The Tempest thread (confirmed 100% weaponry free)

I'm not "so bent"... I didn't even say as much as it annoyed me; and I'm quite sure in all the lines of dialogue in Star Trek there were places where Enterprise was refered to as the Enterprise.  My point was merely that the article is not always superfluous... yet you're the one who snapped back about there likely being no ships with names of people in Mass Effect... so I merely explained myself in more detail.  It's just my natural response when someone responds to me and leaves me with the impression that they've either misunderstood me or misunderstood my intentions.  Sorry if that bothers you.  Perhaps I should have worded the first line as "It doesn't bother me at all if you crinkle your nose." rather than just saying "you can crinkle your nose all you like.|" [Shrug]

I'll let it go... no worries.  Just thought the above bolded part was you being sarcastic.

Or to use a close to home exemple: The Normandy.
There are several instances were people refer to it as the Normandy.

For avoid future arguments, I raise the motion we rename her to the "SSV Lollipop".

For it's a good ship.

I will henceforth refer to you as The bshep. It will make you sound sort of epic, so you probably won't mind.

The idea behind ship nomenclature, an idea which seems to still exist in the era of ME**, is that a ship is not a thing, it is a she, and she has a proper name.

Enterprise. Normandy. Tempest. These are proper names. One does not typically put this definite article in front of a proper name, and this is why it sounds stupid when it is done. (No doubt someone will now asspull a lame, corner case example in a pointless effort to be contradictory.) Only non-sailors make this mistake of addressing their ship as a thing. Shepard and Normandy's crew would not have made this mistake, which is why it grates the nerves. 

Hopefully, I've finally, adequately explained why this is the case. No, I don't expect everyone to "fall in line and agree" like little Eezo-drones, but at least the concept should be familiar for any to whom it wasn't, previously. (I'm also glad this has shifted tone to a discussion.)

**I'm sure some would've asked me to "prove" that this nomenclature still exists in 22C. I'll submit two lines of evidence.

One, it is actually used fairly consistently by some characters in the series. Joker is a good example. Legion is another. Universal consistency, as is the issue with so many little details, is lacking across all characters/writers, likely due to gaps in the writers' own knowledge or familiarity with the topic. Again, I point to the left-handed salutes and other military-related gaffes.

Two, the people of Mass Effect are us, 170 years from now. While this is more a supposition, it makes sense to believe that this old naval tradition would survive, especially in light of the above in-game evidence.

EDIT: For what it's worth, I just confirmed my thought with a retired US Navy officer. (I'd forgotten I had one very close at hand!) It's totally anecdotal and completely unprovable to you lot, but that's hardly the point. Google could tell you the truth of what I've been trying to say, if that were the point of the conversation. Definite articles are an absolute no-no in the US Navy, and I believe it's the same in the Royal Navy and many "related" nations. The tradition is very old. Anyway, he tells me that some guys might use the article in casual conversation, but not many, in his experience, and not about the ship on which they're actively serving. Personal anecdotes, for what they're worth...

Ultimately, this is a minor little thing in a big work of fiction. It's been amusing, and surprisingly entertaining in the end, to see how far my tiny, throw away comment spiraled.

Eezo, do you have any clue about article (definite, indefinite OR zero) usage?

Come on. This is The BSN. It couldn't happen any other way.

But you can't really apply this kind of reasoning to Mass Effect.
First it's not like the crew is all made from one sex (except asari military) or that there is any kind of rule against dalliance between crew members be it from same genre/different genre or even different species.

I lost count of how many times Shepard reffered to "the Normandy" during dialogues, and i am pretty sure he wasn't thinking on his mom(spacer).

Actually yes I can.
Like any game with humans in it Mass Effect has two recognized genders for humans (luckily this is changing): Male and Female though as to why your saying that it is only one gender makes no sense.

Futhermore as to Mass Effect not having the mother code; I must disagree. Otherwise Lizbeth from Feros in ME verbal abuse would not have been and seeing her mother get killed would not be an issue. Likewise with Jack and Miranda since in ME2 and ME3 they both suffered at Cerberus' hands. Jack being taken from her family showing the scars that usually can be associated with such sort trauma and then becomes a sort of teacher in ME3 showing her developing the mother tendency. Miranda has it just as bad being genetically perfect and yet shows all the symptoms of someone who rebels and looking for a place to belong simply because they are not really shown love of any kind and yet she has a sister/motherly love of her sister wanting her to be "normal" and content to find she has so much more the normal life than Miranda ever had herself. Furthermore does she display it when confronting her father in ME3 she shows it by protecting her sister vs her father. If this was not there then both she and Jack would have gone Darth Vader and killed anyone associated: Jack killing herself and or the kids (should she have somehow made it that far) and Miranda killing her father, her sister and her sisters' family.

Clever use of the word "Dalliance" though I am not sure how it applies here since to spend an excessive amount of time on crew interaction or a passing interest in say quantum mechanics or even how a social romantic relationship plays into the naming of a ship.

Also as Element Zero has stated the people who wrote the game were WRITERS NOT Military people or the naming code for HUMAN ships of these games would have been more consistent when spoken.

What do you mean with that?

I was not saying people want to disrespect ships by inserting the article but by them doing so from a military standpoint it is disrespectful -at least during my time it was looked down upon. It may not be wrong but it definitely can hit a sour note with at least some military people like myself. Ironically in the context of the Mass Effect Trilogy; Shepard was military and many of the crew is civilian so there is credence in the "it" argument and that argument fits the military dialogue and the civilian throughout the games.

I think I'm really looking forward to no loading screens on the Tempest, and I also am intrigued as to how the rest of the ship looks. The bridge looks really different than the Normandy (as it should). I hope we get to see more of the inside before the game launches.