americans? Obviously in America it's quite high.

I'd also talk about proportion rather than number, but I know what you mean. Just saying so since you asked.

 

[Britva415]

Lots of planets have a North

Physicists are looking for magnetic monopoles. Maybe there's a whole-ass monopolar planet!

Of course, it would still have rotational poles. I don't think you can get a rotational monopole except maybe in higher dimensions.

 

[Britva415]

Many websites are american websites, so it's a given we'd be the majority users

Only if "many" means "a majority," which I think is objectively false. This isn't 1998 anymore, when that was certainly true.

 

[bumpercars]

You say that, but there's some particular differences in knitting vocab between countries. Including one word common in the US, which GPT got very confused by, as would most Brits ('sock weight' or baby weight or 4-ply are the UK usual terms):View attachment 2447235

Is this why AI images so often have extra fingers?

 

[soflabbwlvr]

Having spent the last couple of weeks heavily researching the World War One era for my WIP, I now have that damn dong stuck in my head.

You need to get that thing removed.

 

[Britva415]

I wasn't making an assumption. I was asking a question.

Yeah, but the question was based on an assumption. "Unusual number" - compared to what?

 

[AG31]

I'd restructure it by spelling out, "unusually small/high compared to what?"

What's the "usual" number of Americans? Obviously in America it's quite high.

I'd also talk about proportion rather than number, but I know what you mean. Just saying so since you asked.

Americans are 70% of the English speaking countries I listed. That's where the "usual" comes from. I did wonder how many AH members are from non-English speaking countries.

 

[Kelliezgirl]

You say that, but there's some particular differences in knitting vocab between countries. Including one word common in the US, which GPT got very confused by, as would most Brits ('sock weight' or baby weight or 4-ply are the UK usual terms):View attachment 2447235

It would come up occasionally, but it my experience in other hobby related conversations is everyone quickly gets the differences and they aren't a repeated topic of conversation.
I go to some overlanding sites and the Australian terms are the norm even though it's a largely American audience. Only new people comment on it.

 

[TheWritingGroup]

Of course, it would still have rotational poles. I don't think you can get a rotational monopole except maybe in higher dimensions.

In 2 dimensions, rotational poles don't exist.

-Annie (the science and math nerd and Flatland fan)

 

[Duleigh]

Having spent the last couple of weeks heavily researching the World War One era for my WIP, I now have that damn dong stuck in my head.

Over there, over there,
Send the word, send the word,
Over there…

I sang in a comedy barbershop quartet who had fun with that song. We were singing for equal rights and our version of the song went:

"I'll be standing on the pier handing out donuts
while we send the girls over there
Over there, Over there
Send the girls, send the girls, Over there.
For the babes are coming....

 

[Katie_Mae]

You say that, but there's some particular differences in knitting vocab between countries. Including one word common in the US, which GPT got very confused by, as would most Brits ('sock weight' or baby weight or 4-ply are the UK usual terms):View attachment 2447235

Bahaha that's hilarious! The different knitting techniques also have different geographical roots, not to mention the "singles double crotchet"
In my experience, any international crafting group dominated by Americans, the "assumed American" is the norm and as a non-American there's many times you need to assert your "I'm not from the US" explanation to get correct answers or explain yourself. It's not the terms which cause an issue so much.

 

[Bramblethorn]

Or a Northern Hemispherian, at any rate, amirite?

Well, that's the thing: it's very rare that I'd see non-US Northern Hemisphere folk doing that, because they are much more likely to be aware that there are places in the world that don't work like their own.

But what is the audience of that site? I don't know it, but, what's wrong with stuff written by Americans for Americans?

It's general entertainment news. According to https://screenrant.com/page/about/

"ScreenRant has grown into one of the world’s most prominent entertainment news sources, serving over 1 billion readers in 2023" which implies not even majority US readership.

"ScreenRant has gone global" - note, not "hemispherical"...

 

[Britva415]

it's very rare that I'd see non-US Northern Hemisphere folk doing that, because they are much more likely to be aware that there are places in the world

where it isn't summer that was what I was getting at

 

[Cacatua_Galerita]

I've long felt that an unusually high number of the people who I happen to discover their nationality are not American. (If someone could re-structure this sentence, I'd love to see it.)

Wow. A writer’s forum and nobody else took the bait...

My lightest touch would be to add punctuation:

I've long felt that an unusually high number of the people, who I happen to discover their nationality, are not American.

Hyphens or brackets could also work, commas are preferred(?).

As for a re-structuring, I feel that “long felt” conveys a sense of past tense (despite being inclusive of the present), so it clashes with present tense “discover” (which you're using for something that was actually learnt in the past). So I’ll suggest using “discovered” instead:

Of the AH nationalities I have discovered, I've long felt there is an unusually high number of non-Americans.

And lastly, for the census, I am not American. I currently reside in the area with the ‘hot MILFs’ (according to numerous emails and banner ads).

 

[TheWritingGroup]

And lastly, for the census, I am not American. I currently reside in the area with the ‘hot MILFs’ (according to numerous emails and banner ads).

"Your area"?

-Rocco

 

[Britva415]

"Your area"?

-Rocco

We must be neighbors