TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
Subject:RE: Using M-dash and N-dash? From:"Gene Kim-Eng" <techwr -at- genek -dot- com> To:ghart -at- videotron -dot- ca, techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com Date:10 Feb 2004 23:46:43 GMT
On a less extreme level, this is what happens every time
another colloquial usage makes it into the dictionary,
and every time we choose to let a minor error in grammar or
punctuation go by because we're chasing a deadline (well,
*I* do, because I get paid to deliver documents by deadline,
not by grammatical accuracy). And yes, in order to get my
docs out faster I do commonly hit the - key rather than
keying in the sequence for an em dash. I've yet to have
a dime deducted from my contract payments or paycheck, or
to get a black mark against my performance in a direct
job for "incorrect dash usage," nor have I done either of
these things to someone working for me for doing same.
Gene Kim-Eng
On
Tue, 10 Feb 2004 18:08:54 -0500 Geoff Hart?wrote:
------- Original Message -------
Should we abandon the use of dictionaries
because so few people seem to use them, and abandon punctuation because
so many people don't understand how to use it well?