And then I wrote then

The Yahoo! Style writers seem to have problems with some common words. They’re more error-prone than the typical professional writer, often writing then when they mean than:

And then I wrote then

Writing is easier than you think — that is, if you think. The Yahoo! Style writer probably thought this was correct, but he was wrong:

What could be better than this?

You know what would make this sentence from Yahoo! Style better than it is?

Using the correct word (than), that’s what.

Step 1: Stop reading

Here’s the first step involved in tying a bow tie. After reading this on Yahoo! Style, would you bother to read Step 2?

The writer omitted one word and then used then instead of than. That’s more mistakes than I like in a single sentence.

If you’re not known for your writing…

If you’re not known for your writing, then at least don’t take a job as a professional writer. Unless you want to work for Yahoo! Style; then it’s totally OK.

And then I wrote then

There is nothing more precious to the folks at Yahoo! Celebrity than using good grammar. Right? Wrong:

And no one is more proud than the editors at Celebrity for their word choice. Right? Wrong again:

What they make is mistakes

After reading this, it shouldn’t take you long to figure out what they’re making over at Yahoo! Makers:

They’re making mistakes and not just one or two. They’re making four in a single sentence, three of which would be flagged by a common spell-checker. The writers make more mistakes per hour than any other writers on the Web.

(In case the writer is reading this, it should be airborne, toxins, than, and purifying.)

Write, then edit

What’s better than writing? Writing, and then editing. And maybe doing a little research. That’s what the writer for Yahoo! Style should have done:

He might have mentioned that Ms. Blanchett is an Oscar-winning actress (and not just a nominee). And he might have figured out that she looked “more like the fairy godmother” than the stepmother. Maybe.

Are you brighter than this writer?

Are you brighter than the Yahoo! Style writer who confused then with than?

They never cease to fail

When in comes to quality writing, the scribes at Yahoo! DIY never cease to fail:

Why would anyone make cotton candy that is guaranteed to be a failure at wowing guests? What better way to show your carelessness than adding an unnecessary word to a common idiom or confusing then with than?

When it comes to writing errors, these folks never cease to amaze.