Small Changes

I've decided to make some ammendments to my weblogging credo.

One, I've decided to allow myself to edit posts to correct spelling mistakes (the no-edit clause for content stays). I got this after reading delightful posts from Divine Distractions and Motor City Bad Kitty. Great posts about the (ab)use of the English language, especially in regard to blogs. I figured it's only fair to go back and proof-read my writing, since I have been making some horrid spelling & grammar mistakes lately. And since I can be quite anal about language use myself (especially oral), I think I should start getting fussy here first. Also, I guess typing slower helps too.

Having said that, there is one point I need to clarify. Now, I did say that I wanted to be more careful with spelling & grammar. However, in the case of this blog and all my online writing activity I would like to stress that I write English as it would be spoken. So that means I will NOT be following certain so-called written grammar rules. I want to preserve my blog's informal, spontaneous nature. Besides, following rules cramp my style. I think informal oral-style writing language give blogs their unique "voice". And I can begin sentences with "But" or "And" if I want to, so get over it...

Another ammendment is concerning name dropping. From now on, I will use real names of real people if there are no negative implications (like threats and lawsuits. I really can't afford a lawyer these days). Or even using fake names for real people if I really want to get trashy. Most of the time, I write about people that are my friends and these are nice people. All my friends are cool. So why shouldn't I let my readers know their names ? Why shouldn't they have their names plastered all over the Internet, right ?

Talking about writing online, I'm not saying that I disagree with any blogger who insist that their blog be written in pristine Queen's English (or any other language spoken by any monarch regardless of gender), where all the T's are crossed and I's dotted in all the right places and in the right order. If that's the style that a blogger wants, then so be it.

I don't want to do that. I started blogging partly to improve my self-expression. I find it easier to write if I don't have to mind the language. Before this, I used to be quite strict about my own writing, probably because in school and college I had a rep for perfectly written pieces. But looking back, some of the "stories" I wrote sound like a prologue for a sophomore Physics text book. Cold and lifeless. But times have changed and I want to try something else now. And it's more fun...

There is one thing that I find really annoying though. I can't stand it when people write like the way they do on IRC or when they're using SMS. I don't know why exactly, but it's just annoying.

But in the spirit of free expression online, I'll tolerate it. Whatever rocks your boat, right ?

Now, I'll post this and see if I miss any spelling mistakes.