The Cockney Canuck By Dodger

[Will Hawkins]

Droughtquake, or dq? Hmmm? My spellchecker goes into a snit at dq, but seemingly has no problem with drought. So, for us, drought will do, as long as it is not an insult. Do you tell friends what is the origin of the name, or is that confidential?

Will H.

[Timothy M.]

24 minutes ago, Will Hawkins said:

I like 'pedant' better as it is not quite as evil a person as a nerd.

 

Nerd is a positive word - or at least the Danish version is: Nørd. To me it means someone very intelligent with slightly eccentric behavior and special interests. I'm proud to be one.  

[Will Hawkins]

Well, now I am confused. Nerd, Nørd, pedant, troll. Heck, I'm going back to troll, as it is a word I am familiar with even though the online meaning is:  a person who makes a deliberately offensive or provocative online post. While I don't intend to be 'deliberately offensive' I am sure some of my online friends will take it that way. I do not intend to be offensive, either deliberately or accidentally, I am sure some to whom the correction is intended, will interpret it that way. Please, Authors, take my comments in the spirit in which they are intended, as corrective to increase the enjoyment of the reader, not as snarky. Will

[Dodger]

You have an unusual style, Will. At first, I wrongly misjudged you and I apologize. I certainly don't see you as a troll. You're very knowledgeable and you  obviously put a lot of thought into your comments. I think most authors would find them both constructive and encouraging.

[Former Member]

2 hours ago, Will Hawkins said:

Do you tell friends what is the origin of the name, or is that confidential?

I’ve been accused of being pedantic with some of my suggested corrections. Not all authors appreciate what they perceive as criticisms. Some ignore what I’ve suggested even if I send them as PMs.  ;–)

 

The origin of my nick? My first email address was my first and last names with no space at Yahoo (I never check that one anymore, but I have the same address at gmail and at my ISP). My next one was my city, my orientation, and my racial origin (no spaces or contractions). So I decided I wanted one less descriptive. I was born in and have lived in California more than 86% of my life. Two of the three biggest natural disasters, along with wildfires, are droughts and earthquakes. (Flooding and mudslides are usually related to the aftereffects of droughts and wildfires that killed the vegetation that would otherwise help slow and retain the rainfall and snowmelt.)

 

;–)

Edited August 14, 2018 by Former Member

[Will Hawkins]

I can accept that DQ. I too have lived in the golden state --  more brown and blackened right now than golden -- mostly in San Francisco, though also in San Bernardino. The consequences of having an Air Force officer for a father. I am saddened to think of the damage being done to that beautiful countryside right now. Yes, I know that DQ has another meaning, but at least my spell checker does not have a fit if I use caps.

 

Thank you, Dodger, for your support. It is a real pleasure to hear from an author that accepts my suggestions in the spirit with which they are intended. 

Will H.

[Former Member]

3 minutes ago, Will Hawkins said:

I can accept that DQ. I too have lived in the golden state --  more brown and blackened right now than golden -- mostly in San Francisco, though also in San Bernardino.

When I mention to San Franciscans where I live, they immediately think go the District rather than the East Bay city with the same name where I actually live.

 

My father was a Protestant minister, so he was transferred several times. The first time was a few months after I was born in what became Silicon Valley, to Hawaii just after Statehood. Then we moved to San Diego, and finally the Bay Area.

 

Even with my limited income (Disability), I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else!  ;–)

[Will Hawkins]

Castro?

[Former Member]

6 minutes ago, Will Hawkins said:

Castro?

