Do you edit much or at all? Al Capone sure did!!

[Reid Welch]

I am the worst offender of this board.

=I cannot see very well unless I remember to "enlarge" the page view with CTRL and the + key. I don't remember.

=I am dyslexic

=I read over and over most every post I emplace, and like Oscar Wilde, agonize over whether a comma belongs, or not.

=I am a mess of an amateur writer. Even when I write carefully, rarely is my post entirely clear or easy to understand.

=That's all. I won't edit this post. Thank you for bearing with my foibles.


Reid

[TPA]

??????

[TPA]

Just kidding, I've never had a problem understanding your meaning on any post I can remember.

[spinningmagnets]

I try not to edit, but once in a while I notice some small thing is incorrect, or I find a better picture that helps make a point...the OCD kicks in. I don't mind if anyone disagrees with anything that I write, as long as I'm convinced that they understood my point. (BTW, I understand your posts just fine)

That being said, I edit my posts more than I should but much less than I want to. A slight change in sentence structure, adding or changing a word to make the paragraph flow in a more logical progression, I'm aghast at a spellnig error. I recently learned how to add pics from the google image search, so I added pics to older posts that nobody reads anymore (joined in 2007)...

"Welcome to the mild social functioning disorder hotline, For dyslexia, "1" now press. For OCD, press "2" now, ten times, with precisely one second between each press. if you become distracted because of ADD, hang up and start over until the ten presses are perfect. If you are a bipolar manic-depressive schizophrenic thats subject to psychotic breaks and prone to violence, we're sorry, but the social disorder hotline is no longer in service..."

Last edited by spinningmagnets on Fri May 17, 2009 9:59 pm, edited 44 times in total. (Dammit! why won't the voices STOP ??)

[Zoot Katz]

I export to a text editor for spiel chucking before previewing to add to or condense the sentence for clean line breaks.
Then after viewing the post, I'll notice where the dyslexia, that only began after my last time under a general anesthetic, placed the edit either before or after its intended insertion point. I'll also edit to reduce repeating a word by using a synonym without losing meaning and hopefully gaining "tongue".

Write for the readers.
Spelling and clarity count. Capitalisation and punctuation are aids toward that end.
Accuracy and humour deserve bonus points.
Quoting or partial quoting helps to preseve context for the subject you're addressing.

This message has been edited ~5 times before posting and twice after.

[nutsandvolts]

.

[swbluto]

I occasionally edit my grammar, spelling, and antonym slip-ups(I.e., I meant greater instead of less. I meant higher instead of lower. etc.). I sometimes make additions when I began to think more about the subject, but I rarely edit the original content of the post(after it's been posted). Exceptions exist where 1) I delete it completely in the hope that no one saw the post and 2) Rarely when someone requests it and it seems reasonable.

[deronmoped]

I find myself skipping over posts that are written poorly or are hard to understand. I figure it reflects on the person that writes it, that is, them not putting much effort into it.

On the other hand, it's much easier to read and understand when the writing is good. Plus it is easier to believe that the poster has something to add.

Deron.

[Zoot Katz]

I find myself skipping over posts that are written poorly or are hard to understand. I figure it reflects on the person that writes it, that is, them not putting much effort into it.

On the other hand, it's much easier to read and understand when the writing is good. Plus it is easier to believe that the poster has something to add.

Deron.

I make a lot of compensation for posters whose first language isn't English.
Txt spk sux. . . and doesn't belong on a forum.
Edit: colon - period.

[dogman]

I edit a ton, but I still spell lousy, and make endless sentences with ten commas. Lots of times I write a few paragraphs and then delete them thinking , shut up, idiot, who cares?

[Lock]

Yah, tehre is a pveriew ootpin but I fnid mlesyf eniitdg awayny. I'll say biervty is key... lses to eidt! Slelping? Not so irpatmont! Wirte on Ried!

[Link]

Sometimes I'm lucky and it comes out perfect the first time, sometimes I'm not and I have to fix something incredibly stupid.

Usually, I'll just not like how something sounds. Like using a word twice when using a synonym or referencing it indirectly reads better.

[julesa]

I edit just about every single post... unless it's a simple one-liner. After I hit send, I'm relieved if I can slip one or two edits in before someone else reads it, and the board software doesn't tattle on me about how many times I've edited the post. My biggest problem is the ellipses... I swear they creep in when I'm not looking...
edited once
edited twice
thrice
quatrice
meh

[Reid Welch]

THANK YOU ALL above for careful, individual responses, various.
Most helpfu!! Thanks! I tend to double-word or mis-spell and never see the FF undsercore, it is so faint.

I'm also colorblind to red and green.
I laso love symapthy (the dyslexic error is on porpoise).


r.

Tanks, Shermans! Get broadband or get a tommy gun!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47wXsjbCH1E

I should relate my Al Capone story. Miami Beach mansion. 1947. Capone, free, because he was dieing
from tertiary syphilis
The story is, true, original, first hand; heard direct from the man who cared for Capone in the gangster's last days. He was only 48.
"How ya' doin' kid?", Capone (sometimes clear, sometimes senile) kidded
after his male nurse made a fake tommy gun attack on the wobbly, syphilitic Capone,
who "fired" right back.

