Thanks for this article, Danna. It reflects my feelings entirely. I write for a living (some people call it “translating”), but it’s just as much writing as writing in one’s native language. [Comment: I’m seeing such delicious places to make common errors here — “its just as much” — need to work in “loosing my feel for language” somewhere…]

Even taking into consideration that language is constantly changing, there are so many written contributions that are worth a lot less than the electrons they use up.

Alexainie: In my opinion, we shouldn’t need to describe ourselves as “grammar Nazis”. Expressing oneself well is a reflection of coherent thinking, as well as a sign that the writer has put some effort into his/her communication. (Yes, I put the comma after “thinking” on purpose.) (I could say more, but I have to get on with my day job.)

The thing is, I suppose that most “writers” don’t have anyone they could go to to correct their stuff.

[I’ve even made some edits to this brief message!!]