What do you do? Flag? How?

If you are just reading along. Checking out some of the articles and you see an article at #1 that does not double space after a period. What do you do. In my opinion, if someone is going to write they should know how to double space after a period. Thats pretty basic. I don't think an article that is typed without proper use of spaces should be in the #1 slot.
But if you go to tools to flag it you have to copy & paste what is inappropriate. Does lack of spacing after periods count as inappropriate? Also when you flag someone do they know who flags them?

Does the lack of double spacing get in the way of the content of the
piece you are reading? I'd suggest not, therefore not worth flagging.



Take for example this quote:

dream-girl wrote:

If you are just reading along. Checking out some of
the articles and you see an article at #1 that does not double space
after a period.

Would you flag that? Surely "if you are just reading along" is not a complete sentence and ratherthan having a full stop, surely that should be a comma and a continuation of the same sentence?

Where do you stop? Do you flag those people that, for some inexplicable reason, leaves a space between the end of their questions and the actual question mark?

My advice is, unless it serious hampers your ability to take from the article/topic what you're looking for, then it's not worth flagging.

I see what you mean. Maybe I'm taking it too seriously. But yes if I wrote an article on helium like I post on a forum then I would expect it to be flagged.
If I were reading a book and the author didn't use correct punctuation I would not read any of their other books. As I would see it as shoddy work.
example on a forum I don't care if a person uses all lower case when they are typing. However, in an article type setting I expect them to know how to use capitalization properly.

As far as I understood, in terms of keyword density it is better to have a long list of crappy articles for a given topic than a short list of a few outstanding ones.

That's why Helium is very careful about removing articles - I think all they want to find through flagging is texts which are overall inappropriate like illegal stuff, pornographic material, totally off-topic articles etc.

Don't flag because you don't like someones punctuation, spelling or grammer or the authors point of view.

long list of crappy articles verse short list of outstanding. Thats a bit weird! I would prefer a short list of outstanding. But thats just me maybe.

I wish they had a way to improve the grammer, punctuation without disregarding the article. I myself would leapfrog in order to correct such things. Actually I did just yesturday because safirespider noticed I didn't use a comma when needed and an incorectly used word. As I was correcting that little issue I found ways to improve the whole article.

dream-girl wrote:

long list of crappy articles verse short list of outstanding. Thats a bit weird! I would prefer a short list of outstanding. But thats just me maybe.

Of course long lists with many outstanding articles would be even better. But that will take a while to build up

The thing I find odd is that whilst poor grammer is somthing that we can all suffer from now and then, one of the criteria for front page selection (and remember there are front pages for all categories as well) requires an article to be "free from spelling mistakes in the first paragraph" or words to that effect. If the articles are manualy selected why are so many WRITTEN IN CAP, contain relly bad spolling or are just factually wide of the mark.

Quote :

The thing I find odd is that whilst poor grammer is somthing that we can all suffer from now and then, one of the criteria for front page selection (and remember there are front pages for all categories as well) requires an article to be "free from spelling mistakes in the first paragraph" or words to that effect. If the articles are manualy selected why are so many WRITTEN IN CAP, contain relly bad spolling or are just factually wide of the mark.

I take it that was tongue in cheek (your spelling). If you see any slip through to front page, flag em !

SaschaT wrote:

grammer

dream-girl wrote:

grammer

steerpyke wrote:

grammer

Isn't it suppose to be grammar, not grammer?

well spotted, but then do you think that this line was not intentional also???

"contain relly bad spolling"

give me some credit my friend, or is this just a clever recovery??

That last one was obvious, but when three consequtive people say the same thing wrong, how can it not be noticed? Not to mention the context of your "spolling" quip was way too removed from "grammer" in your post.

Thank you, I'm recovering quite well.

Shame on me, of course its grammar. And no it was not intentional...

okay....I'm crap at spolling and so's my grandma...or is that grandme, can never remember!

I just find it extremely hilarious that you guys were talking ABOUT proper grammar.

LOL nice catch on the grammer/grammar

I just reread thru some of my articles. I'm notorious for lack of comma's. I realize it doesn't have an effect on reading and understanding. But when rereading over it I'm like crap there was supposed to be a comma there and it drives me bonkers till I get a chance to leapfrog it. The one's I've caught today I have to wait a week to correct. I'm the same way reading a book. I might miss a slight mis spelled word. But boy if I catch it, it bugs me big time.

berlioz wrote:

I just find it extremely hilarious that you guys were talking ABOUT proper grammar.

Its a sad day when someone with English as their second language is putting me straight on my first language. The shame.

Still, cool banana.

Actually, English is my foreign A-language; my second language would be Swedish (and once upon a time my third would have been Russian), but I can't say I'm very good at it. Funny enough that I've been taught English since the second grade, but my official second languge only since the seventh! Oh, and my optional B-language was German, but it was a pretty lousy course so I got very little out of it.

show off...

Actually double spacing is just a throwback to the old typewriter days. Someone corrected me a few weeks ago and let me know that on computer and word processors it is actually correct to single space after a period http://www.getitwriteonline.com/archive/011803.htm[url]

GRRR! I still double space - old habits die hard!

LOL

Kelly Malloy[/url]

I had to read that twice. Us Brits call the ladies problems once a month a period. What you call a period is a full stop to us. I wondered why you spaced things double after your periods !