Stampers Anonymous and incorrect grammar

[Paula O.]

One of releases from Tim Holtz and S.A. has a glaring grammatical error. I sent S.A. this email: Good morning. I noticed there is an error on the stamp set Observations. As it is now, the saying reads “simplicity is IT’S own form.....”. There is no need for an apostrophe as its as used here is neither a possessive nor a contraction. I’m surprised a proofreader did not catch this.

Here is the reply: We appreciate your email. Tim was made aware of this, and has decided to embrace imperfection.

Code for "we are too cheap to hire proofreaders, and too cheap to redo the stamp set."

[arlenevita]

That is a sad, sad and insulting reply. Zoe Hillman on TH Addicts has a similar reply saying it was correct. It makes me sad that the English language is deteriorating! I don’t buy stamps that are grammatically incorrect. A person could cut away the ‘ if they HAD to have that stamp set.

[Scrapjanny]

"Embrace imperfection"? When I buy a product, I expect correct grammar and spelling. I'm not paying for "imperfection." What a terrible attitude. It's condescending and insulting, and Zoe apparently needs a refresher in basic grammar and spelling. TH and SA have definitely moved down on my list of preferred products. They might even be off altogether.

[stamp2themax]

Arlene, I couldn't agree with you more about the language deteriorating. It is so sad and when I'm sitting at the pool I constantly hear kids saying "me and him are going..." etc. I can spot a grammatical error from a mile away! I'd never buy a stamp with incorrect grammar, I believe it would reflect poorly on me when someone would read it!

Kirsten

[PMR]

I emailed a paper company years ago about a track and field paper pack. I really wanted it but they spelled discus discuss! The response I received was basically the same as above. Just fix it!

[kazeka]

I've gotten two stamp sets in the past from different companies, that had a misspelled word in one of the sentiments. In each case, it was discovered after the set was released, but the company fixed it...and replaced any of the defective sets. I'm shocked at SA's attitude, wow.
Karen

[AussieJenny]

Well I though the reply was polite enough. Not many companies would correct such an error if it cost them money.

[Angelnorth]

When I was on a DT years ago, a sentiment set went into production with a misspelled word (missing a letter). As soon as they realised, the designers were told about it and any pre-release samples using that stamp were pulled. The release date was delayed by a week so the set could be re manufactured with the correction. Companies can and do correct such things, it’s a shame SA isn’t in that camp (especially as the error is a pretty common one and having it on a stamp set will likely make people believe it’s correct - an apostrophe in this case is only ever to indicate a contraction, “its” is a possessive word (like his or hers) and does not take a possessive apostrophe).

[Paula O.]

Sometimes the apostrophe denotes possession, like James’s bicycle. Most times it is used as a contraction. Anyway you look at it, S.A. is wrong and I think their reply was snotty, and worse, greedy and stupid.

[Angelnorth]

Yes, you’re absolutely right that an apostrophe is used to denote possession in some circumstances Paula - the word “its” though only ever takes an apostrophe to denote a contraction of “it is”. For example, talking about a teddy bear we might say “its nose is small” in the same way we’d say “his nose is small” if we were talking about a boy. We would not add an apostrophe to “his”, the word itself denotes possession and the same is true of “its”.

Easy way to check when you’re using “its” is to substitute the full phrase in your mind - if you can say “it is” and have the phrase makes sense, go ahead and use “it’s” with the apostrophe; in the case of the SA stamp, you’d end up with “simplicity is it is own form” which makes absolutely no sense in the same way “it is nose is small” would make no sense.

(Excuse my nerdiness here - I’m a proofreader!)

[Scrapjanny]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Angelnorth

Yes, you’re absolutely right that an apostrophe is used to denote possession in some circumstances Paula - the word “its” though only ever takes an apostrophe to denote a contraction of “it is”. For example, talking about a teddy bear we might say “its nose is small” in the same way we’d say “his nose is small” if we were talking about a boy. We would not add an apostrophe to “his”, the word itself denotes possession and the same is true of “its”.

Easy way to check when you’re using “its” is to substitute the full phrase in your mind - if you can say “it is” and have the phrase makes sense, go ahead and use “it’s” with the apostrophe; in the case of the SA stamp, you’d end up with “simplicity is it is own form” which makes absolutely no sense in the same way “it is nose is small” would make no sense.

