I prefer when people correct my mistakes, unless it is an obvious typo

Just kidding. I am kind of anal about grammar, and I haven't even noticed any issues. Just fix issues after the fact if you choose. Nobody comes here to read grammar posts or debates.

"I am the King of Rome and above grammar".

That said, I find grammar intersting and if people want to talk about or debate it, then a topic for it would be much better than nitpicking at your every entry.

>I get to get better, to generate some traffic, and to keep other threads from getting diverted.

"Our unceasing aim to to provide a maximalized reading experience to all our wonderful supporters, while continuing to drive literacy and syntactic effectiveness to new heights, thus achieving productive synergies between the executive and observational constituents of this blog. To that end, we are rolling out exciting new feedback initiatives, and empowering you with partial ownership of this dynamic new project."

Ta-Nehisi and commenters,

What do you think makes a good presidential debate question, and in your answer, consider the following.

1. Specific policy questions will get you a 100% canned answer, or be so amazingly obscure as to be more 'gotcha' than important point.

2. General "philosophy" questions will get you meandering platitudes about 'American Families,' 'The American Spirit,' 'Hardworking Americans,' et cetera.

3. You know you can do better than flag pins.

Not so strange to one who has read and heard countless peer edits where readers have pointed out, gleefully, I might add, sentence-level errors while ignoring substantive problems in content or organization. Not strange, either, to one who has had to explain to disappointed student writers why the grammatically and mechanically perfect essay has received a "C."

More generally on the King’s English, writing proficiency is usually a legitimate requirement in the world of white-collar work. I’ve frequently seen much ado made over few/minor errors in writing samples from candidates who ended up being rejected despite other strong qualifications. Pointing to those bloopers can give gatekeepers a cover for their racism. So it’s good to encourage young people coming up to emphasize sharpening their skills so that they don’t trip on this hurdle.

You were brought on-board to represent an authentic, UNDERrepresented stream of intellectual thought and I've appreciated your point of view - and your willingness to engage vernacular in conveying that pov. I've not seen evidence of you having any issues of grammar - and if there have been evidences of it - it would be ideal if someone from the Atlantic undertook to edit your grammar - not us.

The only grammar discussion I'd like to have is of urban grammar. That would be of interest - despite being African American - I'd not heard of the use of the word "son" as a verb. Like most African Americans - I caught on pretty quickly, but still enjoyed the discourse.

Seriously - screw anyone who has a problem with it. You're here to be a part of the American fabric - same as anyone else.

BTW - I would like to link to your blog from my site. Is that ok? (My site is http://obamaproject.windonwater.net)

QT

And I'm a college professor, who flexes on grammar issues in class.

QT

The atlantic is better than nyt or wash post(in that it doesn't get toxic as fast), but when you say something as insightful as your post about not needing barack obama to be a civil rights leader--which gave me a completely new pov looking at the media and barack--and people start correcting your grammar, I want to throw my monitor at the wall.

(And yes, I should have included an "is" in my post.)

That is, the sort of people who like to go around correcting others' grammar seem to inevitably add their own errors to the mix.

I enjoy reading your blog, understand everything but some music posts (and that's not grammar), and I'm an editor. Keep on keeping on, and don't let anyone son you. More background on the D&D posts might help, I suppose.

@DougE
Use a semicolon in two cases. First, a list that includes commas, as shown below:
The nominees include Joe Blow, DDS, of Nome, Alaska; Mark Smith of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and Kara Thrace, viper pilot, of Newark, New Jersey.

Second, to separate independent clauses. A period and cap can be used in these cases, though you can wind up sounding like Hemingway. It's a style question, as are most comma debates:
Sarah Palin returned to her role as governor of Alaska; John McCain returned to house number 7.

The last post there settles it for me--few thins are as annoying as arguments about whether a comma should or shouldn't be there. No grammar posts unless we need to point out particularly amusing typos.

@Peter: Substantive policy questions that include a follow-up. e.g. "When you say balance of power in Eastern Europe, exactly what do you think of admitting Poland to NATO? What about missiles there? What should be our position in regards to Russia and its former republics?" Of course the first layer is canned; what's critical is that the nominee can think on his or her feet and give a real answer. I also want follow-ups to any skipped answers: if the nominee responds to a question about A with a canned answer about B, repeat the question until there is a substantive answer, or the nominee has made him- or herself look ridiculous.

I will also allow a certain number of "name an experience that helped inform your view of X," but these are almost guaranteed to elicit moving voter stories rather than insights into guiding philosophies.

In fact, I'm already feeling guilty for having posted about typos when I actually don't give a rat's ass where you put your commas.

Someone actually bothered with a (gentle) critique of "I get to get better", which was a perfectly understandable phrase, it simply *sounds* better spoken than it reads as a straight line of text (a "Paris in the Spring" visual puzzle effect).

All I know is that I first came to the Atlantic site for Andrew Sullivan, and until Ta-Nehisi appeared his was the only work engaging enough to read with any regularity.

Blogging at its best allows the opportunity to see a writer's mind at work in something approaching real time—if it's that bothersome to have to deal with an improper comma or semicolon, or a misplaced modifier, wait for it in paperback.

Or get a chisel and a marble block and go to town yourself.

If you have a problem with Ta-Nehisi's grammar, email him. Spare the rest of us.