Don't Ask, Don't Spell

A couple of interesting things happened this morning when I checked the Times at 8:50 a.m.
They must have been in the middle of a web update because when the page finally came up, it was the same story in two columns. At least, it was pieces of a story in two colums, and everything was off-center and jumbled to one side. The crisis finally went away when I hit the magic green circular arrows on my browser and refreshed the page. That's when I read this morning's stories and headlines.

The lead story mentioned the "Virginia Property Rights Coalition" and they'd misspelled the word coalition. Not just in the story, but in the very bold headline. I was stunned.
The reason I was stunned was because the Times, misspellings, and I have a little history.

In the past, time permitting, I've perused through as much of the Times website and found half a dozen spelling and grammar errors. I took the time to email the editor, a few other key people, and even their web people to bring it to their attention. I was courteous and respectful about it in my email (almost ashamed) but I felt I'd done my civic duty. I had that feeling you get when you tell one of your friends his fly is open. You want them to know, but you don't want them to think you're some sort of perverted crotch-watcher.

It's a good thing I didn't hold my breath for a pat on the back, or some sort of acknowledgement to my email. I never got so much as a "Thanks!" or "We appreciate your note" or anything of the sort. I guess they were afraid I might find mistakes in their notes, too.

I wasn't trying to throw their mistakes in their face because Heaven knows I make more than my share of spelling and grammar errors. (See?) I just thought they'd like to know. Well, they fixed the errors after about 30 minutes, but I never got a note from anyone. Oh, how the true colors shine in the bright light that is humility!

So today, rather than point out their little error, I decided to keep the knowledge to myself and let the ingrates bask in their spellcheck-devoid deadline of a life. I did print the page and filed it for later when I kick back and wonder how I helped to make a difference. I'll look at it, and remind myself how sometimes it's better to let your neighbor walk around with his fly open because it may prove to be more interesting than having him close up shop.