Two other things that bring out the droves are comments critical of Trump and comments critical or mocking of Michael Jackson. The latter in particular is fascinating, because it appears that hardcore Jackson fans spend their time actively searching online for any mention of their god that they can get indignant about. I've seen tweets by people who never ordinarily tweet about Jackson suddenly being flooded with replies from angry Jacko fans over one passing comment or joke.
I never criticize anyone's spelling or grammar online. First, it's an informal medium; we're just shooting the breeze over the back fence. Second, for all I know, English isn't even the writer's first language. Third, don't be a jerk. Fourth, according to statistics I just made up, there's an 87% chance that your comment correcting someone else contains an error itself.
Your two sensitive. Sense when due you knead a cartoon to tale us weather or not it irks you when you're spelling mistakes are pointed out too you. Unnessecary!
I never point out online grammatical or spelling errors because I know it annoys people. I'm sure I've committed many myself. But it's especially disappointing to realize that almost no adults know the difference between "your" and "you're," and are unaware the expression is "should have" and not "should of."
(Ken, to my knowledge you've never made either error!)
I'm a professional editor, and I'll tell you that real editors never correct other people's work. With informal blogs like yours, we enjoy coming across a stray typo, misplaced comma, or other such errors because it reflects the informality of the moment and forms a direct connection between the writer and reader. The type of people who blow a gasket over a "their/they're/there" mistake are wannabe editors who maybe got abused by high-school teachers over their grammar, and now can't believe that some legitimate writer mistakenly puts a comma in "my writing partner, David Isaacs and I". The wannabe is saying, "Why can't *I* be a TV writer too!!"
The other thing is that if you had your blog proofread before making your posts, the proofreader would not just be correcting your blatant mistakes, but rewording your sentences in his/her voice. The fact that you have an occasional typo is evidence that we're reading YOU -- UNFILTERED.
So thanks for all the work you do in your blog. It's fun to read every day, and the occasional mistake keeps it real.
But it's getting worse. I routinely see "of" when they mean "off" or "to" for "too." I let obvious typos slide and most other mistakes, but always correct "calvary" when they mean "cavalry," or when they insert "Congressional" in front of "Medal of Honor."
Wendy M. Grossman: Very true, but too many editors try to justify their existence by finding mistakes where there are none. It's a battle I've fought in every editorial office I've worked in.
Oh, and looking back at my own comment, I could have used some editing. Should have said that real editors never give UNSOLICITED corrections to other people's work.
There is a handful of folks that I correct and they correct me privately. My friend wrote a post about Karens today and misspelled Karen once. HE'D want to know. I'd want to know.
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The sort of nonsense up with which you should not put.
ReplyDeleteTwo other things that bring out the droves are comments critical of Trump and comments critical or mocking of Michael Jackson. The latter in particular is fascinating, because it appears that hardcore Jackson fans spend their time actively searching online for any mention of their god that they can get indignant about. I've seen tweets by people who never ordinarily tweet about Jackson suddenly being flooded with replies from angry Jacko fans over one passing comment or joke.
ReplyDeleteROFL!
ReplyDeleteMy daughter is an editor - she will love this!
I never criticize anyone's spelling or grammar online. First, it's an informal medium; we're just shooting the breeze over the back fence. Second, for all I know, English isn't even the writer's first language. Third, don't be a jerk. Fourth, according to statistics I just made up, there's an 87% chance that your comment correcting someone else contains an error itself.
ReplyDeleteKen
ReplyDeleteYour two sensitive. Sense when due you knead a cartoon to tale us weather or not it irks you when you're spelling mistakes are pointed out too you. Unnessecary!
Get the punctuation right, too. Lives are at stake.
ReplyDeleteI never point out online grammatical or spelling errors because I know it annoys people. I'm sure I've committed many myself. But it's especially disappointing to realize that almost no adults know the difference between "your" and "you're," and are unaware the expression is "should have" and not "should of."
ReplyDelete(Ken, to my knowledge you've never made either error!)
I think the internet for humans is like giving monkeys guns: nothing good is going to come of it.
ReplyDeleteI got nailed on a post by a misplaced apostrophe.
ReplyDeleteI'm a professional editor, and I'll tell you that real editors never correct other people's work. With informal blogs like yours, we enjoy coming across a stray typo, misplaced comma, or other such errors because it reflects the informality of the moment and forms a direct connection between the writer and reader. The type of people who blow a gasket over a "their/they're/there" mistake are wannabe editors who maybe got abused by high-school teachers over their grammar, and now can't believe that some legitimate writer mistakenly puts a comma in "my writing partner, David Isaacs and I". The wannabe is saying, "Why can't *I* be a TV writer too!!"
ReplyDeleteThe other thing is that if you had your blog proofread before making your posts, the proofreader would not just be correcting your blatant mistakes, but rewording your sentences in his/her voice. The fact that you have an occasional typo is evidence that we're reading YOU -- UNFILTERED.
So thanks for all the work you do in your blog. It's fun to read every day, and the occasional mistake keeps it real.
The one thing that bugs me the most on the internet is when people misspell "definitely" as "defiantly." Those are two completely different words!
ReplyDelete(whoops--accidentally submitted anonymously) Retake!
ReplyDeleteMy main gripe is with those who write incoherent sentences that only confuse whatever thought they want to convey.
Michael in Vancouver: A good proofreader does not alter the original writer's voice.
ReplyDeletewg
But it's getting worse. I routinely see "of" when they mean "off" or "to" for "too." I let obvious typos slide and most other mistakes, but always correct "calvary" when they mean "cavalry," or when they insert "Congressional" in front of "Medal of Honor."
ReplyDeleteWendy M. Grossman: Very true, but too many editors try to justify their existence by finding mistakes where there are none. It's a battle I've fought in every editorial office I've worked in.
ReplyDeleteOh, and looking back at my own comment, I could have used some editing. Should have said that real editors never give UNSOLICITED corrections to other people's work.
ReplyDeleteThere is a handful of folks that I correct and they correct me privately. My friend wrote a post about Karens today and misspelled Karen once. HE'D want to know. I'd want to know.
ReplyDelete@Joseph Scarbrough
ReplyDeleteThe internet also thinks "lose" and "loose" are the same word, using the latter when they mean the former.