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Subject:Re: Death of Apostrophe/sick hyphen (LONG) From:Gregory Keith <GKeith -at- DELRINA -dot- COM> Date:Thu, 16 Nov 1995 10:33:00 PST
Peter Kent wrote:
> "do we need books anymore, when we have multimedia." Another participant,
in
> his early 20s I think, stated that for his generation the printed word
really
> wasn't very effective anymore, and that multimedia was a quicker way to
share
> information.
Andy Todd wrote:
>That participant was an idiot. Ever try reading "Moby Dick" while siting
>at a computer terminal?
Very succinct, Andy. There's certainly a few issues involved here- how fit
is the elctronic medium for the printed word? What is the distinction
between information and entertainment?
Regarding grammar, I don't think grammar is becoming non-existent, I think
it's just changing. I don't agree with the "that's not just bad art, it's
not art" argument. Grammar is a result of usage, and even though I'm not
going to start using apostrophes differently than I've been taught, the
reality is most people are using them rather differently than they were used
even ten years ago. It's still grammar, but most people have a dramatically
simplified understanding of it, and 1995 grammar certainly doesn't follow
Strunk & White.
Then there's the print vs. online issues. I'm a twenty-something and caught
between my urge for attractive electronic media and informative electronic
media. Just beacuse a Web site's pretty, it's not necessarily informative.
Even if the information on it is structured beautifully and there are great
graphics, if the information is not current or comprehensive, I'm not coming
back. Of course, that doesn't mean I don't go looking for great "pretty" Web
sites, because I do. And there are some great advantages of electronic
media. I love the idea of the OED on CD - ever seen that sucker in the
library? But nobody's ever going to take their PowerBook to the beach to
read cuz it'll get sand in it, you can't read the display in the sunlight
and it's hard to fit into a beach bag.
I won't be getting rid of my bookshelves anytime soon, and I don't think
anyone will be getting rid of books. If the computer crashes, you still need
paper. And as more people get on the Web, the chance of brownout - high
traffic delays - increases. However, books don't have monthly fees for use
and you don't need a phone line...
Greg
Gregory Keith
Technical Writer
The Delrina Group
Symantec Corporation
gkeith -at- delrina -dot- com
Seen on a VW Beetle's license plate in Silicon Valley: "FEATURE"
