tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-250885532012-01-28T03:23:06.357-08:00You can talk about commas here without fear of scorn or looks of confusion.Billings familynoreply@blogger.comBlogger521100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25088553.post-11511847844893358622008-06-27T12:43:00.000-07:002008-06-27T12:45:58.837-07:00

Facebook wants users to specify if they are male or female so the site won't have to write "their" for everything on users' profiles, according to a New York Times article.

Billings familynoreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25088553.post-72586434615493947002008-04-30T00:20:00.000-07:002008-04-30T00:22:55.101-07:00

... if it weren't so true. (But it is still funny.)Read this brief piece from The Onion.

Billings familynoreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25088553.post-74129792415366728792008-04-24T00:26:00.000-07:002008-04-24T10:22:07.932-07:00

For many reasons, but mostly because of a query about how a college-level class about copy editing could be structured, I have been thinking about how copy editing can be taught.From this pondering, I have decided to start an infrequent series of posts that explore the basics of copy editing.I have learned over time that the first thing a person who is interested in being a copy editor should

Billings familynoreply@blogger.com39tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25088553.post-74961201290136161312008-03-04T02:33:00.000-08:002008-03-04T02:41:35.032-08:00

OK, so today is National Grammar Day, brought to you by The Society for the Promotion of Good Grammar.You can swing by the site and print out your card to flash at people when you find them using bad grammar. (However, prepare for some mean looks and possible physical confrontation from strangers.)But in all seriousness, isn't it sad that there is a National Grammar Day? Shouldn't every day be

Billings familynoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25088553.post-76041855397815522372008-02-28T12:21:00.000-08:002008-02-28T12:32:13.534-08:00

The newspaper at which I work had an interview with Jimmy Wales, the founder of Wikipedia.One part of this question-and-answer interview, however, was edited for space. This part had to do with using Wikipedia as a reference. Here is the question and answer:Q: What are your thoughts on whether researchers should cite Wikipedia pages in their papers?A: In general, an encyclopedia is not the type

Billings familynoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25088553.post-47401546540058041482008-02-25T11:49:00.000-08:002008-02-25T12:00:05.929-08:00

A comment was left on a previous post, and it got me thinking about typos.Many people may remember a brief flutter of activity in the Barry Bonds steroid scandal that erupted over a typo. But now there is even more because of one small error.Barry Bonds seized on a pair of typos, complaining in court papers Thursday that the government's mistakes could compromise his chances for a fair trial.The

Billings familynoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25088553.post-65615860613727503332008-02-20T00:47:00.000-08:002008-02-20T00:53:35.426-08:00

I like semicolons. I like writers who know how to use them properly (and I don't mean for a winking emoticon).So you can imagine my joy when I saw this New York Times article.You can read some other people's thoughts about the article here, but, for me, this is almost as good as it gets.Now, if I could only get the people at the airport to change the name of the lot from Long Term Parking to

Billings familynoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25088553.post-5975460503843216362008-02-20T00:29:00.000-08:002008-02-20T00:45:02.936-08:00

Ceremonies are always great events, right? The city is breaking ground on a new development, or the library is opening a new branch.All local papers cover these types of events, and many write the phrases ribbon-cutting ceremony and groundbreaking ceremony.This is redundant.From the Webster's New World College Dictionary, Fourth Edition (the dictionary preferred by The Associated Press):ribbon-

Billings familynoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25088553.post-71977105862818020702008-02-20T00:11:00.001-08:002008-02-20T00:28:54.570-08:00

David Sullivan, whom I know through ACES, recently started That's the Press, Baby. In his own words:My aim is, as those of you who know me know, to speak on behalf of the printed newspaper, but not just out of slavish tradition or nostalgic warmth. But to find a way for the newspaper to find a renewed and viable place in a world in which, if everything is available instantly and immediately,

Billings familynoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25088553.post-37920993632997869932008-02-14T02:14:00.000-08:002008-02-14T02:33:28.095-08:00

For some reason, I always tend to use ensure when writing about guarantees and insure when writing about monetary backing. The Associated Press Stylebook says it should be this way.Use ensure to mean guarantee: Steps were taken to ensure accuracy.Use insure for references to insurance: The policy insures his life.But this Web site points out that it is not so clear. This is also backed up here (

