Origins of Rightpondia, Leftpondia
Richard Fontana
a posting of the same date by Brian J Goggin:
=======
On Tue, 08 Jul 1997 17:38:34 GMT, s.m...@merde.ix.netcom.com (Polar)
wrote:
[...]
>The hammer & saw crowd are known as "construction workers" in
> Left Pondia.
=======
Around the same date, but probably a few days earlier, someone, I think
Steve Lewin, used the word "left-pondian":
=======
In message <33d6e998....@nntp.ix.netcom.com>
ad...@lafn.org (Bob Cunningham) writes:
> Steve Lewin <sle...@zetnet.co.uk> said:
> [...]
> >But while we're on this GA, is this the left-pondian equivalent of
> >RP?
======
(Posting by Steve Lewin, dated 8 Jul 1997.)
"Right Pondia" first appears in a posting by Polar. In a posting by
Brian J Goggin dated 11 Aug 1997, we have:
=======
On Sat, 02 Aug 1997 18:03:14 GMT, s.m...@merde.ix.netcom.com (Polar)
wrote:
[...]
>Nah. Besides, the "counter" thread unraveled a while ago, without,
>fortunately, disrupting the tenuous linguistic peace that exists
>between Left and Right Pondia.
=======
Single-word "Leftpondia" and "Rightpondia" first seem to appear a few
months after this.
"Southpondian" appears in an AEU posting dated 24 Mar 1999 by Graham W.:
======
Although not unheard of in UK, I looked it up in OED9 and its
origins (for this meaning) seem to be Southpondian ie. Aus
& NZ.
======
"Underpondia" appears in a posting by Garry Vass, dated 12 May 1998:
======
Underpondia tacitly agreed.
======
There is evidence that these "pond"-derived terms are spreading from AUE
to certain other newsgroups.
a1a5...@sprint.ca
<rf...@sparky.cs.nyu.edu> wrote:
>There is evidence that these "pond"-derived terms are spreading from AUE
>to certain other newsgroups.
>
Air-carried infections are unstoppable.
Mark Brader
> "Left Pondia" was used in a posting by Polar on 8 Jul 1997...
And "transpondian differences" was used in a posting by Daan Sandee
on Boxing Day, 1996.
--
Mark Brader, Toronto | "The E-Mail of the species is more deadly
m...@vex.net | than the Mail." -- Peter Neumann
Richard Crowley
> There is evidence that these "pond"-derived terms are
> spreading from AUE to certain other newsgroups.
Gulity as charged. I have done it myself on some of the 18 other NGs I read.
RC in OR
Leftpondian in "old world" (Atlantic) terms
Rightpondian in "new world" (Pacific) terms
Donna Richoux
> Richard Fontana writes:
> > "Left Pondia" was used in a posting by Polar on 8 Jul 1997...
Google doesn't turn that up for me, but it does with two posts by others
with the same date. Is this one of those threading problems? This new
archive search seems a bit haphazard as to which post of a thread it
gives you.
>
> And "transpondian differences" was used in a posting by Daan Sandee
> on Boxing Day, 1996.
But I rather doubt that he originated that. It's possible, but we have
no evidence.
Looking at the earliest cites the Google Usenet archive gives, I come up
with several points.
1. One is that the full idea of "left side of the pond" and "right side
of the pond" did not originate in a.u.e. They are used by other
newsgroups in the early days of the Google/Deja archives, so presumably
date from before them. Perhaps others can locate uses of these phrases
before Usenet.
Examples:
From: Eric Masson (er...@kirk.ee.mcgill.ca)
Subject: Re: MA vs. JV in F1 cars
Newsgroups: rec.autos.sport.f1, rec.autos.sport.indy
Date: 1995/08/18
I always thought an RV stood for Recreational Vehicle such as three
wheelers or trailers of the type found in camping lots. [...]
Although I'm on the left side of the pond I'm still lost.
Another early citation:
From: SAILO...@delphi.com (SAILO...@delphi.com)
Subject: ACC #77 Clue Posting
Newsgroups: rec.puzzles.crosswords
Date: 1996/01/16
Even though I'm on the left side of the pond, I can accept
"Dartmoor" to mean a UK prison (necessary to make "anaesthetized"
work in the surface)...[snip remaining puzzle discussion]
2. TRANSPOND- The first long forms that turn up on searching are
"trans-" forms: such as transpondian, transpondental, transpondential,
transpondal. The third reference given here is a nine-message thread
discussing these, which is worth reading.
Citations arranged by date
... I would suggest that the following are examples of transpondian
differences : burnt vs. burned learnt vs. learned ..
alt.usage.english - 26 Dec 1996 by Daan Sandee
... remember ever seeing one here in 'merika. Very occasionally, my
dear Trans-Pondian friend. The consoles occasionally advertise a
biggie. ... alt.fan.pratchett - 27 Apr 1997 by Derek Lavin
Thread on origin of "transpondental" etc.
