Posted by Johnny Broadbeans on 11/24/99 from 194.119.150.193:
As an oarsman/moaner, I'd like to grouse about the decline of the good, old-fashioned dash. Whenever I supply text —— even on a disc —— today's young whippersnapper typesetters invariably try to replace my dashes with hyphens.
And another thing —— (CONTROL and 0151) semi-colons. Our language changes constantly, of course, but I'ld be sorry to see the little fellas disappear. There are few things more satisfying than the spotting of well-placed semi-colons: used too often, they can be irritating; the sentence goes on and on; and you long for the end of it; unless you've nodded off before then.
Am budging over to let Mr Jenkins have a word.... "Ol' George Owdon still hanging about Horning Staithe. We hear he come back to give one o' them after-dinner speeches for his appreciation society. That Peter H put him up to, I reckon."