Billings familynoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25088553.post-83327027781936961012008-01-31T12:00:00.000-08:002008-01-31T12:11:02.243-08:00

The American Journalism Review has this article about Wikipedia being used by people in the newspaper industry.My response is that Wikipedia should never be used as a source in a an article for an news medium.That being said, I do believe that Wikipedia is a useful tool to find some basic information about subjects you may not be too familiar with.I even have linked to Wikipedia topics from this

Billings familynoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25088553.post-4559496823339535942008-01-31T02:08:00.000-08:002008-01-31T02:19:51.358-08:00

Head over to Common Sense Journalism and read this post and this post. Then, head over to John McIntyre's You Don't Say and read this post.When you think you have digested that information, head over to Testy Copy Editors and read this thread.There are a lot of good points in all of the postings and on the thread. There is also a lot to think about as to what the role of copy editors is now, what

Billings familynoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25088553.post-19554050075781527562008-01-31T01:26:00.000-08:002008-02-01T01:49:25.267-08:00

A lot has been thrown around about Super Tuesday (sometimes this year called Super-Duper Tuesday or Tsunami Tuesday), but just how big is it?Well, from The Washington Post:Democrats will hold contests in 22 states and one territory, with 1,681 delegates at stake. On that day alone, 52 percent of all pledged delegates will be awarded, compared with the 4 percent that will have been allocated in

Billings familynoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25088553.post-2248986185795179052008-01-14T01:15:00.000-08:002008-01-14T01:23:48.525-08:00

I have neglected this blog. With holiday celebrations, vacation and a new position at work, I have been too busy to post. But I will be back with a new post within a week. Until then, take time to complete the new poll.

Billings familynoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25088553.post-61923017590955513982007-10-29T02:32:00.000-07:002007-10-29T02:33:47.263-07:00

Stop by and vote on your favorite stylebook. Stay tuned for results from the last poll about Web site (or should it be website?)

Billings familynoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25088553.post-77538202017283903952007-10-12T03:15:00.001-07:002007-10-12T03:47:46.850-07:00

A New York Times article describes how the Shorter Oxford English Dictionary eliminated about 16,000 hyphens for its sixth edition.The Times quotes the dictionary editor, Angus Stevenson, as saying: "People are not confident about using hyphens anymore. They're not really sure what they're used for."Some of the examples are strange (ice cream). Others make sense (cell-phone).It does seem that

Billings familynoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25088553.post-47708236512097717632007-10-09T03:38:00.000-07:002007-10-09T03:48:56.433-07:00

I have to admit that I have not subscribed to the Copy Editor newsletter for a few years now, but a post by Bill Walsh on his blog reminded me that I should start subscribing again.The post, however, is not really about the newsletter -- just the name. I do agree that many words should still be two words, but many seem to be fast-tracked to the spaceless and hyphenless forms. (See the poll on the

Billings familynoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25088553.post-75021740005120274582007-10-09T03:31:00.000-07:002007-10-09T03:35:42.712-07:00

I decided to try something new, so I am going to add a poll each week that will focus on style and language questions that do not have a clear-cut answer. (It will be underneath the "About Me" in the side rail.)So, swing by to take the poll and see what how other readers vote.

Billings familynoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25088553.post-51487290752394948032007-10-09T03:22:00.000-07:002007-10-09T03:25:51.490-07:00

Webster's Reluctantly Adds 'Melty' To English Lexicon.onion_embed {background: rgb(256, 256, 256) !important;border: 4px solid rgb(65, 160, 65);border-width: 4px 0 1px 0;margin: 10px 30px !important;padding: 5px;overflow: hidden !important;zoom: 1;}.onion_embed img {border: 0 !important;}.onion_embed a {display: inline;}.onion_embed a.img {float: left !important;margin: 0 5px 0 0 !important;width

Billings familynoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25088553.post-26808186023739449132007-09-22T11:21:00.000-07:002007-09-22T11:29:40.327-07:00

The Associated Press ran a story about a blog that tracks gratuitous usage of quotation marks.I believe that most writers and editors know how to use quotation marks, but this blog would be really good for sign makers.

