[blueerica]

I don't claim to be some sort of amazing speller all the time. I'm a decent proofreader - when I bother - and even then it's very hard. I like to use a brightly colored piece of paper as a guide, since it allows me to focus on spelling. I also change the font and employ a number of bizarre tactics to proofread. I read the words in backward order.

Once thing that has me differing from others, at least grammatically, is my use of the Chicago Manual of Style. I like my comma before the and in a series. Other quirks seem to make their way into my writing that differs greatly from what I've seen on the West Coast.

Another thing that has gotten the better of me is the use of punctuation, capitalization, and even spelling in advertising and in what has become the accepted standard amongst a group of people. Sometimes there is a reason you would put the n' versus and or even & in Rock n' Roll, Rock and Roll, Rock & Roll. Balance in ad copy, the contrast and meaning it gives along with imagery... it all plays a part, and has even caused me to break a few of my cardinal rules while writing copy that's gone on billboards, catalogs, brochures and flyers.

I think - back to the original topic - that we should accept those who make mistakes, since a vast majority of us regularly participate in spelling and grammatical blunders (I'm pretty sure a good checker could find at least 6 in here. Or is that six? Oh, I do prefer to spell my numbers ten and under. 10 and under.), but not accept changes to long-standing rules.

It would probably make for more work, and before long we'll be spelling those words incorrectly.