[LadyOfTheLake]

This site is, in theory, a great idea. But the fact that seven times out of ten the "reviews" are written by people who are at best semiliterate dampens my enthusiasm for the site as a whole. Now, I realize you can't possibly edit every review posted for spelling, grammar, and punctuation. But can't you at least check the spelling of section headings? For example, there's a section containing reviews of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy books. The heading is, and I quote: "Hich Hiker's..." How can your readers be expected to respect the reviews that appear on this site when such utterly unnecessary errors abound? Anyone writing a review should have a copy of the book in question (AND a dictionary) in front of him. Is that so bloody much to ask?

[This message has been edited by LadyOfTheLake (edited December 19, 2000).]

[zedd]

You're of course quite right, spelling and grammar could definitely have been better throughout the site. To my defence I must say that I run this site as a hobby (mostly on my own) and one of my problems is that I really don't have that much time available to spend on the site as I could wish http://www.sffworld.com/ubb/smile.gif Another fact is that I'm a Norwegian and thus my own English isn't always the best either, no excuse for not running spell checking though. To cut a long story short it's all a question about time and what to prioritize and although I won't promise anything I'll see how I can improve this in the future.

In the future I also hope to change the review sections a bit so that "user comments" and the more quality reviews will be somehow separated. To some extent some of them are today also, but I have a lot of plans to make it better when I get some time...

Hope that helped answer your questions and concerns

[pooh]

Eh don't feel too bad Z. You get what you pay for. The young lady should feel free to start her own site. For a challenge similar to the one you face, she should run it in Norwegian.

A well-known saying among literary circles: those who can, create. Those who can't, critique.

[Cadfael]

I am sorry... but I strongly dissagree with our fair Lady of the Lake. This forum is for lovers of fantasy and Sci Fi to air their views. I do not know anything about the people who post on this site, some of them may not have had the same advantages of a decent education, through no fault of their own.

It is the content of their post that really matters, not how they spell or follow gramatical conventions, and I for one would never dream of pointing out to a member they have made a spelling or grammer error, it is not important.

Also... why should the moderator of the site spend precious time correcting grammer, it is not all that important.

BTW... how can a book lover be illiterate :-)

[Rob B]

True this is a open forum for all fans of speculative fiction, BUT I agree with LOTL--some of the book reviews can be annoying. esp when all they say is "This author is the best. He is cool and awesome, you should read his books!"

[Cadfael]

FitzFlagg... I agree with you that if you are going to post or review a book, that you should really be a bit more detailed than the example you gave. What I have a problem with is picking up on spelling mistakes and gramatical errors... really... does it matter as long as we know what they are talking about? Would you appeciate a member posting a message to you just to say how stupid you are because you spelled 'neccassary' wrong? In the past we two have posted about nitpicking (we are by our own admission, Champion Nitpickers LOL), but this IMHO is the height of ignorance to pick somebody up this way. Not everybody knows what a split infinitive is, nor should they care. Okay... I admit, LOTL has not done this, and I am sure she never would, I just want it noted that people from many different backgrounds use this forum, and I would hate them to feel they have to be 'an intellectual' and 'grammatically correct' to be taken seriously.

[This message has been edited by dennizm (edited December 30, 2000).]

[Rob B]

Good point dennizm, we are in fact on the WORLD WIDE WEB, and not everybody is a native English speaker.

I am a book editor too, so...

[Cadfael]

just to raise a small point...

I have in front of me a catalogue from my Sci/Fi Fantasy book club, where I can buy...

The Illustrated HITCH HIKERS Guide to the Galaxy (and that is taken from the front cover) 2 words, not one.

Oh and FitzFlagg... I do understand that if you are an editor it can be very frustrating to come across errors in grammer.



[This message has been edited by dennizm (edited January 05, 2001).]

[pooh]

Or spelling!

http://www.sffworld.com/ubb/smile.gif

[Cadfael]

http://www.sffworld.com/ubb/smile.gif Okay... I deserved that http://www.sffworld.com/ubb/smile.gif... grammAr

Rules of Writing...


1. Verbs HAS to agree with their subjects.
2. Prepositions are not words to end sentences with.
3. And don't start a sentence with a conjunction.
4. It is wrong to ever split an infinitive.
5. Avoid cliches like the plague. (They're old hat)
6. Also, always avoid annoying alliteration.
7. Be more or less specific.
8. Parenthetical remarks (however relevant) are (usually) unnecessary.
9. Also too, never, ever use repetitive redundancies.
10. No sentence fragments.
11. Contractions aren't necessary and shouldn't be used.
12. Foreign words and phrases are not apropos.
13. Do not be redundant; do not use more words than necessary; it's highly superfluous.
14. One should NEVER generalize.
15. Comparisons are as bad as cliches.
16. Don't use no double negatives.
17. Eschew ampersands & abbreviations, etc.
18. One-word sentences? Eliminate.
19. Analogies in writing are like feathers on a snake.
20. The passive voice is to be ignored.
21. Eliminate commas, that are, not necessary. Parenthetical words however should be enclosed in commas.
22. Never use a big word when a diminutive one would suffice.
23. Kill all exclamation points!!!
24. Use words correctly, irregardless of how others use them.
25. Understatement is always the absolute best way to put forth earth shaking ideas.
26. Use the apostrophe in it's proper place and omit it when its not needed.
27. Eliminate quotations. As Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "I hate quotations. Tell me what you know."
28. If you've heard it once, you've heard it a thousand times: Resist hyperbole; not one writer in a million can use it correctly.
29. Puns are for children, not groan readers.
30. Go around the barn at high noon to avoid colloquialisms.
31. Even IF a mixed metaphor sings, it should be derailed.
32. Who needs rhetorical questions?
33. Exaggeration is a billion times worse than understatement.
And finally...very important
34. Proofread carefully to see if you any words out.