XYplorer Beta Club
Your sources aren't relevant. They say that you use an apostrophe for possessive words. Neither Mesh nor I disagree with that. The issue here is that the phrase in question is not possessive. So those rules don't apply. Your sources don't touch on that, Mesh's did.zer0 wrote: Let's once again clarify those counts, in case they were lost in the sea of words that have been exchanged.
1. "File Operations Status" -- both you and Mesh see no need for an apostrophe for it to be "File Operations' Status". I have put forward my argument that, since possessive meaning is implied because that status will show file operations, there needs to be an apostrophe. I have cited: BBC (http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learn ... tv57.shtml) and Oxford Dictionaries (http://www.askoxford.com/asktheexperts/ ... he?view=uk). Those sources are considered authoritative worldwide.
As I recall, what Mesh said was that when it comes to acronyms, apostrophes are optional. Mesh pointed out that your source contradicted your proofreader, and after reading them both, I agree with that. So your proofreader is not credible to me. As for your Oxford source, it didn't mention acronyms once, so as far as I'm concerned, it didn't address this issue one way or another. Meanwhile, the source Mesh quoted (which is amply authoritative as well), did specifically mention acronyms, and allowed for the possibility.zer0 wrote: 2. "If you were talking about GUI's in general..." -- both you and Mesh believe that there must be an apostrophe. I have put my argument that, since in this example it is a plural acronym, there must not be an apostrophe. In my support, I have cited Oxford Dictionaries (http://www.askoxford.com/asktheexperts/ ... he?view=uk) and a professional proofreader.
Sorry, but that's a load of bunk. People say that about statistics all the time, but the fact is that you can pull out many different inferences from them, and pulling out one doesn't negate the others. I compared your sources and authorities with Mesh's, and in my own humble opinion, his won out. They were more on-point, and did not contradict each other. In addition, the explanations given (both by Mesh as well as the teacher) made sense and jived with my own experiences with the English language. I particularly agree with the compound noun explanation, and think it explains the phrases in question pretty accurately.zer0 wrote: While I respect your right to have an opinion, I would humbly like to point out that I am a mere conduit of facts as they were presented to me by respected and authoritative sources.