Published Oct 4. 2019 - 4 years ago
Updated or edited Oct 8. 2020

Does anyone proofread this crap?

Yes, a non-native English speaker proofreads material from a host of mostly non-English amateur writers, and sometimes errors do slip through

Dear anonymous AKA Proof R. Eader,

I got your comment to an article on the site a few days ago. It was anonymous and submitted in a fake name... Proof R. Eader... very funny and really a subtle hint from you!
Your comment said:

Does anyone proofread this crap? After reading the first 2 sentences, I could not stand to read anymore of this garbage. Shame on the author and shame on Global Fly Fisher for posting this crap.
Does anyone...
Does anyone...
Martin Joergensen

The comment got me thinking a bit about what I do, what quality the site delivers and how it's received by people.

I'm happy to be able to tell you that it's quite rare that I get such critical comments, and even rarer that I get them from people like you, who won't stand behind them with their proper identity.
When you lash out like this and in this tone, you could at least come forward with a name. I don't want to expose you or ridicule you. You can always tick the box that says "Anonymize me", and the comment will be anonymous, but at least I know who's behind and I can reply or engage in a discussion.

In general I get all positive feedback, and a far majority of feedback that's related to content and not form. People will sometimes point me in the direction of misunderstandings, typos or technical errors, but most comments relate to the fly fishing and fly tying covered on the site. Quite a few of them are not perfectly spelled, and you know what? I forgive that! Sometimes I edit the comments to correct the worst errors, but mostly I leave them as they are, as long as the message is clear. The diversity and differences are a part of the charm of the site, I think.

That's an editing philosophy that I partly use on the whole site. I do try to keep articles properly edited, correctly spelled and written in a somewhat decent English. But you know an other thing? I'm not a native English speaker. Neither are a majority of the people who write for the site. The word global in Global FlyFisher does actually carry some meaning in it. Stuff here is truly global, written by people from all over the world and with content that relates to all kinds of places on the planet. And – dear poster – for your convenience written in English! Not Danish, not Belgian, not Norwegian or Swedish and not even French or Spanish, which is after all spoken by quite a few people on this blue planet.
So feel lucky that someone has spent some time writing something that you can read and understand, even if it has a few errors. The article in question was absolutely understandable in spite of a few clumsy sentences and some misspellings, which I hadn't caught.

I get material from people who really put a lot of energy into writing something in a, to them, foreign language, and calling that crap isn't really fair. I also get a lot of material from native English speakers, whose writing skills may not be perfect, but who spent some time writing unpaid articles for this site for you to peruse absolutely free of charge. You should appreciate that fact and embrace the few errors, and not go all berserk and call it "crap".
And if you find errors, I do welcome comments leading me to them. I, more than anyone, want this site to be as correct as possible, increasing the quality of the content and annoying as few sticklers as possible.

... if you find errors, I do welcome comments...

PS: there were typos and spelling errors in the article, and they have been corrected now, so thanks for bringing it to my attention, even in this rude manner.
Another PS: Does anybody proofread your comments? In sentences like yours it's commonly agreed that the numerals one through nine (1-9) are written as words when they appear in a text flow, so it's "the first two sentences" and not "the first 2 sentences". And Global FlyFisher is written like that: in two words with so called CamelCase in the second, and not in three words like you have written it. Consider it a trademark or brand name, so the spelling and wording is part of the identity. Just sayin' so...

Comments

Does anyone proofread this crap?...

Does anyone proofread this crap? After reading the first 2 sentences, I could not stand to read anymore of this garbage. Shame on the author and shame on Global Fly Fisher for posting this crap.

Proof reading...

Thanks Martin for the calm, reasoned reply to this complaint. I just want to enjoy the wide array of content on GFF with my morning coffee, not put up with CRAP complaints. There is frost on the pumpkin here in Ontario, Canada this morning so my thoughts are turning to Steelhead fishing and tying flies. Keep up the good work for your truly Global audience.

aran66's picture

There is a word ......

Martin,
I truely admire your patience - what an answer! In german there is a word for such people - I'm afraid it's "Klugscheisser" (may he look for translation&meaning himself) Keep on rolling with your superb work! All the best, aª

All the best regards & tight lines,
Armin

Thank You...

Well done brother Martin...some people are never satisfied...perhaps they're looking for a subscription refund? Oh wait...GFF is free isn't it?

Martin Joergensen's picture

So true...

Raske,

So true... amazing how we can provide free content and spend hours, days, weeks and years of work on it, and still there will be someone bitching in the most unappreciative way.
I mostly just brush the critics off - unless they are constructive - but sometimes I feel the need to reply.

Martin

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