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Discussion Groups / English Usage / January 2009Responsibility For Grammatical Corrections in E-mail attachments
I recently received an e-mail from my Aunt containing an attachment which I passed along to about 5 friends of mine. In reply, one of my friends, also my college roommate from a long time ago, stated "before you send me this amazing stuff, please check it for spelling and grammar." I told him I was just passing it along, and, since I was not the creater of the attached document, the onus is NOT on ME to proofread SOMEONE ELSE'S work before forwarding it on. He will not have it, insisting on arguing with me that if I have this same attitude toward preparing my resumes for a job search it's no wonder I can't find a job. That is to say, he's comparing my feelings on the issue of who's responsible for the grammar in an e-mail attachment to how I would prepare my job search documents - resumes and job apps! Is there an official guideline governing e-mail attachments that one is FORWARDING to other users but did not create?? -ChrisCoaster >I recently received an e-mail from my Aunt containing an attachment >which I passed along to about 5 friends of mine. In reply, one of my [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] >Is there an official guideline governing e-mail attachments that one >is FORWARDING to other users but did not create?? Not as far as I know. You just pass them on. Maybe you should remove that friend from the distribution list, if he or she was being serious.  SignatureRobin (BrE) Herts, England >I recently received an e-mail from my Aunt containing an attachment >which I passed along to about 5 friends of mine. In reply, one of my [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] >Is there an official guideline governing e-mail attachments that one >is FORWARDING to other users but did not create?? There's no rule, but common sense tells you to: 1. Check the grammar and spelling of what you write 2. Do not change the grammar and spelling of what someone else writes unless you choose to do so out of kindness in order not to embarrass them. What you have left unsaid is if what you passed on appeared to be your writing (#1 applies) or if it was clearly someone else's writing (#2 applies). Dump the friend. SignatureTony Cooper - Orlando, Florida tony cooper <tony_cooper213@earthlink.net>'s wild thoughts were released on Wed, 26 Nov 2008 18:20:28 -0500 bearing the following fruit: >>I recently received an e-mail from my Aunt containing an attachment >>which I passed along to about 5 friends of mine. In reply, one of my [quoted text clipped - 29 lines] > >Dump the friend. Also you could accidentally change the meaning or tone if you 'correct' it. So I would always forward the original. -- Jan Hyde (VB MVP) https://mvp.support.microsoft.com/profile/Jan.Hyde On Nov 27, 4:59 am, "Jan Hyde (VB MVP)" <StellaDrin...@REMOVE.ME.uboot.com> wrote: > Also you could accidentally change the meaning or tone if > you 'correct' it. So I would always forward the original. [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > > - Show quoted text - __________________________________ <The latest from my friend via E-mail this morning:> " your resume and put this at the top; and it's NOT MY RESPONSIBILITY to correct it!! you will go far. -ciao " <<My response to him:>> " DId you open that link I sent you on this subject? Did you even read the replies by those newsgroup folks? Apparently not - because if you did you would find NOBODY that agrees with you. You still cannot differentiate between MY resume or a political editorial for that matter - that I WROTE - and SOMEONE ELSE'S e-mail or attached document that THEY wrote. I bear NO RESPONSIBILITY for the LATTER!!! I just forward it on as edited, with original context intact. Even your buddies John McCain and GW Bush can grasp that concept. You are always my friend, Nathan, but your ignorance, despite your years in school, is unfathomable. " >On Nov 27, 4:59 am, "Jan Hyde (VB MVP)" ><StellaDrin...