The reason eludes me...

jim.nelson said:
TWO spaces after a full stop.
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Yep, except browsers ignore the second (and 3rd and 4th and...) space, so in order to have it display that way you have to use   and who wants to type that out?
 
Tantalum said:
YES!

F****** love the oxford comma

How does it make any sense NOT to use it?
Click to expand...

You're in the pocket of the comma industry! Commas cost money young man!
 
jim.nelson said:
TWO spaces after a full stop.
Click to expand...
That used to be the norm, and I still do it, but that's no longer what is recommended and hasn't been for quite a while.

A couple of excerpts:

"Unless you are typing on an actual typewriter, you no longer have to put two spaces after a period. Or a question mark. Or an exclamation point. The rule applies to all end punctuation."

And

”nothing says "I'm over 40" like two spaces after a period!"
 
Pacifically (vs Atlantically) instead of specifically.

Physical year vs Fiscal. I've had directors responsible for budgets pooch this one routinely. It was even worse in the Army...

Axe vs ask. I have to say something when some wants to axe me something.

I could go on and on too more ours, but I like the time. You get the jist.
 
HOW TO WRITE GOOD


1. Avoid alliteration. Always.
2. Prepositions are not words to end sentences with.
3. Avoid clichés like the plague. (They're old hat.)
4. Employ the vernacular.
5. Eschew ampersands & abbreviations, etc.
6. Parenthetical remarks (however relevant) are unnecessary.
7. It is wrong to ever split an infinitive.
8. Contractions aren't necessary.
9. Foreign words and phrases are not apropos.
10. One should never generalize.
11. Eliminate quotations. As Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "I hate
quotations. Tell me what YOU know."
12. Comparisons are as bad as cliches.
13. Don't be redundant; don't use more words than necessary; it's
highly superfluous.
14. Be more or less specific.
15. Understatement is always best.
16. One-word sentences? Eliminate.
17. Analogies in writing are like feathers on a snake.
18. The passive voice is to be avoided.
19. Go around the barn at high noon to avoid colloquialisms.
20. Even if a mixed metaphor sings, it should be derailed.
21. Who needs rhetorical questions?
22. Exaggeration is a billion times worse than understatement.
 
I think I'm gonna sale my plane.
Wait, what? You sail a boat, but you fly a plane.
Nah, I'm gonna sale it.

:facepalm:
 
I thought the use of a semicolon was to join two clauses that could stand alone on their own as sentences. Washington and Lincoln isn't a stand alone clause.
 
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jim.nelson said:
And then there's the nested quotes issue. Nothing personal, just a pet peeve. One of many.
Click to expand...

And not to be ignored, the ol' upside-down apostrophe, for missing numbers or characters. Quite often seen when shortening a year, e.g., '14 model year car or some-such.

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Oh, and when people say "supposably" instead of "supposedly." Cringe-worthy!
 
EdFred said:
I thought the use of a semicolon was to join two clauses that could stand alone on their own as sentences. Washington and Lincoln isn't a stand alone clause.
Click to expand...
You're right, I believe that should be a colon...not semicolon...btw...I hate elipses...hate them...absolutely...
 
No semicolons or colons are involved in the example sentences. Stop trying to put them in there!
 
For all intensive purposes, this thread is off of the rails. Someone I know writes emails using the most flowery language imaginable. He fancies himself a some-day published writer but clearly has never studied the art. It is a rare sentence that doesn't contain a parenthetical phrase and I haven't figured out a way to let him know. Ron's post #51 above might be a suitable hint.

Oh and stop with all this colon talk: I've got a colon-oscopy scheduled Friday. :eek:
 
Is this # called a pound sign, number sign, or hashtag? I had never heard it called the latter until all the twits called it that.
 
Sam D said:
Hyphens are important, too. Just the other day, I got a document with a post-it that said "Please resign"...at least I hope they intended to use a hyphen...
Click to expand...

They're handy when you want to differentiate between "recreate" and "re-create" too.
 
And misplaced apostrophes. Everywhere. Go to Controller.com, go to a particular make of plane and click on it, such as BEECHCRAFT. Take a look at the models. Everything has an apostrophe after it. Every plane model is done this way. Just ridiculous.

Bonanza's
Sierra's, etc, etc.

And this isn't spelling, but I've notice a lot of younger people (and I heard this originally from a 36 year old so not that young) saying 'on accident' instead of 'by accident'. I'm assuming it comes from 'on purpose'. So it's either 'on purpose' or 'on accident' I guess is the logic. Just heard it again this past Sunday from a young minister that was speaking.
 
It's not surprising that people mix up words that are similar. That is how human brains work.
 
Some of it is regional dialect.

Where I grew up we say, I'm a fixing to go now.

Other places I hear, I'm fixing to go now. How silly.....:rofl:
 
BrianNC said:
And misplaced apostrophes. Everywhere. Go to Controller.com, go to a particular make of plane and click on it, such as BEECHCRAFT. Take a look at the models. Everything has an apostrophe after it. Every plane model is done this way. Just ridiculous.

Bonanza's
Sierra's, etc, etc.

And this isn't spelling, but I've notice a lot of younger people (and I heard this originally from a 36 year old so not that young) saying 'on accident' instead of 'by accident'. I'm assuming it comes from 'on purpose'. So it's either 'on purpose' or 'on accident' I guess is the logic. Just heard it again this past Sunday from a young minister that was speaking.
Click to expand...
And unneeded quotation marks. Usually added in error for emphasis. “Extra” annoying.
 
Old97 said:
Usually added in error for emphasis. “Extra” annoying.
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Yeah, that's total garbage. There is actually a website dedicated to it http://www.unnecessaryquotes.com/

We have someone at work who insists to write all his emails something like this

"Thanks, I will go back to the 'client' and 'pull out' the data they have requested from the 'dashboard' you provided"
-yes, he uses single quotes.. that's not an OCD double quotes thing that I just did (even though the double quotes thing bothers me too)
 
whatirritatesmeiswhenIgetemailsfrompeopleinthisform professionalfolksthatthinkthismakesitquickertoreadanditsnowedhereingallupthismorning

Translated: What irritates me is when I get email from people in this form. Professional folks that think this makes it quicker to read. It snowed here in Gallup this morning.

I have sent emails like this back to the sender with a note saying, please make corrections so I can read this.
 
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