Vhmrrxutkvbziepg

From: Teo Zenios <teoz_at_neo.rr.com>
Date: Mon Feb 2 17:06:33 2004

----- Original Message -----
From: "Doc Shipley" <doc_at_mdrconsult.com>
To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts"
<cctalk_at_classiccmp.org>
Sent: Monday, February 02, 2004 4:54 PM
Subject: Re: Vhmrrxutkvbziepg


>
> BS. Nobody's correcting anything that's in the gray zone.
>
> Why do we "go out of our way" to correct abominable grammar,
> spelling, or the latest "Caps-don't-mean-shit-to-me-so-why-bother"
> attitude?
>
> Because it's like fingernails on a chalk board. Because I write
> technical documentation for a living and I know that, no matter what
> the lazy writer or correspondent wants to believe, it *does* matter.
> If nothing else, it makes the writer appear sloppy and uneducated. To
> the literate reader, even a minor mistake in spelling or punctuation
> causes a stop and check, costing time and irritation.
>
> For a person whose first language is not English, and there are many
> on this list, your claim that "the target audience knows exactly what
> your[0] talking about" is not a reasonable assumption at all. It's
> only your familiarity with idiom and correct usage that allows you to
> translate the mistakes easily.
>
> Mostly, to me, it's insulting. I go to some trouble to make sure
> that my writing and my correspondence are correctly proofed and
> sensible. I sort of expect the same behavior, especially in a group of
> ostensibly intelligent and educated technicians.
>
> A total absence, or random misuse, of capitals and punctuation not
> only negates any credibility the writer or poster might have had, and
> the post takes much, much longer to parse. I usually don't bother to
> try to read that sort of spew at all.
>
> Mostly I go to the trouble to correct consistent bad grammar or
> spelling because much of what I know I learned when somebody told me
> "Hey, did you know you're screwing that up?" If I can't take
> reasonable correction and learn from it, that pretty much defines me as
> an idiot.
>
>
> Doc, putting away the soapbox
>
> [0] Took all I had not to misquote that.
>
>

As time goes on and I type 95% of my correspondence instead of writing it to
paper with pen I find my handwriting has grown worse then in my school days
and I rely more on a spellchecker then proofreading. If I did writing for a
living, or better yet proofread technical writing on a daily basis my skills
probably would not have grown worse with time.

Twenty years from now I would be embarrassed to read something I posted
earlier that was technically incorrect and wouldn't worry too much about an
obvious spelling mistake. I don't think topics posted on this mailinglist
are going to be published, but people will be googling through it to get
technical information.

Judging from your reply if I would have written a book outlining the real
origins of the universe you would quit reading it after you found the 3rd
spelling or grammar mistake? Granted if I did print such a book I would have
it proofread by experts in English grammar, but I feel that the knowledge
your trying to convey is more important then the few easy to spot errors in
grammar. In a perfect world everybody would have the same skills in
everything, but that's not the way things are. I will take correct content
over correct grammar anyday.
Received on Mon Feb 02 2004 - 17:06:33 GMT