Personally, I often read only the headlines of a story in order to decide if it's worth my time. If I decide to go on to the article, the first sentence is of the next most importance. I found this error in the first sentence of a post on Kotaku:
If you wonder why Dead Spacecribs from other material, consider the fact that they were the sole new IP developed in competition with The Godfather, Lord of the Rings and The Simpsons.
Once again, the omission of a space between words, but here it's much higher profile, as this may be the only thing someone reads about this article.
Source: http://kotaku.com/5188714/the-simpsons-almost-killed-dead-space
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Monday, March 30, 2009
Name, please?
Special care should be taken when giving names in a post. As these may or may not be common words, writers should be careful to input the name correctly. The following is taken from a post on Mental_floss:
Part of your challenge on Day 3 was to listen to excerpts from Holts’s The Planets.
Of course, this is referring to musician Gustav Holst, to whom Mental_floss correctly referred in several earlier posts.
Source: http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/24107#more-24107
Part of your challenge on Day 3 was to listen to excerpts from Holts’s The Planets.
Of course, this is referring to musician Gustav Holst, to whom Mental_floss correctly referred in several earlier posts.
Source: http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/24107#more-24107
Lost in translation
While reading a story on Joystiq, I found the following quote regarding how weather affects gameplay in Alan Wake:
"Everything in the game can be influenced by the weather. If you are running the car will run conditions will be worse by heavy rain, than if the weather was good ... the weather is dynamic, since it will influence how you play the game."
Now since Joystiq's post is actually referring to a post on IGN and this quote, horrible as it is, is presented as a direct quote from that IGN article, I went to the source and double-checked that the error was there in the original. Nothing to be found. Turns out, it's actually a quote from a Google translation of a Norwegian article. And of course, the automatic Google translation does a horrible job of it. This was referenced in the IGN article, but not Joystiq. In any event, I would have expected at least a [sic] tag or some reference that this was a translation from the Norwegian original. I'm not sure what the actual citation rules are for a situation like this, but I feel this to be a huge omission.
Joystiq post: http://www.joystiq.com/2009/03/28/new-alan-wake-details-emerge-into-the-cold-hard-light-of-day/
IGN post: http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/966/966715p1.html
Google Translation: http://translate.google.com.au/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.gamer.no%2Farticle.php%3FarticleId%3D764&sl=no&tl=en&hl=en&ie=UTF-8
"Everything in the game can be influenced by the weather. If you are running the car will run conditions will be worse by heavy rain, than if the weather was good ... the weather is dynamic, since it will influence how you play the game."
Now since Joystiq's post is actually referring to a post on IGN and this quote, horrible as it is, is presented as a direct quote from that IGN article, I went to the source and double-checked that the error was there in the original. Nothing to be found. Turns out, it's actually a quote from a Google translation of a Norwegian article. And of course, the automatic Google translation does a horrible job of it. This was referenced in the IGN article, but not Joystiq. In any event, I would have expected at least a [sic] tag or some reference that this was a translation from the Norwegian original. I'm not sure what the actual citation rules are for a situation like this, but I feel this to be a huge omission.
Joystiq post: http://www.joystiq.com/2009/03/28/new-alan-wake-details-emerge-into-the-cold-hard-light-of-day/
IGN post: http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/966/966715p1.html
Google Translation: http://translate.google.com.au/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.gamer.no%2Farticle.php%3FarticleId%3D764&sl=no&tl=en&hl=en&ie=UTF-8
I'm seeing double!
Yet another post from Gizmodo. This one seems to have crept in while linking the text. Perhaps an errant copy-paste?
I sure hope it's not it's not Conficker.
Source: http://www.gizmodo.com/5188584/breaking-cranky-windows-guys-day-ruined-by-really-nasty-trojan-on-his-pc
I sure hope it's not it's not Conficker.
