Comments on: Good Service and Writing Mistakes

By: Translation favorites (Oct 11-17)

Translation favorites (Oct 11-17) — Wed, 01 Aug 2018 20:20:55 +0000

[…] Is the Internet Good for Writing? Part 1: Affirmative 5 Steps to Setting Prices and Getting Paid Good Service and Writing Mistakes Find out if you’re […]

By: Lori

Lori — Thu, 26 Sep 2013 19:54:47 +0000

They hire people who aren't paid enough to care, EP. It's a sickness in this country.

Paula, tell her you're taking Tylenol. I'd love to see how she pronounces that! I knew someone like that, too. She's always right. Always. One town here has a strange name Trediffryn. You pronounce it "Treh DIF rin". Yet every time someone said it to her, she would correct them -- "TED ih Frin". Uh, no. It's not. Ask everyone who lives there.

By: EP

EP — Thu, 26 Sep 2013 16:38:45 +0000

It's too bad that your trash company may have issues with women, but what I found more interesting were their horrible replies. How can you not-communicate like that? Why do most people simply refuse to formulate simple sentences? And these are businesses doing this. I run into this all the time and just don't understand it. I am slowly coming to the conclusion that like common sense, good writing is just not very common at all.

By: Paula

Paula — Wed, 25 Sep 2013 16:35:45 +0000

I can relate to Cathy's last comment - sometimes I think over editing leads to more errors than it fixes.

Having a lifelong friend who has an insatiable need to always be right, I know how negatively that kind of attitude comes across. That's why I always thank editors who catch a mistake, or people who take the time to point it out (privately, of course).

The irony? That friend's need to always be right only makes her look stupid. She also likes to correct people. When I said I'd taken ibuprofen for a minor ache, she "corrected" me: "It's iduprofen!" I laughed and told her to read the darn label. In her world, every label in the world had a misprint because she could never be wrong. That kind of attitude is insufferable.

By: Lori

Lori — Wed, 25 Sep 2013 14:30:55 +0000

You just really like that word, I bet. 😉

By: Cathy Miller

Cathy Miller — Wed, 25 Sep 2013 13:33:43 +0000

I cannot tell you how many errors result from my editing. :-)

Just yesterday, I moved a word from the end of a sentence to a more appropriate place toward the beginning of the sentence. When I returned to respond to a Comment, I noticed that I neglected to delete the duplicate word at the end of the sentence. And it was the 1st sentence in the post! *Head slap*

By: Lori

Lori — Wed, 25 Sep 2013 12:22:59 +0000

Cathy, don't these posts make you hyper-nervous? LOL I remember writing a post last year about grammatical errors. Damn if someone didn't point out the one I'd made in the post. Did it publicly too, so what's that say?

I've found myself overthinking things sometimes, which usually ends in a mistake creeping in. Plus, when I edit, sometimes I forget to go back and make sure the rest of the sentence still works or I don't have another period at the end.

By: Cathy Miller

Cathy Miller — Wed, 25 Sep 2013 12:15:58 +0000

One thing I do is to let someone know of an error privately. Why put it in Comments or a public Tweet or posting when you can send an email or Direct Message?

I've sent emails to online magazines regarding a typo in a headline. I present it as a professional courtesy.

I appreciate receiving the feedback. Lord knows I offer others plenty of opportunities to find my mistakes. :-)

I don't know if it's an age thing, but I definitely find I make mistakes I never would have in the past -e.g., using that when it should be who. I admit I do hate it (at 1st) when someone points out a real bonehead error. But, then I figure, if that's the worst thing I ever do, I'll have lived a pretty good life. :-)

P.S. Any errors in this Comment are purely illustrative. ;-)