@REMOVE.ME.uboot.com> wrote: [quoted text clipped - 32 lines] >You are always my friend, Nathan, but your ignorance, despite your >years in school, is unfathomable. " That pretty much sums it up. But, philosophically speaking, maybe a friend with peculiar ideas is better than no friend at all, provided the ideas are not too peculiar. SignatureRobin (BrE) Herts, England In article news:<212442ff-5ac4-4685-9f91-a18a9bbfb4c5@l42g2000yqe.googlegroups.com >, ChrisCoaster wrote: > <The latest from my friend via E-mail this morning:> > > " your resume and put this at the top; and it's NOT MY RESPONSIBILITY > to correct it!! you will go far. Does your friend rant at the postman for not opening his snail-mail and correcting it? "There's nowt so queer as folk". -- Traditional. Cheers, Daniel. > In article > Does your friend rant at the postman for not opening his snail-mail and > correcting it? . > Cheers, > Daniel. ________________________________ LOLOLOLOL!!!!!!!!!1 Daniel, THAT sums up this entire thread - and this issue! Thanks for that. -CC > In article > news:<212442ff-5ac4-4685-9f91-a18a9bbfb4c5@l42g2000yqe.googlegroups.com [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > Does your friend rant at the postman for not opening his snail-mail and > correcting it? But the postman has absolutely no responsibility for the content, not even selecting it. A better analogy might be the correspondent who mails a newspaper clipping without correcting it. I suppose one could include a warning or disclaimer in the covering letter, for the benefit of hypersensitive readers: "Excuse the atrocious writing, but I thought you might be interested," or something of the kind. SignatureOdysseus >1. Check the grammar and spelling of what you write >2. Do not change the grammar and spelling of what someone else writes >unless you choose to do so out of kindness in order not to embarrass >them. 3. If it's anonymous, you're the only one who can be blamed for it. 4. Anonymous or not, if it's badly written, it reflects poorly on you. Your friend wasn't telling you to correct the spelling and grammar errors. He was telling you that forwarding that crap at all makes you look like an idiot, and you should be more judicious in choosing what to pass on. Listen to him. http://users.bestweb.net/~notr "The notion of objecting to a fake Web ¬R site on the grounds that it might possibly incite other people to do bad things is so dangerous to our constitutionally protected freedoms that it must never be mentioned, even in jest." --Matt McIrvin > >1. Check the grammar and spelling of what you write > >2. Do not change the grammar and spelling of what someone else writes [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > look like an idiot, and you should be more judicious in choosing what to > pass on. Listen to him. ____________________________ Well Glenn, at least in the context of this thread - there's ONE in every bunch - and that one is YOU! I'll have to introduce you to my friend at some point. Plonk! -CC >> >1. Check the grammar and spelling of what you write >> >2. Do not change the grammar and spelling of what someone else writes [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] > >Plonk! Not good, not good at all. If you come a newsgroup where you are not a "regular" and ask for opinions, it's not good to "Plonk" the people who offer opinions you weren't looking for. You take the good with the bad. I disagree with Glenn on this issue (I wrote #1 and #2, but he added #3 and #4), but I completely agree with the idea that Glenn should be able to offer a dissenting opinion without being Plonked. The proper response is "Thank you for taking the time to read my story and comment on it.". SignatureTony Cooper - Orlando, Florida >Not good, not good at all. If you come a newsgroup where you are not >a "regular" and ask for opinions, it's not good to "Plonk" the people >who offer opinions you weren't looking for. And yet the advice you offer regarding someone he does know and trust who tries to help him look like less of a fool is to dump him summarily? I have to wonder what happens at Thanksgiving dinner when your kids correct their kids' table manners. ¬R / Darla: Leftovers aren't the mark of a man. \ www.bestweb.net/~notr Andrew Reid: Actually, they are, because that's how men's shirts button. >>Not good, not good at all. If you come a newsgroup where you are not >>a "regular" and ask for opinions, it's not good to "Plonk" the people >>who offer opinions you weren't looking for. > >And yet the advice you offer regarding someone he does know and trust who >tries to help him look like less of a fool is to dump him summarily? It's a matter of interpretation of what we see, Glenn. You see a friend who is trying to make his buddy look less the fool. I see an alleged friend who is going out of way to make his buddy look *more* like fool. Personally, I would not want a friend who makes such an overt attempt to establish his superiority by putting me down for passing along what someone else wrote. We are dealing with a snippet here, and have no