Re: OH Crap!

["David A. Youngker" <nestor10@mindspring.com>]

From: "James Purchase"
Sent: Tuesday, June 06, 2000 9:54 AM


> Well....... I don't know where your house number went, but it
> does prove how important it is for people to be paying
> attention - we owe David a vote of thanks for having noticed it.

I can't claim too much here - returned mail makes the error kinda stand out,
you know?

> When I post something to the list that I intend to send out,
> I do it for several purposes - one of the most important is
> to get it proof read. It is almost impossible for someone
> who has written something to also proof read it -
> it does take another pair of eyes.

I've seen errors on 3-line overheads slip by as many as 5 people at once. It
happens. And as it has been brought up, this is an early enough stage to be
recoverable. Recovery would make a better focus right now.

Nor is it difficult to picture happening. Take, for example, the following
phrase as laid out:

   PARIS
  IN THE
THE SPRING

Nothing really remarkable about it, but almost no one ever reads it
correctly until their second or third time. And unless someone pointed out
there was an error, you'd have no real reason to re-read it.

So you look at Erik's address, which I did when I cut and pasted to a
mailing label. You see the line "NW 82nd Street", and I figure your brain
subliminally registers the number as a house number instead of the street's.
And that was with my focus entirely on the one single section - rather than
trying to proofread the entire Entry Page at once...

Hey, there's even a positive spin - we get to establish and refine a "rapid
response" type of procedure. Something I'll bet not too many of us had even
considered a need *for* in a venture like this.

> I'd suggest Erik, that you follow Dave Engle's advice and
> have a chat with your local sorting office. And pray to God
> that they are willing to co-operate with us.

A direct, honest appeal will go a long way. The USPS is actually quite
accomodating when the need arises...

-Y-

David A. Youngker
nestor10@mindspring.com

PS - to find the error above, concentrate on single words rather than the
whole phrase

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