Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Path: utzoo!linus!wivax!decvax!ittvax!ittral!laidbak!ihnp4!houxm!hocda!spanky!burl!duke!unc!tim
From: tim@unc.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.jokes,net.followup
Subject: Re: (sic)
Message-ID: <5466@unc.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 29-Jun-83 13:17:34 EDT
Article-I.D.: unc.5466
Posted: Wed Jun 29 13:17:34 1983
Date-Received: Thu, 30-Jun-83 12:59:01 EDT
References: wdl1.179
Lines: 20


    From my own experience on a student newspaper, I have a few things
to say about "[sic]" in published letters to the editor.  Typically, if
a letter comes in with a spelling mistake or two, you think nothing of
it and let the proofreaders correct the spelling.  However, some
letters are so incredibly full of spelling mistakes that it really
leaps out at you.  Reading these letters really makes you wonder about
the person's command of language, and therefore thought.  These
letters are the ones you print without correction, although "[sic]" is
usually overkill.  There are very few borderline cases.  The "[sic]"
is used only in borderline cases that are noteworthy, for instance
from an athletic director who consistently uses the spelling
"atheletic" -- they really should know better.

======================================
The overworked keyboard of Tim Maroney

duke!unc!tim (USENET)
tim.unc@udel-relay (ARPA)
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill