# Please "stop" doing that. It's "making" me "crazy" **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 15, 2002, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-stop-doing-that-its-making-me-crazy/132342 "2002-10-15T15:48:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![peedin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peedin/32/14095_2.png) [@peedin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peedin)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2002, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-stop-doing-that-its-making-me-crazy/132342/61 "2002-10-18T19:39:21Z")
Unbelieveable. 10 minutes after I read this post, I was asked to proofread the newsletter for the medical office staff. There was a short article explaining that a new “directory” sign has been put in the office lobby and now people should have no problem finding the “directory.” I wrote in screaming red caps “No quote marks are needed!” (But I didn’t use the quote marks.) ---
**Author:** ![Arcangues181](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/cab0a1/32.png) [@Arcangues181](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arcangues181)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2002, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-stop-doing-that-its-making-me-crazy/132342/62 "2002-10-22T02:14:49Z")
From [www.beinamovie.com](http://www.beinamovie.com): You can even “dress” as they did in the 1930’s, with a few pieces from your Granddaddy’s closet or your local Vintage store, plus some of the wardrobe props you get to wear and keep. – So what did they do if they didn’t actually “dress” back then? Did they just run around nude? ---
**Author:** ![Melandry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8797f3/32.png) [@Melandry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melandry)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2002, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-stop-doing-that-its-making-me-crazy/132342/63 "2002-10-22T02:19:42Z")
I like it when I get spam for titled **Get this “cellphone” for “free”!** because they’ve laready told me exactly what a rip-off it is, and why. In this case, the quotes are most likely actually appropriate. ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2002, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-stop-doing-that-its-making-me-crazy/132342/64 "2002-10-22T02:38:39Z")
You just gotta’ love [Wintuhgahdunflahriduh](http://www.cyburbia.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=388&size=big&papass=&sort=1). ---
**Author:** ![InternetLegend](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/internetlegend/32/13154_2.png) [@InternetLegend](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/InternetLegend)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2002, 6:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-stop-doing-that-its-making-me-crazy/132342/65 "2002-10-22T06:59:03Z")
How hard can it be to remember correct spelling? “Deity,” “atheist,” “Weirddave.” C’mon, people, there’s a simple rule: i before e, except after c. And except in those words. Sometimes I feel a pang of sympathy for those who aren’t intuitive spellers. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@The\_Tim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tim)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2002, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-stop-doing-that-its-making-me-crazy/132342/66 "2002-10-22T07:13:57Z")
Given that spelling in English is fairly against intuition it isn’t surprising that bad spellers are common. I find my unaided spelling merely adequate and that’s a recent development. I blaim the damn great vowel shift and other bits of the sordid history of English. It is such a slut language. Oh and as for the main topic _Last Call_ by Tim Powers has a great bit in it about a love note with inappropriate use of quotation marks. I bet that it is one of his pet peeves as well. To once again hijack what is the appropriate way to indicate a book title when posting? I’ve seen quotation marks, italics, bold and so on. Likewise in printed text I’ve seen about every single method of standing out the title of a book. Is there a single true accepted way to avoid looking like a twit among those who have hard ons for proper usage rules? ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2002, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-stop-doing-that-its-making-me-crazy/132342/67 "2002-10-22T15:21:27Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by The Tim \* > \*\* > To once again hijack what is the appropriate way to indicate a book title when posting? I’ve seen quotation marks, italics, bold and so on. Likewise in printed text I’ve seen about every single method of standing out the title of a book. Is there a single true accepted way to avoid looking like a twit among those who have hard ons for proper usage rules? \*\* In formal writing, book titles should be underlined or italicized. However, if you’re writing online it’s best to avoid underlining titles because people might mistake them for hyperlinks. Italics are probably best, or quotes if you’re writing in plain text and cannot use italics. ---
**Author:** ![Fionn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Fionn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fionn)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2002, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-stop-doing-that-its-making-me-crazy/132342/68 "2002-10-23T01:22:28Z")
This weekend, I was dragged to a Mexican restaurant that touted its undistinguished queso as being made from: premium “Kraft” cheese There are just so many things wrong with that. ---
**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:** [October 23, 2002, 8:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-stop-doing-that-its-making-me-crazy/132342/69 "2002-10-23T08:26:05Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by Dijon Warlock_ > By the same token, Lewis Carroll was of the opinion that the proper contraction of “cannot” was ca’n’t. One appostrophe for each letter. I always felt it should by can"t, myself. > [@](#): > > What boggles my mind is people who abbreviate the word “and” by writing a 3 with a vertical line through it. Where in the hell do they ever see it written that way? It’s a way of writing an ampersand that people with horrible handwriting have a shot of getting right. I use it all the time. I think I picked up the habit from my parents. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Elvis\_Rojo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@El\_Elvis\_Rojo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Elvis_Rojo)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2002, 9:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-stop-doing-that-its-making-me-crazy/132342/70 "2002-10-23T09:44:20Z")
My favorite story is about the self made sign advertising that this building is where you go to visit: The “Dentist” There’s a comforting thought when you’re going in for a root canal. ---
**Author:** ![Dijon\_Warlock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a9a28c/32.png) [@Dijon\_Warlock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dijon_Warlock)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2002, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-stop-doing-that-its-making-me-crazy/132342/71 "2002-10-31T01:13:48Z")
The ampersand should at the very least look like a small letter “E” with a vertical line through it. The symbol itself is a shorthand way of writing “et”, which is Latin for “and”. The three shape is an abomination. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2002, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-stop-doing-that-its-making-me-crazy/132342/72 "2002-10-31T01:29:44Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by BiblioCat \* > **Lawn** ’\*\*s Cut. Call Mike. > DON’T DO THAT! \*\* Does Mike rake leave’s too? Those little yellow suckers are covering up my “lawn”. ---
**Author:** ![SeekerTweaker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6bbea6/32.png) [@SeekerTweaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeekerTweaker)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2002, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-stop-doing-that-its-making-me-crazy/132342/73 "2002-10-31T02:49:51Z")
For my school’s homecoming dance, there were posters advertising the ticket sales. One of the things that was advertised was: “LIVE” DJ We all joked about what the hell that meant. Was he very, very ill, just barely hanging on? Was he somehow reanimated? Perhaps he was brain dead and on life support? Hmmm. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-stop-doing-that-its-making-me-crazy/132342.md?page=3)