Language and English

From: Doc <doc_at_mdrconsult.com>
Date: Fri Jan 4 11:05:43 2002

On Fri, 4 Jan 2002, Richard Erlacher wrote:
> When I was in the 8th grade, one of the courses we were required to take was
> in typing. I've never gotten particularly good at it, but I did learn that
> a period at the end of a sentence is followed by two spaces, for example.

  Wow. I really _do_ learn something new every day. Cool. (Never took
typing, and, in fact, make do with the left index finger.)

> If you insist on writing in a style reminiscent of E. E. Cummings poetry,
> you may find that your messages are read by readers of this forum with about
> the same frequency as E.E. Cummings' work, which might be a shame, in case
> you really do have something significant to contribute. or in case I'm the
> only one who doesn't read much Cummings.

  Nah, I like ee cummings. And not to nitpick, but your rendering of
his name is incorrect. I do detest the fact that the owners of the
copyrights to his work systematically search the web for quotes of his
poetry, and complain and/or sue. That is, however, a whole other
thread.

  cummings' poetry is entirely without capitalization, and mostly
without punctuation, but he used line placement and his phrasing to
pull the reader *gracefully* through a poem. Assuming, naturally, that
you enjoy his work. I submit that as an advanced literary skill,
rather than a lack of training.

  I submit further that none of the mortals on the classiccmp list have
evolved to that literary level.

  I also don't think that an objection to intentionally poor
communication is snobbery. I don't smoke, and I don't allow smoking in
my house. It is a matter of preserving a healthy, comfortable
environment. While I don't flatter myself that this is "my" list, I
joined it because the virtual environment is comfortable.

  Before anyone asks, "Yes." The arguments and the general codger
factor were/are a large part of the draw. Technical flame wars are the
WWF of the modern bit-nibbling crowd.

        Doc
Received on Fri Jan 04 2002 - 11:05:43 GMT