# Dammit, news editor, read the AP Stylebook before I throw it at your fucking forehead **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [November 7, 2005, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dammit-news-editor-read-the-ap-stylebook-before-i-throw-it-at-your-fucking-forehead/329901 "2005-11-07T13:30:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2005, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dammit-news-editor-read-the-ap-stylebook-before-i-throw-it-at-your-fucking-forehead/329901/21 "2005-11-07T20:35:24Z")
> [@Maeglin](#): > > Ok, this is fair. You liked ToD for various personal reasons more than LC. > > This does not mean that you think it is a better movie, yes? Aren’t all the reasons someone likes something better than something else “personal” reasons? That said, **Anaamika** is a total freak for liking ToD better than LC. That goes double for **GargoyleWB**. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![chique](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@chique](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chique)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2005, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dammit-news-editor-read-the-ap-stylebook-before-i-throw-it-at-your-fucking-forehead/329901/22 "2005-11-08T02:28:33Z")
You might be interested in the letters to the editor that appeared in today’s edition of my university news_cough_paper. The moral of the story: [Don’t piss off the English majors.](http://www.universitychronicle.com/news/2005/11/07/Commentary/) ---
**Author:** ![Andros\_X](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/49beb7/32.png) [@Andros\_X](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andros_X)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2005, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dammit-news-editor-read-the-ap-stylebook-before-i-throw-it-at-your-fucking-forehead/329901/23 "2005-11-08T06:28:11Z")
Ah, if I had a nickel for every time I found a typo or some bad grammar in the [Collegiate Times](http://www.collegiatetimes.com/), I wouldn’t be going to a state school. And they were onerous. Mistakes in the _headlines_, for fuck’s sake. Of course, they’re not nearly as amusing as the substance gaffs they make in the paper sometimes. One time in the staff-written editorial column, I saw the phrase “Like the condor rising from its ashes…” I shit you not. ---
**Author:** ![Sternvogel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Sternvogel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sternvogel)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2005, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dammit-news-editor-read-the-ap-stylebook-before-i-throw-it-at-your-fucking-forehead/329901/24 "2005-11-08T06:29:54Z")
> [@chique](#): > > You might be interested in the letters to the editor that appeared in today’s edition of my university news_cough_paper. > > The moral of the story: [Don’t piss off the English majors.](http://www.universitychronicle.com/news/2005/11/07/Commentary/) Yes, we English majors (past and present) have [“deep-seeded prejudices”](http://www.universitychronicle.com/media/paper231/news/2005/10/31/Opinions/Gay-Unions.Go.Too.Far-1039518.shtml?norewrite&sourcedomain=www.universitychronicle.com) against those who use language sloppily. Of course, the antepenultimate paragraph in the opinion piece I linked is improved (at least comedically) by imagining Fred Willard asking “Wha’ happened?” in the style of his character in _A Mighty Wind_. Great rant, **Tracy**. Hope you never “DISSAPEAR” from the \*\*SDMB{/b]! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2005, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dammit-news-editor-read-the-ap-stylebook-before-i-throw-it-at-your-fucking-forehead/329901/25 "2005-11-08T06:32:36Z")
> [@Tracy Lord](#): > > Also, the news editor is SO EVIL that he tricked the hampsters into a double-post. FIEND OF SATAN, I SAY! And he inserted the letter P into the word “hamster!” What a fucker! I kid. Having someone above you screw up is a huge pain. At least you have the Editor in Chief on your side. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2005, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dammit-news-editor-read-the-ap-stylebook-before-i-throw-it-at-your-fucking-forehead/329901/26 "2005-11-08T06:35:25Z")
