Comments on The Decline And Fall Of The Written Language--- Courtesy Of The Internet

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Passion--- And obviously the people who use your work to pass their

classes won't be "qualified" for whatever they are studying. Chalk up another big negative for the internet: Enhanced opportunity to cheat and let others do the work for you.

posted by Jazwolf on November 17, 2006 at 9:36 AM | link to this | reply

Passion and Blanche--- Long paragraphs and, even worse, one long

 block pargraph make me crazy. I honestly don't understand how anyone writing that way can believe that is a good way to present his (or her) work. But I've given up preaching about it. When I click on a blog that's written that way, I'm outta there, and I usually don't return.

posted by Jazwolf on November 17, 2006 at 9:30 AM | link to this | reply

Jazwolf,

I'm saddened by the growing illiteracy in this world.  So-called "professional" writers/editors, are actually allowing things to be printed/posted with too many "easy" mistakes and errors.  I wonder how these people get such jobs.  Who is hiring them, and who is their target audience?  Do people care so little lately about the art of writing?  It's very sad to me.  Almost everyone seems to be writings nowadays, but clearly, not everyone is a writer.  Just my thoughts.  Thanks.  :)

posted by BlackPearl1 on November 15, 2006 at 7:41 PM | link to this | reply

Blanche...I'm going to write a post on that one..

I've done the same thing as you and I always get crap from the stupid bloggers who don't realize how UN-readable their stuff is.

posted by Passionflower on November 15, 2006 at 2:47 PM | link to this | reply

I did raise the question of clarity or lack of it to you in my email I seem to recall.

posted by marieclaire66 on November 15, 2006 at 1:23 PM | link to this | reply

This is worrying and depressing really.

I am one of the guilty ones here and I know it.

posted by marieclaire66 on November 15, 2006 at 1:21 PM | link to this | reply

The one intransigent resistance to the reader's comprehension that causes

me to give up on reading or commenting on a blogger is when they refuse to paragraph their work in readable chunks. I've commented once or twice and asked that the blogger insert a couple of paragraphs, and been rebuffed. I stop reading. There are plenty of other bloggers to read.

posted by Blanche. on November 15, 2006 at 12:28 PM | link to this | reply

The internet is still a written medium, and you're right, Jazwolf, for

clarity and professionalism, not to mention for the sake of the reader's comprehension, grammar and punctuation are essential.

Too many misunderstandings arise out of a poor choice of words or punctuation, one word or punctuation mark can change the meaning of sentence completely.

As my ex-boss in Advertising at QWEST (formerly DBA as USWEST), used to say, "the burden of communication rests on the communicator".  I do know better even when I'm writing in a journal, I just don't bother to slow down and clean it up. I want to become a better writer, and that entails editing, a whole different kettle of fish.

I try to get my ego out of the way and ask for help.  If you wouldn't mind taking a look at my fiction blog, Terra Incognita Tales, I would appreciate any editorial feedback you care to offer.

posted by Blanche. on November 15, 2006 at 12:27 PM | link to this | reply

I'm currently earning extra cash by writing essay papers

For Lazy/dumb college students. They can't even write clear instructions about what their thesis is about. There's a huge market for this...this site I write for can't get enough qualified people to write these papers.

posted by Passionflower on November 15, 2006 at 12:23 PM | link to this | reply

Jazwolf,

Oh how I echo your thoughts!  It never ceases to amaze me that so much poor grammar and poor spelling can be so freely accepted.

I used to work for a small publication and the publisher was a writer, the main writer, the editor, a former college writing instructor, and picky about who wrote for him.

One day, he came into my office and asked me to edit an article written by someone moonlighting from the Kansas City Star and was, obviously, writing under a different name.  As I read through it, I was appalled at the poor grammar and spelling.  I couldn't believe that this was a person who had actually graduated from journalism school and had a degree!  I couldn't believe this was a person who was a staff writer for as large a publication as the Kansas City Star.

By the time I was done editing, I had practically rewritten the whole thing and when I gave it to the publisher, I had to ask just exactly why it was that he paid this person to write anything at all.  When he looked at it, he said it was the first time and the last time.    

 

 

 

posted by RAME on November 15, 2006 at 12:22 PM | link to this | reply