4 ms·

In what universe would adding line-breaks to a giant run-on paragraph be considered offensive? I can't imagine being that worried about offending people that I'

In what universe would adding line-breaks to a giant run-on paragraph be considered offensive? I can't imagine being that worried about offending people that I'd put an apologetic disclaimer on a reformatting of an internet comment.

xwowsersx 4y ago
In this very (sometimes crazy) universe we live in, unfortunately.
- jamiek88 4y ago
  Erring on the side of kindness. Yeah, crazy.
  - xwowsersx 4y ago
    I think you must've totally misunderstood me. Perhaps not your fault because what I wrote wasn't terribly clear.
keerthiko 4y ago
Putting the disclaimer is still harmless. GP took some liberties with fixing grammar and wording in addition to formatting, on text from an obvious ESL speaker. Of course, OP's post is plenty comprehensible grammatically for a competent english-speaker, despite the minor syntax issues here and there. As a bilingual non-western national, I find the disclaimer respectful and appreciate it! FWIW, I would not have been offended per se, but would have been mildly annoyed without it.
- Markoff 4y ago
  Fixing grammar could be annoying for sure (like you have nothing better to do, I worked with non-native speakers for 10+ years now and still find it astounding when some native speaker feels the urge to fix someone's grammar in online forums, which I would never do if the content is comprehensible), but adding paragraphs to unreadable block of text can't be even annoying, that's just common sense and everyone can agree Reddit/HN formatting is mess
  - michaelcao 4y ago
    I agree that we need to keep the HN as simple as possible but it is quite difficult for me to find a way to break lines although i am a software developer in the past. This is an issue for sure.
socialismisok 4y ago
The parent post also changed the words in addition to adding line breaks. I grew up with a family member who spoke (and wrote) Hawaiian pidgin. His emails would be like, " Eyyy! Me an bruddah Brent goin to get plate lunch. You want?" Obviously, his Hawaiian vernacular was an important part of who he was, and retyping that could change the identity of the speaker, e.g., "Hey, my close friend Brent and I are going to pick up some Hawaiian take away lunch. Would you like me to pick some up for you?" Now, not all folks are that attached to how they write, or may be self conscious about their English and really appreciate the corrections. Hence, a gentle warning and note that if the author is bothered, they'll remove it seems just about right. It's extending a courtesy to the author and saying, "please assume I had good intent!"
- Markoff 4y ago
  His Hawaiian pidgin seems much more efficient than your transcription and I would prefer it as non-native speaker. But English is like my 3rd or 4th language so what do I know...
  - socialismisok 4y ago
    People speak how people speak. The point is that making editorial changes to how someone speaks can change the identity embodied by the text.
eyelidlessness 4y ago
I offend myself trying to decide where line breaks go in text I actually wrote. I sincerely re-edit multiple times to hopefully convey what I meant. It’s okay for someone to be careful about their indie edits.
SadTrombone 4y ago
> I can't imagine being that worried about offending people that I'd put an apologetic disclaimer on a reformatting of an internet comment. Seems weirder to be this bothered by a harmless disclaimer, tbh.
innocentoldguy 4y ago
In a universe where you're taking something that Michael has written and correcting his English grammar and formatting without being asked to do so. Some people may find that offensive, so it makes perfect sense to me to issue a statement of intent and to pre-apologize, just in case their attempt to help may have offended Michael (which, thankfully, it didn't). By the way, good on you Michael and best of luck in the future.
- michaelcao 4y ago
  Thanks. English is not my native language so I am thankful for editing my post.

xwowsersx 4y ago

In this very (sometimes crazy) universe we live in, unfortunately.

jamiek88 4y ago
Erring on the side of kindness. Yeah, crazy.
- xwowsersx 4y ago
  I think you must've totally misunderstood me. Perhaps not your fault because what I wrote wasn't terribly clear.

keerthiko 4y ago

Putting the disclaimer is still harmless. GP took some liberties with fixing grammar and wording in addition to formatting, on text from an obvious ESL speaker. Of course, OP's post is plenty comprehensible grammatically for a competent english-speaker, despite the minor syntax issues here and there. As a bilingual non-western national, I find the disclaimer respectful and appreciate it! FWIW, I would not have been offended per se, but would have been mildly annoyed without it.

Markoff 4y ago
Fixing grammar could be annoying for sure (like you have nothing better to do, I worked with non-native speakers for 10+ years now and still find it astounding when some native speaker feels the urge to fix someone's grammar in online forums, which I would never do if the content is comprehensible), but adding paragraphs to unreadable block of text can't be even annoying, that's just common sense and everyone can agree Reddit/HN formatting is mess
- michaelcao 4y ago
  I agree that we need to keep the HN as simple as possible but it is quite difficult for me to find a way to break lines although i am a software developer in the past. This is an issue for sure.

socialismisok 4y ago

The parent post also changed the words in addition to adding line breaks. I grew up with a family member who spoke (and wrote) Hawaiian pidgin. His emails would be like, " Eyyy! Me an bruddah Brent goin to get plate lunch. You want?" Obviously, his Hawaiian vernacular was an important part of who he was, and retyping that could change the identity of the speaker, e.g., "Hey, my close friend Brent and I are going to pick up some Hawaiian take away lunch. Would you like me to pick some up for you?" Now, not all folks are that attached to how they write, or may be self conscious about their English and really appreciate the corrections. Hence, a gentle warning and note that if the author is bothered, they'll remove it seems just about right. It's extending a courtesy to the author and saying, "please assume I had good intent!"

Markoff 4y ago
His Hawaiian pidgin seems much more efficient than your transcription and I would prefer it as non-native speaker. But English is like my 3rd or 4th language so what do I know...
- socialismisok 4y ago
  People speak how people speak. The point is that making editorial changes to how someone speaks can change the identity embodied by the text.

eyelidlessness 4y ago

I offend myself trying to decide where line breaks go in text I actually wrote. I sincerely re-edit multiple times to hopefully convey what I meant. It’s okay for someone to be careful about their indie edits.

SadTrombone 4y ago

> I can't imagine being that worried about offending people that I'd put an apologetic disclaimer on a reformatting of an internet comment. Seems weirder to be this bothered by a harmless disclaimer, tbh.

innocentoldguy 4y ago

In a universe where you're taking something that Michael has written and correcting his English grammar and formatting without being asked to do so. Some people may find that offensive, so it makes perfect sense to me to issue a statement of intent and to pre-apologize, just in case their attempt to help may have offended Michael (which, thankfully, it didn't). By the way, good on you Michael and best of luck in the future.

michaelcao 4y ago
Thanks. English is not my native language so I am thankful for editing my post.