> [@chique](#): > > You might be interested in the letters to the editor that appeared in today’s edition of my university news_cough_paper. > > The moral of the story: [Don’t piss off the English majors.](http://www.universitychronicle.com/news/2005/11/07/Commentary/) You know, two years ago I’d never heard of St. Cloud. All of a sudden, everybody’s there. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![CynicalGabe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@CynicalGabe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CynicalGabe)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2005, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dammit-news-editor-read-the-ap-stylebook-before-i-throw-it-at-your-fucking-forehead/329901/27 "2005-11-08T06:39:50Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > Temple of Doom \*was \* a better movie than the Last Crusade. > > IMO, anyway. I will fight you to the end of the Earth. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2005, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dammit-news-editor-read-the-ap-stylebook-before-i-throw-it-at-your-fucking-forehead/329901/28 "2005-11-08T06:50:56Z")
> [@CynicalGabe](#): > > I will fight you to the end of the Earth. You’ll be fighting me too, for the reasons given by **GargoyleWB.** Oh, and Mr. News Editor is a turd. ---
**Author:** ![Tracy\_Lord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@Tracy\_Lord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tracy_Lord)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2005, 11:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dammit-news-editor-read-the-ap-stylebook-before-i-throw-it-at-your-fucking-forehead/329901/29 "2005-11-08T11:39:34Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > And he inserted the letter P into the word “hamster!” What a fucker! > > I kid. Having someone above you screw up is a huge pain. At least you have the Editor in Chief on your side. Even copyeditors mess up after thirty-six hours without sleep! 😛 But I suppose it’s a corollary of Gaudere’s Law that any post mentioning proficiency in a field will contain errors in that field. 😛 _Temple of Doom_ vs. _Last Crusade_ is not up for debate. This is because if you prefer _Temple of Doom_, you are a whackadoodle, and I don’t debate with whackadoodles. ---
**Author:** ![furlibusea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@furlibusea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furlibusea)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2005, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dammit-news-editor-read-the-ap-stylebook-before-i-throw-it-at-your-fucking-forehead/329901/30 "2005-11-08T11:59:25Z")
Could always make him go see Strunk and White [The Musical](http://msnbc.msn.com/id/9842701/site/newsweek/) ---
**Author:** ![RobuSensei](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/919ad9/32.png) [@RobuSensei](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RobuSensei)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2005, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dammit-news-editor-read-the-ap-stylebook-before-i-throw-it-at-your-fucking-forehead/329901/31 "2005-11-08T12:30:18Z")
This reminds me of an interesting occurrence that happened during my junior year in college. Two seniors who were organizing an off-campus riverboat cruise/party (outside the college’s authority, as it was a dry campus) were mildly criticized by the school newspaper for some irregularities in their business practices. They fired off a one-page response that was filled with odd and incorrect usages, invented conjugations, and not a few grammatical cataclysms. The paper printed this without comment, and without corrections. Some wag (not me, though I wish it was) marked up and commented on all of the mistakes (over 30!) and made many copies, which they posted on all of the bulletin boards around campus. The tagline: In our modern American society, it is considered useful to have a working command of the English language. ARE YOU GETTING THE SAME DIPLOMA THAT THE OTHER SENIORS ARE GETTING? ---
**Author:** ![Maeglin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8baadc/32.png) [@Maeglin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maeglin)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2005, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dammit-news-editor-read-the-ap-stylebook-before-i-throw-it-at-your-fucking-forehead/329901/32 "2005-11-08T14:44:57Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > Aren’t all the reasons someone likes something better than something else “personal” reasons? > > That said, **Anaamika** is a total freak for liking ToD better than LC. > > That goes double for **GargoyleWB**. > > 😃 As an aside, not really. Enjoyment or preference does not necessarily imply quality. There are more than a handful of movies I know that are unadulterated caca, yet I prefer them to movies that I know are “better”. I also recognize that my preferences may well be defective. But I can live with that. ---
**Author:** ![crazyjoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f14d63/32.png) [@crazyjoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crazyjoe)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2005, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dammit-news-editor-read-the-ap-stylebook-before-i-throw-it-at-your-fucking-forehead/329901/33 "2005-11-08T16:12:13Z")
> [@Tracy Lord](#): > > I HAVE A TEN O’CLOCK CLASS WITH A CUTE BOY, ASSWIPE. WAY TO BE A DICKFACE. Is it the guy who dressed like Jayne? Whatever happened to him? I’m sad to ehar abotu your college newspaper experience, but I’m even sadder to report that “real” life, to many degrees, is worse. Imagine that person getting paid more than you. ---
