error on BYU site

I also had my doubts about the semi-colon rules themselves, but that is 4-5th grade stuff I haven't looked at in many, many moons. I'd like to think that Mrs. Welch's 18" hardwood ruler embedded some of the rules accurately, but I can't be sure.

The point I was after is more that one stupid balances a lot of brilliance, no matter whose name is on the title page. It ain't fair (we all make mistooks), but it is reality. Jumping on stupid irrelevancies is human nature, as politicians too well know.

CS

Dean emailed Edward Cutler ed_cutler@byu.edu yesterday and I noticed the error you pointed out has been corrected as of this post.

Perhaps if you've found more errors you should email him. He was very prompt about this one. Once you've declared it "error free" I would like to offer the link to the rest of the forum again.

The BYU site is well laid out and most of the information, while pretty basic, is accurate. They are also committed to excellence and quick to respond to suggestions. I think their writing information is a good resource for most neophyte writers, especially considering the excellent organization of the material. One of the best sites for SPaG is OWL at Purdue. But, I have found their site difficult to nagivate on occasion (organization is a bit scattered) and some of their explanations are a bit weak despite being correct.

Garmar wrote: . . . I noticed the error you pointed out has been corrected as of this post.

Nope, Gary. Someone inserted the word horizontal but NEVER REMOVED THE WORD "vertical". Now, it reads "The em dash is the horizontal vertical line of punctuation . . . "

Here's my message this afternoon:

Dr. Cutler,

No personal offense intended, but your people leave a lot to be desired. I just checked that error on your website and someone "corrected" it to read "The em dash is the horizontal vertical line of punctuation . . . ". That makes no sense at all. My editors would be furious with me if I gave them that kind of sloppy attention to editing after an obvious problem was pointed out to me.

http://english.byu.edu/WritingCenter/handouts/grammar/colonhyphendash.htm

I am also embarassed because I endorsed your website on a writers' forum today; the same forum where this horizontal/vertical mix up was first pointed out. I informed them how quickly you responded to my email and said that I felt your prompt reply illustrates your department's commitment to excellence. Am I wrong? I have egg on my face now.

The correct wording should read: The em dash is a longer horizontal dash and is so-named because its length is equal to the the width of the letter "m".

I would also suggest you incorporate similar wording for the en dash being the width of the letter "n" so students will have a proper mental-visual reference for the relative lengths of these punctuation marks.

I apologize for intruding in your area of expertise. I very much like the general layout of your reference site and would like to send aspiring writers to it as a resource. Hence, my motivation for these messages. Again, my apologies for nit picking.

Dean Sault

Just got a response from Dr. Cutler. He admitted that the site is "student run" and there is no detailed overview by professinal staff. He also doesn't seem much bothered by the impact of such mistakes on his department's credibility. I will be scratching them off my "resource" list.

I love with things run both horizontal and vertical at the same time. It's definitely how I pick my men - and my cars. My dashes though... I'm not so sure.

Wow. When I went back and checked earlier today I saw this:


The Hyphen

The hyphen is a short horizontal line that is used in some compound words
and is also used to connect prefixes and suffixes to main words.


and assumed he had fixed them all. Guess that's what I get for assuming. If they are going to try be a legitimate source of information they need to get their act together.

I also assumed when I first recommended the site that the information would match the professional layout I saw there and didn't give the information more than a cursory going over. You would think that a college providing this sort of information would have some sort of knowledgeable oversight. Guess not.

Another lesson learned.

Another point that I've mentioned before in reviews I've given and in general conversation: always check for yourself before taking advice. From individuals, and from "legitimate" sources.

This is why I like to have several sources for information like this, that way when I see something that doesn't add up I can look into it.

It's just sad that on something of that level of assumed credibility, that you would even have to second guess.