(Excuse my nerdiness here - I’m a proofreader!)

@Angelnorth That's how I used to explain it to my high school English students. "It's" always means "it is." I also used to tell them to write out both words if they weren't sure. It was only a matter of writing one extra letter.

[fl_beachbum]

This seems to be the right place to ask… I keep seeing “that” used in place of “who”. It bugs me… like it is making the person less … human?

If I remember correctly from ages ago, you can use ‘that’ if referring to a group (using a collective term) but shouldn’t if you are referring to an individual. A recent example was a set with a phrase that began, “to a person that…” But I hear it spoken a lot, as well.

Am I wrong?

[Cook22]

Quote:

Originally Posted by AussieJenny

Well I though the reply was polite enough. Not many companies would correct such an error if it cost them money.

I bought a set a couple of years ago from TCP. A while later, I got shipping notice of an order from them which puzzled me - and it turned out to be a correction of a single sentiment in the set that had been spelled wrong. So not only did she correct it going forward, but of her own accord Alma must have followed up on anybody who had ordered that set. I must admit I hadn't realised, as up to that point I'd only used images from the set. I certainly appreciated her efforts. I certainly would not buy that SA set if I noticed it, and would seek to return it for a refund if I spotted the error after purchase.

[Scrapjanny]

Quote:

Originally Posted by fl_beachbum

This seems to be the right place to ask… I keep seeing “that” used in place of “who”. It bugs me… like it is making the person less … human?

If I remember correctly from ages ago, you can use ‘that’ if referring to a group (using a collective term) but shouldn’t if you are referring to an individual. A recent example was a set with a phrase that began, “to a person that…” But I hear it spoken a lot, as well.

Am I wrong?

You're correct. Although "that" has become acceptable to use in that case, "who" would be better.

[harvestmoon]

Poor grammar is a pet peeve of mine. My sister calls me The Grammar Police on FB. Adriana, you are correct, and I don't care if it has become accepted to use 'that' incorrectly. There are way too many things that have become accepted these days.
Much worse in my book is Happy Belated Birthday. If you are late sending a birthday wish the birthday is not 'belated,' your Happy wish is belated. Cut those stamps apart so you can stamp the phrase correctly: Belated Happy Birthday or Belated Birthday Wishes.

[wavejumper]

I can't believe the timing of this....
I just had to let Vicky know last night over at Crackerbox one of my stamps has some really bad errors in it. As they mfg them to order, after strongly apologizing, she is just having another one made and sent to me. Good people over there. Helps that it is a stand alone and not a set. Not at all normal for them. I sent her a pic in the email.

I wonder if the stamp is also incorrect or it is just the index? I have seen stuff like that.

Sigh. Just more of the CS stinks today parade.

SA probably made 10,000 of these things being that big...but too bad. Just correct the one sentiment and send it out-you don't have to send a whole new set (though some companies have in the past) Sell the wrong sets as seconds 20% discounted. I know everyone is in Christmas mode now but that is just lazy/unprofessional to me. That is like knowingly selling something broken. Does it show in the listing online? Embrace imperfection Tim? Um...I am going to embrace my wallet and keep it closed thanks.

[Scrapjanny]

Quote:

Originally Posted by harvestmoon

Poor grammar is a pet peeve of mine. My sister calls me The Grammar Police on FB. Adriana, you are correct, and I don't care if it has become accepted to use 'that' incorrectly. There are way too many things that have become accepted these days.
Much worse in my book is Happy Belated Birthday. If you are late sending a birthday wish the birthday is not 'belated,' your Happy wish is belated. Cut those stamps apart so you can stamp the phrase correctly: Belated Happy Birthday or Belated Birthday Wishes.

I didn't say I liked it. Life is too short for me to be the grammar police all the time. I choose my battles. I hold businesses and professionals to a higher standard. It's less exhausting that way, and I'm much happier. JMHO

[lesliespringer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Paula O.

One of releases from Tim Holtz and S.A. has a glaring grammatical error. I sent S.A. this email: Good morning. I noticed there is an error on the stamp set Observations. As it is now, the saying reads “simplicity is IT’S own form.....”. There is no need for an apostrophe as its as used here is neither a possessive nor a contraction. I’m surprised a proofreader did not catch this.

