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This week we continue our quest to clean up the Web's prose
with Meryl "Two Syllables Not One" Evans' latest missive on
grammar. Is it "which" or "that," "affect" or "effect," you get
the idea. Also, don't miss today's story on Web logs in the NY
Times.
New this week on WebReference.com and the Web:
1. TWO CONTESTS: Signup & Win, Submit & Win!
2. FEATURED ARTICLE: It's Grammar Stylin' Time, Kids!
3. NET NEWS:
* Invasion of the "Blog": A Parallel Web of Personal Journals
* Java: Not Just For Geeks Anymore
* Web Services: Few Actually Deliver
* Lycos to Roll Out Animated Ads on Taxis
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1. TWO GREAT CONTESTS: Submit & Win!, Signup & Win
Submit your article today and you could win Macromedia's powerful
Dreamweaver 4 Fireworks 4 Studio software. If your article makes
the cut, and we publish it in this newsletter, you win! See the
submission page for details:
This week, Meryl Evans continues her crusade to clean up the Web's
writing with an essay on tricky grammar gotchas.
>Signup & Win!
Sign up for the Webreference Update newsletter, and you could win
a killer software bundle from BoxTop Software and Insider Software
including ProJPEG, SuperGIF, and SpaceAgent. Each week we'll draw
new winners from our new subscribers - you could be next. Already
a subscriber? Not a problem - just fill out the form, and you'll
be automatically entered to win. Tell your friends!
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2. FEATURED ARTICLE: It's Grammar Stylin' Time, Kids!
You've just put the finishing touches on your newest baby, a Web
site! You're all ready to roll it out or perhaps, you've already
rolled it out and posted the URL on thousands of search engines
(if not, you HAVE to read one of Webreference.com's articles on
this topic <http://www.webreference.com/new/searchrank/4.html>).
Are you forgetting something? Is something nagging at you, but
you can't put your finger on it?
Could it be that you used the wrong word? Wrong punctuation?
There is nothing more annoying to us grammar freaks than Web
sites that don't follow grammar rules or recommended styles.
One of the most common, and very annoying mistakes is the use of
"insure" instead of "ensure" with "assure" getting involved in
the brawl. Want to know how to stop making these stupid mistakes?
Read on.
>Ensure You Insure Everything You Own
I am convinced the insurance industry sends subliminal messages
through the use of the word "insure" because it is confused with
"ensure," a commonly used word. Why is it that when we need
something NOW it's not there for you? I looked all over the Web
for an example of incorrect use of "insure" and couldn't find one.
However, when I went to a jobs database and typed "insure" and
sure enough, lots of examples came up and they were all wrong.
Here's one example: "Interview applicants to insure accuracy and
completeness of paperwork."
Oh now, we need to buy insurance for paperwork??? This is
ridiculous! Unless you're in the insurance business, you probably
should avoid using "insure."
>I Can't Assure that "Assure" Can Play with "Ensure" and "Insure"
Yes, there is another competitor for our attention and confusion.
It is true that all of these words mean, "to make certain."
However, "assure" is special because it's the only one that makes
a reference to a person in an attempt to ease your mind. In
writing this article, I assure you I am providing you with a
good resource.
>For once, Microsoft is Right (It took me hours to write the
admission that they're right!)
How many times have you typed the word, "which" in a sentence
only to get that irritating green line under it to notify you that
there's a grammar problem? Actually, in most cases, the word
processor is RIGHT! It just gave me the freakin' green line when
I typed "which" without a comma prior to it. "Which" usually has
a comma preceding it because it is providing more information
about the clause.
All the grammar experts explain that you should use "which" for
non-restrictive clauses and "that" for restrictive clauses. Oh,
like we remember what "non-restrictive" means. Here it is in
plain English for us commoners:
This article, which is written by Meryl Two Syllables Not One,
is an award winner . You see? I added information
about this delightful article. See the comma beforehand? No green
squiggly line this time.
Use "that" to identify the object in the clause. The article that
Meryl wrote... in this case, if I didn't use "that Meryl..." then
you would not know what article I am referencing.
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I am doing my best to affect you with the effects of my article.
Here, "effect" means "result" or "intent." I hope that the results
of this article will get you to clean up your writing act. We use
"affect" because we want to "influence you" to make a change, but
it also means "to display a liking." I better stop here before I
feel like I am writing a romance novel.
It's easy to remember to use a colon for salutations, "Dear Ms.
Thinkssheknowseverythingaboutgrammar:"; for time, it's 5:00, I'm
outta here; between the chapter and the verse in the Bible,
Genesis 1:1-5 (forgive me God, for bringing up religion when I
said I would avoid this controversial topic); and using "To:" or
"From:" in a business memo or e-mail (I am NOT capitalizing the
damned "e" as mentioned in a previous article).
