One thing I meant to say earlier and forgot all about. I think pointing out the minor typos etc in a feedback folder sometimes holds a danger that affects our fandom perhaps a little more than many.
Here in FoLCdom, we have a lot of people who find language fascinating, right down to its bones, and who are always up for a roll up the sleeves, get down to the nitty gritty, discussion on the finer points of this topic. It doesn't take much to engage a grammar debate on these mbs.
And for the most part, that's really great. This has been a boon for authors in this fandom for many years, giving us a huge pool of 'expert' opinion to call on. And it's always nice that we have people who care so much about writing - some of the other fandoms I've visited over the years could benefit from that. :p
But when someone posts in a thread intended for comments about a story that the author "Missed a comma in this line..." the danger is that the folder very quickly veers off into Grammar Discussion 101 as others post their opinion and sight is lost of its original purpose.
From talking to other authors, here and there, there can be few things more disappointing for an author than seeing their comments thread jump seven or eight posts, rush in expecting to find lots of comments about the characters, plot or whatever on their story and find a debate on commas instead. Especially if they're less confident or new authors, just starting out.
I'm not saying this happens all the time, and I'm using an extreme example here, (plus this is only my opinion and that's worth darn sight less than two cents <g>) but it is another reason why I, personally, would tend, in the main, to choose irc or email for that kind of grammar nitpicking, instead of the comments folder. I'd be concerned about hijacking the thread.
YM, of course, MV.
Paul, does make a very good point though. Perhaps authors should state their nitpicking preferences at the head of a new story. <g> That way everyone gets what they expect. And want. (Although, I do recall a couple of incidents where authors asked for a complete goldstar service and then complained when they got it... <G>) That, though, would tend to be their problem, wouldn't it?
LabRat
