User talk:RandySteer

Please see Entry layout explained for the norms of section order in Wiktionary entries. --EncycloPetey 01:37, 10 August 2006 (UTC)

EncycloPetey -- If you are referring to my choice to put the etymology of one or more of my contributions at the bottom rather than at the top, I took note of the opening statement in the guidelines to which you referred me: "While the information below may represent some kind of "standard" form, it is not a set of rigid rules."

I felt the etymology got in the way of a reader trying to find a definition, so I put it at the end where it serves its purpose as additional or enhancing -- but not core -- information.

I would note that the standard layout in all printed dictionaries I have ever used (both British and American) puts the etymology at the end of an entry, and I think that's very logical. Etymologies are not central to a person knowing how to use a word correctly (i.e. knowing its grammatical forms, pronunciation, and meaning), and in fact they are sometimes speculative. As such they serve as additional discussion about a word -- in the same category as quotation examples -- but should not become a distraction to a reader trying to "get to the point". The best way to do this is to place the etymology after the definition(s).

As the layout guide notes, the editors are free to rearrange my entries, but I feel strongly about this and will continue to put the etymologies after the definitions in my future contributions. I'd like the Wiktionary to be as popular and easy-to-use as dictionary.com, and the efficiency with which users can get the information they want is a key ingredient in that.