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>
> Bonnie Granat wrote,
> >The care that a company takes on its Web site tells me a lot about its
> >overall attitude to quality.
>
> Depends what aspect of the Web site you're using to judge the care that's
> taken on it.
Errors in grammar, punctuation, spelling, and typos. It's rude, in my opinion,
to make readers puzzle out what you're trying to say. Just as it is in
mailing- list posts that are filled with errors.
I'm now so accustomed to using Web sites that are put together
> by people with English as a second language, that I don't judge a site by
> the language (grammar, punctuation, spelling) on it. From experience I know
> that some of the best software is produced by people whose English could be
> better.
>
I don't trust a company that publishes a site in English that has many
language errors and many typos. The company might have a good product, and I
might choose to use it. But at first blush, I am leery of such a company. It
makes me wonder about what else they cut corners on.
> I _do_ judge a site on its usability -- whether I can find things easily
> and quickly, whether I can use my preferred browser (Opera) or have to use
> IE, and several other criteria. If the Web site fails my usability test,
> then _that_ makes me wonder about the quality of the company's products,
> especially if they are software products.
Yes, of course.
>
> If the language really interferes with my understanding, that's a problem,
> but usually the real problems with the written bits have to do with
> organisation of the material, or being too technical or not technical
> enough, or something else conceptual -- I'd much rather have flawed English
> that tells me what I want to know than perfect English that doesn't.
>
I would agree, but I am less likely to spend any time on a language-sloppy
site than one that is of high quality.
___________________________
Bonnie Granat
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