tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6824896765631412903.post1850375723194932565..comments2023-09-05T12:51:25.656-05:00Comments on edittorrent: More picky stuff about pronounsEdittorrenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14295505709568570553noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6824896765631412903.post-13651523037581538292012-04-02T04:48:44.205-05:002012-04-02T04:48:44.205-05:00I would argue that the antedecent to 'them'...I would argue that the antedecent to 'them' was implied rather than explicitly stated, but it's clear what is meant, and there's no competing 'they' that could be confused. If a reader asks themselves 'what cannot be retrieved' the answer is clear: the posts that vanish when you hit save. You could argue that the _first_ part of the sentence is badly written, because it refers to a habitual action using the singular, but the 'if' appears to be merely a continuum. You could just as well have said 'every time you write a post and hit save, it disappears. These posts cannot be retrieved.' and very few peope would bat an eyelid at that. <br /><br /><i> the reader shouldn't have to figure it out</i><br /><br />While I'm all for clarity - particularly with my copy editor's hat on - I also feel that writers and editors sometimes worry *too* much about grammar and about making _everything_ as easy as possible. This doesn't always serve their prose. And it's entirely an individual call, so I'm not saying that you're wrong (you're right, readers should't stumble and look at sentences and go 'hang on, what does this mean') but we disagree about the degree of difficulty this sentence poses to the intended readership.green_knighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16499896006012152260noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6824896765631412903.post-18609700377181748052012-03-31T22:19:17.021-05:002012-03-31T22:19:17.021-05:00"Them" though should refer to a specific..."Them" though should refer to a specific plural noun. No way of getting around it. We can mentally figure out what "them" meeans, but... but the reader shouldn't have to figure it out, anymore than the user should do the work the interface creators should do.Edittorrenthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14295505709568570553noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6824896765631412903.post-73121215538674821052012-03-30T22:31:10.870-05:002012-03-30T22:31:10.870-05:00I definitely use sentence fragments on a semi-regu...I definitely use sentence fragments on a semi-regular basis. Just for the emphasis it lends. Might not be good grammar, but it's part of my writing voice.R. E. Hunterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14439979667806333429noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6824896765631412903.post-38184127552835930902012-03-29T13:47:59.226-05:002012-03-29T13:47:59.226-05:00I'm good with your original: first you describ...I'm good with your original: first you describe the immediate action - you hit post and it goes; the paranthesis deals with a generic status (nobody knows how to retrieve them - them being understood as the results of the aforementioned action.)<br /><br />The rewrite has save/saved and two posts; and I find the repetition clunkier than the mismatched pronouns.<br /><br />If I had to rewrite it, I'd make it:<br /><br />(Really. Even the techs are baffled.)<br /><br />[My guess is that there's a 'drafts' feature hiding somewhere...]green_knighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16499896006012152260noreply@blogger.com