BRMVFC May 26 Newsletter

[chipgallo]

As given out during the boot drive, Memorial Day

Or get it from my file download site:

http://www.mediafire.com/view/?bl8swa4vv5zv3v0

[Willis]

Very informative. I certainly hope that President Collins and the Board of Directors can continue to show progress in regaining the trust of a considerable number of citizens who have lost faith in Company 5. ALL of us Without Exception are potential "customers" of fire and EMT services. It's in our interest to see the fire company succeed.

[Tony]

Maybe you read a different version than I did, but I don't see too much solid information there. I do however see a serious need for a competent proofreader - an excellent example of how even a good spell checker is useless at times.

I see they're looking for a volunteer "Web Master" (two words). Does this mean they're going to try yet again to maintain a website? If they already have one, there's no indication of it in this newsletter.

[KatherineA]

Yes, I too was troubled by the proofreading (or lack thereof).

[Scott T]

Not a well written newsletter at all, but I get the feeling that there is an attempt being made to address long standing issues.

[LazerFlash]

I have some experience proofing the written work of others. Perhaps because of that, I am never amazed when a document like this newsletter is written, published and publicly disseminated. Many very bright, well-spoken people have an awful time putting their voice onto paper. However, I can overlook things like the erroneous use of plural vs. possessive, the egregious mixing of tense, severely run-on sentences and those misspellings that somehow managed to get past the spell-checker. Why? Because it shows some effort! And, as we all know, the longest journey starts with the first steps.

[Ricky]

Exactly. It's an effort. It's better than nothing at all.

[KatherineA]

Exactly. It's an effort. It's better than nothing at all.

Yes, which is why no matter how I tried to phrase it, in a letter or phone call or whatever to the firehouse, it sounded snarky. If they want help proofreading the next one and some editing, I would be happy to volunteer to do that. I'm not promising it will be perfect, but much better.

[chipgallo]

Fred Collins would love to hear from anyone who can assist on this kind of thing. I received the Microsoft Publisher file of the June newsletter over a month after it was reproduced and handed out during the boot drive. Respecting it as a historical artifact, I did not change it but made a PDF to distribute. Research on chat and IMs (will have to supply a reference later) has shown that spelling errors, grammar mistakes and abbreviations have little effect on comprehension until most of the content is gibberish. We can understand the message(s) in this newsletter and they clearly ask for community support on various fronts.

Please do what you can.

[Fred told me that he was interviewed for a front-page article in the $pirit. Them journalists are fine spellers. Bryan Clark has an incorrect date for the bar-b-q. It is Saturday, July 7.]

[KatherineA]

Well, then to me it was gibberish, I couldn't read through it to the end.

[Willis]

a front-page article in the $pirit

I couldn't read through it to the end.

I've become loathe to link to any articles in the Spirit when our viewers have to pay to read them-Cripes, you even have to pay to read the obits on-line w/o a subscription. I understand it's an attempt to leverage more dough from viewers who've been reading for free, but I'm not a fan of the way it's being done.
PAY FOR VIEW DEATH NOTICES

[chipgallo]

I can give you the highlights -- there were 3 grammar errors and 1 factual error (bar-b-q event date). I did NOT reread the 23 cent article with my proofreader hat on so I probably missed some mistakes.

[KatherineA]

OMG there were so many more misused words and errors etc than that! I'll put it in a pm . . .



I too refuse to link to the Spirit and pay for an article. In fact, I have even cut down on buying the paper as this way of "marketing" bugs me so much.

[Willis]

I too refuse to link to the Spirit and pay for an article. In fact, I have even cut down on buying the paper

One more comment in my Shameful Hijacking

of Company 5's thread:
I'll drop off a print copy of the Spirit at the MCC library for those who want to catch up on local weekly news. Folks will be able to read the obits and other items for free.
I'm assuming other local libraries have it available too.

Keep us informed of The VFD's doin's, Chip

[chipgallo]

Thanks for the feedback and happy reading!