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[Pimp-Boy 2000]

I love SR4, and am halfway through reading it, but... sweet baby Christ, their editor is utterly, thoroughly, exquisitely incompetent.

I've only been reading Shadowrun 4th Edition for 152 pages so far, and I've already found 160+ grammatical, syntactical, spelling, punctuation, and even a few contextual errors.  (I am not counting errata, of course).  It's literally an error or two per page, which is utterly unacceptable and startlingly shoddy work for a professional editor.  He (or she) should have read through the final draft of SR4 several times before approving it!  In one casual, halfway-completed read-through, I've found dozens upon dozens of errors.  Some examples (these may not be exact errors from the book, but they get the idea across):

• The Travelling Period: "...on your next turn ." {Space, then a period.}
  
• The Lovebird Words: "...down onyour character sheet."
  
• The Goddess "Isis": "...why is your character is a Shaman?"
  
• The Evil Twin: "...if you do, than you can take an extra turn."
  
• The Ghost Period: "...on your character sheet" {Period is fully absent.}
  
• The Rappelling Period: "...your character's lifestyle
  ." {Period placed at the beginning of a new line rather than the end of an old one.}
  

You guys may think I'm some sort of asshole for nitpicking so extensively, but this person is a PROFESSIONAL EDITOR.  Even President Bush is better at his job than this guy.  What a waste of space.

[Gabriel]

You know, I have to go with PB2K with this one. I've noticed this kind of thing happening more and more in novels, rulebooks, and just about any other printed text. It seems to me that these "professional" editors are begining to think that running spell check on your rough drafts is good enough to send something to print with. Personally, it makes me want to vomit. You've all read my posts. You all know I can't type or spell to save my life. And if I can point out all of the errors in a book, then something is drasticly wrong.

Gabriel

[Ruski]

LOL perhaps it's flavor text? you know, from the 'hackers' who invaded the datafile... hackers that can't spell...

and uh...

hmmm...

-RuskiFace the Pirate (I didn't really notice, but I'll fix thoes next time I edit the source file)

[Pimp-Boy 2000]

No, spell check would have caught every sentence with a missing period (and there are QUITE a few of those).  So... they didn't even use that!  I know what you mean, though, Gabriel.

This is why I hate, hate, hate the fact that we're approaching entering an era where no one is required to be a master of English language composition -- even if their job demands it.  Editors are the last line of defense between a perfect book and one riddled with errors.

This little editing situation truly hurts Shadowrun.  As Gabriel mentioned, it doesn't take an insane English wiz (like yours truly) to notice these errors; some folks will begin to think it's a subpar system -- consciously or unconsciously -- based primarily upon the shoddy editing work.  When the editing is perfect (as in Blue Planet v2), the game truly stands out as excellent; it lifts the game up.  When the editing is bad, it brings the game down, makes it seem less... intelligent.

I wonder if FanPro needs a new editor?  Bah, they won't hire me... I don't actually have a degree yet, and demonstrating one's editorial skills off the cuff is always difficult.  Whomever their current editor is, I'm sure he's complacent and has a bit of tenure around his workplace, and God forbid you replace someone these days on account of mere incompetence and job ignorance.

[Ruski]

Well, as a Capitolist; I'd have to agree with the sentament that getting rid of someone on the basis of their cost to ability ratio being skewed. While at the same time i'd also like whoever their 'legacy' person is to keep his job, for the sake of security. he's probibly got 2.4 kids to feed.

-RuskiFace the pirate

[Pimp-Boy 2000]

Well, as a Capitolist; I'd have to agree with the sentament that getting rid of someone on the basis of their cost to ability ratio being skewed. While at the same time i'd also like whoever their 'legacy' person is to keep his job, for the sake of security. he's probibly got 2.4 kids to feed.

-RuskiFace the pirate

Sorry, I prefer meritocracies.  If he can't cut the cheese, he needs to go back to school.  What if I'm poor, and have kids to feed, and I can do his job better than he can?  It's better for me and for the company and for the company's product if I have the job.  If you bring the company and the product down, you're deadwood and need to be removed.

[Ruski]

That's the Capitolist way, and why we have un-employment.

*shrug*

-RuskiFace the Pirate

[Retread]

Tsk, tsk, PB2K...

You should know that a meritocracy and capitalism can't be compared because one is a form of government and the other a form of economy...

[Ruski]

But, if we were nice loyal comunists, we'd just take our miss-spelled books, and burn thim to cover the heating shortage that was making us freeze to death.

-RuskiFace the Pirate

[Retread]

Er... aren't heating bills going up like 70% this year?

[Ruski]

not if you don't turn on the heater, and just warm yourself by a fire in the fireplace, and put your cold feet on your husband's back in the middle of the night, and steal all the covers! then make that same coverless husband go downstairs to make you something warm to drink in the moring before you get out of bed.

-RuskiFace the Pirate

[ROOTless]

Voice of experience?

[Ruski]

Perhaps.

-RuskiFace the Pirate

[ROOTless]

Well, I'dhave to say probably.
Sounds like on of the joys of being married/starting living together with someone.
And since we all know you were married not too long ago...

[Ruski]

LOL okay okay, I confess.
Been married for two years now though.
(Dunno if that's a long time or not... it's kinda a long time for california in general... LOL I've had a couple of friends get married after me, and not all of them are still married.)

In other news, although only slightly related to what we are talking about, and not related at all to the topic at the top of the screen, we are trying to have a baby, so; that's cool. anyways... uh...

who want's a job as an editor? suppose we'll have to outsource that to china for $ 0.25 / day?

-RuskiFace the Pirate