Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 6/24/83; site looking.UUCP
Path: utzoo!watmath!looking!brad
From: brad@looking.UUCP (Brad Templeton)
Newsgroups: net.flame
Subject: English Usage - Some reasons to clean up.
Message-ID: <119@looking.UUCP>
Date: Sun, 18-Dec-83 00:00:00 EST
Article-I.D.: looking.119
Posted: Sun Dec 18 00:00:00 1983
Date-Received: Mon, 19-Dec-83 00:25:13 EST
References: <132@tpvax.fluke.UUCP>
Organization: Looking Glass Software, Waterloo, Ontario
Lines: 21

We all know people are sloppy in informal conversation.  Most people I
know, when sending mail messages, will not bother to capitalize, punctuate
or correct typos.  But the net is a different thing.  Depending on the
group, you are posting to thousands of readers.  Sending your message
around the world will cost a fair number of dollars and consume a
sizable number of "person-hours".

This is a general plea for people to take more care in posting.  It's
a courtesy you can do for the many people who will read what you say.
Few people would ever write a letter to the editor without checking it,
and I would like people to take the same attitude towards news.

If I see something like, "This is a good drink to have when your thirsty",
my opinion of the poster drops a great deal.  Whatever the content of the
message, it's hard to take a message seriously when the poster shows
clearly that he or she didn't care that much about it.  I'm not saying
that people should have perfect English - criticism of semi-colon placement
is a lot of garbage.  But errors that no educated person should make should
be yelled at until they go away.
-- 
	Brad Templeton - Waterloo, Ontario (519) 886-7304