The 2020 Digital W23 Speculation and Discussion Thread

[Anders]

Originally Posted by whswhs

Having been a professional copy editor for over thirty years, I'm convinced that no one can copy edit their own writing, no matter how wide awake they are.

We (humans) are bad at putting ourselves in the shoes of someone who doesn't know what we know. So if we know what we meant we ignore minor errors like a sentence that doesn't make any sense.

[RogerBW]

Originally Posted by Anders

We (humans) are bad at putting ourselves in the shoes of someone who doesn't know what we know. So if we know what we meant we ignore minor errors like a sentence that doesn't make any sense.

This is why the person who writes the rules of a boardgame should not be the person who invented it.

[Alden Loveshade]

Originally Posted by Anders

We (humans) are bad at putting ourselves in the shoes of someone who doesn't know what we know. So if we know what we meant we ignore minor errors like a sentence that doesn't make any sense.

Originally Posted by RogerBW

This is why the person who writes the rules of a boardgame should not be the person who invented it.

Well, the person who invents rules has to be the first to explain them, whether that explanation is done orally or in writing.

I think making things clear is a primary reason for having editors and playtesters. Frankly, it gets me that before Steve Jackson Games or another responsible game company puts out a game or game book, it's typically been thoroughly examined for clarity and accuracy by more than one person. But when I get instructions for an important electronic device, the directions often aren't in recognizable English.

[Christopher R. Rice]

*Cries in coulrophobia*

A new book for DF is out. We hates it already, precious, but we're a completionist so we must buys it.

[Refplace]

Originally Posted by Christopher R. Rice

*Cries in coulrophobia*

A new book for DF is out. We hates it already, precious, but we're a completionist so we must buys it.

Send in the Clowns... (p. 11)
Now if only I can recall the whole lyrics on Monday...

[SolemnGolem]

Originally Posted by RogerBW

I'll note that one useful trick if you do have to edit your own work is to lay it out differently.

Agreed, and another trick I learned during my newsprint days was: if you're looking to catch spelling mistakes and there's absolutely nobody else around to help you, try reading each sentence backwards.

This completely ruins the grammar, and is useless for catching syntactical errors, but it's helped me a few times when there's no word processor software to catch my errors.

Although I also find my most common errors are between the two valid words "form" and "from"...

[Refplace]

A new clasic release..GURPS Goblins

[johndallman]

Originally Posted by Refplace

A new classic release ... GURPS Goblins

Ooo, yes. Snaffled!

[Phil Masters]

Yay - this one deserves to be out, and I did wonder if there was a license issue preventing it.

I'm quite tempted to pitch a 4e update book for this...

[johndallman]

Originally Posted by Phil Masters

I'm quite tempted to pitch a 4e update book for this...

Go for it. It could be a defining work in the "dirtpunk" genre.