Talk:St Stithians College

St Stithian's College

What, no apostrophe? Paul Beardsell 16:37, 3 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Strangely enough, no. I don't know the reason for it, but there is definitely no apostrophe used, as you can see on their own website and official stationary. — Imp i 19:33, 3 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Similarly they don't use a full stop after St on their own web site. But that, at least, is correct. Abbreviations ending in the last letter of the word being abbreviated don't take a period. But here we make both mistakes. Paul Beardsell 19:44, 3 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I'll change it in a minute to remove the period. Still, I wouldn't call it incorrect, as it's actually a difference between American and British English. In the US (and Canada), St receives a period while it doesn't in Britain and its other former colonies. A minor point, perhaps, but it's worth noting that the rule you mentioned isn't universal. — Imp i 20:45, 3 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

"and its former colonies" Paul Beardsell 22:11, 3 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

What exactly is your problem? The United States and Canada are both former British colonies yet they use a different style, so saying "its other former colonies" is correct. — Imp i 22:30, 3 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I meant to point out that the school is in a place where this rule applies. Not in the USA. When you correct me, or attempt to, by pointing out an irrelrvant detail, and do so repetitively, then who has the problem? All I want is a better encyclopedia. Paul Beardsell 13:47, 4 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

But there was no dispute over that, I had already said I would be changing the article to reflect the British style of usage. So why the need to point out something I had already said, in an attempt to convince me to do something I had already stated I was going to do? — Imp i 15:57, 4 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

You read into my words things I do not say. You assume motivations I do not have. You question what I say and yet accept it also. I quote you: "What exactly is your problem?" Is that fighting talk? Paul Beardsell 16:09, 4 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

If you seek to be better understood, I would suggest making less use of ambiguous one-sentence replies. — Imp i 16:28, 4 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

And if you intend to make friends... Paul Beardsell 16:35, 4 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

My intention has never been otherwise. Your comments have not made me angry, but rather perplexed. After all, this does seem to be a fairly silly way to be spending our time, seeing as though we're in agreement on the article itself. — Imp i 17:30, 4 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I was schooled a St Stithans College, and the way User:Impi has changed it to is the way we ask to write it by the school. Thanks for making the change Impi. Gary van der Merwe 20:18, 4 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

How did they explain the missing apostrophe? Paul Beardsell 00:39, 5 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

It appears the school is named after the town of Stithians in the United Kingdom, which was the home town of one of the founders. Because it's a geographical location and not the name of a person, it does not take a possessive apostrophe. As such, stylistically it should be seen as the same as names like "Linden High School" or "Eton College" as opposed to schools named after actual saints like St John's College.

It's definitely a weird choice of name, but I'm guessing it arose from a desire to adopt a "St" prefix in order to look better in superficial comparisons with pre-existing competitor private schools while still avoiding any hagiography which may have conflicted with the school's Methodist backing. — Imp i 07:40, 13 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Actually, discount that theory. It would appear that the town of Stithians is alternatively referred to as St Stythians, named after an obscure saint who nobody knows much about. So it would appear that the founders of Saints combined the two forms of the name to come up with a slightly more unique version for the school. — Imp i 13:01, 13 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]