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Archives for: May 2008

Elegant variation

by loiswakeman @ 02 May. 2008 - 16:16:23

At school, I was taught to use elegant variation - not repeating the same phrase exactly in a passage of writing, to make it more interesting. When I was later trained as a technical author, I learnt the opposite: use standard phrases so you don't confuse the reader.

Spammers have a vested interest in elegant variation (how many synonyms can they invent for male appendages for example?) - which - they hope - gets them past the spam filters so many people use. Some of the results are accidentally quite poetic - if somewhat lacking in understanding of 'English as she is spoke'. This one caught my eye:

"Greetings, brakes a software? Qualitative replacement is necessary!"

I guess they really meant "Hey you, is your computer knackered? Buy some illegal software from us and we'll finish the job for you, guaranteed cheap." But I have a vision of some robed sage declaiming the phrase out of a lighted window in sonorous tones!

You *must* try this product - not

by loiswakeman @ 01 May. 2008 - 11:12:46

"English and grammer software

http://whatabunchofspeciouscrap.com

Sale 25% Discount

Our World Wide patent writing tools enable simple sentences to become more sophisticated and professional.

Enhance your writing with:
Grammar check
Thesaurus
Spell check
English Dictionary
Templates
Punctuation corrections
Improved clarity
" - from today's spam, and the fictitious, or at least syntax-errored, Mr Write Right [Andrew%20Goefferies@whatabunchofspeciouscrap.com]

(Names have been changed to protect the innocent - or at least to deny our Andy the pleasure of any web traffic.)