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From: tac@cholula.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.flame
Subject: Re: "(sp?): considered wimpy
Message-ID: <39@cholula.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 25-Feb-85 13:45:54 EST
Article-I.D.: cholula.39
Posted: Mon Feb 25 13:45:54 1985
Date-Received: Wed, 27-Feb-85 08:40:24 EST
References: <686@decwrl.UUCP>
Organization: Teltone Corp., Kirkland, WA
Lines: 52

, (sop to the blank line eaters--consider it a religious sacrifice)

   Well, I have listened to the arguments raging back and forth for
a while now, it is about time I put my 2 cents worth in. 

**** FLAME ON ****

   I have been severely flamed for spelling errors in the past, which
is not terribly surprising since I can't spell worth a damn.  The problem,
you see, is that I have better things to waste my internal RAM on than
the proper spelling of countless words which do not follow any rules.
[For example the rule as I was taugh is:  
    I before e with the exception of all of the words in the sentence:
    "Neither financier seized either species of weird leisure."
The only problem is that there are even more exceptions to this rule.]
I usually try to run my articles through a had use dictionary as I write
them.  I then try to run them through the online dictionary, also.  I
then run into the problem that I use--in frequent conversation--something
in excess of 500 words that are not included in either of these.  I could
"advance" to the least common denominator (as television tends to do) by
mearly decreasing my vocabulary to fit the 56000 entries in the Webster's
NewWorld Compact School and Office Dictionary provided at work logically
ORed with the 1940's erra dictionary that my grandmother used to use that
is on my desk at home logically ORed with the [God only knows what is in
the damn thing] online dictionary, and come out with a vocabulary of about
85 words.  As an alternative, I could tell you when I don't really know
how the word is spelled, so that you won't flame me, and hope that I may
INCREASE not only my own word usage vocabulary, but YOUR's as well.

I keep a sign on my wall.  It is a quote from Andrew Jackson.  It reads:

  "IT'S A DAMN POOR MIND THAT CAN THINK OF ONLY ONE WAY TO SPELL A WORD"

   So just remember, all of you selfrighteous twerps, it is your flames
about spelling that have caused some people to be so shy as to write
(SP?) when they are not sure of the spelling of a word that they use.

** FLAME OFF **

Now that that has been said, let me add that I also get aggrivated by
an article with too many spelling and gramatical errors.  I can't always
tell if I am interpreting the author correctly or not.  Yet, a simple
e-mail question can solve that problem without embarassment.

From the Soapbox of
Tom Condon     {...!uw-beaver!tikal!tac}  <== Note change!

A Radical A Day Keeps The Government At Bay.

DISCLAIMER:  The opinions expressed herein are those of everyone who
  matters, but not necessarily anyone you know, and most certainly not
  my employers!