Here is the reply: We appreciate your email. Tim was made aware of this, and has decided to embrace imperfection.

Code for "we are too cheap to hire proofreaders, and too cheap to redo the stamp set."

HA! I went looking for this stamp set and found Tim's 2 hour plus video on new releases. On the stamp set Bold Sayings, some of the words are not a solid print. On the words YOU, The stamp is not a solid stamped image and what does Tim say ?????...... Embrace Imperfections. Yep he sure did. So I guess he is "Implying" Embrace Imperfections on a grammar error too, Seriously

[lesliespringer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by harvestmoon

Poor grammar is a pet peeve of mine. My sister calls me The Grammar Police on FB. Adriana, you are correct, and I don't care if it has become accepted to use 'that' incorrectly. There are way too many things that have become accepted these days.
Much worse in my book is Happy Belated Birthday. If you are late sending a birthday wish the birthday is not 'belated,' your Happy wish is belated. Cut those stamps apart so you can stamp the phrase correctly: Belated Happy Birthday or Belated Birthday Wishes.

Seriously now I feel awful, Thanks for the heads up on the wording!

I just checked my Stampendous Birthday wishes set and it sure does have a Happy Belated Birthday sentiment in it. And I just used it on a card last month!!! UGH!!!

[wavejumper]

I get it on the belated but I am sure I must have stamps like that and I admit I will use them bc people get it....but I am glad for the reminder. That is probably true of many things....the adjective is not in front of the correct noun.

[darlenemcg]

Well I bought the stamps. I think the "YOU" was supposed to be that way since it's on some of the other letters. It has a distressed look.

As for the it's, I cut out the apostrophe (it was easy to do). I realize I shouldn't have to, but I liked it enough that it wasn't an issue for me. Maybe the stamp set could be discounted due to the error. That way it wouldn't be a total loss.

[lynnewithane]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cook22

I bought a set a couple of years ago from TCP. A while later, I got shipping notice of an order from them which puzzled me - and it turned out to be a correction of a single sentiment in the set that had been spelled wrong. So not only did she correct it going forward, but of her own accord Alma must have followed up on anybody who had ordered that set. I must admit I hadn't realised, as up to that point I'd only used images from the set. I certainly appreciated her efforts. I certainly would not buy that SA set if I noticed it, and would seek to return it for a refund if I spotted the error after purchase.

Please help a girl out here. I’ve figured out that SA is Stampers Anonymous, but what is TCP?

[Cook22]

The Cat's Pyjamas. Or Pajamas?? I admit that even after all these years I still don't remember the spelling unless I go down and look at the list of Platinum Partners at the bottom of the forum page.

[creativechbdcrafts]

the imperfections i'm trying to embrace are my own & trust me i have more than enough to work with. products i invest money on should be as perfect as possible.

[lynnewithane]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cook22

The Cat's Pyjamas. Or Pajamas?? I admit that even after all these years I still don't remember the spelling unless I go down and look at the list of Platinum Partners at the bottom of the forum page.

Thankyou!

[mac4551]

LOL: I belong to Spellbinders Small Die of the Month, and most of their return address labels read: Spellbinders Ppaer Arts LLC. (A few have been correct) Someone else sent in a note for it to be corrected but was also told it was brought to their attention and when new labels would be printed it would be corrected. Last months small die envelope still had the error - which I discovered myself about 3 years ago. Many other crafters also noted it and pointed it out to them as well.

[Alice in Md]

Quote:

Originally Posted by wavejumper

That is like knowingly selling something broken. Embrace imperfection Tim? Um...I am going to embrace my wallet and keep it closed thanks.

As disappointed as I am in Stampers Anonymous, I am even more appalled at Tim Holtz's attitude about it.

[lynnewithane]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mac4551

LOL: I belong to Spellbinders Small Die of the Month, and most of their return address labels read: Spellbinders Ppaer Arts LLC. (A few have been correct) Someone else sent in a note for it to be corrected but was also told it was brought to their attention and when new labels would be printed it would be corrected. Last months small die envelope still had the error - which I discovered myself about 3 years ago. Many other crafters also noted it and pointed it out to them as well.