Billings familynoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25088553.post-82903647634197235862007-09-05T13:55:00.000-07:002007-09-05T14:03:13.719-07:00

Last week I was editing a sports story when I saw this paragraph:An awful sound, something like a broken plastic bat hitting a Whiffle ball, echoed throughout RFK Stadium when Rajai Davis made contact against starter Tim Redding in the second inning.I am all for capitalizing proper nouns, but Whiffle ball, as the story has it, is not the name of the perforated plastic ball. The trademarked name

Billings familynoreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25088553.post-37932817467150147032007-08-18T10:33:00.000-07:002007-08-18T10:44:11.314-07:00

An article in Slate talks about the low correction rates in newspapers.I know we are all human and everyone makes mistakes. Even The New Yorker had this sentence in a story about Barry Bonds' record home run: Bonds’s record dinger, in the fifth inning of a night game against the Washington Nationals at Petco Park, in San Francisco[...](To clarify, Petco Park is in San Diego; AT&T Park is in San

Billings familynoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25088553.post-82703085987969270782007-08-03T11:22:00.000-07:002007-08-03T12:28:15.173-07:00

Using the word trifecta to mean three things seems a poor substitute for triad. Also, since trifecta has its roots in the word perfecta, I tend to associate it with positive wins rather than anything negative.To round out the top three, I like to see the word triumvir or triumvirate when dealing with a group of three that holds power.The search page on The New York Times' Web site gives good,

Billings familynoreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25088553.post-61686223206907903522007-07-18T02:30:00.000-07:002007-07-18T02:36:20.936-07:00

I cleaned up the design of the blog some and added a few more links.While I was adding the links, I came across this story in The New York Times about Mediabistro being sold. I just hope it doesn't change any of the good things at the site (or the fun mixers they throw).

Billings familynoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25088553.post-62415368910466566212007-07-16T02:32:00.000-07:002007-07-18T00:53:36.206-07:00

A native is someone who is born in a locale, so a native-born is...The word native derives from the Latin word verb nasci, which means to be born. So if native means born in a place, what is the need for native-born?"Garner's Modern American Usage" says this of the phrase native-born citizen:This phrase, though it has been fairly common since the 19th century, reeks of redundancy.The phrase is,

Billings familynoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25088553.post-58009162937712066312007-07-03T01:33:00.000-07:002007-07-03T01:54:38.687-07:00

Here is a gem from The Associated Press: The Spice Girls wannabe stars again. Following a calculated publicity buildup, the original Girl Power group of the 1990s announced Thursday they had agreed to get together for 11 concerts around the world in December and January. Bristle all you want at the attempt to write write the colloquial wanna be instead of want to be. (And yes, I did look it up,

Billings familynoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25088553.post-52691082686289708722007-06-26T15:49:00.001-07:002007-06-26T16:01:53.676-07:00

The 2007 AP Stylebook is out. A post on the Testy Copy Editors board describes some of the new and deleted entries. There is also an article in Editor&Publisher.

Billings familynoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25088553.post-20497399085042436072007-06-15T11:54:00.000-07:002007-06-26T22:52:59.455-07:00

I often see dive and delve used almost interchangeably when writing about exploring a topic. For me, though, the words' meanings are not interchangeable.First, there is dive. If a person or group is diving into a topic, they are entering into it. Dive was derived from a word that means "to dip."Second, there is delve. If a person or a group is delving into a topic, they are digging deeper into it

Billings familynoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25088553.post-13376081766280905682007-06-15T11:38:00.000-07:002007-06-15T11:49:37.276-07:00

There are times when hyphens do not belong in modifiers. Per diem is one of those phrases that does not need a hyphen, even when used as a modifier. So the phrase "A per diem charge" does not require a hyphen.I would allow that error per diem, but not more.Of course, there are other schools of thought on hyphens, and that means that there are other compound modifiers that some would hyphenate and

Billings familynoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25088553.post-3043831424589765742007-04-30T02:16:00.000-07:002007-04-30T02:23:29.264-07:00

The American Copy Editors Society's annual conference is over, and it received a lot of attention, including from NPR's On the Media. The transcripts from the show can be found here. (It is a good read ... and not too long.)There are also some conference handouts posted on the conference Web site.