Source: http://www.gizmodo.com/5188584/breaking-cranky-windows-guys-day-ruined-by-really-nasty-trojan-on-his-pc
Thursday, March 26, 2009
There are some mistakes that are so common, they should be inexcusable to professional writers. This is Proofreading 101, folks. I found the flaunting of "your/you're" today on Gizmodo:
The magic happens when an app is programmed to recognize certain objects, and know to augment what your seeing with 3D visuals on top.
These things really shouldn't be happening.
Source: http://www.gizmodo.com/5184665/vuzixs-camar-augmented-reality-headset-provides-a-glimpse-into-future-computing
The magic happens when an app is programmed to recognize certain objects, and know to augment what your seeing with 3D visuals on top.
These things really shouldn't be happening.
Source: http://www.gizmodo.com/5184665/vuzixs-camar-augmented-reality-headset-provides-a-glimpse-into-future-computing
Sometimes you learn something!
I was doing some research online today, looking into HDTVs, in the course of which I found what I thought was a typo: the term "judder." I supposed it was a misspelling of the English word "shudder," because from the context I realized they were similar - referring to a quick shaking motion. I imagined that perhaps a speech-to-text program had misinterpreted the similar-sounding initial consonants and placed a 'j' where I expected a 'sh.' A quick Google search, however proved me wrong. I found this was a fairly common term used in discussing HDTV sets, and was even defined in the Merriam-Webster dictionary, dating back to 1931. How odd that a word that has existed for so long has never infiltrated my vocabulary!
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
When good posts go bad
Today's post comes from a discussion on a game with so-called "karma effects," that is, the player's moral choices affect the gameplay. Here is a quote:
When good, the city has a brighter, more lively appearance, teeming with lie. When being bad, its citizens are more obviously despondent, with a darker tone and visual style.
This is an example of a simple typo changing the meaning of the sentence. As I first read it, I thought that there must be some dark underbelly to the city, for it to be simultaneously bright and "teeming with lie[s]." It wasn't until several moments later that I realized it was actually supposed to be "teeming with life." That little change sure makes a big difference!
Source: http://kotaku.com/5183004/be-good-be-evil-in-infamous
When good, the city has a brighter, more lively appearance, teeming with lie. When being bad, its citizens are more obviously despondent, with a darker tone and visual style.
This is an example of a simple typo changing the meaning of the sentence. As I first read it, I thought that there must be some dark underbelly to the city, for it to be simultaneously bright and "teeming with lie[s]." It wasn't until several moments later that I realized it was actually supposed to be "teeming with life." That little change sure makes a big difference!
Source: http://kotaku.com/5183004/be-good-be-evil-in-infamous
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Where's the verb?
Sometimes, people forget that without a verb, a sentence just isn't complete:
In the battle for e-book reader domination, Samsung's Papyrus—a new touchscreen model.
This sentence clearly needs a rewrite, as there really isn't a verb that can just be slipped in somewhere - unless you consider the 's in 'Samsung's' to be a contraction (Samsung is/has) rather than a possessive. Then you could say something like "Samsung's introducing/brought the Papyrus."
Or possibly add a "welcome" or "meet" after the comma ("In the battle for e-book domination, welcome Samsung's Papyrus - a new touchscreen model"), though in that case, the introductory "In the battle..." phrase seems off. We're not contenders on the battlefield, the e-book readers are.
Source: http://i.gizmodo.com/5182750/samsungs-touchscreen-papyrus-e+book-reader
In the battle for e-book reader domination, Samsung's Papyrus—a new touchscreen model.
This sentence clearly needs a rewrite, as there really isn't a verb that can just be slipped in somewhere - unless you consider the 's in 'Samsung's' to be a contraction (Samsung is/has) rather than a possessive. Then you could say something like "Samsung's introducing/brought the Papyrus."
Or possibly add a "welcome" or "meet" after the comma ("In the battle for e-book domination, welcome Samsung's Papyrus - a new touchscreen model"), though in that case, the introductory "In the battle..." phrase seems off. We're not contenders on the battlefield, the e-book readers are.
Source: http://i.gizmodo.com/5182750/samsungs-touchscreen-papyrus-e+book-reader
Even smart people make mistakes...
