Re: Way OT: Funny anti MSE site

and in consideration to the DIGEST readers, here are WRITING TIPS that I
recently posted to TYR when we had a slow day there & were discussing proper
use of the English Language.

>1.   Verbs HAS to agree with their subjects.
>2.   Prepositions are not words to end sentences with.
>3.   And don't start a sentence with a conjunction.
>4.   It is wrong to ever split an infinitive.
>5.   Avoid cliches like the plague.  (They're old hat)
>6.   Also, always avoid annoying alliteration.
>7.   Be more or less specific.
>8.   Parenthetical remarks (however relevant) are (usually) unnecessary.
>9.   Also too, never, ever use repetitive redundancies.
>10.  No sentence fragments.
>11.  Contractions aren't necessary and shouldn't be used.
>12.  Foreign words and phrases are not apropos.
>13.  Do not be redundant; do not use more words than necessary; it's
>     highly superfluous.
>14.  One should NEVER generalize.
>15.  Comparisons are as bad as clichés.
>16.  Eschew ampersands & abbreviations, etc.
>17.  One-word sentences?  Eliminate.
>18.  Analogies in writing are like feathers on a snake.
>19.  The passive voice is to be ignored.
>20.  Eliminate commas, that are, not necessary.  Parenthetical words
>     however should be enclosed in commas.
>21.  Never use a big word when a diminutive one would suffice.
>22.  Use words correctly, irregardless of how others use them.
>23.  Understatement is always the absolute best way to put forth
>     earth-shaking ideas.
>24.  Eliminate quotations.  As Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "I hate
>     quotations. Tell me what you know."
>25.  If you've heard it once, you've heard it a thousand times: Resist
>     hyperbole; not one writer in a million can use it correctly.
>26.  Puns are for children, not groan readers.
>27.  Go around the barn at high noon to avoid colloquialisms.
>28.  Even IF a mixed metaphor sings, it should be derailed.
>29.  Who needs rhetorical questions?
>30.  Exaggeration is a billion times worse than understatement.
>
>And the last one...
>
>31.  Proofread carefully to see if you left any words out of your

MacWheel99@aol.com (Alister Wm Macintyre) (Al Mac)