Comments on: Common Typographic Mistakes http://doombot.com/2008/04/06/common-typographic-mistakes/ by Jane Austen Fri, 25 Jun 2010 05:26:06 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0 By: Jacob http://doombot.com/2008/04/06/common-typographic-mistakes/comment-page-1/#comment-54904 Jacob Tue, 08 Apr 2008 01:29:26 +0000 http://doombot.com/?p=627#comment-54904 <p>Dan, how many years have we been waiting to use that phrase? I'm not even sure if I completely understand what you're saying, but its still great!</p> Dan, how many years have we been waiting to use that phrase? I’m not even sure if I completely understand what you’re saying, but its still great!

]]> By: Dan http://doombot.com/2008/04/06/common-typographic-mistakes/comment-page-1/#comment-54872 Dan Mon, 07 Apr 2008 16:23:09 +0000 http://doombot.com/?p=627#comment-54872 <p>You can burn my copy of Strunk & White after you pry it from Charlton Heston's cold, dead hands.</p> You can burn my copy of Strunk & White after you pry it from Charlton Heston’s cold, dead hands.

]]> By: Jacob http://doombot.com/2008/04/06/common-typographic-mistakes/comment-page-1/#comment-54871 Jacob Mon, 07 Apr 2008 15:47:46 +0000 http://doombot.com/?p=627#comment-54871 <p>Quote marks may be around forever, but primes suffice. And with more amateur digital production -- and no quote key on the keyboard -- primes have the opportunity to gain ground as acceptable. I might be extending my language analogy too far here, but there are lots of reasons why primes will increase in usage against the historic/expert preservation of quote marks. And I don't have a lot of faith in typographic preservation these days, just as I don't for linguistic preservation.</p> Quote marks may be around forever, but primes suffice. And with more amateur digital production — and no quote key on the keyboard — primes have the opportunity to gain ground as acceptable. I might be extending my language analogy too far here, but there are lots of reasons why primes will increase in usage against the historic/expert preservation of quote marks. And I don’t have a lot of faith in typographic preservation these days, just as I don’t for linguistic preservation.

]]> By: Jason http://doombot.com/2008/04/06/common-typographic-mistakes/comment-page-1/#comment-54840 Jason Sun, 06 Apr 2008 15:42:18 +0000 http://doombot.com/?p=627#comment-54840 <p>Oops, nice catch. If Wordpress can get this right, why can't MS Word?</p> <p>What makes you think quotes might not survive in popular usage?</p> Oops, nice catch. If WordPress can get this right, why can’t MS Word?

What makes you think quotes might not survive in popular usage?

]]> By: Jacob http://doombot.com/2008/04/06/common-typographic-mistakes/comment-page-1/#comment-54839 Jacob Sun, 06 Apr 2008 15:37:16 +0000 http://doombot.com/?p=627#comment-54839 <p>Both of those quotes you give for The Eighties are #8217; (closing single quotes). Wordpress is doing something behind your back, I imagine.</p> <p>I've had to reconcile my feelings about prescriptive grammar and prescriptive typography. Beyond the not-insignificant utility of knowing the rules of certain cultural language games, grammar and morphology can and should be -- and is -- fluid and changing. If we ever start burning books, Strunk and White is going to be my first contribution to the pile. Due to the terrible effort of having too many conflicting ideas in the ol' crown, I want to extend this idea to typography, but at the same time I have such a huge boner for The Elements of Typographic Style that its difficult to not be bothered by bad type. I'm slowly coming around, but I still insist on using proper ellipses, correct dashes, etc. I go so far as to always type transliterated Japanese with the correct long-vowel macrons, which has made it necessary to switch my keyboard layout.</p> <p>But quotes v. primes is an issue I've never been bothered by. And since quotes might not survive more than a few generations in popular usage anyway, I like to think I might end up being vindicated by future prescriptive typographers.</p> Both of those quotes you give for The Eighties are #8217; (closing single quotes). WordPress is doing something behind your back, I imagine.

I’ve had to reconcile my feelings about prescriptive grammar and prescriptive typography. Beyond the not-insignificant utility of knowing the rules of certain cultural language games, grammar and morphology can and should be — and is — fluid and changing. If we ever start burning books, Strunk and White is going to be my first contribution to the pile. Due to the terrible effort of having too many conflicting ideas in the ol’ crown, I want to extend this idea to typography, but at the same time I have such a huge boner for The Elements of Typographic Style that its difficult to not be bothered by bad type. I’m slowly coming around, but I still insist on using proper ellipses, correct dashes, etc. I go so far as to always type transliterated Japanese with the correct long-vowel macrons, which has made it necessary to switch my keyboard layout.

But quotes v. primes is an issue I’ve never been bothered by. And since quotes might not survive more than a few generations in popular usage anyway, I like to think I might end up being vindicated by future prescriptive typographers.

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