A much-needed break
BAGUIO CITY, Philippines- Woohoo! Dateline! I'm currently in one of the country's coldest cities and I'm totally loving it. :) Not here on vacation though. I was sent to attend a public journalism and ethics seminarbeing hosted by the Center For Media Freedom and Responsibility.
It's nice to take a break while learning and relearning tools of the trade. This city is situated atop a mountain, which means the sights and atmosphere are awesome. I'll be here until Monday on a welcome respite from the noise and heat and pressure of metropolis living. If only this could last forever.
On a fandom-related note:
I've been having some trouble with my beta duties recently. At work, we use the Associated Press style of writing and editing, which generally entails simpler usage of punctuation marks (less commas, etc.) So as can be expected, I use this same style when I beta read stories. This is all well and good at The Quidditch Pitch, which I think is rightly not tyrannical about punctuation marks.
However, there other fan ficition archives actually reject stories based on lack of commas! Off-hand, find this funny. But I do understand stylistic purity. I just wish fandom would agree which style to use, absolutely. It would just be too much trouble for me to edit according to the wishes of individual archives, considering that I am already comfortable using one particular style. I'm half-thinking of just quitting beta work altogether if I have to learn multiple, totally different styles for use on fan fiction.
On a "wankier" note, I think it's just absurd to reject stories which lack commas in some places, while at the same time accept stories with a) an appalling lack of plot, and b) shoddy character development. Am I alone in this concern?
And damn. Now I'm paranoid about comma sufficiency.