It’s mutate or die, folks. And nothing we say or do will ever change that. So I would humbly submit that instead of shooting a young journalist for speaking her mind we ought to be praising her for having the gumption to do so.

After all, we all want this industry to survive right? And it’d be nice if it were filled with people who are enthusiastic about what they do.

And also I defy any of the grizzled veterans amongst us to prove that they weren’t young and naive once as well.

It’s nice to know that, at 38, there’s still a bench to rely on.

And spare me the sanctimony about the young author’s spelling skills. How many of you habitually misspell stuff?

For me, commercial is invariably commerical before I go back and run the spell-check. You’re going to crucify her for that?

Oh … and I ‘blog …
http://blogs.mcall.com/capitol_ideas

John Micek
The Allentown Morning Call

Lots of chaff there. Not much wheat.

Let’s get the first one out of the way: “First: Attacking an argument for its typos (or bona fide misspellings) instead of its lack of merit is usually a sign that the argument has some validity.” That makes no sense. If it’s written poorly and people point that out, that gives it validity? Um, OK.

I agree with most of the rest of your post. In my earlier post, I was merely trying to delineate the difference between not knowing how to spell a word/not bothering to look it up and simply typing it incorrectly.

Continuing this part of the discussion, though, obscures the real point: The intern made herself look foolish with a poorly thought-out, poorly written, tactless entry. The people who think that laying off some workers while keeping the same management is innovative really need to get a clue and a half. That’s where Jessica really dropped the ball with her clueless, unfiltered idolation of the person delivering the bad news.

This is one of those cases where everyone is so wrong about certain things, the valid points they might make are lost. I won’t even know why I’m commenting.

But I guess I’ll address the typos discussion (and hopefully avoid them in the process.)

First: Attacking an argument for its typos (or bona fide misspellings) instead of its lack of merit is usually a sign that the argument has some validity. Attacking one’s spelling acumen or even their intelligence does not affect the point they’re trying to make. If it is the ideas that bother you, it is the ideas you must reject.

Second: Don’t make typos. Don’t misspell words. You’ll look unprofessional and unintelligent. If you’re a blogger, you can easily buddy up with someone who will copy edit your stuff. With my primary blog right now, I have the luxury of being part of a two-man operation. We clue each other into mistakes, and I think we’re running a pretty typo-free blog. It’s important. “You’ll lose your credibility,” isn’t just some idle threat made by old professors. Every time I encounter an error, it makes an impact. Police yourself, please.

Sorry, those aren’t typos. There’s a big difference. I sometimes make typos myself, generally because I type very fast, sometimes on bad keyboards (like now), and also because I dislocated a finger a few years ago.

I get no mercy in those cases. But typing “layed” instead of “laid” is not a typo, especially when it’s done more than once.

As far as the rest of the commenters: I’m glad this started a discussion, but very little discussing happened. Too much anger and fear. And the blackballing thing pissed me off. That’s a very bad threat to make, especially for someone trying to make a living in what I still think is a noble and necessary profession.