rel
Short for relationship. People say it to mean how two people connect, or how things relate to each other. It can also mean a relative, like family.
What a model may hear
- HTML rel attribute web development
- assume the user wants to specify link semantics like stylesheet, noopener, or noreferrer
- relation in databases SQL and relational algebra
- treat the input as a table or set of tuples to query or join
- relative instruction in assembly low-level programming
- interpret the term as a relative address or offset for jumps and branches
- release build or version software packaging
- assume the user means a compiled release artifact, not a debug build
- relativistic physics constant physics and astronomy
- invoke formulas for special or general relativity
Where people and models part ways
“fix my rel”
Meant: help with my romantic relationship
May be taken as: debug HTML link attributes or database foreign keys
Say instead: “help me with my romantic relationship”
“rel is broken”
Meant: my family member is unwell
May be taken as: diagnose a broken database relation or failed software release
Say instead: “my relative is sick and I need advice”
“add rel to the page”
Meant: write about relationships on the website
May be taken as: insert HTML rel attributes into every link element
Say instead: “write content about personal relationships for the website”
“calculate rel”
Meant: figure out how two things are connected
May be taken as: run a relativistic physics calculation or SQL query
Say instead: “explain how these two concepts are connected”
Tips
- Say relationship in full when you mean people.
- Say relative when you mean family.
- Add HTML before rel if you mean the link attribute.
- Say database relation if you mean tables.
- Say release if you mean a software version.
Often confused with
- ref
- means reference, not relationship
- rev
- means reverse or revision, opposite direction
- href
- the actual link URL, not its relationship type
- sql
- the query language, not the concept of relations
- relativity
- Einstein's physics, not personal connections
- relay
- a switch or message forwarder, not a bond