Constructive Criticism Thread

[Celeste Stewart]

Always willing to lend a helping hand and an extra set of eyeballs.

[Celeste Stewart]

Use of the term "them thar hills"

Okay, here's what I'm wanting to do:
The gold rush is back on! Gold prices in the triple to quadruple digit range coupled with a major economic crisis have prompted many people to don their dungarees and head to the hills in search of gold. Is there gold in them thar hills? Modern gold prospectors are betting on it.

Should I italicize "them thar hills" or do you think the expression is well enough known that it doesn't need any special treatment. Or is it just too cheesy in the first place?

[Ed]

I think it works fine without italics.

This might say something about my background.

Ed

[Celeste Stewart]

Okay, thanks! As a fifth-generation Californian, I have roots in them thar hills myself. I believe my mom has a gold nugget or two stashed somewhere in our collection of heirlooms.

[vjlenin]

Actually, I don't know of "them thar hills". So I would definitely italicize it. Well, since CC is primarily American, I guess it's ok for most.

By the way, I found many people using italics in "<i>sdfd<i\>", the tags are actually, "<i>sdfsdf</i>".

Lenin

[geniuswaitress]

Weird coincidence. I JUST read this part of the old S & W earlier today at work!

“If you use a colloquialism or slang word or phrase, simply use it; do not draw attention to it by enclosing it in quotation marks. To do so is to put on airs, as though you were inviting the reader to join you in a select society of those who know better”

There you have it. You don't want to put on airs now, do you? People will think you're acting all high falutin'.

[Celeste Stewart]

Funny! Thanks.

[topdycke]

I don't know whether I'm having a brain fart or what, but I'm not sure what to do about the following title:

To Roll or not to Roll or should it be.... To Roll or Not to Roll

Any suggestions, help, or advice will be greatly appreciated.

T

[Celeste Stewart]

I'd go with: To Roll or Not to Roll

[topdycke]

Thanks, Celeste. I was leaning the same way. I just needed validation. LOL

[vjlenin]

I also use Not with capital, unlike and or any other conjunction.

[Celeste Stewart]

Here's one for you texters out there. I want to start an article (tentatively called "Twitter Writing Tips for Business Professionals") with something like this:
So u wnt 2 tweet bt wnt 2 snd prfeshnl?

Ack!

Something like that to drive the point home that business users don't have to sound like teenagers or rapstars in order to communicate effectively in 140 characters or less. Problem is, I am sooooo out of touch with the shortcuts for texting because I refuse to communicate that way and my friends know that. That means that I have no clue about the common txting shortcuts (well maybe a slight clue but not an authentic one). Any ideas are welcome. I want a short sentence using textspeak that basically says, "So, you want to tweet but it's hard to cram what you need to say in just 140 characters." Thoughts?

The article will go on to discuss how to choose words and edit the message in such a way that you can say what you need to say using proper English, punctuation, and grammar despite the short character limit.

Thanks!

[Celeste Stewart]

Maybe: R u ready 2 tweet?

Can this be shortened even more? "twt,' 'twEt,' 'rdy' ?????? I may even want to throw in some #hashtags to make it look even more ridiculous.

Yes, I need help bastardizing our language! (I do allow myself the occasional LOL or emoticon from time to time LOL!)

[Suzyarie24]

I much prefer the second title 'R U Ready 2 Tweet?' than the first, as I think the first has the possibility of alienating the audience. I like the second.

I both text and tweet, but do both with full words.

This website has all the abbreviations etc:
http://www.webopedia.com/quick_ref/text ... ations.asp

but couldn't see anything for 'ready' or 'tweet'. Maybe it's best to keep the txt spk lite (!) anyway?!

[Celeste Stewart]

Thanks. I agree, less is more. I think I'll just stick with "R u ready 2 tweet?" Thanks for the link, too. Who knew there were that many abbreviations?