# Newbie 'forum protocol' question.



## ColinYounger (Aug 9, 2006)

OK - I've lurked, participated and learned over a few months. I have questions.

Why do people use fruits and vegetables in their user names?
Why numbers - 77, 42 and so on?
What do the numbers 6021, etc mean on people's sigs?
How do we find out our own 'number', 'fruit', 'serial', etc?

Sorry if I'm asking stuff that's not relevant, but you're all friendly.


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## blindlemon (May 12, 2002)

- The only fruit worth having in your username is a citrus 
- 77 is a veiled reference to something to do with Sci-fi, I'll warrant
- 6021, 601E etc. are TiVo model numbers
- Check your TiVo service number, your fruit bowl and your collection of old videos for inspiration!


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## SeanC (Dec 30, 2003)

CoinYounger said:


> [*]Why numbers - 77, 42 and so on?


As the former member iguru42 I can say the thing with 42 is that it is:

The ultimate answer to life! The Universe! And Everything!


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## CarlWalters (Oct 17, 2001)

CoinYounger said:


> Why do people use fruits and vegetables in their user names?




a lemon tree - my dear Watson 

but - seriously - I have absolutely no idea 

I don't - but maybe it's me that's odd?


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## Pete77 (Aug 1, 2006)

CoinYounger said:


> [*]Why numbers - 77, 42 and so on?


Pete had already been taken and I like the number 7. So why not have two of them.


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## Pete77 (Aug 1, 2006)

CoinYounger said:


> Sorry if I'm asking stuff that's not relevant, but you're all friendly.


Would you care to explain the significance of wearing a paper bag on your head?


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## johala_reewi (Oct 30, 2002)

could that be a paper bag from 7/11?


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## sanderton (Jan 4, 2002)

To this day i still read blindlemon's moniker as "blin-del-mon" with a rasta accent....


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## angbear1985 (Aug 25, 2006)

Mine ... year I graduated high school... didn't have any other good inspirations on picking a name!


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## Pete77 (Aug 1, 2006)

sanderton said:


> To this day i still read blindlemon's moniker as "blin-del-mon" with a rasta accent....


Me also.

I don't think he has ever explained whether it was a citrus or something else that he had in mind when he originally chosen his forum name.


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## iankb (Oct 9, 2000)

sanderton said:


> To this day i still read blindlemon's moniker as "blin-del-mon" with a rasta accent....


You mean that's not correct?


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## ndunlavey (Jun 4, 2002)

angbear1985 said:


> Mine ... year I graduated high school... didn't have any other good inspirations on picking a name!


You know, I've never worked out what high school is. OT as this might be, could you outline it for me?


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## blindlemon (May 12, 2002)

...isn't it where Americans go to learn about smoking dope?


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## cwaring (Feb 12, 2002)

sanderton said:


> To this day i still read blindlemon's moniker as "blin-del-mon" ..





Pete77 said:


> Me also.


Me three 


ndunlavey said:


> You know, I've never worked out what high school is. OT as this might be, could you outline it for me?


Over here at least, I'd use that term to refer to schooling ages 11-16.


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## Pete77 (Aug 1, 2006)

cwaring said:


> Over here at least, I'd use that term to refer to schooling ages 11-16.


Over here in the UK I wouldn't use the term High School but only Secondary School, Comprehensive, Public School or 6th form college.

I would associate High School with 11 to 18 year olds in the USA.


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## Rob Nespor Bellis (Feb 17, 2001)

But I *went* to a High School in the UK


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## Pete77 (Aug 1, 2006)

Rob Nespor Bellis said:


> But I *went* to a High School in the UK


OK but it would have had something on the front of it rather than being used as a generic term for all schools for 11 to 18 year olds as it is in the US of A.

Also I bet your High School didn't have any Cheerleaders or American Football.


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## Rob Nespor Bellis (Feb 17, 2001)

Well yes but....

As for Merkin football we played the real version - Rugby  Oh and it was single sex so no cheerleaders  

Rgds,

R.