They were best of pals; Capone's favorite of three, rotation-shift male nurses. Always the same greets:
"ratta-tat-tat-tat!" After the male nurses' first defeat, in honor, and with simple love for his client, this reply: "You got me, boss!".

Capone beamed. He always "got" my acquaintance at shift change, as he, the nurse, first rounded the corner into the bedroom.
"Ratta-tat-tat-tat!!
"You got me, boss!", and a feigned collapse to the floor.

(from a ninety five year old man, 13 years ago.)

[Reid Welch]

??????

Turn those quote marks upside down, and we have Spanish
and Reid plays Carmen Miranda:

You will like her. Not recommended for fruits
"HQ" whenever possible

[philf]

I'm just catching this thread (I always forget about the "General Discussion" area), but am interested in the questions Reid raises.

What you see from me is literally stream-of-consciousness. Pretty much how it would flow if I were speaking to you face-to-face. As a consequence of this, I'm guilty of run-on sentences, overuse of parantheses, placing quotation marks around too many things, and sentences which appear to change direction in the middle.

I do a "once-over" before submitting the result, but usually fail to see what I've written with an editor's eye until well after the result is committed. Then it's too late to fix it without getting one of those "last edited by" messages appended to the post. I do go back and re-edit if I see a glaring omission, or decide to add a picture to the post after the fact.

This is an interesting medium when it comes to meeting new people and trying to communicate with them. I'm sure we'd all seem different if we were in one room together, and more-so if it were all at the same time. When your only way of knowing someone is through their style of writing, in conjunction with a tiny picture, it's natural to try to relate the new people you meet to the people you already know.

As an example, I can say that I'm particularly fond of Zoot and Reid, as they both remind me of (obviously very different) people that I know in the conventional sense, and that I happen to like for different reasons. The persona that Zoot's posts convey is a fit with my own family (my immediate siblings include a UBC professor and an artist, and we appreciate dry wit and what reserve brings to debate) - Reid reminds me of a fellow I've known for nearly 40 of my (nearly) 50 years who is a contrast to my own lot, but is "genuine" in a way that makes for good company (even though my friend's outlook and approach to things differs greatly from my own, we're mutually "grounding" to each other).

Would I seek to meet anyone I've been introduced to through their posts on this forum, should I see myself visiting their town? I met Justin as a direct result of ES, and that proved to be a real treat - so the answer is definitely, "yes". But I wouldn't be able to say that if the individual in question didn't bother to even TRY to form complete sentences when posting here. I've got plenty of other geeky hobbies, and the "WaReZ" people that I encounter elsewhere leave me cold.

- OK... Here's the point of the exercise... It took me 8 minutes to write this (backspacing/retyping), as I completely trashed the paragraph about Zoot and Reid twice as the result came out wrong. Actually, it still doesn't well - but it's going to have to stand. (Doh! NINE minutes, now).

Edit: I've let this sit for a minute or two, and have re-read it in the context of a regular post. As usual, I'm stunned that I "sound" this way when I write. I'm sure there are people out there who must think I'm a right stiff.

Further Edit: I can see a shitload of problems with this post, but I ain't fixin' 'em.

Last Edit: (Still refuse to fix the missing/misplaced words) I've gone back and re-read this entire thread. WHY are my posts on any subject so comparatively verbose? Gotta work on that. I'm sure I lose half the audience. (GACK! this edit just added ANOTHER fifty-odd words).

[Zoot Katz]

I'm just catching this thread (I always forget about the "General Discussion" area), but am interested in the questions Reid raises.

My bookmarked view is "Active Topics" so displays the most current posts in all the forums.

Though I have little interest in the motorcycle, scooter, automobile, and non-hub motor ebike discussions, I've marvelled at the work of Miles and Jozzer and several others. The Messerschmitt and electric boat projects caught my imagination. A good subject line is irresistible.

There's presently a therapeutic noise fest going on in the Cesspool. I've composed a few messages for the thread and deleted them before posting.
Therapy enough for me. I appreciate the signal to noise content and generally civil tone of ES. I try to preserve it by not firing off the first one-liner (usually edited three times) that spews into the composition box.

My favourite feature of NNTP is posting one message and having its header available in x-posted groups. I use an offline newsreader with an outbox where a post can fester or mellow overnight before being deleted or forever archived on google.

With this interface one would have to post multiple messages in various forums. I can logically see a new comer looking in three different forums for answers to questions about ebike batteries. Or swap batt.tech for gen.dis to find out about basic bicycle maintenance. (though there are virtually thousands of other sites for those answers if you're willing to look.)

The Board Index is only a click away from any page if I need to search the archives or policy pages.

Three spieling connections, two ignores, a delete and an addition to the dictionary. Preview looked okay. . . Duck.

One post post one letter edit.