Re: [tlug] [OT] What's up with online Japanese<->Japanese dictionaries?

[Joe Larabell <fred62@example.com>]

> I blame Japanese television, or more precisely, variety shows....
>
> An even bigger influence have the constant subtitles in all colors,
> often three or four at once.

I was going to make that point but you beat me to it. Watching Japanese TV 
was like watching a 3-ring circus when I first came over but now I tune 
out a lot of the cruft (unless the interviewee can't speak worth a crap 
and I have to rely on the subtitles to figure out what he's saying ;-)...

Between that and the fact that those credit card companies probably *do* 
pay big bucks to have their ads on the Bic Camera web site, that could 
explain a lot.

But... what about a "pendulum" effect, too? I've noticed that in many 
anonymous situations, like riding on a crowded train, manners all but go 
out the window. Could it be that years of wabi-sabi upbringing have 
instilled in some Japanese a subconscious desire to be garish and web 
sites are one place where that's actually allowed? After all... isn't web
design just a geek's version of cosplay? Maybe if it were more acceptable 
to be flamboyant in real life, there would be less tendency to do so 
online...

[Note that I don't think that's the major force at work in commercial 
sites... but I think that could play a role in personal sites and *that* 
could play a role in what people think is "cool" on a commercial site.]

---
Joseph L (Joe) Larabell            Never fight with a dragon
http://larabell.org/                    for thou art crunchy
http://thelemicleague.org/        and goest well with cheese.