One trend that seems to be more prevalent in website content lately is the tendency to phrase things poorly. Especially, to add many more words than are needed to express a thought.
With the internet being the "high-speed" tool that it is, this is a point that all web professionals must guard against. I found a sterling example of this the other day. It said, "The page you are currently on..." Hmmm. Would they mean, "This page?"
And I won't name the guilty party involved, not only because I don't know him, but mostly because I find the same type of awkward wording creeping into my own work. The other day, when I was trying to say, "this type of link" it somehow came out as, "the type of link you want to look at,"... There have been numerous examples.
The problem is, as the world speeds up, this kind of thing slows us down. And while it may provide some much needed comic relief now and again, if not caught, it also makes the entire effort look less than professional. After all, "the page you are currently on,"'s author revealed his overly literal side with that remark.
Okay, so I may be "splitting hairs". We are all entitled to an occasional faux pas. And if it's occasional, then it's forgiveable. But if an entire site or article is written like that. . . well. It would make the average visitor throw up their hands in frustration.
But this points out one of the most valuable reasons for editing and proofreading your work. Sometimes awkward "verbage" becomes much more obvious when it's read over from the beginning. And, if the author doesn't do that, then it's the reader who must suffer through his awkward copy.
And, of course, there is always the danger of going to the other extreme. That is, becoming too cryptic and chopping down the content until it starts to look like a secet language. This is a problem when working with the general public.
So, as always, it's a matter of balance and moderation-- not to mention proofing and editing.--mo
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