knowledge of the extent of the friendship. "Dump the friend" is, of course, hyperbole based on this one - and only this one - snippet. In the snippet, the friend attempted to make the OP feel bad for what someone else did. The blame was not assigned to the original writer, but directly to the person who passed it along. >I have to wonder what happens at Thanksgiving dinner when your kids correct >their kids' table manners. I'm not quite sure why you would bring this up, but what parents do to improve their children's manners reflects how those parents were parented. My children *were* brought up to have good table manners, and I do expect them to pass this along to their children. They were instructed in a positive manner, though, and not in a ridiculing manner. The correction in the OP's anecdote was ridiculing. SignatureTony Cooper - Orlando, Florida >instructed in a positive manner, though, and not in a ridiculing >manner. The correction in the OP's anecdote was ridiculing. That's a heck of a way to interpret "please check it for spelling and grammar." He didn't even put "amazing" in "scare" quotes to suggest that "Chris" might be too "dumb" to "pick up on" the "irony." ¬R ... When it comes to _Serious_ writing, Usenet is where it's at http://users.bestweb.net/~notr/telecom.html ... ... --Jeff...Relf >>instructed in a positive manner, though, and not in a ridiculing >>manner. The correction in the OP's anecdote was ridiculing. > >That's a heck of a way to interpret "please check it for spelling and >grammar." He didn't even put "amazing" in "scare" quotes to suggest that >"Chris" might be too "dumb" to "pick up on" the "irony." The post also said: "He will not have it, insisting on arguing with me that if I have this same attitude toward preparing my resumes for a job search it's no wonder I can't find a job." SignatureTony Cooper - Orlando, Florida > The post also said: "He will not have it, insisting on arguing with > me that if I have this same attitude toward preparing my resumes for a > job search it's no wonder I can't find a job." > > -- > Tony Cooper - Orlando, Florida _________________________ He did it aGAIN!!!!!! I sent my friend(and about one dozen other people) this: T'was The Night Before Inauguration By John Cobarruvias BayAreaHouston.blogspot.com T'was the night before inauguration and what to my dismay The market was tanking, I lost my 401K! The stocks were hung, in downfall they stuck While Bush did nothing, a truly lame duck The republicans were nestled, their heads in the sand With visions of defeat of the republican brand. And Cheney with his gun, his heart a pace Looking for someone, to shoot in the face. When out on the house floor, there came such a clatter I sprang to the internets to find what's the matter. Away to my screen I ran with a flash Hoping the market, didn't crash. The moon on the breast of the new fallen snow Showed me someone I needed to know. When what to my eyes, I paused, with a comma But a vision of hope, It was Barack Obama! With excitement and conviction in each of his steps I wondered what he and his elves, would do next. More rapid than eagles his appointments they came And he whistled and shouted, and called them by name. Now Emanuel! Now, Dashle! Now Richardson and Biden! On, Clinton, On Napolitano, and Gates, no sense in hidin'! To fix the economy, our reputation and more. And to stop the killing of this unnecessary war. As Obama stood still, the republicans they trembled Remembering 8 years of a disaster they had assembled. They've broken our banks, and doubled our debt. They scared us to death with weapons of threats. They squandered a surplus, They started a war. They shredded our constitution, littered on the floor. They attack our unions, our immigrants and those who are gay. They claim to be Christians, yet on the sick they prey. We may never recover from this hole they dug. But we will climb to the top with a American tug. The republican party have destroyed all that matters They deserve nothing more but to hold the damn ladder. But his voice did change, along with a smile. Thinking of the bills that soon would be filed. Protect those who are old and young alike Restore our honor and our military might. Protect our planet, and clean our air. While creating a surplus we can leave to our heirs Fix our economy, and health care for all. And honor those who fought, and those who fall. Obama sprang to his feet, to his team he gave a shout. The challenges seem impossible, hard work needed no doubt But I heard him exclaim ere he talked and ran. Hey! It's not just a slogan, YES WE CAN! And guess what he alone replies to me with: "Internet" is not supposed to be plural, as in "Internets". I sent him the source the original poet used: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKTH6f1JfX8 . . . And I haven't heard back from my friend since. BTW he's a huge fan of said source! I think both their brain combined could not fill the head of a gnat. -CC > And guess what he alone replies to me with: > "Internet" is not supposed to be plural, as in "Internets". > . . And I haven't heard back from my friend since. > BTW he's a huge fan of said source! I think both > their brain combined could not fill the head of a gnat. He's right of course - and lets face it, if you had a sense of humour, you'd be laughing with him - not at that pretentious pile crap you bored all your friends with. SignatureAndrew http://www.wordskit.com/ http://www.flayme.com/ "If A is success in life, then A = x + y + z. Work is x; y is play; and z is keeping your mouth shut." ~ Albert Einstein On Dec 3 2008, 1:39 am, tony cooper <tony_cooper...@earthlink.net> wrote: >> The post also said: "He will not have it, insisting on arguing with >> me that if I have this same attitude toward preparing my resumes for >> a >>job search it's no wonder I can't find a job." _________________________ > He did it aGAIN!!!!!! Who did? And what gain? > I sent my friend(and about one dozen other people) this: > T'was The Night Before Inauguration >By John Cobarruvias >BayAreaHouston.blogspot.com (Quite a pleasant bit of doggerel, but it needs work.) The following, by the way, can be criticized or accepted or cut up or whatever. (Apologies if you have seen this before.) Subj: Advantages of Passing Your 50th (70th?) Birthday 1.Kidnappers are not very interested in you! 2. In a hostage situation you are likely to be released first. 3. No one expects you to run--anywhere. 4. People call at 9 PM and ask, did I wake you? 5. People no longer view you as a hypochondriac. 6. There is nothing left to learn the hard way. 7. Things you buy now won't wear out. 8. You can eat supper at 4 PM. 9. You can live without sex but not your glasses. 10. You get into heated arguments about pension plans. 11. You no longer think of speed limits as a challenge. 12. You quit trying to hold your stomach in no matter who walks into the room. 13. You sing along with elevator music. 14. Your eyes won't get much worse. 15. Your investment in health insurance is finally beginning to pay off. 16. Your joints are more accurate meteorologists than the national weather service. 17. Your secrets are safe with your friends because they can't remember them either. 18. Your supply of brain cells is finally down to manageable size. 19. You can't remember who sent you this list. NOTE: Never, under any circumstances, take a sleeping pill and a laxative on the same night. (I must add, a lot of these sound suspiciously like Maxine's stuff.) ChrisCoaster <ckozicki@snet.net>'s wild thoughts were released on Thu, 8 Jan 2009 16:34:23 -0800 (PST) bearing the following fruit: >> The post also said: "He will not have it, insisting on arguing with >> me that if I have this same attitude toward preparing my resumes for a [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] >_________________________ >He did it aGAIN!!!!!! You mean YOU did it again. Excluding him from your mailing list would have prevented it. Besides, this time he is correct, poetic license aside ;-) J >I sent my friend(and about one dozen other people) this: > [quoted text clipped - 63 lines] > >-CC -- Jan Hyde (VB MVP) https://mvp.support.microsoft.com/profile/Jan.Hyde On Jan 9, 11:28 am, Jan Hyde <StellaDrin...@REMOVE.ME.uboot.com> wrote: > ChrisCoaster<ckozi...@snet.net>'s wild thoughts were > released on Thu, 8 Jan 2009 16:34:23 -0800 (PST) bearing the [quoted text clipped - 90 lines] > > - Show quoted text - _______________________ The ONLY way he is correct - Jan - is that the word "internet" is not plural. BUT: My friend here has NO sense of CONTEXT. The poet SOURCED George W. Bush in using the term "internetS". Apparently he was under a rock when his idol uttered the word internetS as shown in that YouTube clip. He lives off social security with his Dad due to an accident he was in back during college, and his daily routine includes going to Dunkin Donuts for breakfast, coming home, IMing with old friends on Yahoo, goes back out to BK for lunch, comes back home, watches a "Friends" rerun, goes back out to BK for dinner, then hits a Starbucks to wash it down. THREE-HUNDRED-SIXTYFIVE days - IN and