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## AMc (Mar 22, 2002)

I also went to a state funded High School. In the 1980s (at least) Leicester divided their kids into High School (10-14) and Schools/Community colleges (14-18).
There were no cheerleaders


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## ndunlavey (Jun 4, 2002)

So, American "high school" is much the same as our "secondary school"? Where does "graduating" fit in?


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## Pete77 (Aug 1, 2006)

ndunlavey said:


> So, American "high school" is much the same as our "secondary school"? Where does "graduating" fit in?


Equivalent to reaching age 18 and getting your A levels to go on to University.


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## ndunlavey (Jun 4, 2002)

Ta for that. Do you know if there is a term equivalent to our O Level/CSE/GCSE level of exit - a satisfactory completion of compulsory schooling, but wihtout a qualification giving entry to a university?


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## Pete77 (Aug 1, 2006)

ndunlavey said:


> Ta for that. Do you know if there is a term equivalent to our O Level/CSE/GCSE level of exit - a satisfactory completion of compulsory schooling, but wihtout a qualification giving entry to a university?


Mr brother in law retrained as a teacher five years ago and works at rather a tough Secondary school in Kent(no Comps in Kent ast they are all Grammar or Secondary) which doesn't have any children who go on to take A levels at the school. 

If they are good enough for A levels (which only a handful each year are) they have to leave and go on to a 6th form college elsewhere.

Although nearly all the kids leave this school at 16 they only all manage to pass something or other because the GCSE systems now gives low end grades way into what always used to be considered outright failure territory. The only kids who don't get any qualifications at all are those who are suspended for half the year and simply have no interest at all in learning.

Its not so much education as child minding from what I can understand of it from my brother in law.


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## cwaring (Feb 12, 2002)

ndunlavey said:


> Ta for that. Do you know if there is a term equivalent to our O Level/CSE/GCSE level of exit - a satisfactory completion of compulsory schooling, but wihtout a qualification giving entry to a university?


SATs?

Actually, I thought they were an Americal thing. Turns-out they're world-wide 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SAT


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## ericd121 (Dec 12, 2002)

Rob Nespor Bellis said:


> Well yes but....
> 
> As for Merkin football we played the real version - Rugby  Oh and it was single sex so no cheerleaders


George W. Bush was a cheerleader...










BTW If you put "bush" and "cheerleader" into Google Images, the results are not the least surprising.


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## cwaring (Feb 12, 2002)

Rob Nespor Bellis said:


> As for Merkin football we played the real version - Rugby


Indeed. Reminds me of a line from "Buffy" (the TV show, not the film!)

http://vrya.net/bdb/clip.php?clip=2752
"I just think it's rather odd that a nation that prides itself on its virility should feel compelled to strap on forty pounds of protective gear just in order to play rugby."


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## Nero2 (Aug 22, 2005)

Rob Nespor Bellis said:


> Well yes but....
> 
> As for Merkin football we played the real version - Rugby  Oh and it was single sex so no cheerleaders
> 
> ...


Had to read that post a couple of times, before realising you werent referring to this:

http://www.tiscali.co.uk/reference/dictionaries/difficultwords/data/d0008180.html

Merkin football would be very "interesting".


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## Rob Nespor Bellis (Feb 17, 2001)

Nero2 said:


> Had to read that post a couple of times, before realising you werent referring to this:
> 
> http://www.tiscali.co.uk/reference/dictionaries/difficultwords/data/d0008180.html
> 
> Merkin football would be very "interesting".


The usage however was deliberate  There is always a grin on my face when that man Bush refers to "my fellow merkins"

Rgds,

R.


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## ColinYounger (Aug 9, 2006)

Pete77 said:


> the significance of wearing a paper bag on your head?


Wouldn't want groupies recognising me while walking down the road now, would I? 

All I'm saying it wasn't me.


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## mjk (Mar 13, 2002)

ndunlavey said:


> So, American "high school" is much the same as our "secondary school"? Where does "graduating" fit in?


Having just attended my step-daughter's (UK, i.e. proper!) graduation, I feel moved to contribute.

