The Death of Proofreading

[Piscivore]

Okay, it's like this. I stopped reading newspapers for several reasons, but when I am over at my parents' house I sometimes leaf through theirs. I always find several mistakes, usually misused homonyms and random typos. I have come to expect this, given the deadlines inherent to a daily paper. But I see them all the time in weekly and even monthly periodicals. Again, I'm not expecting the highest editorial standards from "Maxim," but they do have more time to get it right, don't they?

But what I found last night I find almost unforgivable; I found three typos- really bad ones- on one page of The Handmaid's Tale.

What the hell is going on?

[crimresearch]

Its all been outsourced to Australia.
:p

[Luciana]

Proofreading is a dead concept for as long as the public doesn't care. If people complain and stop buying, they will have to do something about it. But in magazines and newspapers, at least, mistakes are ok as long as they don't make the front page.

Movie subtitles, in particular, make me cringe. They come with mistakes that could be corrected with any dictionary or, even easier, a spell checker at Word.

[TragicMonkey]

I used to work in publishing. The problem is that past a certain point, it's cheaper to just let the mistakes slide.

For several months, I was one of a team whose job was to just read things and find errors. It was a terrible job, because once you start doing that, you can't stop. I would find errors in every printed thing. Even more insidious, part of my powers were not to just root out error, but to suggest improvements in style and wording. I couldn't hear people say anything longer than one sentence without wanting to reword it and make them say it again.

Eventually, you have to start letting things go, because you'll never get things done if you don't.

After several years in other fields, I can now actually suppress my urge to correct typos in library books, fix the punctuation of strangers, and I don't even throw things at the screen when Headline News manages an ambiguous headline at the bottom of the screen.

[Piscivore]

Originally posted by TragicMonkey
I used to work in publishing. The problem is that past a certain point, it's cheaper to just let the mistakes slide.

Cheap bastages... ;)

It's still frustrating.

Originally posted by TragicMonkey
I would find errors in every printed thing. ...I couldn't hear people say anything longer than one sentence without wanting to reword it and make them say it again.

Eventually, you have to start letting things go, because you'll never get things done if you don't.

After several years in other fields, I can now actually suppress my urge to correct typos in library books, fix the punctuation of strangers, and I don't even throw things at the screen when Headline News manages an ambiguous headline at the bottom of the screen.

Teach me how. :)

[Ian Osborne]

A UK computer magazine recently said 'Getting into a clan is like breaking into Fort Knocks'. In a standfirst! AAAARRRGGGHHH!

[Marquis de Carabas]

I havent' noticed annything wrong with poofreading. It muts all be in you're head.

[7th sextile]

For a while I've suspected that some of the misused
homonyms creep in because of spell checkers,or I
should say,an over-reliance on 'em.Things like:

"..further grizzly conflicts in the Balkans..."

"...the gun has become a phalanx symbol..."

"...the town is near the Appellation trail..."

would 've been caught by an editor (one hopes) but since the
words are spelled correctly,not by a spell checker.

Ann Fadiman has a chapter about this (titled "Insert a
Carrot") in her book Ex Libris.

[chrisqqgx4]

Ann Fadiman has a chapter about this (titled "Insert a Carrot") in her book Ex Libris.

Oh, what a prissy little prigs Fadiman and her family are. I especially loved the way they ritually laugh at Chinese restaurant menus at the very hint of a misspelt word or a wrongly worded sentence. Imagine having dinner with that family.

You may love books, baby, but you ain't normal.


edited for typo

[Piscivore]

Originally posted by Marquis de Carabas
I havent' noticed annything wrong with poofreading. It muts all be in you're head.

"In a mad world, only the mad are sane." :D



Originally posted by 7th sextile
For a while I've suspected that some of the misused
homonyms creep in because of spell checkers

I have no doubt about this whatsoever.

[bigred]

Originally posted by Piscivore
I have come to expect this, given the deadlines inherent to a daily paper. But I see them all the time in weekly and even monthly periodicals.
Don't forget novels. :rolleyes: And don't even get me started on sports "journalists." It's incredibly pathetic and has been a button-pusher for me for a long time. Supposedly these people are professionals, yet make mistakes my 10-yr old nephew would laugh at.

I think it's a societal thing, ie 1) we're becoming increasingly lazy and apathetic, and 2) the great increase in technology in our lives means more focus in that direction, and so less focus on correct/proper communication.

And we all no how stupid relying on speller checkers can be and we all now that know, it.

:mad:

[Marquis de Carabas]

Originally posted by Piscivore
"In a mad world, only the mad are sane." :D

Thanks for noticing. :D

[sorgoth]

It's awful... especially in novels.

Nothing jolts me out of a good book like a spelling error.

[a_unique_person]

Are these typos in the same newspapers that complain endlessley about falling standards of education?

[joesixpack]

http://www7.taosnet.com/ebear/ode.html

In a related story, I was watching a news story about a new strain of staph infection that was very resistant to antibiotics, the graphic behind the anchor read "Staff Infection". Just goes to show how the writers didn't even know that "staph" is short for "Staphylococcus"

[Jon_in_london]

Originally posted by joesixpack
http://www7.taosnet.com/ebear/ode.html

In a related story, I was watching a news story about a new strain of staph infection that was very resistant to antibiotics, the graphic behind the anchor read "Staff Infection". Just goes to show how the writers didn't even know that "staph" is short for "Staphylococcus"

I was reading about kids are playing games over a "land network" er... LAN network.

Proofreading died in the UK with the Guardian's proof reading wing. Problem was they were a completely useless bunch of tossers (It got so bad that it was/is refered to as the Grauniad)- so when computers got spell-checkers they fired the lot and everyone else followed suit.