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[ Mod: Relocated from the BTL comments section for Trains (Mostly) Planes and Automobiles Part 2. ]
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Dear Mr Murray,I say dear because I have watched hours of your speeches and read most of that which you have published at this site for the last 5+ years. I don’t know you, but still feel that I do. I sense two things which you share with Julian Assange, apart from great intelligence: a playful disregard for authority and a strong sense of justice.
I have been thoroughly enjoying this travelogue. By way of thanks, I offer some notes below. There is a story to this. The summary is that a long lost relative of mine who possesses the skills of a sub-editor has been imparting them to me on my journey as a writer. Thus, I have become sensitive to errors in writing; they grate more than they used to. I make mistakes all the time even when sitting at home in almost complete silence. Your story is obviously composed in adverse circumstances and thus errors will creep in. With time being so pressed the opportunity to apply a sub-editors eye over the writing is greatly reduced. So, I thoroughly understand why these errors are occurring.
Again, I offer these potential corrections in thanks for the story I am so happily consuming.
NB: I’ll offer another remark on how losing a laptop can be less of a disaster.
== sub-editor notes ==
When I agree to do the tour of Germany I stipulated that
> When I agreed to do the tour of Germany I stipulated that
The Semmering tunnel, 17 miles long, will complete in three years time.
> The Semmering tunnel, 17 miles long, will be complete in three years time.
I was now on the train from Graz to Prague. Zhe carriage was Austrian Railjet and it was mz favourite so far. Spacious and light, with plenty of tables, and a reallz
>> I presume you are having fun with language here, if not:
> I was now on the train from Graz to Prague. The carriage was Austrian Railjet and it was my favourite so far. Spacious and light, with plenty of tables, and a really
where a man in a red peaked hat was studiously unhalpful
> where a man in a red peaked hat was studiously unhelpful
Then on top of this, the comparative failure of the Frankfurt even
> Then on top of this, the comparative failure of the Frankfurt event
== end notes ==
Hello YesXorNo,
Your thoughts on blog editing are appreciated (despite being posted in the wrong place initially). Let me address some of those concerns.
The blog team routinely surveys and corrects Craig’s articles at the earliest opportunity. This correction service came to the fore when the Assange trial articles were published, often in a hurry, sans a final proof-reading check. We soon learned to be vigilant for new articles appearing in the mornings prior to the court sessions, and quickly leapt in to correct typos, names and other reference oversights as soon as technically feasible. In those instances, we had to proof-read and correct at a rapid pace while several commenters were noticing the same errors and posting about them in the BTL section. Given that we have to monitor the incoming blog comments at the same time, while keeping meticulous records of the changes made and justifications for them, these simultaneous processes could evoke some frantic multi-tasking. It was a relief when the corrected version was published and the frenzy settled down.
Outside of court reporting, Craig can publish at any time of day without prior notification, which can catch us unawares. (Today he posted just after I had caught up with moderation duties before peforming some household chores and going shopping; on my return barely an hour later, I spotted a new article to proof-read, along with half a dozen comments to peruse.) We don’t really have time to read the comments before correcting the articles, I’m afraid.
Craig sometimes saves early drafts in advance of publication, allowing some pre-emptive typo spotting, which can speed up the correction process in the event of publication. As it happens all the typos you identified (and many more!) in the early part of the article had already been picked up and highlighted yesterday, and the latter ones in the closing paragraphs were spotted on the first read-through – it’s that sense of “grating”, as you noted above! (Given the prevalence of ‘z/y’ typos in the new text, it is safe to surmise Craig has been typing on a ‘QWERTZ’ keyboard, as standard in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Slovakia and the Czech Republic.) But these are merely trifling blips of, no political import, which are normally corrected soon after publication.
As with the data security issues you highlighted in another comment, it would be mistaken to assume that Craig doesn’t have the requisite expertise available; it’s just a question of how it’s deployed.
Kind regards,
Mods.
