We’re discussing the use of lose and loose in particular, not other words; and in the specific context of the text in this meme. Just because you can think of plenty of examples of social networks that have loose structures (and so can I, and most people) doesn’t mean it’s okay to use the word any way you feel is right for you.
Or in other words, a sentence can be structurally sound but be invalid in terms of cultural convention and language use. And in such a case, it’s still deemed to be grammatically incorrect - whether it’s misspelling or misusing of the word.
But you have the right to disagree all you want.
I disagree:
The phrase ‘tight-knit community’ exists, and is fairly commonly used.
We were not discussing ‘tight-knit’
A ‘loose-knit community’ would have…
Yes, would have. I’ve never heard the term, perhaps it exists. But it’s used as an adjective here, not a verb as in our case. Point irrelevant.
A social network is often mathematically/academically/professionally described as a bunch of points, clustered, with connections between them.
Even the very word ‘network’ is etymylogically derived from a net, an interwoven mesh.
You very much can literally loosen or tighten a net, make one that is more pourous or more dense in terms of threads in any given surface area.
Hey there ya go, even Threads is an actual name for a social network.
I think the metaphor or analogy of social networks being described by other terms that literally apply to an actual net or fabric is… actually incredibly common.
All this is irrelevant. Of course you can describe loose networks. Or meshes. Or nets. Note loose is an adjective in all of these cases, again. Not the usage we were originally discussing.
… You’ve never heard a person being described as having 'loose ties to (other person/group)?
Yeah I’ve heard. Adjective again.
Have you never watched any kind of detective show, a ‘stop the terrorists’ political action thriller?
Ok then, if you’re unwilling to be just ever so slighlty more flexible with idioms and general examples of the flexibility of loose in English, and a brief overview of the etymology of the evolution of ‘loose’…
…let me be more direct and precise:
…
Loose is a verb, in addition to being an adjective.
Loosing is when that verb is formulated into the present tense.
Loosing as a verb has multiple meanings, including:
Expelling something away from you physically.
The archer is loosing an arrow.
Letting something escape from you, or move away from you, either temporarily or permanently.
Tom is loosing his dog.
Unleashing something from within you, outward, often speech or emotions, but it could be something physically tangible.
Shush! Anna is loosing her real feelings on John right now.
Allowing something to affect the world in a broader sense, scope, or scale.
ChatGPT is loosing upon the world a dark age of widespread illiteracy.
Making a connection, a binding, a tether, etc, constrain something in a less restrictive manner.
By loosing the knot around the cleat, I am loosing the boat from the dock, but only slightly.
…
I really don’t see how it is really that much of a stretch to take some of these uses of ‘loosing’ as a verb, and see that either one, or multiple simultaneous of these definitions, and interpret the phrase ‘loosing my social connections’ into something that essentially means… ‘letting them slip away’.
I do not really think it is thus ‘grammatically incorrect’.
I will give you that usage of loose or loosing as a verb is nowadays fairly uncommon, to the point of possibly being considered archaic…
But then if that is the case, as it is with many words and phrases from 100+ years ago or w/e…
…well then you’d be doing a bit of extra interpretive work anyway, not really that distinct from just being a bit more idiomatically flexible with the range of current meanings of ‘loose/loosing.’
…
Perhaps I am simply older than you, and/or have read more older books, watched older visual/audio media where ‘loose’ is more commonly used as a verb.
Ok sealion. We are gonna use loose as a verb the way you want it, not the way English speakers want it. You win. Go loose your social ties if it makes sense to you
We’re discussing the use of lose and loose in particular, not other words; and in the specific context of the text in this meme. Just because you can think of plenty of examples of social networks that have loose structures (and so can I, and most people) doesn’t mean it’s okay to use the word any way you feel is right for you.
Or in other words, a sentence can be structurally sound but be invalid in terms of cultural convention and language use. And in such a case, it’s still deemed to be grammatically incorrect - whether it’s misspelling or misusing of the word.
But you have the right to disagree all you want.
We were not discussing ‘tight-knit’
Yes, would have. I’ve never heard the term, perhaps it exists. But it’s used as an adjective here, not a verb as in our case. Point irrelevant.
All this is irrelevant. Of course you can describe loose networks. Or meshes. Or nets. Note loose is an adjective in all of these cases, again. Not the usage we were originally discussing.
Yeah I’ve heard. Adjective again.
Yes, I have. Irrelevant though.
Ok then, if you’re unwilling to be just ever so slighlty more flexible with idioms and general examples of the flexibility of loose in English, and a brief overview of the etymology of the evolution of ‘loose’…
…let me be more direct and precise:
…
Loose is a verb, in addition to being an adjective.
Loosing is when that verb is formulated into the present tense.
Loosing as a verb has multiple meanings, including:
…
I really don’t see how it is really that much of a stretch to take some of these uses of ‘loosing’ as a verb, and see that either one, or multiple simultaneous of these definitions, and interpret the phrase ‘loosing my social connections’ into something that essentially means… ‘letting them slip away’.
I do not really think it is thus ‘grammatically incorrect’.
I will give you that usage of loose or loosing as a verb is nowadays fairly uncommon, to the point of possibly being considered archaic…
But then if that is the case, as it is with many words and phrases from 100+ years ago or w/e…
…well then you’d be doing a bit of extra interpretive work anyway, not really that distinct from just being a bit more idiomatically flexible with the range of current meanings of ‘loose/loosing.’
…
Perhaps I am simply older than you, and/or have read more older books, watched older visual/audio media where ‘loose’ is more commonly used as a verb.
Ok sealion. We are gonna use loose as a verb the way you want it, not the way English speakers want it. You win. Go loose your social ties if it makes sense to you
So basically you don’t commonly use loose as a verb, I do, and always have, and this makes apparently me a sealion.
Dialects exist within English.
You are evidently not American, as in USAmerican.
I am.
Where I come from, using loose as a verb is fairly common.
Stop being an intolerant ass.