Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/5/84; site randvax.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!gamma!epsilon!zeta!sabre!petrus!bellcore!decvax!ittatc!dcdwest!sdcsvax!sdcrdcf!randvax!jim From: jim@randvax.UUCP (Jim Gillogly) Newsgroups: net.followup Subject: Re: literacy Message-ID: <2744@randvax.UUCP> Date: Fri, 18-Oct-85 15:10:18 EDT Article-I.D.: randvax.2744 Posted: Fri Oct 18 15:10:18 1985 Date-Received: Sat, 26-Oct-85 04:47:16 EDT References: <747@cyb-eng.UUCP> Distribution: net Organization: Banzai Institute Lines: 31 I just love it when people send spelling and grammar kvetches. That gives us all a chance to peer at them with a fine-toothed eyeball (oops, mixed metaphor) and rend them asunder without risking much of ourselves. The case in point: In article <747@cyb-eng.UUCP> bc@cyb-eng.UUCP (Bill Crews) writes: >Postings to the net routinely contain typographical errors. Most of my >postings are done via vi, but sometimes it is direct, and it is hard to ^^^^^ blew the agreement. "they are" >correct something typed "up there". Reading these typos is integral to >reading net news. > >However, many of the misspellings are repeated consistently, and seem to >be actual misspellings, however surprising that may be, given the average >education level of net posters. This is not to flame, but to inform the ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Well, I may be cheating here, but this looks like an assumption of an unsubstantiated pseudo-fact. For one thing, I don't know what the average education level of net posters is; and for another I don't know whether those who post creative spellings and grammatical gaucheries are at the average education level of net posters, many of whom seem to use their language (usually English, Dutch, or Esperanto) fluently. That was reaching a little, and I agreed with the rest of the message anyway, so I'll quit while (if?) I'm ahead... after I proofread this one twice more. -- Jim Gillogly {decvax, vortex}!randvax!jim jim@rand-unix.arpa