From: Truly Donovan (ma...@lunemere.com)
Subject: Re: "transpondental" [was: Re: Realize or realise]
Newsgroups: alt.usage.english
Date: 1997/10/11
My dictionaries show that "ringer," [...] has been around for a
long time. Perhaps before the Great Transpondential Rift? ...
alt.usage.english - 13 Oct 1997 by Donna Richoux
3. LEFT POND, RIGHT POND Compressed, abbreviated forms like Left Pondia,
Leftpondia, left pond, etc, did apparently originate in a.u.e. Their use
is exclusive to a.u.e for quite some time. Citations:
... so on; builders work only on buildings. The hammer & saw crowd
are known as "construction workers" in Left Pondia. ...
alt.usage.english - 08 Jul 1997 by Brian J Goggin
... sle...@zetnet.co.uk> said: [... But while we're on this GA, is
this the left-pondian equivalent of RP? ... alt.usage.english - 08
Jul 1997 by Steve Lewin
... Besides, the "counter" thread unraveled a while ago, without,
fortunately, disrupting the tenuous linguistic peace that exists
between Left and Right Pondia. ... alt.usage.english - 11 Aug 1997
by Brian J Goggin
... In my neck of the leftpondia woods, "touch" is common, at least
in commercial announcements for the phone company ...
alt.usage.english - 07 Sep 1997 by Robert Lieblich
... Ah, apparently we have a left pond/right pond difference again.
... alt.usage.english - 05 Oct 1997 by Larry Phillips
... But in Rightpondia the usual term would be "lecturer". ...
alt.usage.english - 09 Oct 1997 by John Davies
3. Wondering about "the pond" itself, I turned to the _Dictionary of
American English_, I found that citations for "the pond" as a jocular
reference to the Atlantic are available for 1853 and 1890. There's even
a poetical reference from 1790.
_Cassell's Dictionary of Slang_ dates this "pond" from early 19th
century through the present day. It also dates the similar "puddle" and
"other side of the puddle" from the late 19th century to present, and
"the ditch" (among other meanings) from mid-19c to 1900.
--
Best --- Donna Richoux
Truly Donovan
Richoux) wrote:
>From: Truly Donovan (ma...@lunemere.com)
How very strange -- where did the "macon" come from? There
is no "macon" at lunemere.com.
--
Truly Donovan
http://www.trulydonovan.com
Mark Brader
>> From: Truly Donovan (ma...@lunemere.com)
Truly Donovan writes:
> How very strange -- where did the "macon" come from? There
> is no "macon" at lunemere.com.
Off. If you look at the complete thread, you'll see that it includes
multiple articles that quote from this one, and several of them include
attribute lines referring to "Truly Donovan <ma...@lunemere.com>".
Another article of Truly's is quoted with attribution to "Truly
Donovan <lex...@lunemere.com>".
--
Mark Brader "Inventions reached their limit long ago,
Toronto and I see no hope for further development."
m...@vex.net -- Julius Frontinus, 1st century A.D.
My text in this article is in the public domain.
Mark Brader
> Off. If you look at the complete thread, you'll see ...
Sic. Sheesh. Why *did* they put the F key next to the D key, anyway? :-)
--
Mark Brader, Toronto "... people are *always* doing stuff ...
m...@vex.net that I wish were typos" --Marcy Thompson
Brian J Goggin
... so foot and mouth will reach western Canada shortly.
bjg
Truly Donovan
Brader) wrote:
>Donna Richoux cites Deja Goo:
>>> From: Truly Donovan (ma...@lunemere.com)
>
>Truly Donovan writes:
>> How very strange -- where did the "macon" come from? There
>> is no "macon" at lunemere.com.
>
>Off. If you look at the complete thread, you'll see that it includes
>multiple articles that quote from this one, and several of them include
>attribute lines referring to "Truly Donovan <ma...@lunemere.com>".
>Another article of Truly's is quoted with attribution to "Truly
>Donovan <lex...@lunemere.com>".
Oh shit. Now I remember. But those weren't real addresses. I
have no idea what I was thinking at the time.
Stephen Toogood
<tru...@attglobal.net> writes
>On Mon, 4 Jun 2001 23:21:20 +0200, tr...@euronet.nl (Donna
>Richoux) wrote:
>
>>From: Truly Donovan (ma...@lunemere.com)
>
>How very strange -- where did the "macon" come from? There
>is no "macon" at lunemere.com.
>
--
Stephen Toogood
Mike Barnes
In what sense were they not "real" addresses? Are you sure that mail
addressed to them would not have got through to you?
--
Mike Barnes
a1a5...@sprint.ca
The Airborne's reputation is sullied enough already here. Give us, as
our Southern Cousins have it, a break.
s
Truly Donovan
Since I can't recall the circumstances under which they were
created, I can't say anything with certitude, but had they
been operational, I think I would have kept them. I have
found it useful to have multiple addresses -- it helps me
keep track of where messages come from.