Re: A question/comment, or "rehearsing" email

[Vicki Rosenzweig <murphy!acmcr!vr -at- UUNET -dot- UU -dot- NET>]

Norm,

        As you've probably already noticed, your comment to Faith
went to the list. As I understand it, she's not acting as a third-grade
teacher. She said she only queries the points that confuse meaning.
And your mention of non-native speakers is precisely why the details
do matter, much of the time. As a native speaker of English, I can
figure out what's meant even if the grammar and spelling are a little
off. I can't do the same with Spanish, which I only had three years
of in school, and I suspect people who learned English in school (some
of whom are going to be reading our manuals) have similar difficulties,
since they don't have the native speaker's knowledge of what kinds of
errors are likely. (Even simple things like different typewriter
keyboards can make it harder to deduce likely errors.) If someone
types "teh" instead of "the," I simply fix it before the magazine
goes to the printer; no comment is needed. If I can't tell what it's
supposed to say, I have to ask the author--the whole point of
writing is communication, and if a trained editor who knows a bit
about the field is confused, other readers are likely to be as well.

Vicki Rosenzweig
vr%acmcr -dot- uucp -at- murphy -dot- com