No, but I had a friend who was Italian and attending UC. He took BART to Castro Valley and realized he wasn’t in The Castro as soon as he got off the train! So he got back on the train to return to Berkeley. We explained how to use BART to Muni Metro to get to the Castro District.  ;–)

 

And my younger brother used to live in Castro Valley…  ;–)

Edited August 14, 2018 by Former Member

[AC Benus]

2 hours ago, Will Hawkins said:

Well, now I am confused. Nerd, Nørd, pedant, troll. Heck, I'm going back to troll, as it is a word I am familiar with even though the online meaning is:  a person who makes a deliberately offensive or provocative online post. While I don't intend to be 'deliberately offensive' I am sure some of my online friends will take it that way. I do not intend to be offensive, either deliberately or accidentally, I am sure some to whom the correction is intended, will interpret it that way. Please, Authors, take my comments in the spirit in which they are intended, as corrective to increase the enjoyment of the reader, not as snarky. Will

It's still only constructive if it the perceived error is taken to the attention to the person who posted it in a nice way. That means not publicity, so an author must defend and "explain" to casual readers his or her intent when such is not called for. Be as critical and pedantic as you want, but be a conscientious user and assume the items you think of as "wrong" were done on purpose. Inquire the thinking behind it, if you must, but behind the scenes.  

 

Also, say what you liked and enjoyed about a piece in your comments. That is encouragement, and you'd do well to remember all of us post here for free, for your enjoyment. Let that knowledge stir you to a tiny bit of gratitude in your approach to "trolling".  

Edited August 14, 2018 by AC Benus

[Will Hawkins]

It is not my intent to publicly embarrass an author. But in my ignorance of how to, I don't know how to give guidance to an author without a public response. Please instruct me remembering that I am an ancient and computereze is a foreign language to me.

[Former Member]

2 minutes ago, Will Hawkins said:

It is not my intent to publicly embarrass an author. But in my ignorance of how to, I don't know how to give guidance to an author without a public response. Please instruct me remembering that I am an ancient and computereze is a foreign language to me.

If you hoover over an author’s Avatar image with your cursor (without clicking), you’ll see an envelope icon labeled Message. If you click on that, a pop-up window will appear with the author’s name pre-entered. I usually enter the story’s name and chapter into the Subject field so the author will know what you’re referring to (especially if they have more than one story running concurrently).  ;–)

 

This will also work with any other GA Member you want to message privately.  ;–)

 

Messages sent to you will be indicated in the upper-right side of the blue bar between your Notification Alerts (the bell) and your Profile link as an envelope. Clicking on the appropriate icon will bring up a pop-up field with the most recent item listed at the top. It is also possible to send a Private Message using the envelope icon in the blue field, but you have to manually add the recipient’s name.  ;–)

 

 

If you click on the Avatar, you’ll go to the Member’s Profile Page. Usually, you can send a public message to that Member in the public Message field. But you’ve turned off that feature so others cannot send you public Messages on your Profile.  ;–)

 

Many of these features have alternative methods beyond the ones I’ve mentioned.  ;–)

[AC Benus]

1 hour ago, Will Hawkins said:

It is not my intent to publicly embarrass an author. But in my ignorance of how to, I don't know how to give guidance to an author without a public response. Please instruct me remembering that I am an ancient and computereze is a foreign language to me.

With @droughtquake's excellent assistance, you have sent me a private message. So you made it work

 

[AC Benus]

@Dodger sorry to have hijacked your thread for a moment or two. You are more than welcomed to blow up the Mojo forum if you like

[Former Member]

Friendliness and helpfulness are traits associated with CA…  ;–)

[Dodger]

43 minutes ago, AC Benus said:

@Dodger sorry to have hijacked your thread for a moment or two. You are more than welcomed to blow up the Mojo forum if you like

No worries, AC. I've enjoyed sitting back and watching. It was good to see a positive outcome and I'm glad you stopped by to offer advice. Now everyone's happy. I will definitely re-visit the Mojo forum but blowing up sounds like it could be dangerous or messy.

[Will Hawkins]

Another lesson, please. What is the mojo forum and if I am writing some PMs to an author, why should it be used? I am not interested in publicly embarrassing authors, though, in my opinion, some editors, who are not doing their job could use a little public embarrassment.

Next question; if one is a good editor, how do you decide what an author should upgrade and what to let go. I can see changing punctuation, spelling, and homophone errors, but an author, I am sure, does not want a conversation between adolescents to sound like a meeting of English teachers. People, especially kids, just don't speak schoolbook English, and an editor should not cripple an author's style.

