[thelist] Need some good usability feedback.

Paul Cowan paul at wishlist.com.au
Wed Aug 15 18:26:08 CDT 2001


Ryan Finley [mailto:RyanF at SonicFoundry.com] wrote:
> I'm still confused over active vs. passive voice...

ERROR: Sentence uses passive voice. Consider rewriting in the active voice.

Sorry, couldn't resist.

Actually, I'm not sure that that's _really_ what most people would 
consider "passive voice", but technically I guess it is. In active voice, 
it would be "Active vs. passive voice still confuses me."

It all depends on how you interpret the words "confused over". If you 
interpret it as a verb phrase -- an idiomatic way of saying "confused 
by" -- then it is; if "confused" is being used as an adjective ("I am 
confused; this is because ... "), then it isn't.

Anyway, that was about as screamingly off-topic as it gets, so:

<tip type="Professional image" author="Paul Cowan">
It may seem obvious, but remember that on the web, information is 
king. This means that the only way you have to impress people is 
the information you can provide -- and it is surprising how 
much of a dent can be made in that impression by poor-quality 
content. Spelling and grammar might not be important (or even 
noticeable) to you, and to many other people also; but all it takes 
is for one spelling or grammar mistake to "jar" with one reader, and 
your site will suddely drop several notches in that reader's 
estimation (albeit perhaps unconsciously). A small investment in 
getting a professional to check your content will quickly pay off 
for any commercial site.
</tip>





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