Spelling and Punctuation

[Gerund]

Our local newspaper constantly gets their spelling and punctuation wrong, a lot of the time they use homophones sometimes using the correct one and wrong one in the same article.

What really really really really annoys me is that you can't follow the flow of the story when you read the article quickly. I have to stop, re-read it, think about what they meant, and then read on. For example I read:-

"I was driving down the road and the other car went through a red light. I hit my breaks really hard and still hit the other car."

I read that and stop at "breaks" and think, "What was broken? How did that make them hit the other car? Didn't they maintain their car?" I read on to the end of the story, looking for some explanation of what was wrong with their car, what caused the accident. Perhaps my car needs checking. There is nothing. I start again. Still nothing.

Then I realise, they meant "brakes" and nothing was broken. So I start again, and I have wasted a minute or so on something I should have finished after 10 seconds.

I go on to the next article, and something similar stops me again. Another minute is gone. Another waste of time, trying to understand something simple. The supply of wrong words seems endless. It would be easy for someone to tell me to "Get over it. They mean brakes." But the next time I see "brake" it is somewhere that should be "break".

"I stopped work for a brake and my boss told me I should still be working."

Why can't they spell?

Why can't they punctuate?

Don't try telling me that they are only expressing themselves, either. What use is it, expressing yourself when I can't understand you, and I end up not reading anything you say because of that?

[HYHYBT]

It's tempting to say that it's because the smart people know it's a dying field and stay out of it. But that wouldn't be nice, and probably neither fair nor accurate either.

[Kheldarson]

It's not so much they can't spell as much they're human and under a time limit. Within a time limit, they have to do whatever required research they have (interviews, actual research, etc.), do their write up, proofread, and submit. Their editors have to do multiple stories, also under a tight deadline. So things get missed.

[Gerund]

It's tempting to say that it's because the smart people know it's a dying field and stay out of it. But that wouldn't be nice, and probably neither fair nor accurate either.

Also something that starts "It's tempting to say" is most likely trolling, but it's not nice to say that either.

[Gerund]

So things get missed.

Then why can other newspapers (and other posters on forums) do it OK?

[Bloodsoul]

Wizards of the Coast was notorious for this when it came to their Dungeons & Dragons: 3rd Edition books. It's almost become a game in-and-of-itself to find them.

The most notorious I can think of was in The Complete Divine, where the favored weapon of the deity, Tharizdûn, was "CheckToEE" — as in, "Check Temple of Elemental Evil." The writer left a note to do so, apparently never did it, and never took the note out!

[HYHYBT]

[QUOTE=Gerund;154925]Also something that starts "It's tempting to say" is most likely trolling.../QUOTE]Sheer nonsense.

[Kheldarson]

Then why can other newspapers (and other posters on forums) do it OK?

Well, other newspapers may have more people which means a greater time period to properly check for mistakes.

As for individual people on forums, well, that answer is too varied as to be helpful

[blas87]

I work under people who make double, triple, whatever more than I make, and they have the reading/writing comprehension of maybe 6th graders. If that. And they will send some of the most business inappropriate e-mails, yet we are always threatend about forwarding chain jokes or pictures.

And these are supposed to be business e-mails/correspondence chains, like I said. When my manager gets really upset, he'll forward an e-mail in practically all capital letters making some incredibly immature cliche or movie saying to get his point across.

Lead by example? I think not. If I sent my boss or manager an e-mail with the subject reading "The squeaky wheel gets the grease, but there's three other wheels doing the exact same fucking job and not complaining!", I'd be fired.

[SongsOfDragons]

You have to proofread maps too...when you're putting in your fifteenth 'Track' or 'Drain' in two kilometres square you forget it's a word and occasionally the odd 'Drian' sneaks in...and I found a 'Trap' on the current bit I'm doing

[KellyHabersham]

Sounds like the management company who'd taken over my apartment complex - whenever they sent out a notice about, say......upcoming apartment inspections, whomever was responsible either didn't speak English as a first language, or they didn't bother to proofread.