[Former Member]

14 minutes ago, Will Hawkins said:

What is the mojo forum

It’s the forum for discussions on the story by @AC Benus. It is very different from The Cockney Canuck. Mojo is a comedy, a farcical story. The protagonists are in their 20s or so. It is very well written with interesting phrasings and very unusual situations. It is hard to describe.  ;–)

[Former Member]

On 8/15/2018 at 2:18 AM, Will Hawkins said:

Next question; if one is a good editor, how do you decide what an author should upgrade and what to let go. I can see changing punctuation, spelling, and homophone errors, but an author, I am sure, does not want a conversation between adolescents to sound like a meeting of English teachers. People, especially kids, just don't speak schoolbook English, and an editor should not cripple an author's style.

Well, since none of the writers or editors wants to answer this one, I guess it’s left to a non-writer/non-editor (again).  ;–)

 

I think that it’s probably different with each writer/editor combinations. I think it’s especially difficult when the two (or more) speak different versions of English (UK/US/CA/AU/etc) or if the author sets the story in a location other than their native country. Some editors will provide feedback on ambiguity, continuity, plot, characters, and other non-spelling & grammatical items. Other authors will rely on Beta Readers to provide similar feedback. I think most editors would feel it is their job to make it easier for the story to be read and understood.

 

What we readers need to remember is that none of them is being paid. All are volunteering their time and skills to make this possible. And not all writers, editor, or beta readers are equally skilled or experienced. All of these tasks have a learning curve and sometimes we are reading early efforts of less experienced people. And sometimes even the best, most experienced overlook things, often in their haste to post new chapters as quickly as we readers demand.  ;–)

 

While Brits, Canadians, and Australians frequently misspell words, we need to forgive them when we see things like centre, kerb, programme, and honour. We also need to be charitable when they use words like lorry or windscreen – or mention temperature in Celsius. They can’t help that their schools teach them the wrong things – I think it’s related to them driving on the wrong side of the street (except Canadians, of course, who notably misspell fewer words).  ;–)

 

 

See what happens when real writers and editors don’t respond to questions aimed at them?  ;–)

Edited August 17, 2018 by Former Member

[Former Member]

So far there are at least three readers who want Robbie to remember the Retired Social Worker…  ;–)

[Former Member]

On 8/14/2018 at 2:35 PM, Will Hawkins said:

It is not my intent to publicly embarrass an author. But in my ignorance of how to, I don't know how to give guidance to an author without a public response. Please instruct me remembering that I am an ancient and computereze is a foreign language to me.

@Will Hawkins, we’ve already discussed this issue here. While @R. Eric doesn't seem to mind the corrections, most other authors (and many readers) are getting very upset with you. Just because they ignore PMs doesn’t mean you should publicly shame them. There are just situations where you have to let it go.

 

You can’t fight with everyone just because they’re less perfect than you think they should be. Your approach is infuriating them. It is not making them more error-free.

[Will Hawkins]

I do not wish to alienate any author or editor, therefore, I will cease making suggestions immediately and apologize to any that are upset.  It is difficult for an old schoolteacher like me to keep my opinions to myself, but I do not want to upset anyone. I enjoy reading the stories posted on GA too much to have anyone put off by my suggestions.

[Former Member]

Is that why old schoolmarms were typically portrayed as spinsters?  ;–)

[Mikiesboy]

On 8/17/2018 at 3:58 PM, droughtquake said:

While Brits, Canadians, and Australians frequently misspell words, we need to forgive them when we see things like centre, kerb, programme, and honour. We also need to be charitable when they use words like lorry or windscreen – or mention temperature in Celsius. They can’t help that their schools teach them the wrong things – I think it’s related to them driving on the wrong side of the street (except Canadians, of course, who notably misspell fewer words).  ;–)

That angry emoji is filled with my love for you.. LOL.. Americans only speak the language they do because of the English.. do i need to send you a few history books? 

Edited September 17, 2018 by Mikiesboy

[Former Member]

17 minutes ago, Mikiesboy said:

That angry emoji is filled with my love for you.. LOL.. Americans only speak the language they because of the English.. do i need to send you a few history books? 

My tongue was firmly in my cheek when I said all that. It’s amazing anyone could understand what I said at all. You understand mumble very well!  ;–)