[Rant] Do editing/proofreading errors drive you mad, too?

[Phaedrus]

Drives me bonkers. And I agree it's not just WOTC or RPG... it's pervasive.

I hereby volunteer to proofread and offer feedback on any RPG document sent to me. Send an advance copy to a handful of people on these boards and the quality could be improved dramatically.

Everyone all together now: "Loose" and "Lose" are different words!
Webster might as well and just drop the word "lose" entirely--I see "loose" used in newspapers and magazines routinely.

 

[Thornir Alekeg]

In gaming books, not so much. As long as I can understand the intent, I am not reading the book for the quality of writing. If there is an outright contradiction, I'll just use the one I think makes more sense.


In novels, they really bother me.

 

[Emirikol]

Dude...I don't get too worked up..but it certainly makes me not want to spend money on Mongoose products.

When you pick up a license as big as CONAN and then create an RPG that is pseudo-d20, plagued with multiple errors per page and a complete lack of "editing" it shows that you don't deserve to sell products. I feel bad for the writers....it's their name on the lid of those things and they're the ones that look bad.

As for D&D stuff, the LACK of massive errors keeps me pretty happy.

http://www.google.com/search?q=Cona...ient=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official


jh

 

[Arkhandus]

Yep, these kinds of stupid little errors really annoy me too. Especially in novels, though. Must everything align perfectly, without simply adjusting the spacing, by cutting off part of every 12th word or bit of punctuation? On every page?

Would it bother them so terribly much to actually grasp spelling in the English language? Or the basics of 3rd-grade arithmetic (well, okay, adding up 4-6 digit numbers may be more like 5th-grade or somesuch)? Is it that hard to be just a little consistent and check one's work briefly, and not give conflicting data a mere paragraph or two after mentioning the first datum?

 

[Ourph]

Massive, easily-catchable errors do bug me. In my experience, WotC is probably the least guilty of this particular sin when compared with others in the RPG industry.

Black Industries (WFRP2e), Mongoose (Conan) and Troll Lord Games (C&C) are some of the worst in the industry when it comes to pervasive, needless editing errors. With BI products, for example, it's not uncommon to find 5-6 errors on every page. I will still buy the books if I like the products, but I make a special effort to buy from after-market dealers or discount sites to avoid paying full price because, IMO, if the publishers aren't willing to spend the money to give me a full-quality product, then I don't feel obligated to pay full-price.

 

[sniffles]

Drives me bonkers. And I agree it's not just WOTC or RPG... it's pervasive.

I hereby volunteer to proofread and offer feedback on any RPG document sent to me. Send an advance copy to a handful of people on these boards and the quality could be improved dramatically.

Everyone all together now: "Loose" and "Lose" are different words!
Webster might as well and just drop the word "lose" entirely--I see "loose" used in newspapers and magazines routinely.

I'll fight you for that volunteer proofreader position.

The Highhold/Holdfast thing was just really annoying me. It's not really substantive, but since it indirectly impacts a character I'm playing it bugs me.

 

[helium3]

It bothers me more when I see it in 3rd party products.

WOTC more or less has a monopoly on d20 material, so I can easily imagine them balancing the extra costs of increased proofing and editing staff against the increased uptick in sales one might experience from a reputation for excellent editing.

3rd party folks have such a difficult time even getting attention that it boggles my mind that they don't trip all over themselves to ensure they have nearly flawless presentation. I know I would were I to attempt to publish something. So, seeing those types of errors in 3rd party product leads me to believe that the producer is either too lazy to care or thinks they're stuff is so hot that people won't mind. Either way, I remain unimpressed.

 

[Mouseferatu]

3rd party folks have such a difficult time even getting attention that it boggles my mind that they don't trip all over themselves to ensure they have nearly flawless presentation. I know I would were I to attempt to publish something. So, seeing those types of errors in 3rd party product leads me to believe that the producer is either too lazy to care or thinks they're stuff is so hot that people won't mind. Either way, I remain unimpressed.

Option 3: Third-party companies have such a razor-thin profit margin as it is, that they simply cannot afford to hire more proofreaders/editors than they already do. They cannot afford to charge more per book--they already cannot meet WotC's prices, due to the size of their print orders--so there's nowhere for the money to come from. Thus, they do the best they can with what limited resources the market will allow.

 

[Angel Tarragon]

There are more than one way to pronounce Iggwilv?

My best guess: ig-WILV

 

[MadMaxim]

I think it's rather annoying to see all the little errors, whether it's in the rules part (like not meeting prestige class requirements) or just plain text (like descriptions of said prestige classes, monsters, etc.). I find it even more annoying because English isn't my native language and therefore I often rely on the words being spelled right. Luckily, I'm pretty good with the language and with it not being my native language, perhaps I'm a bit more irritated when even I can see that something doesn't look right, because I need to put in more effort to understand what I'm reading and translating it in my mind.