Frequently Asked Questions

I’ve gotten a lot of questions and comments lately that I can’t respond to individually. Here are some general responses:

How do I submit?

Send your image as an email attachment to bethanykeeley @   gmail.  com (without the spaces). Make the subject something about quotation marks. It will take me a while to get to it (like, months. sorry!), but I will still appreciate you and reply when I finally get to posting yours. Unless I can't think of anything funny to say and don't post yours.

This is your pet peeve. You should also blog about mine, which is _____.

Actually, I don’t consider quotation marks a peeve. I just think it’s funny to misinterpret them, almost always. This is not the case with most other grammatical errors, although the occasional dangling modifier is pretty amusing. Somebody else can blog about your thing if they want; I really think the genius here is the specificity. Check out my sidebar though; some of those people might already blog about your thing. Especially you legion of apostrophe pedants.

How can you make fun of other people when you made the following grammatical error ____?

I am not a grammar expert. Sure, I am living in a glass house intentionally obfuscating other people’s usage, and therefore usually correct errors that other people point out. The point of this site, though, is not to demonstrate my grammatical superiority, it’s to have a little fun with language.

This blog is a waste of time. I can’t believe someone wrote an article about it.

I can't believe people are interested in it either, I'm just doing this for fun. Related question: is a person who takes the time to criticize bloggers they don't know in a position to tell me how my time should be used?

Those quotation marks are totally acceptable, stop being so mean.

Remember what I said about intentional obfuscation? I’m just trying to have fun. If you don’t think this is fun, it’s probably not the blog for you.

What do you think about this grammatical issue: ____?

I'll do my best to respond to your specific question, but maybe you should ask grammar girl or look it up in a style manual of your choice. My expertise is in rhetorical theory and criticism, which is only somewhat related to grammar.

Why are quotation marks such a big deal to you anyway?

They really aren't. I'm actually not a grammar fanatic at all, although clear writing is important to me. I started this blog for fun never expecting anybody to notice it except my family and friends. Other things that are more important to me than punctuation include, but are not limited to: my family, my job, my faith, politics, some television shows.

For Linguistics Nerds Only: Don't you know about language change? Why be such a prescriptivist? Alternate: Thanks for fighting for pure English against the uneducated masses!

My real intellectual position is more of a descriptivist. I understand that language is constructed socially and therefore naturally evolves and changes and is not subject to absolutes. I conceive this blog as a kind of language play that demonstrates why we have norms in the first place, to promote clarity. I'm trying to have fun with language, not protect it or enforce a "right" way to write or speak.

What is the rule for end punctuation and quotation marks? Aren't you doing it wrong?

It is standard in the US to put all end punctuation (periods, commas, question marks, exclamation points) inside quotation marks. My Canadian high school English teacher taught me that when the quotation marks are ironic or setting off a word or phrase because you are talking about the word itself, then the punctuation goes outside. I like this rule better, and it seems like a worthwhile distinction to make on this blog. So even though I live in the US, I do it this way: when I am quoting someone else, punctuation inside quotation marks. All other uses, outside. I figure it's fine as long as I'm consistent, but you probably shouldn't follow my example for formal writing.

May I use some of your photos on my blog?

Sure, as long as you give credit and a link for where you found them, and limit yourself to no more than 3 or 4. I want your readers to visit my site to see more!

Is it ok if I link to your blog?

It's more than ok! I really appreciate it when people like my blog enough to recommend it to their friends and readers.

How about a link exchange?

Sorry, I don't do those.


This blog is "great!" You "are" so "funny!"

Good one.

How come you posted this picture and not the similar one I sent you?

It's possible that the one I posted actually came in before yours (like I said, I'm months behind) or when I looked at yours I couldn't think of anything funny to say about it, or thought it was too hard to see. I get a lot of emails, so I tend to click through until I find something I like and rarely go back. Sometimes a picture isn't very funny but the email that goes with it saves it. Sorry it's not more fair.

While I'm at it, here are some questions no one has asked, but might some day:

What are your guidelines for comments?
I'm so glad you asked. Here are some guidelines:
1) spam will be deleted as soon as I notice it. Trolling will be deleted at my discretion.
2) I know I have to put up with people correcting my spelling/grammar, but I appreciate it if you do it nicely. I also get a little testy when people do this anonymously, because it does not allow us to see any of their perfect or imperfect prose.
3) please keep the tone light and friendly, if we aren't having fun, why bother with the "blog" at all? (It goes without saying that violent or sexually explicit language is rarely called for, and I am pleased to see that thus far I haven't had occasion to say so.)

Do you have a policy about responding to email?
I do now. I used to try to respond to everyone, but it's been getting a little overwhelming. So I'm cutting back. I'll still email submitters when I post their thing, but I will no longer email people to explain why theirs didn't get posted. I will respond to other "personal" emails at my discretion. This means, if I feel like it. I'd like to respond to everyone personally, and I appreciate you taking the time to email me. I am trying to resist letting this blog take over my life.