Billings familynoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25088553.post-19348314732715894682007-04-17T09:05:00.000-07:002007-04-17T09:13:49.651-07:00

The Web 2.0 Expo is going on this week in San Francisco, and the San Francisco Chronicle reporters covering it have a funny reporter's notebook about what the next name will be for the Web.I vote for Web 2.1. But that's just me.

Billings familynoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25088553.post-90474100502563192232007-04-11T20:04:00.000-07:002007-04-11T20:19:09.197-07:00

I was reading a book about HTML and CSS that said code should be written so that it is "complaint."The last thing I would want is a Web site with HTML that complains, but that's OK, I'm pretty sure that they meant compliant HTML.As an aside, it is a very good book that teaches the basics of HTML and CSS in an easy-to-follow manner.

Billings familynoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25088553.post-17750606899533728332007-04-11T13:51:00.000-07:002007-04-11T14:05:25.504-07:00

How many times have you seen googling or to google as a verb to search the Web? I find it interesting, though not shocking, that Google does not include that definition in its own dictionary function.It's not surprising that Google doesn't want to google to become a popular verb, though I do think they may have already lost that battle.

Billings familynoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25088553.post-16390295525295054192007-04-10T15:14:00.000-07:002007-04-10T15:24:27.844-07:00

For most of the time, serial commas should not be used if your publication is using the The Associated Press Stylebook.This is not the place I want to start an argument about the justification of using (or not using) serial commas. The AP Stylebook says:IN A SERIES: Use commas to separate elements in a series, but do not put a comma before the conjunction in a simple series: The flag is red,

Billings familynoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25088553.post-65498115627456028962007-04-07T11:43:00.000-07:002007-04-07T11:46:38.067-07:00

Bill Walsh has an interesting post on Blogslot about using a one-word noun in place of a two-word verb.

Billings familynoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25088553.post-57296675496187778022007-04-03T23:09:00.000-07:002007-04-03T23:12:13.860-07:00

I was looking through the Internet Archive the other day and thought it was funny to see this site's old posts and design.

Billings familynoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25088553.post-28914144994092337422007-03-28T13:10:00.000-07:002007-03-28T13:17:30.344-07:00

I do think that this column on Slate.com about a New York Times Magazine article is wrong to blame only the fact-checkers. It does not even question why the reporter never bothered to check into the details of the naval construction worker's story.It is, as the column's title says, a good idea to be wary when a story seems too good to be true.

Billings familynoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25088553.post-33585154020750237232007-03-28T00:58:00.000-07:002007-03-28T02:06:43.898-07:00

What is Web 2.0?OK, before you start hurling insults about how I, a person who writes a blog, should know, think about what you really know about the term.Here is a San Jose Mercury News article I found (sorry, it is a cached page) about how "Web 2.0" is not so easily defined. There is also a Slate.com article here.My question: If we cannot clearly define the term, why are we throwing it around

Billings familynoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25088553.post-60463270344346195982007-03-28T00:14:00.000-07:002007-05-13T11:19:49.412-07:00

I know that we live in a fast-paced world, but some things just seem to go overboard. One thing that I have noticed is that people use the phrase expedite quickly.Expedite: 1 : to execute promptlyI doubt that most people who use the phrase expedite quickly actually mean to execute it promptly quickly, but you never know how fast they really want it done.Another transitive verb that has a similar

Billings familynoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25088553.post-79343604602930136472007-03-11T12:25:00.000-07:002007-03-24T13:51:21.923-07:00

As this thread on the Testy Copy Editors board shows, talks about diacritical marks can get heated, and there are good points made on both sides of the argument.But I would like to go back to the original question posted on the ACES forum. Let's suppose that the boss decides to introduce accent marks at your publication. Where should you start?Well, first of all, here are some of the diacritical

Billings familynoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25088553.post-55363953220264512732007-03-09T12:38:00.000-08:002007-03-09T12:47:16.464-08:00

A wire story about the alleged attack on a Yale a cappella group stated that the attack had come after a night of drunken reverie.The words reverie and revelry are close, but the meaning is quite different.I am sure that some people have had a night of drunken daydreaming. But because the alleged attack on the group happened after a New Year's Eve party, I am sure the writer meant revelry.

