Am I mistaken about this?

Hey Tom, are you always this big of a jackass or do you just play one on the Internet?

Kid asked a legit question. There was no reason to go after him. I hope bullying some college kid makes you feel a real man, since it's obvious from your posts on this thread that you are a pathetic, unhappy child.

 

A. You don't know shit about shit.
B. You don't know shit about me.
A+B=C
C. Shut the fuck up.

You're the moron who went after a kid who had a legit question. You're the moron who calls him a little victim. You're the moron who has his Hello Kitty thong in a bunch because people would dare to suggest the editor is wrong. And you're the one who's become a joke on this board. So I'll ask you again to kindly go back to your little cave, you useless waste of electricity and oxygen.

 

why do you fail to address the point? are you just ignorant or are you simply a talentless hack who can't wrap your brain around a simple concept concerning clips?

again, the placement of the word said is meaningless. there is no point here other than to bitch for the sake of bitching, which you do a wonderful job.

now i will allow you to go back to your freakish, hello kitty sexual fantasy.

 

Derek;

To say what should have been said, but in much more appropriate language...

You are correct on this issue. However, you'll probably find other editors who have certain style quirks that are out and out wrong. And they'll all have convincing arguments for why they're NOT wrong, because they tend to be prideful about these things.

The best thing to do, largely, is to accept whatever strange rules come about, then promptly ditch them when you move on. "Butting heads" rarely solves anything, and while Tom Petty should be ignored with extreme prejudice, there ARE certain things you can get away fighting about only after a few years experience. Some people, as you have now found, have a hair-trigger mechanism for the "know-it-all college kid" thing, no matter how correct you might be.

 

Which point do you want me to address? Or is that just the only catchphrase you can come up with to make it look like you still have a chance of coming out of this not looking like the biggest idiot to post on this board since, well, maybe ever? (ooh, new poll?)

Which point. Tell me which point you want me to address and I'll address it. Fire away. I'm just hoping it's not the point you're making about word placement not mattering, because I think I addressed that quite well with my first post on this thread.

 

Tom Petty's reaction to this thread is one of the bigger mysteries I have seen here.

Everybody else has answered it. "Jones said" is preferable, but A) most people still do it the other way if you read all over the web or in print and B) in any case, if there's going to be a clause after it, it absolutely can't be in that order. "said Jones, who scored 100 points." It's a black-and-white style and grammar issue, and doing it the wrong way isn't minor, it's glaring.

Tom, not sure why this kid wanting that answer in what apparently is a chronic style dispute between him and an editor irritates you so much, but whatever.

 

Wow... that's 9th-grade English.

 

I wish there was an ironclad grammar rule to get people to stop starting a sentence with "Said."

Said Jones, "We played good tonight. I'm glad our team finally came together."

Ick. The worst.

 

Perhaps "butting heads" isn't the phrase I should have used. I noticed it, pointed it out and said I thought it should be changed. He wanted to know why, I tried to explain, he didn't agree and I let it go. I haven't mentioned it to him since. The reason why I started this topic was because I saw some other examples of people using the "name said, who," so I was wondering if my belief was even correct or not.

 

I second that. I can't even believe this is an issue.

 

Shouldn't be a regular thing, but as a device separating two different speakers when quotes are concurrent, it's not wrong. It's also appropriate -- to me -- if you're ending a story on a very short quote that you can't split, and you don't want to end it on the word "said," which is a really weak last word.

 

Seconded. I wouldn't get too cutesy with it, but when it accomplishes either of the things SF mentioned there, it's certainly passable.