OUT. Except the 2 - 3 days per week he gets called up as a sub-teacher in the city school system. During his upbringing, he and his siblings were exposed to TWO HOURS of television per WEEK - COMBINED! Reading books, playing with each other, making up street games, and going on camping trips were all strongly supported and encouraged. So you can see just how, between his upbringing and his life since the mid-1990s, out of touch and WARPED this character-ehm- FRIEND of mine really is. He's a nice enough fellow as he is, quiet amicable, will shake your hand when you meet him. But beyond that, his life is so regimented and monotone day in day out it's very hard to make conversation with him or suggest anything to do with him that he can agree on. So perhaps some of the above may be, perhaps, partially???? to blame for the way he responds to the anecdotal materiall I forward on to him and other people??? Maybe??? I think so. -CC "ChrisCoaster" ... >I recently received an e-mail from my Aunt containing an attachment > which I passed along to about 5 friends of mine. In reply, one of my [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > Is there an official guideline governing e-mail attachments that one > is FORWARDING to other users but did not create?? Yes. Pick your audience carefully; don't send four letter words to Granny, and don't send spelling errors to pedants. If the errors are that extreme, maybe don't send them at all? Finally, choose your friends carefully! Good topic; must add it to my web site! SignatureAndrew http://www.flayme.com/netiquet/ >I recently received an e-mail from my Aunt containing an attachment >which I passed along to about 5 friends of mine. In reply, one of my >friends, also my college roommate from a long time ago, stated "before >you send me this amazing stuff, please check it for spelling and >grammar." He is absolutely right. I once got an attachment with bad grammar, and within a few days, most of my document files also had bad grammar. >I told him I was just passing it along, and, since I was not the >creater of the attached document, the onus is NOT on ME to proofread >SOMEONE ELSE'S work before forwarding it on. My uncle once got an email attachment with bad spelling, and soon all his otehr emails had bad spelling. >He will not have it, insisting on arguing with me that if I have this >same attitude toward preparing my resumes for a job search it's no [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] >Is there an official guideline governing e-mail attachments that one >is FORWARDING to other users but did not create?? I'm as officious as anyone I know, and I say you don't have to edit them. I can imagine times when it would be wrong to edit them. Certainly if an author is given, you shouldn't be changing his writing and passing the edited version off as his, I'm still annoyed that when I was a first-year student in college, the school did something good, and I wrote a letter to the editor of the school paper which included "Hats off to the department of xxxx." and when the paper printed my letter, it put "My hat goes off to the department of xxxx". (Actually, at the time I thought they were entitled to do this, but now I think it is stupid, and assuming I signed my name (which I probably did.) they shouldn't have done it. OTOH, if it's sometihng like original writing on a newsgroup and you're sure they are typos that you are correcting, that's probably ok, but you only need do it if you want to. For example, if I'm forwarding a funny story, I don't want his typos ruining the humor. >-ChrisCoaster > I recently received an e-mail from my Aunt containing an attachment > which I passed along to about 5 friends of mine. In reply, one of my [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > attachment to how I would prepare my job search documents - resumes > and job apps! Tell him to take the knobbly stick out of his rectum. There's obviously a problem if he's stupid enough to not be able to tell the difference between a forwarded e-mail attachment and a job application. You could always open the attachment and add [sic] markers throughout and send it to him with a sarcsarcsarcsarcsarcastic note. > Is there an official guideline governing e-mail attachments that one > is FORWARDING to other users but did not create?? The closest thing we have to an official guideline about e-mail is RFC 1855. The problem isn't you or your attachment. The problem is your friend being an asshat. SignatureTom Morris <http://tommorris.org> |
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