Toby Bartels wrote:
>>If we
change all "it's" to either "its" or the more formal "it
is", then
>>that list will gradually diminish.
>>
>>
>>So we're at the point now where it's been suggested
>>to remove a word ("it's") entirely from Wikipedia
>>because it's difficult to tell when it's misspelled?
>>This is far more zealous than we need to be.
>>Correct them when you find them, but don't go overboard --
>>they're just mispeelings!
>>
>>
Sheesh. Yet another minor issue that blows out of all proportion -- can
we drop it now?
If I were going on a hunt for incorrect uses of "it's", correcting most
to "its" or "it is" has the advantage of shortening the next list of
search results.
I certainly wasn't suggesting changing "it's a long way to tipperary".
I can't speak for AmEnglish, but in BrEnglish, a contraction such as
"it's" is considered a little too informal for a work such as an
encyclopedia or a dictionary.
Perhaps it was UK-centric of me to assume that that holds in AmEng too,
in which case I apologize (but note that many US wikipedians could do
with a healthy dose of culture shock to shake a few us-centric attitudes.)