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Subject:If you feel the need to discuss grammar... From:"Geoff Hart (by way of \"Eric J. Ray\" <ejray -at- raycomm -dot- com>)" <ght -at- MTL -dot- FERIC -dot- CA> Date:Wed, 26 Aug 1998 10:39:39 -0600
Eric's post on why not to discuss grammar on techwr-l is right on
target, but it occurred to me that there does seem to be a continuing
need for technical writers to have access to a source of grammatical
and editorial advice. That being the case, why not go straight to the
the kind and expert folk of copyediting-l? You'll find expert editors
and grammarians there, the list is dedicated to that particular type
of question, and even though you'll still get a range of opinions on
some issues, the opinions are more likely to be informed ones.
(That's not a slam at techwr-l or technical writers, just an
observation that the levels of expertise differ between the two
lists, as you'd expect given the very different focus of each list.)
To subscribe to copyediting-l, send a message to:
listserv -at- listserv -dot- indiana -dot- edu
Turn off your signature lines, leave the subject line blank, and in
the body of the message, type:
subscribe copyediting-l [your name here, minus the brackets]
Send all messages to the list to copyediting-l -at- listserv -dot- indiana -dot- edu
It's an even busier list than techwr-l, but you can always postpone
your mail until you need to have access to the list. There are some
familiar faces (me, for instance) and a broad range of expertise from
fiction editing through nonfiction university publishing and right on
up (or down!) to technical editing. There are other lists that serve
similar roles, but copyediting-l is the one I spend my time on; it
seems to offer the best mixture of jargon-free informality and a
helpful, expert membership.
Eric, would this be worth adding to the techwr-l welcome message and
FAQ? It won't stop all grammar discussions on techwr-l, but it might
just cut their frequency.
--Geoff Hart @8^{)}
geoff-h -at- mtl -dot- feric -dot- ca
"Men are from Earth. Women are from Earth. Deal with it."--Author unknown
