Copy editing is go!

[rho]

Hot on the heels of introducing the site copy team, it's now time for me to introduce the copy editing team. Everyone, say hello to:

bohemianeditor
chasy_la
cheyinka
ivorygates
rainbow
ryan

Their job will be to go over all the text written by the site copy team and the userdoc team, and correct all the dumb typos we inevitably make. OK, all the dumb typos I inevitably make, and possibly one or two made by the rest of the team.

Copy editors, here's what I want you to be doing now:

I'm afraid you're going to be grappling with the translation system. I'm so very very sorry. There's a guide to it on the wiki that katieastrophe wrote for us, but here are the cliff notes:

* Go to http://www.dreamwidth.org/translate/edit.bml?lang=en_DW (I've given you the privs you need)
* In the top left frame, scroll down and select prf: no and upd: yes, then hit search.
* Select one of the pages in the bottom left frame to bring up a list of translation strings.
* In the list, select "edit" for one of the strings, then copy edit it, and select proofed.
* When you're done with the age, click save at the bottom.

In proof reading you should be checking for:

* typos
* spelling mistakes
* grammar and punctuation
* Manual of Style compliance
* correct use of terminology

(Please read through both of these thoroughly before you get started.)

If you see any problems with any of these, change them and mark the string as being proof read. If you proof read a string and see that it's fine as it is (hopefully most of them will be!) then mark it as proofed without making any changes. If you see anything that you think needs a more substantial rewrite, then don't update it yourself, but instead comment here letting me know which string you think needs rewriting, and what you think the problem is. We might revisit this if we end up with a lot that need substantial rewrites, but we'll go with this for now.

Above all, have fun with it, and don't be shy of contacting me if you have any questions.

Comments

[rainbow]

I'm pretty durned nitpicky about things like that. (I started editing back in the 80s when I worked at a local paper, then a couple different PR offices. rho assures I'm not *too* nitpicky for DW, though, which I'd been worried about.... *g*)

[rainbow]

Code: /manage/circle/add.bml.confirm.text1.news Sev: 0

English:

Adding [[user]] allows you to read new content from it on your reading page.

This is another awkward one. "It" works for a comm or feed, but not so much for a person.

Suggest: "Adding [[user]] will allow you to read (user)'s new content on your reading page."

[denise]

If you think that there should be deep magic done, let rho know and she can put it on the list of code updates to be done (something like that, switching in "Dreamwidth" for the site name, has to be done with a code change).

[rainbow]

I'm PM her now. Thanks!

[rainbow]

Code: /manage/emailpost.bml.error.invalidimagesize Sev: 0

English:
Image size must be [[size]] or less to disable the lj-cut.

Is "lj-cut" being used here (outside of the double brackets)?

another one

[rainbow]

Code: /schools/manage.bml.error.cantbeauthenticated

The orig string is "You could not be authenticated as the specified user."

The updated is "Your account could not be authenticated as the account that you specified."

Could it be simplified to "The specified account could not be authenticated" or "You could not be authenticated as (deep magic brackets for user)"?

/community/pending.bml.success.added

[cheyinka]

/community/pending.bml.success.added
is currently
You've added [[num]] [[?num|person|persons]] to this community.
Is there a good reason it's not person|people? "You've added n people" sounds better than "You've added n persons", at least to me...

/manage/circle/index.bml.about

[cheyinka]

/manage/circle/index.bml.about
is currently

We let you define two different kinds of relationship between your account and the other accounts you add to your Circle: Subscription and Access. When you subscribe to a personal journal, community, or feed, its new entries will be included on your Reading Page. That account will be able to read your public entries even if it doesn't subscribe to you in return, but your public entries won't appear on its Reading Page unless it also subscribes to you. People you've Granted Access to will be able to read the protected content (locked entries) you post to your journal.

Would it be worthwhile to add "even if they don't subscribe to your journal" to the last sentence? (I did mark it as having been proofed, since I think it's still relatively-easily findable even with that, and it's certainly fine as it is.)