Billings familynoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25088553.post-64573663158406318022007-02-27T02:16:00.000-08:002007-02-27T02:55:50.639-08:00

There are situations that arise when copy editing (and writing, editing, etc.) in which no matter what decision you make there will be someone there to challenge it.John McIntyre, on his blog You Don't Say: Language and Usage, talks about the conundrum of choosing to use "data is" or "data are."I know that there are people on both sides of the fence who will argue till they are blue in the face

Billings familynoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25088553.post-37805640331585205742007-02-21T22:28:00.000-08:002007-02-23T10:25:02.803-08:00

A post on the ACES Discussion Board inquired into the use of accent marks for Hispanic names.Although the post has some good stories about papers that have tried to incorporated accent marks and other diacritical marks, it seemed to me to skip over some important questions that need to be considered when thinking about whether a publication should use these marks.At a newspaper, there are a few

Billings familynoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25088553.post-84217236038883106972007-02-16T02:11:00.000-08:002007-02-16T02:23:18.510-08:00

Just about every day I have people who are looking for proofreading marks end up at this site. I feel bad, so I decided to put together some information to help.First of all, not all publications use the same proofreading marks, but there are some common ones.If you are working at a newspaper or other organization that uses AP style, I would recommend buying an AP Stylebook. A full list of

Billings familynoreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25088553.post-23810327573261442432007-02-16T01:51:00.000-08:002007-05-13T11:20:46.262-07:00

There are times when I see writers (and this means in all of the written material I read, and not just at newspapers) who use a word and then follow it up with a sentence or clause that defines the word.One example is autopsy.The definition is to perform a post-mortem examination to determine the cause of death. I would be rich, however, if I had a nickel for every time I saw this sentence:An

Billings familynoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25088553.post-29922859938482611652007-02-13T02:01:00.000-08:002007-02-16T02:04:37.077-08:00

Time is running out to get the lowest price for the American Copy Editors Society's 2007 national conference. The deadline was extended until Feb. 15 for the lowered prices.This year's speakers include Doug Fisher and Nicole Stockdale talking about blogging and Bill Walsh. New this year, however, is the approach that ACES is taking. From the conference page:The online train has been

Billings familynoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25088553.post-72273684210461938652007-02-13T01:48:00.000-08:002007-02-16T02:05:02.413-08:00

The AP Stylebook, The Chicago Manual of Style and Words into Type, three books that I reference fairly often, all say about the same thing when discussing when to capitalize the names of regions.AP, which has its listing for regions in the stylebook under the directions and regions heading, says to lowercase names of directions -- north, south, etc. -- but to uppercase words when they designate

Billings familynoreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25088553.post-17509152910354944862007-01-29T12:27:00.000-08:002007-02-16T02:05:36.500-08:00

People may be barred, but only actions and things can be banned.Wrong: He was banned from the sports venue.Right: He was barred from the sports venue.Right: He was banned from entering the sports venue.

Billings familynoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25088553.post-27455107493767806892007-01-29T11:59:00.000-08:002007-02-16T02:05:53.497-08:00

I have put up some old posts at an archive page.

Billings familynoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25088553.post-1164575987997062582006-11-26T13:08:00.000-08:002007-02-16T02:06:18.448-08:00

I have seen multiple spellings for Porta Potti, a brand of portable toilets. (Some include Porta Pottie and Porta Potty.) The Porta Potty spelling gets the most hits on Google (about 310,00), followed by Porta Potti (about 288,000). The Porta Pottie spelling falls well behind with just over 30,000 hits.As with most trademarked items, I try to use the generic name whenever possible. It never fails

Billings familynoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25088553.post-1146031244709088342006-04-25T22:58:00.000-07:002007-02-16T02:06:36.467-08:00

For now the old posts are gone, but I am working on putting the relevant ones back up on some sort of archive page.

Billings familynoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25088553.post-1146030673655406892006-04-25T22:46:00.000-07:002007-02-16T02:06:54.104-08:00

On the ACES discussion board there has been some postings about the difference between using parenthesis and brackets to clarify information in quotes.The reasoning behind the AP style for parenthesis is one that has to do with technology over anything else -- the brackets cannot be sent over the news wire.From the AP Stylebook: brackets [ ] They cannot be transmitted over news wires. Use

Billings familynoreply@blogger.com5