4 ms·

I gently disagree. Take a look at our blog (dogfooded), and let me know whether you think the editing quality reflects US or international English usage.

gamblor956 14y ago
Edit: Just so that we're clear, I think the dogfooded blog post demonstrates poor proofing in both U.S. and International (U.K.) English. One constant I’ve recognized in my writing is how much feedback I like to have. The constant is not in your writing, but in your writing process. Alternatively, choose a more appropriate preposition, such as "about." This is a subtle error, but one that a US college graduate would have caught. I’ll write an email, and I’ll send a draft to a colleague to see if it’s right. I’ll write an application to something, and get feedback from friends to see if it makes sense. I’ll write a blog post, and send it to my wife. While this is technically correct, it is poor writing. The second phrase in each sentence is logically connected to the first as a continuation of action, so the second phrases should not be set apart as independent clauses. Either eliminate the ", and I'll..." or make them separate sentences. But being a solo entrepreneur and working alone at home, I often find myself stuck, not being able to get a friend to look at my work. It is permissible but not proper to start a sentence with "But" when you are discussing the immediately preceding sentence. It is not okay to start a paragraph with "But." Use "However" or "In contrast" or some such similar word or phrase. Alternatively, move the sentence to the preceding paragraph. My wife can only take so much. A single sentence is not a paragraph. Especially not when it is logically part of the previous paragraph. Unless you are doing it for emphasis. But you already had a single-sentence paragraph, so the emphasis is lost. I got bored of proofing the blog post after that, but it definitely gets worse from that point on and if I were to continue I would have further edits for every single sentence remaining in the post. The level of proofing is perfectly acceptable for a personal blog where you aren't too worried about it being read professionally...but why would you bother pay to have a personal post proofed? If this is the level of quality that can be expected from Draft, it is simply not adequate for any professional purpose.
- RaphiePS 14y ago
  Note that you proofread Nate Kontny's blog, not Mobileworks' dogfooded blog as suggested.
  - gamblor956 14y ago
    You're right, I assumed Kontny was dogfooding too. Some thoughts on the actual MobileWorks blog: Here’s an idea. What if the network of disruptive startups being created in Silicon Valley could band together to disrupt unemployment itself, right here in the US? Today, we’re announcing a new experiment to try and do exactly that. After "idea" there should be a semicolon. Also, in the U.S., formal abbreviations such as U.S. and U.S.A. are always punctuated in professional writing (see, e.g., the NY Times). Bloggers and commenters get away with not punctuating because they are not expected to be professional, but that is not an excuse a proofreading service should make. Note that this is exactly what I was referring to originally, as the standard convention in most European countries is that formal abbreviations in English are not capitalized, i.e. UK rather than U.K. pick up the last few slots" should be "fill up...", as slots cannot be picked up. It's a chance* should be "This is a chance" because they are referring to WFA, not the project work, unless they truly are referring to the project work and not WFA. The list has improper punctuation. Each item should end with a semi colon; the third item should not have a period; there should be a conjunctive or disjunctive joinder after the third item or the "and more" shold be made its own separate item. participants will be able to take skills learned working on Silicon Valley’s projects with them as they're placed As written, it means that participants' skills will only be useful in the initial stages of job-hunting rather than useful in the jobs in which they are placed; it should say something like "Participants will learn skills working on Silicon Valley projects. They can take these skills with them to full-time..." There are more, but you get the idea. This service is decent but pointless for non-professional writing and not up-to-par for professional writing.
    - anandkulkarni 14y ago
      You had it right; I'm referring to the linked post. But you seem to be looking for proofreaders who can apply the particular set of proofing standards expected of print writers, as opposed to suggested edits an informal writer can incorporate into blog posts. I'm not sure that's what Draft claims to do -- or why it's so interesting!

gamblor956 14y ago

Edit: Just so that we're clear, I think the dogfooded blog post demonstrates poor proofing in both U.S. and International (U.K.) English. One constant I’ve recognized in my writing is how much feedback I like to have. The constant is not in your writing, but in your writing process. Alternatively, choose a more appropriate preposition, such as "about." This is a subtle error, but one that a US college graduate would have caught. I’ll write an email, and I’ll send a draft to a colleague to see if it’s right. I’ll write an application to something, and get feedback from friends to see if it makes sense. I’ll write a blog post, and send it to my wife. While this is technically correct, it is poor writing. The second phrase in each sentence is logically connected to the first as a continuation of action, so the second phrases should not be set apart as independent clauses. Either eliminate the ", and I'll..." or make them separate sentences. But being a solo entrepreneur and working alone at home, I often find myself stuck, not being able to get a friend to look at my work. It is permissible but not proper to start a sentence with "But" when you are discussing the immediately preceding sentence. It is not okay to start a paragraph with "But." Use "However" or "In contrast" or some such similar word or phrase. Alternatively, move the sentence to the preceding paragraph. My wife can only take so much. A single sentence is not a paragraph. Especially not when it is logically part of the previous paragraph. Unless you are doing it for emphasis. But you already had a single-sentence paragraph, so the emphasis is lost. I got bored of proofing the blog post after that, but it definitely gets worse from that point on and if I were to continue I would have further edits for every single sentence remaining in the post. The level of proofing is perfectly acceptable for a personal blog where you aren't too worried about it being read professionally...but why would you bother pay to have a personal post proofed? If this is the level of quality that can be expected from Draft, it is simply not adequate for any professional purpose.

RaphiePS 14y ago
Note that you proofread Nate Kontny's blog, not Mobileworks' dogfooded blog as suggested.
- gamblor956 14y ago
  You're right, I assumed Kontny was dogfooding too. Some thoughts on the actual MobileWorks blog: Here’s an idea. What if the network of disruptive startups being created in Silicon Valley could band together to disrupt unemployment itself, right here in the US? Today, we’re announcing a new experiment to try and do exactly that. After "idea" there should be a semicolon. Also, in the U.S., formal abbreviations such as U.S. and U.S.A. are always punctuated in professional writing (see, e.g., the NY Times). Bloggers and commenters get away with not punctuating because they are not expected to be professional, but that is not an excuse a proofreading service should make. Note that this is exactly what I was referring to originally, as the standard convention in most European countries is that formal abbreviations in English are not capitalized, i.e. UK rather than U.K. pick up the last few slots" should be "fill up...", as slots cannot be picked up. It's a chance* should be "This is a chance" because they are referring to WFA, not the project work, unless they truly are referring to the project work and not WFA. The list has improper punctuation. Each item should end with a semi colon; the third item should not have a period; there should be a conjunctive or disjunctive joinder after the third item or the "and more" shold be made its own separate item. participants will be able to take skills learned working on Silicon Valley’s projects with them as they're placed As written, it means that participants' skills will only be useful in the initial stages of job-hunting rather than useful in the jobs in which they are placed; it should say something like "Participants will learn skills working on Silicon Valley projects. They can take these skills with them to full-time..." There are more, but you get the idea. This service is decent but pointless for non-professional writing and not up-to-par for professional writing.
  - anandkulkarni 14y ago
    You had it right; I'm referring to the linked post. But you seem to be looking for proofreaders who can apply the particular set of proofing standards expected of print writers, as opposed to suggested edits an informal writer can incorporate into blog posts. I'm not sure that's what Draft claims to do -- or why it's so interesting!