Date: Mon, 12 Jun 2000 22:25:01 -0700
To: balloondeco@balloonhq.com
From: Mark Balzer <mbalzer@balloonhq.com>
Subject: Re: Your First Impression

Spelling flames are as old as the Internet itself.  In my 10 years on the
net I've seen a million of them, and even participated in a few.  They've
helped mold my opinions on the issue.

Here on the balloon mailing lists, I'll fight for anyone's right to post
_anything_ that is balloon related.  Our rule is:

     Anything with a connection to balloons and/or the
     balloon business is fine (except outright advertising).

For me, it doesn't matter if a post is full of spelling errors, or if the
author hasn't done background research before posting.  I don't even care
if the post isn't in English, as long as it's about balloons.

My wife would say that I'm a masochist to post that, because literally half
of the untold hours I have spent working on Balloon HQ are spent editing or
correcting grammar and spelling.  Really: half!  Do I wish that I could
have all those hours back, to do what _I_ wanted to do instead?  Yes, of
course!  But after having put so much effort into asking people to respond
to the mailing list instead of privately, I'd be stupid to turn around and
criticize the spelling/grammar in their posts.

Sometimes we get brilliant posts full of great ideas but with poor
presentation.  As much as my fingers hurt from doing so, I'd rather fix
such a post and put it in the Guide for the greater good, even if it means
completely rewriting it, than delete it to save time.  Do I secretly wish
that people who post "Guide-worthy" material would learn the difference
between "its" and "it's"?  Do I secretly wish they would...... stop
using..... all those periods...... so I wouldn't have to......

     click-delete-delete-delete-delete-delete-delete,
     click-delete-delete-delete-delete-delete-delete,
     click-delete-delete-delete-delete-delete-delete

all the time?  Alright, I'll admit it; YES.  But I'd never post my pet
peeves here!  (Uh, whoops :-)

Nevertheless, Scott does have a very valid point about first (and second,
and third, and subsequent) impressions.  In fact, he has such a good point
that for several years we have been sending this out in the rules every
month:

     Please, be concise with your posts. Don't run at the mouth.
     Be complete, but make sure that what you say is worth reading.
     Basically, think of everything you say as being published.

Someday when I do finally get to meet in person Don....Dixon, or Danny
Magowan, or any of the other fine authors we have here, I'll walk up and
say "It is wonderful to finally meet you.  I have so enjoyed your posts on
the balloon list!"  Why?  Because when I see their names pop up in my
in-box, I know that I am in for a treat. I know that I'll probably put the
bulk of that post into the Guide verbatim.  I don't get that same feeling
of anticipation from emails written by people who feel that:

     everything takes time, and it's really unfeasible to
     type a small document, check the grammer, check the
     punctuations, check the indentations, and then send
     it (by then, you've received 10 more e-mails).

(by the way, it's a given that in every good spelling flame thread, someone
will always spell either "grammar" or "illiterate" wrong :-)  The people
whose written advice goes straight into the Guide without any retouching
from me, take the same care with their posts as they do with their balloon
art.  They craft their posts and do indeed give them a once over before
sending them out.   This is especially easy nowadays because as Len points
out, most browsers/emailers have built-in spell-checking features that need
only be turned on to work their magic.

So where do I stand on all this?  Well, if I could have my wish, everyone
would save up their spelling and grammar errors for their "Where can I find
X?" and "I need decor ideas for an X theme event." posts, and then make all
their "Guide-worthy advice" posts perfect.  That way I might get a precious
few hours to myself each weekend.

I hope this helps,

Mark

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