I came to programming via publishing, where I worked as an editor for many years. I can easily be overweeningly punctilious – not to mention verbose and sesquipedalian – both in my own writing and in my reaction to that of others. I do try to restrain myself. Sometimes.

Those of you who publish in scientific and technical fields will be amused to know that your editor has heard (and probably repeated) the quip “Broken English is the international language of science.”

That having been said, my professional advice is this:

Genuine ambiguities should be queried; mere solecisms should be politely ignored, even if you are the type of person who corrects other people's grammar and pronunciation at parties.

I came to programming via publishing, where I worked as an editor for many years. I can easily be overweeningly punctilious – not to mention verbose and sesquipedalian – both in my own writing and in my reaction to that of others. I do try to restrain myself. Sometimes.

Those of you who publish in scientific and technical fields will be amused to know that your editor has heard (and probably repeated) the quip “Broken English is the international language of science.”

That having been said, my professional advice is this:

Genuine ambiguities should be queried; mere solecisms should be politely ignored, even if you are the type of person who corrects other people's grammar and pronunciation at parties.

[edit] Well, this has been educational. Apparently, many SO denizens find ornately correct English extremely objectionable. Lesson learnt.