Mental_floss touts itself as the place "Where knowledge junkies get their fix." Even so, they didn't know there was an '-ed' missing in the following sentence:
On this page a color is mention that begins with the 13th letter of the alphabet.
Source: http://www.mentalfloss.com/HDYK/hdyk15/hdyk15_d1aclue.htm
On this page a color is mention that begins with the 13th letter of the alphabet.
Source: http://www.mentalfloss.com/HDYK/hdyk15/hdyk15_d1aclue.htm
Even the newspaper's getting in on the act!
While they're not "professional" writers, per se, contributors to the local college paper are seeing their work in print, with an editor to review it. Many of them are journalism students, planning on entering the workforce as professional writers upon graduation. So, imagine my surprise when I found the following mistake in a recent article:
I was informed that I was booked on a flight for Tuesday, though this was not very reassuring as, as I was previously booked on the flight that had just taken off without me.
Not only is the 'as' doubled here, the first one is even misplaced, appearing before the comma!
Source: http://oudaily.com/news/2009/mar/24/column-overbooked-flights-shouldnt-keep-us-flying/
I was informed that I was booked on a flight for Tuesday, though this was not very reassuring as, as I was previously booked on the flight that had just taken off without me.
Not only is the 'as' doubled here, the first one is even misplaced, appearing before the comma!
Source: http://oudaily.com/news/2009/mar/24/column-overbooked-flights-shouldnt-keep-us-flying/
Welcome to you, Kotaku!
Reading through an article on gamer site Kotaku, I found the following statement about baseball-star-turned-game-developer Curt Schilling:
In the meantime, he's kept busy with the game start-up he founded 38 Studios. Now that his pesky baseball career is out of the way, Schilling can concrete on game making.
I find it simply remarkable that in this short article, there are 2 back-to-back sentences rife with errors. The first is much more forgivable, being nothing more than a missing punctuation mark, a comma signifying '38 Studios' as an appellation for the start-up. The second is more blatant. I, for one, certainly hope that Schilling doesn't actually intend to 'concrete on game making.' Can you even imagine the problems that would come of filling factories with cement?!
Source: http://kotaku.com/5181235/curt-schilling-retiring-from-baseball-focusing-on-game-development
In the meantime, he's kept busy with the game start-up he founded 38 Studios. Now that his pesky baseball career is out of the way, Schilling can concrete on game making.
I find it simply remarkable that in this short article, there are 2 back-to-back sentences rife with errors. The first is much more forgivable, being nothing more than a missing punctuation mark, a comma signifying '38 Studios' as an appellation for the start-up. The second is more blatant. I, for one, certainly hope that Schilling doesn't actually intend to 'concrete on game making.' Can you even imagine the problems that would come of filling factories with cement?!
Source: http://kotaku.com/5181235/curt-schilling-retiring-from-baseball-focusing-on-game-development
How did this happen?
Sometimes, it's more than a random misspelling or not knowing the definition of a word. Sometimes I think the writers aren't even paying attention to what they're writing. Take this sentence, for example:
It's touting "no second sales" and no piracy, which probably means no "Hey, I'll see trade you BioShock for Prince of Persia!" amongst friends.
'I'll see trade you...' What does that even mean? My best guess is that the 'see' somehow sneaked its way in, oblivious to the rest of the sentence. But how? And how did it make it all the way to print?
Source: http://www.joystiq.com/2009/03/24/gdc09-rearden-studios-introduces-onlive-game-service-and-micro/
Update: Ludwig Kietzmann of Joystiq wrote me to say that he corrected this error.
It's touting "no second sales" and no piracy, which probably means no "Hey, I'll see trade you BioShock for Prince of Persia!" amongst friends.
'I'll see trade you...' What does that even mean? My best guess is that the 'see' somehow sneaked its way in, oblivious to the rest of the sentence. But how? And how did it make it all the way to print?
Source: http://www.joystiq.com/2009/03/24/gdc09-rearden-studios-introduces-onlive-game-service-and-micro/
Update: Ludwig Kietzmann of Joystiq wrote me to say that he corrected this error.