Notice I used the semi-colon to separate the ideas in that long
series that uses commas? I could've used a colon if I started it
as "Remember to use a colon for the following: <long, dull list
follows>." When you throw a list at us, it likely will need the
double dots. Though grammatically correct, it is still confusing
and ugly looking. For goodness sakes, use bullets instead.
The semi-colon is also properly used prior to "therefore,"
"however," and "moreover;" "thus" you would use this instead of
a comma like you do with "and," "or," and "but." I think I am
all quoted out here and my colon really hurts. OY!!
I am an editor of a nonprofit organization's newsletter. The
spiritual leader of this organization makes my life heck. I'm not
a wimp, like I am going to say "hell" in the same sentence as
"spiritual." He always puts his punctuation on the outside of
quotes like this: "Off with their heads"! It's not the recommended
style for American English. However, British English typically uses
punctuation on the outside. This is an example of where there is no
hard and fast rule. It's best to go by the styles of your
organization or company. Personally, it bugs me when the
punctuation is outside except in the Lincoln example below. No
offense to speakers of British English. I often write "humour,"
"theatre," and" colour" because I like it!
The only time it really goes on the outside of the quotes is when
you use a colon (ouch, still hurts) or a semi-colon. Now brace
yourself: question marks and exclamation marks go outside the
quotes... sometimes!
If the punctuation applies to the quotation itself, then keep it
in the family. Kick it out when the entire sentence is a question
or exclamation.
Who said, "Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought
forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty and
dedicated to the proposition that 'all men are created equal'"?
Please don't write me an e-mail asking for the answer. I may end
up laughing myself to death before writing a response.
Your teacher for the day, Ms. Meryl Two Syllables Not One, has
been a Net freak since '93 and continues to whack herself for not
getting into the Web biz much, much sooner. She does a little bit
of everything freelance writing for The Dallas Morning News, Web
designing, coordinating newsletters for Ibizhome
<http://www.ibizhome.com>, teaching an online class, volunteering,
and explaining what a "process analyst" is to everyone who asks
what is her day job. The day job, of course, isn't Web related and
she's working to change that for good. You can reach out and touch
Meryl at her Web Site: <http://www.meryl.net> or e-mail:
.
Now back to your regular scheduled programming with Principal King
and Vice Principal Levy.
WHERE IS THE MOST COMPREHENSIVE ADMINISTRATOR SITE ON THE WEB?
Swynk.com - It provides the single largest independent resource
for Microsoft-related BackOffice” and Windows DNA Server Technologies.
You'll find information on SQL Servers. Exchange, SMS, Windows 2000
and more. Sign up for FREE newsletters or join a discussion forum.
http://www.swynk.com/
3. NET NEWS: Invasion of the "Blog": A Parallel Web of Personal
Journals, Java: Not Just For Geeks Anymore,
Web Services: Few Actually Deliver,
Lycos to Roll Out Animated Ads on Taxis
>Invasion of the "Blog": A Parallel Web of Personal Journals
The Times ran a story this morning on Web logs, which are
regularly updated sites with brief entries linking to on- or mainly
off-site stories about a particular topic. Think slashdot, webref,
blogger, writ large. Since 1999 blogger.com has attracted 75000
registered users. Originally conceived to help folks sift through
the Web's junk, Web logs are now so prolific that they produce
their own kind of noise. WebRef itself uses Jonathan Eisenzopf's
open source "Weblog" perl program, available free at:
http://www.webreference.com/perl/http://www.nytimes.com/2000/12/28/technology/28BLOG.html (reg req)
NYTimes.com, 001228
>Java: Not Just For Geeks Anymore
After years of near-exclusive use by hot dot-com developers,
consultants, and geeks, the business world finally seems to be
catching on to Java, especially since the release of Java 2
Enterprise Edition from Sun.
http://www.techweb.com/wire/story/TWB20001227S0017
Information Week, 001227
Big city taxis are becoming rolling billboards for the likes of
Yahoo and now Lycos. Thursday Lycos said it will begin running 12
different animated signs on the tops of four taxis in Boston,
beginning in January.
http://www.internetnews.com/IAR/article/0,,12_546901,00.html
Internetnews.com, 001228
That's it for this week, see you next time.
Andrew King
Managing Editor, WebReference.com
update@webreference.com
Catherine Levy
Assistant Editor, WebReference.com
clevy@internet.com
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Frank Fazio, Director of Inside Sales, Jupitermedia Corp.
Call (203)662-2997 or write mailto:ffazio@internet.com
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