• wakest@lemmy.mlM
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      0
      ·
      1 year ago

      I posted this from mastodon where you can’t link to communities in that way…

    • BlessedDog@lemmy.ml
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      0
      ·
      1 year ago

      I thought it was typed “a URL”, not " an URL"

      Not sure though, dont kill me, English isn’t my native language.

      • 133arc585@lemmy.ml
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        2
        arrow-down
        1
        ·
        1 year ago

        They’re both acceptable in English. The rule is generally “an” if the following word starts with a vowel. But, it gets a bit tricky with initialisms (like URL) because URL is normally pronounced something like “you-are-ell”, and not “earl”. So the spelling starts with a vowel, but the pronunciation doesn’t. Nobody would fault you for using one or the other in a situation like this.

          • 133arc585@lemmy.ml
            link
            fedilink
            English
            arrow-up
            1
            arrow-down
            1
            ·
            1 year ago

            I’m sure some style guide(s) have hard and fast rules but being called out for it in everyday conversation doesn’t (shouldn’t) happen for something like that. English also isn’t French, it doesn’t have a regulatory body, and so attempting to pin down certain things as definitively correct or definitively wrong isn’t always a reasonable thing to do.

      • MaybeItWorks@sh.itjust.works
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        0
        arrow-down
        1
        ·
        1 year ago

        It is generally a good practice to be specific when describing vulnerabilities. Further, people tend to just read headlines and we know this. You don’t need to be a snarky jerk when someone points that out. Heaven forbid people learn something, sheesh.