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Originally Posted by genuinegirly
So, what do you do when you see a typo on a website?
Do you grumble and move on?
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Usually.
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Do you assume you're wrong and double-check?
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Usually. It's in my training as an editor.
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Is your response different depending on the type of website?
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Yes. Corporate websites should take great pains to ensure their sites are perfect.
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Will you lose any respect for a company if you notice an obvious typo in the product description for something you are planning to purchase?
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Not if it's a reputable company. If it's a company I haven't heard of, perhaps. I'm forgiving normally, because I know how easy it is to let errors slip. But still, you're trying to sell something.
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Do you have any particularly juicy experiences to share about typos?
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Not personally, but I've read about some doozies (i.e. the unintentional sexualization of text).
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What weight do you place on spelling accuracy?
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Quite a bit. I am an editor, after all. But my weight shifts depending on the context. Internet forums aren't the same as trade books or newspapers.
As an editor, I also place weight on typography in general. As an editor, it's difficult for me to "turn it off." I'm currently reading George R. R. Martin's
Game of Thrones, which is a best-selling fantasy novel published by Bantam, a division of Random House. The copy I have isn't the first printing. I'm about midway through the book, and I've already spotted a number of typographical inconsistencies, mainly dealing with the use of italics on punctuation. And if I remember correctly, I found at least one compound term that was set as a single word, which is a common error. But, I admit, it could also be set as one word in the dictionary the house uses, so it might be okay.
There is no excuse for the inconsistent use of italics, however. Pick a style and stick to it.
For the record, I can't remember a book I've read in the past five years where I haven't found at least one error or inconsistency. Most books have several. There is no such thing as the perfect book. Books are curious like that.
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Do you feel spelling should be taught in school, or is it something one should "pick up" naturally?
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It should be taught in school, but we should continue to ensure we use an adequate vocabulary suited to our careers, which may require continuing education (including self-education).