**Author:** ![crazyjoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f14d63/32.png) [@crazyjoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crazyjoe)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2005, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dammit-news-editor-read-the-ap-stylebook-before-i-throw-it-at-your-fucking-forehead/329901/34 "2005-11-08T16:25:20Z")
Holy friggin crap…anyone want to apply to be my copy editor? ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2005, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dammit-news-editor-read-the-ap-stylebook-before-i-throw-it-at-your-fucking-forehead/329901/35 "2005-11-09T01:00:47Z")
I got newsboys for you, **Tracy**. . . I just finished up a gig of eight years as copy chief for a major national magazine . . . And all that stuff _still goes on_ at that level. ---
**Author:** ![LeeshaJoy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e8cbc/32.png) [@LeeshaJoy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LeeshaJoy)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2005, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dammit-news-editor-read-the-ap-stylebook-before-i-throw-it-at-your-fucking-forehead/329901/36 "2005-11-09T01:26:52Z")
I just applied for a copy editing job at the local newspaper. I’m scared now. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2005, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dammit-news-editor-read-the-ap-stylebook-before-i-throw-it-at-your-fucking-forehead/329901/37 "2005-11-09T03:22:07Z")
> [@Tracy Lord](#): > > Even copyeditors mess up after thirty-six hours without sleep! 😛 I thought robots didn’t need sleep. 😕 You’re throwing my world into turmoil here. ---
**Author:** ![Tracy\_Lord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@Tracy\_Lord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tracy_Lord)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2005, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dammit-news-editor-read-the-ap-stylebook-before-i-throw-it-at-your-fucking-forehead/329901/38 "2005-11-09T06:33:51Z")
> [@crazyjoe](#): > > Is it the guy who dressed like Jayne? Whatever happened to him? Alas, Guy Dressed Like Jayne and I went our separate way when school started: he to Berkeley with a physics grant, I to Ashland with shelves full of Shakespeare. But our three-week-long love will live forever ensconced in my heart, because seriously, he was _a good-looking geek guy dressed like Jayne_. > [@Eve](#): > > I got newsboys for you, **Tracy**. . . Are they young and frisky? > [@Eve](#): > > I just finished up a gig of eight years as copy chief for a major national magazine . . . And all that stuff _still goes on_ at that level. This is why I could never be a copyeditor for anything more serious than fun and $60 an issue. I would punch someone in the face. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go suck on an exhaust pipe. ---
**Author:** ![chique](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@chique](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chique)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2005, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dammit-news-editor-read-the-ap-stylebook-before-i-throw-it-at-your-fucking-forehead/329901/39 "2005-11-09T06:42:51Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > You know, two years ago I’d never heard of St. Cloud. All of a sudden, everybody’s there. 😛 So that’s why it’s gotten so crowded around here! ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2005, 9:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dammit-news-editor-read-the-ap-stylebook-before-i-throw-it-at-your-fucking-forehead/329901/40 "2005-11-09T09:11:16Z")
> [@Tracy Lord](#): > > . . . “Jab” implies [del]briefness[/del] **brevity**. . . . > > . . . . . > > . . . neither of us [del]have[/del] \*\*has \*\*enough time . . . > > . . . . . > > There[del]'s[/del] \*\*are \*\*some of us . . . > > . . . . . Sorry, Gaudere must be obeyed. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dammit-news-editor-read-the-ap-stylebook-before-i-throw-it-at-your-fucking-forehead/329901.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dammit-news-editor-read-the-ap-stylebook-before-i-throw-it-at-your-fucking-forehead/329901.md?page=3)