DVD Talk Reviews: Copy editing?
06-18-08, 02:20 AM
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Copy editing?
Does DVD Talk have an editor who proofs the reviews before they go online? Silly mistakes in spelling and grammar, especially by professional writers, are blemishes in a great and authoritative resource.
06-18-08, 03:56 AM
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Originally Posted by mnementh
Does DVD Talk have an editor who proofs the reviews before they go online? Silly mistakes in spelling and grammar, especially by professional writers, are blemishes in a great and authoritative resource.
1) No, there is no copy editor proofing all the reviews for grammatical or spelling errors.
2) No one is paid to review for DVD Talk, though a few of the reviewers are "professional writers", and my experience is that using the email links on the reviews to point out such errors is the fastest way to get them fixed.
06-18-08, 11:03 AM
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I notice mistakes all the time, but assumed that people would get pissed off if I kept emailing to point out errors. 
06-18-08, 12:15 PM
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Originally Posted by cultshock
I notice mistakes all the time, but assumed that people would get pissed off if I kept emailing to point out errors.
06-18-08, 01:13 PM
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Originally Posted by Houstondon
2) and my experience is that using the email links on the reviews to point out such errors is the fastest way to get them fixed.
06-18-08, 01:24 PM
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Originally Posted by Shannon Nutt
Yes, but it's much more fun to complain about them in threads.
06-18-08, 06:07 PM
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Originally Posted by cultshock
I notice mistakes all the time, but assumed that people would get pissed off if I kept emailing to point out errors.
06-18-08, 06:18 PM
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Originally Posted by Houstondon
If the alternative is jumping up and down in a public forum as the self appointed grammar police, I'll take emails any day.
I wouldn't mind if IB hired someone to edit the misspellings and grammatical errors but equating a few common mistakes with the downfall of DVD Talk's credibility as a whole strikes me as kind of harsh.
Last edited by mnementh; 06-18-08 at 06:27 PM.
06-19-08, 03:15 AM
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Heh, we have mods who can move this thread to the correct subforum so why can't we have mods who'll proofread and correct the reviews?
06-19-08, 06:27 AM
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Well, it only takes a minute to move a thread, but much longer to proof read a review.
If you're interested in being reading over all of the reviews (or even a good chunk of them) and reporting grammatical errors, I think that'd be great Mnementh. It wouldn't be a paid position (none of the mods or reviewers are paid) but it would help the site out a lot. Shoot me an e-mail (John at dvdtalk.com) and we'll talk about it if your interested.
As far as reviewers getting pissed at someone for pointing out mistakes, that hasn't been my experience if you do it in a civil manner. Yeah, people get pissed at rude e-mails. "You fucking moron! You used "roll" when you should have typed "role"! I'll never read anything you write again since you obviously don't know what you're talking about." (We do get those.) A simple note is always appreciated though.
If you're interested in being reading over all of the reviews (or even a good chunk of them) and reporting grammatical errors, I think that'd be great Mnementh. It wouldn't be a paid position (none of the mods or reviewers are paid) but it would help the site out a lot. Shoot me an e-mail (John at dvdtalk.com) and we'll talk about it if your interested.
As far as reviewers getting pissed at someone for pointing out mistakes, that hasn't been my experience if you do it in a civil manner. Yeah, people get pissed at rude e-mails. "You fucking moron! You used "roll" when you should have typed "role"! I'll never read anything you write again since you obviously don't know what you're talking about." (We do get those.) A simple note is always appreciated though.
06-19-08, 11:14 AM
#13
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Originally Posted by Houstondon
LOL... That said, have you ever thought about coming back to review mainstream titles? There are a lot of them available and I'll defend your quirky writing style just like the good old days...
I'm currently in over my head with DVD and Blu-ray reviews at my own site (most of you know where), so my schedule just doesn't have enough free time in it to freelance on the DVD/Blu-ray end for this site anymore...although I'll "never say never" (but a few of you may!).