Our American cousins like to do something very similar when they finish secondary education, complete with academic gowns and mortar boards (but not I believe those nide BA/BSc/MA/Msc academic hoods).

What really amuses me is that they often (or possibly always) accompany graduation this with what they know as the Graduation March - more familiar to our ears as Pomp and Circumstance March No. 1, or Land of Hope and Glory. I assume that they are unfamiliar with the words and don't realise that they are celebrating with a paean of praise to the British Empire!!


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## Pete77 (Aug 1, 2006)

The plot thickens in that these American High School kids also hold events known as Proms which are a sort of party connected with impending graduation or finishing major exams I believe. Is this where the Pomp and Circumstance and Elgar link comes into the picture?


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## ndunlavey (Jun 4, 2002)

Ph, is that what a "Prom" is? I had just assumed it was an end of year party.


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## Pete77 (Aug 1, 2006)

ndunlavey said:


> Ph, is that what a "Prom" is? I had just assumed it was an end of year party.


From Wikipedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prom



> In the United States and Canada, a prom, short for promenade, is used to describe a formal dance held at the end of the high school academic year. In the United Kingdom the term is more widely understood to be in reference to a season of classical concerts or "proms", which have been held between July and September since 1811, today run by the BBC. The British synonym for the North American event would be Leavers Ball, or Leavers Dinner, closer to the Australian description (see below.)
> 
> While proms at smaller schools may be open to the entire student body, large schools may hold two proms, *a junior prom for those finishing their 11th grade year and a senior prom for those who are finishing their high school years*. The name is derived from the late nineteenth century practice of a promenade ball. The end of year tradition stemmed from the graduation ball tradition


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## sjp (Oct 22, 2001)

ndunlavey said:


> Ta for that. Do you know if there is a term equivalent to our O Level/CSE/GCSE level of exit - a satisfactory completion of compulsory schooling, but wihtout a qualification giving entry to a university?


I always thought the lower level of US education "award" was the General Education Diploma (but towards the lower end of your list) and that the SAT was a standard scoring method to figure out who was most likely to do well at university and was therefore more likely to get an offer from the more prestigious colleges/universities.

As you can see from my terrible lack of punctuation above I am more likely to be in the GED group 

and to answer the OP, they're my initials - some folks reckon that "sj" stands for stroppy jock. moi, stroppy - never.


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## sanderton (Jan 4, 2002)

Pete77 said:


> Mr brother in law retrained as a teacher five years ago and works at rather a tough Secondary school in Kent(no Comps in Kent ast they are all Grammar or Secondary) which doesn't have any children who go on to take A levels at the school.
> 
> If they are good enough for A levels (which only a handful each year are) they have to leave and go on to a 6th form college elsewhere.


I'm guessing you are of a younger generation Pete; that's how it always used to work. Those who the 11 plus has misdentified went up to the grammar school for A levels.

As I recall it put schoolboy prejudices to the test, discovering that the kids from the secondary modern we no stupider than you were, despite what you'd been told/grown up to beleive.


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## ndunlavey (Jun 4, 2002)

Ta for the Wikipedia quote, Pete. That Wikipeida article, as is often the case there, seems to be more muddling than clarifying. It starts by saying that my interpretation (and end of year party) is right, but the latter part seems to be saying that only certain years get one (I have little idea what "11th grade" might mean).

I;ve never heard the so-called British terms they suggest!


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## minckster (Aug 31, 2006)

mjk said:


> . . . What really amuses me is that they often (or possibly always) accompany graduation this with what they know as the Graduation March - more familiar to our ears as Pomp and Circumstance March No. 1, or Land of Hope and Glory.


 Along those lines, I was thoroughly puzzled why the Olympics played "My Country Tis of Thee" when the UK won a gold medal. I thought it was a mistake. We sang that everyday after Morning Prayers in parochial school, Catholic Elementary School (about ages 5-11). Now if I were to try to sing "My Country Tis of Thee," large parts would be about saving your Queen.

