You start with multiple typos in a single sentence, like this from Yahoo! Shine:
Then you take a recipe from another source (like the popular Web site Cravings) and neglect to give it credit. In the process of “borrowing” the recipe, you mistake 3 pounds of lobster with 3-pound lobsters. And finally, you fail to “borrow” the entire instructions. As bad as those errors are, nothing infuriates an editor more than unattributed text.
August 19, 2008 at 11:30 am
Thank God for you, Terribly Write! More free edits! Yahoo should hire you! (Oh, wait, they already did, didn’t they? I’m so glad you found a new gig.)
August 19, 2008 at 11:38 am
Perhaps Yahoo should focus on quality writing and editing before posting and relying on a blogger to point out errors. It’s not like these errors take a lot of time to check.
August 19, 2008 at 11:47 am
Oh, to walk a mile in another man’s shoes…
In any case, I thank my lucky stars for a free service like this one. It’s such an educational tool–we can learn from this blogger and change our terrible mistakes in real time. It’s the best.
August 19, 2008 at 12:01 pm
Agreed! It’s a great blog that I like to check daily (sometimes more than once). Glad you like it too, Jennifer.
August 19, 2008 at 12:30 pm
I don’t read this blog very often, but now that I see how much vitriole this blogger has stirred up, I’ll be back more frequently. You’d think that the writers over at yahoo would be embarrassed by all their errors, but instead they are defensive!!! Keep up the good work, Laura! It’s good to know that there are people like you with some standards for accuracy and good, correct writing. Too bad yahoo doesn’t share them.
August 19, 2008 at 1:17 pm
Actually, Laura, this recipe was pitched to us by the restaurant, and apparently the PR rep pitched it to more than just us. We didn’t steal this recipe from Cravings. We are very careful to not take content from any site or blog without attribution.
August 19, 2008 at 1:18 pm
If “what would you do without us?” really is “Jennifer,” I can understand the defensiveness. He/she/it has much to be defensive about.
Apparently Yahoo! Shine lacks class as well as writing skills.
August 19, 2008 at 1:22 pm
Annette,
Thank you for clarifying this for me. I found it hard to believe that it would be taken from an unattributed source. But it looks like Cravings got a bit more of the recipe and that the instructions are definitely different. Not that I intend to try it — what with the 3-pound lobsters or 3 pounds of lobster.
August 19, 2008 at 1:22 pm
Totally understand. This took us by surprise. Also, we miss you very much at Yahoo!
Obviously, we’re lacking copy edit resources and are trying to make the best of it.
August 19, 2008 at 1:27 pm
Glad to hear the response from Annette. A much more professional post from Yahoo than that smack from Jennifer. I’m encouraged to hear that they don’t swipe content without attribution. Editing would be a good touch to add, though.
August 19, 2008 at 5:47 pm
Dear what would you do without us?,
You mention that changing your terrible mistakes in real time is “the best.” You know what’s even better? Being educated enough in your professional field not to make them in the first place.