Use of the word "very"

thanks for clearing that up, ace. i'm very ecstatic.

 

quick question: what is going on in someone's brain chemistry when the use of any particular words hurts them personally enough that they would admit to hating the word, cringing when they see it and planning diabolical schemes to eradicate it?

some people i know are on this crusade to change every 'last' in the paper to 'past' or 'this past' because 99 percent of the time 'last season,' etc., doesn't specifically refer to the very last season ever played in history.

i'm curious to know what biological process causes someone in the mass communication profession to take things like this so personally while the entire mass they're trying to communicate with could care less.

 

Well I am on a crusade to change every 'last' to a 'past' because that's my paper's style.

That's kind of why most of us make the changes we make.

 

you just made three posts arguing about 'respectively.' your paper didn't make you do that. what did?

 

the word editor is nowhere in your job title, is it? i think it's wrong to bust on folks for trying to get shit correct.

 

I was expressing my opinion on it, and how I write things. It wasn't an argument, and I didn't talk about how it consumed me or brought me physical discomfort.

 

wait. wait. wait.

i have to cherish this pot, kettle and blackness.

tom petty: "i think it's wrong to bust on folks..."

listen, i'm not busting on anyone. i seriously want to know what makes people invest themselves personally on minute things the majority of other people gloss over. it's a legit question. when a copy dude/chick says "i hate when..." and it's something like when a writer types 'on' before a date or uses 'very' or 'last,' why does it make them mad?

what type of personality is that? perfectionism? borderline autism? i don't know. that's why i posed the question. call me curious.

getting things right is alright with me. facts, figures, i get that stuff. interchangeable words that mean the same thing when spoken in conversation but have technically different dictionary meanings? i don't get it. i typed 'that' now three times in this post. it didn't bother me at all.

help me understand if you feel like it.

 

fine. you're not 'one of them.' congratulations.

 

dear wiseass,

you know not of what you speak. i'm 100 percent positive you are a lowly reporter who bitches every time "copy editor jimmy, fucks with my copy," even though he's only helping you not look like an idiot.

 

You typed "that" four times, and each time it was used correctly. The "now" was not needed, though.

It's all about writing tighter. If you don't have a problem using useless words, I guess we're not going to convince you otherwise.

 

jd is sticking up for the little guy, who does it wrong on every story, every day.

 

Don't even get me started on jd's "the very last season ever played in history" for wasted words and redundancy.