Thread:Gsbr/@comment-6493791-20150603022258/@comment-2253059-20150603054722

Thank you for your message, I truly appreciate it. I still feel badly about this whole affair and the way I conducted myself, but it's good see progress is being made towards ending the conflict.

I am interested in your opinion on the matter that started this fight: whether "dropped" or "fell" should be used when describing how Zara wound up in the Mosasaurus' tank. BadlyBruisedMuse favored "dropped" because he believed it was "the more accurate verb since the more grammatically correct term is dropped when regarding something that has fallen from something's grip, whether intentional or not." He argued "the word Fall or Fell is used to describe something that was upright and then fell over, not something that has fallen from someone's or something's grip. Technically it could be said that way - with the use of fall, but dropped is more technical in its application in this instance."

I preferred "fell" for the following reasons I believed in:

- "Fell" accurately depicts what is shown in the previews. We see Zara fall; we see her falling into the Mosasaurus' pool.

- While "fell" does not always refer to someone who descended from a higher position, the context of Zara's article establishes that's what happened to her. It states she was grabbed by a flying reptile that would have taken her into the air. Thus, when it says she "fell," it is clear this means she moved downwards from the place in the air the Pteranodon brought her.

- "Dropped" is not a particularly specific verb; like "fell," it has different meanings (e.g. "to abandon or discontinue"). It is the context of the article that establishes what exactly is meant by "dropped," also like "fell."

- It is easy to interpret "dropped" as the Pteranodon intentionally dropping Zara. Grammatically speaking, simply saying Zara was "dropped" by the Pteranodon does not mean it was intentional, it is neutral in regards to motive, but it can be misinterpreted as such. This is because as English-speakers and writers, we often assume actions were done on purpose if there's nothing suggests otherwise (like an adverb or other contextual clues). It's difficult to explain why; I guess it's just a quirk of the English language. And we shouldn't say the Pteranodon intentionally or unintentionally dropped Zara right now because we don't know what caused it to release her. We haven't even seen the Pteranodon let go of her.

What are your thoughts on this? Should we keep "dropped" or change it to "fell"? Or would it be better if we used an entirely different verb altogether?