Monday, March 23, 2009
The Offenders List
Here's a quick note about the new "Offenders List." As the name implies, this is a list of sites I have found that offend the English language. Rather than blacklisting them, I prefer to think of this as an opportunity for them to develop. These are, for the most part, sites which I thoroughly enjoy reading, and hope to continue so doing. I see this as a chance for the sites to correct their mistakes and perhaps, if they so choose, hire me for proofreading.
What They Play: Fallout 3
I came across this post quite by accident. Something piqued my interest and I visited this site for the first time. I had heard about What They Play before, but was never interested enough to check it out. Thumbing through their review of Fallout 3, I found the following statement:
Though the game begins in the comforts of a relatively cozy Vault -- where you're told your descendants have lived since a chain of nuclear explosions rocked America 200 years ago -- not long into the game you escape the Vault and enter the Capital Wasteland.
Plain and simply, the character in reference here has no descendants. He's a 19-year-old, wet-behind-the-ears kid who's never even thought of having children. Though it's clear that they simply confused 'ancestors' and 'descendants', this has always been a little pet peeve of mine, as it just doesn't make sense.
Source: http://www.whattheyplay.com/features/fallout-3-7-things-parents-should-know/?page=5
Though the game begins in the comforts of a relatively cozy Vault -- where you're told your descendants have lived since a chain of nuclear explosions rocked America 200 years ago -- not long into the game you escape the Vault and enter the Capital Wasteland.
Plain and simply, the character in reference here has no descendants. He's a 19-year-old, wet-behind-the-ears kid who's never even thought of having children. Though it's clear that they simply confused 'ancestors' and 'descendants', this has always been a little pet peeve of mine, as it just doesn't make sense.
Source: http://www.whattheyplay.com/features/fallout-3-7-things-parents-should-know/?page=5
First!!!
Wow, I wasn't expecting a first post so quickly. I'll be taking these examples from actual posts that I read, so there may be some time between my posts, depending on quality.
Anyway, here's the first post I found in need of some editing. I present to you the egregious error in the context of the containing sentence:
Honestly, the serieshas been headed down an action road for a long time, and series like Silent Hill have long since usurped whatever psychological oomph Resident Evil may have had.
Did you catch it? Go ahead, read it again. That's right. There in the third word - 'serieshas' - it's a simple little thing, really. Forgetting to put in a space between two words. But it's something that could be avoided by a simple little spell check. Even as I'm typing this, Firefox's built-in spell checker is lighting up on that one. What do editors do, if not run a quick F7 on every article they get?
Source: http://xbox.joystiq.com/2009/03/19/the-guide-gears-of-evil/
Update: This error has been corrected.
Anyway, here's the first post I found in need of some editing. I present to you the egregious error in the context of the containing sentence:
Honestly, the serieshas been headed down an action road for a long time, and series like Silent Hill have long since usurped whatever psychological oomph Resident Evil may have had.
Did you catch it? Go ahead, read it again. That's right. There in the third word - 'serieshas' - it's a simple little thing, really. Forgetting to put in a space between two words. But it's something that could be avoided by a simple little spell check. Even as I'm typing this, Firefox's built-in spell checker is lighting up on that one. What do editors do, if not run a quick F7 on every article they get?
Source: http://xbox.joystiq.com/2009/03/19/the-guide-gears-of-evil/
Update: This error has been corrected.
The Inconvenient Truth about a Web 2.0 World
Web 2.0 is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, it makes it possible for everyone to voice their opinion on a subject, to get themselves "published." On the other hand, it makes it possible for everyone to get "published." This constant influx of printed media (of which I am now also part) is sure to be full of errors, due to the sheer size of it. That's where I come in. Now, I don't mind the average Joe's blog or comment having typos. No, my beef is with the professionals, who should know better. It is my aim to denounce these errors here, to try and turn the tide of sloppy writing through exposure. This is why I ask the question: Don't they check these things?
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