Hi Dave! I'd love to be one of your fiends! Thank you for asking. This is kind of an unfair question for someone such as myself. Being an editor, I am hyper sensitive to others grammatical and spelling errors. Part of my job is to notice such things. When reading invitations, or forum posts, a few mistakes are not bothersome, but when something written is fraught with mistakes, I simply stop reading. To me, if someone cannot take the time to proof read their writing, then I won't take the time to try to understand what they've written. Furthermore, if someone who is writing isn't going to at least try to appear professional, then I don't want to work with them. On the other hand, I make my living writing for others, and fixing the copy others have written. So, I guess that if everyone were perfect copy writers, I'd be out of a job. LOL The thing is, those who hire me to write, or edit, are making the attempt at professionalism, realizing that they are not versed in this area. When I read forum posts, sales letters, or any other material aimed at getting me to become a venture partner, that is sloppy, I am instantly turned off, unless of course, I know the person writing to me is not a native English speaking person. There really is no excuse for poor grammar and spelling, when a spell checker and grammar checker are standard on computer word processing programs. When posting to forums, or web sites, all one need do is to first write their copy in their word processing program, check it, and then copy and paste it to the place they want to post to. As for your invitation to join your circle of fiends, I always read what you send, because I know you to be professional, and to play with people sometimes. (New! New! 100DailyPro!) Have an awesome week! Trina

Hi Sandy, It is a fact that first impressions are tremendously important, especially when you are working in the online world. Although it may seem cruel, it is still reality. While you can get to know people and be known and trusted via a venue like these forums, in web copy and sales letters you must not make mistakes. With the myriad of other business owners trying to grab potential customer's attention, you have to stand out above the crowd in your field. Many people are still well-versed in spelling and grammar skills, and errors jump out at them instantly from the page. What is very interesting (and very sad) is that many people who have learned English as a second language are better writers and spellers than people whose native language is English. Unless people raised in English-speaking countries stop being so sloppy, we will see our business rapidly going to countries where English is a second language, and it will be our own fault. There are many ways to avoid spelling and grammatical errors, including some of the new toolbars available for computers, writing courses, more writing practice and, of course, other people with strong editing skills. Make your first impression count. God bless, Dave

Hello Again Dave! I really love the way you think. I have been trying to get that message across to people here at Adland, for a very long time. I've actually had people tell me that in forums, it is normal to write casually, an imperfectly. The same person went on to say that some people prefer to type in either all caps, or lowercase, "What's the big deal?" I always tell my kids that other people will only think that they [my kids], are as intelligent as they speak. The same holds true when it comes to written expression. Funny, but because I keep a dictionary on my desk, my kids tend to look up words before asking me how to spell them. Sometimes I think they look them up, and then ask me, just to see if I know. I admit, there have been times where I've had to look up the words they ask me about. The smirks I see, when I pick up that book, tell me they already know. LOL Personally, I love words, and I hate to see them mistreated. If I were to write, "casually," and not pay attention to my grammar and spelling, in this forum, would you believe me, if I told you I was a professional writer and publisher? I doubt it. You'd probably be wondering if I were a high school dropout. First impressions are very important, and people will only think you are as intelligent as you speak, or in this case, write. Later, Dave. Trina

True, Dave. People have to put the best foot forward. I'm just saying that one needs to keep some minor flaws in perspective when judging a first impression. Make sense?

Sandy, I believe I understand your point about taking care in judging from first impressions. I'd like to think I'm not one who assumes that a wheelchair and a speech impediment equate to less cognitive power. I don't recall ever thinking 'not professional' when reading one of your posts. You clearly make an effort, and if it is a greater effort than others have to make, I applaud you. I have definitely thought that about a number of Adland members, including some high profile ones. If I were looking for a business opportunity here, I'd be more inclined to ask about yours than about theirs. The mistakes we're talking of here are only part of the reason, but they do factor in. I'd be the last person in the world to claim perfection, though I've been known to strive for it. I don't use a spell checker per se, or a grammar checker. But I do re-read my message, then preview it to see what the formatting looks like. And revise, and do it again. If I'm posting a long article to my forum, I use Word to compose it and have the language tools turned on. Sometimes a typo still creeps in, usually something a spell checker wouldn't have caught. I'm acutely aware that my prose is stilted, and that I have an idiosyncratic approach to punctuation. But if you ever see one of my posts that says 'there' when I clearly meant 'their', I hope you'll come over and beat me with a wet noodle! I've never used these standards to decide whether to be friendly or civil to anyone, only whether to do business with them. I agree with Dave that lowering the standards sets us on a dangerous road. Cheri