Save us from sick eagles

[PassedOut]

Do editors still exist? I understand that it costs money to hire grammar and style experts, but maybe they could just hire a high school kid to read every story in the paper before it hits the streets.

 

Many years ago a textbook salesperson was in my office pushing her product, a text that had many errors. I couldn't have scripted the conversation better:

 

Me: You need to have proofreaders do their best, and then give the book to a graduate student and agree to pay him $50 for every error he finds.

Sales rep: $50? That would be far too expensive.

 

Me: Exactly.

I once worked for a company that put out an internal manual with the title "Qualty Assurance Procedures."

[barmar]

I don't need a proofreader, I never make misteaks.

[mycroft]

"<company>, where the quality goes in before the name falls off"

[Fluffy]

For people like mw who still has doubts about how some words are spelled this thread is being terrible, I could get angle and eagles as I know those words but I am scared some others I am reading are also wrong and get on the back of my mind wrongly.

[kenberg]

For people like mw who still has doubts about how some words are spelled this thread is being terrible, I could get angle and eagles as I know those words but I am scared some others I am reading are also wrong and get on the back of my mind wrongly.

 

Indeed.. I am a native English speaker and trust me, I have often said things that come out far differently than what I intended. I don't at all want to harrass people who mis-speak.

 

I just found the "No illeagles" amusing,. There is an old Tom Lehrer song, Be Prepared, which parodies the Boy Scout's motto as well as the general advice given to these young men. One piece of advice:" Don't write naughty words on walls if you can't spell."

 

I included the "You are our Angles" part because it was pretty clear that the youngsters had some adult help in writing this and I thought adults, before setting kids to work on such things, really might check it out first. But I was more uncertain about including it. The difference is that in this latter case some social good was actually intended and accomplished. I support, and in fact gave a bit, to this send a kid to camp effort. It seems like a fine idea. The "No illeagles" campaign is mean spirited. Personally, I think the issue of what to do with this massive influx of kids is not simple. For example, it seems to me we couold say something such as "We can't rescue all kids everywhere but we can rescue some, but we need to organize this a lot better than we have.been doing". But there is some real mean spiritedness out there.

 

Anyway, I agree with your general point of not climbing all over someone if what they say is not quite ready for publicatin in a refereed journal.

[onoway]

This spring, the local grade 5 class put on a fund raiser $2 lunch (toony being the slang word for $2 Canadian coin) supposedly to promote literacy. The signs all over the village included the phrase "a toony for tution." To add insult to ignorance the prize for the child who sold the most tickets was the opportunity to throw a pie in the principal's face. The whole thing was distressing.

[PassedOut]

This spring, the local grade 5 class put on a fund raiser $2 lunch (toony being the slang word for $2 Canadian coin) supposedly to promote literacy. The signs all over the village included the phrase "a toony for tution." To add insult to ignorance the prize for the child who sold the most tickets was the opportunity to throw a pie in the principal's face. The whole thing was distressing.

Seems the cause is worthwhile though...

:)

[mgoetze]

Anyway, I agree with your general point of not climbing all over someone if what they say is not quite ready for publicatin in a refereed journal.

I can't agree with you're point of view. Those loosers defiantly deserve to be showed up.