Grammar
Double spaces at the beginning of sentences is for weenies and momma's boys. Real men use one space like god intended. Get a proportional font, Luddite. If you have to use a monospaced font, deal with one space. The "rivers" will not kill you, I am sorry that you can not see that a period ends a sentence.
The semicolon is a valid punctuation mark. If you think that it should never be used you are bovine. The fact that you never use them correctly is not a valid arguement against their use. Smart people get privileges, and semicolons are one of them.
These are not really directed at anyone. In general, I find grammar nazis on par with Hitler (not really Hitler, cuz he was a big dick and actually killed people instead of wasting my time). I am on the description side of linguistics, and prescriptors are just emulating the French.
Let the silly debates continue!
1 comment:
Shouldn't we be using computers like typewriters though? Without that extra space, an uneven stroke of the period might mislead the reader into thinking the next capital letter demarked a proper noun.
Even though computer systems seldom drop periods and most typesetting systems automatically space sentences, this is, I think, a tradition worth preserving - by force if necessary.
Other perversions we must never let fade:
* punctuation within quotation marks
* answering negative questions with 'no' when we mean 'yes' (i.e. "Don't you want more chips and salsa?" "no, I don't want more chips and salsa.")
* Third person singular possessive dilemma: "their" is just a cop-out for "his or her" and everybody knows it.
Damn anyone that thinks language should adapt to the minds that use it.
--kerrmudgeon
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