To confuse things further, we also have Junior High School (ages 12-13) and Canadians end High School at grade 13, not 12th grade (aka Senior year). I'm not sure if Canadians count Kindergarten as grade 1 or what.

Summary:
Kindergarten: age 4. Usually a half-day
Elementary School: 1st-6th grades, ages 5-11
Junior High School: 7th-8th grades, ages 12-13
High School: 9th-12th grades, ages 14-18. People rarely say 9th to 12th grades and use the terms Freshman, Sophomore, Junior, and Senior instead, which are the same terms used for the four years of college.
In some cities 9th grade is part of Junior High School.


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## ndunlavey (Jun 4, 2002)

Ta for the translations, minckster.



> when the UK won a gold medal.


Those of us in the UK get even more baffled when it gets played for one of our national (N. Irish, Welsh, English, Scottish) teams.


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## Pete77 (Aug 1, 2006)

minckster said:


> Summary:
> Kindergarten: age 4. Usually a half-day
> Elementary School: 1st-6th grades, ages 5-11
> Junior High School: 7th-8th grades, ages 12-13
> ...


In the UK:-

Kindergarten = Nursery School

Elementary = Primary School

Junior School and High School = Comprehensive School, Secondary School or 
Grammar School within the State system depending on the part of the country you are in and the State system used.

Then we have our Private School sector. They have the additional designations as follows:-

Prep School - Ages 7 to 13 for boys or 7 to 11 for girls

Public School - Ages 13 to 18 for boys and 11 to 18 for girls although the boys 
thing is changing gradually to 11 to 18 as more and more of our Public Schools start to become mixed instead of single sex completely or at least from ages 16 to 18.

Boarding School - a subset of public school where the pupil resides at the school away from home at least in the week or possibly all term long.

Then we have University (18-21/22) instead of College and we Graduate from University and not from High School.

And that's before we even start to mention elevators vs lifts or sidewalks vs pavements......


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## sanderton (Jan 4, 2002)

ndunlavey said:


> I have little idea what "11th grade" might mean).


Guessing you don't have kids then; we moved to the same system in the UK some years ago. Year 11 is the old 5th Form.


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## sanderton (Jan 4, 2002)

Pete77 said:



> Boarding School - a subset of public school where the pupil resides at the school away from home at least in the week or possibly all term long.


Not always; I went to a State boarding school (as a day boy).


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## Rob Nespor Bellis (Feb 17, 2001)

And let's not forget you can go to private school without going to public school.....

As to my description of a day boy  ( I at times was also a day boy. )

Rgds,

R.


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## Havana Brown (Feb 3, 2005)

You Brits sure are a funny bunch. It's a totally different world and language y'all speak here. 

As for the fruit, I think that maybe because this month in [American] Happy Hour we picked food as the theme for our avatars. We like to change it every month. As for the numbers I've seen people use them for the year they were born, year graduation (high school), year married, or children born, etc.


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## CarlWalters (Oct 17, 2001)

Pete77 said:


> In the UK:-
> 
> Then we have our Private School sector. They have the additional designations as follows:-
> 
> ...


or in my experience

Pre-prep Ages 4 - 6 
Prep Ages 7 - 11 or 13 (both to Common Entrance)

and lets not even start on Pop, Gods or Capping Beaks!


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## ndunlavey (Jun 4, 2002)

sanderton said:


> Guessing you don't have kids then; we moved to the same system in the UK some years ago. Year 11 is the old 5th Form.


So, 11th grade = year 11 = 11th year since starting school? Does that mean one spends 6 years in primary school? I really can't remember how many years I spent there.


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## Pete77 (Aug 1, 2006)

CarlWalters said:


> or in my experience
> 
> Pre-prep Ages 4 - 6
> Prep Ages 7 - 11 or 13 (both to Common Entrance)
> ...


Private Pre-preps seem to take a lot of different forms. I went to something called a PNEU between the ages of 4 and 8 before moving on to my day Prep school.

You forgot to mention Prefects, **** or floggings in the above little list.


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