I was going to say that they don’t want to waste 1,000 labels that have already been printed. But three years worth? Wow.

[mphb]

GREAT conversation! I'm very surprised at Tim's response...really doesn't sound like him, but betting he may do a "mea culpa" down the road with enough feedback....LOL! I once noticed a new stamp set that mixed up YOUR vs YOU'RE in a sentiment. They were appreciative as they hadn't noticed it.
I, too, am often called the grammar police and it does get tiresome hearing so much incorrect grammar not only from kids, but adults too. I'm OK correcting kids who start a sentence with "Me" but I bite my tongue with adults.. Can't understand why the epidemic of kids using "Me" as in "Me and my friends are going to the store". I always mention nicely, that "ME" NEVER starts a sentence! They just look at me strangely...sigh.

[Valerie S]

Quote:

Originally Posted by harvestmoon

Much worse in my book is Happy Belated Birthday. If you are late sending a birthday wish the birthday is not 'belated,' your Happy wish is belated. Cut those stamps apart so you can stamp the phrase correctly: Belated Happy Birthday or Belated Birthday Wishes.

The "belated birthday" also drives me crazy. If you look, most stamp companies do it that way. Makes no sense.

[thatyank]

I cringe when I hear things like “me and him went” and I seen it” and the like. Where I live, even television news anchors use poor grammar. And so I imagine do the teachers since these horrid misuses persist. But I bite my tongue when I hear them… not sure how the speakers would react if I did correct them…. As for the stamp, I had pre-ordered before I saw that is placed apostrophe and so will get out my trusty craft knife upon its (notice no apostrophe here) arrival!

[Mickie48]

Oh, boy. I could add many, many items to this list. I agree that Tim's reply could have been more sensitive, although he was tactful. I grew up when proper grammar and spelling were taught and expected. I understand that some people just aren't "words" people, similar to me not being a "math" person. I hear some of the worst grammar on my favorite local news station, usually spoken by the young anchors and reporters. Why are they not given a copy of Edwin Newman's book Strictly Speaking? The more people who hear English spoken incorrectly, the more people will repeat the errors until the errors are accepted as correct. My "favorite" is "My hubby and I's new car" or whatever other atrocity is concocted with the (supposed) possessive of "I". It should be: "My hubby's and my new car. . . ."

[dancingpurplecat]

Money speaks louder than words, or in this case, bad grammar. If no one buys the stamp, they may learn from it.

[PH in VA]

About 10 years ago I was browsing a stamp company's website (it's been so long, I don't remember for sure which company it was). I noticed an error in one of their sentiment stamps and used their "contact us" form to mention it to them. They emailed me a few days later, thanking me for bringing it to their attention and saying something to the extent of "We could fix it, but it would cost a lot of money to do so." I never checked back to see if they ever did correct it.

On a similar note, several years ago I won a stamp set as blog candy. I set it aside when I first received it. When I pulled it out to use it a few months later, I noticed a misspelling in one of the sentiments. I looked at the company's website and by then, their photo of the stamp set showed that it was corrected. But I didn't know what to do with my set with the misspelled word since I didn't have any sort of proof of purchase. It's a cute set and I would use it, but I still never have. What do y'all think?

[gcnewell]

Speaking of grammar, another pet peeve of mine is the wrong quote, "shoot for the moon, even if you miss, you'll land among the stars"
NO WAY, our moon is MUCH closer than our nearest star, OUR SUN. Should be the other way around.

[rawtx69]

Horrible way for a company to say. Like a slap in the face to consumers and craft store owners especially if stamps are $20+. Oh here take my money, like we’re stupid to notice. Don’t insult my intelligence. I guess they’re not worried about a backlash. Never want to hear that “Embrace imperfection “ saying.

[Webster8]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gcnewell

Speaking of grammar, another pet peeve of mine is the wrong quote, "shoot for the moon, even if you miss, you'll land among the stars"
NO WAY, our moon is MUCH closer than our nearest star, OUR SUN. Should be the other way around.

Maybe the idea is that you miss the moon, continue on and land among the stars. Would that be correct?

[mphb]

Quote:

Originally Posted by harvestmoon

Poor grammar is a pet peeve of mine. My sister calls me The Grammar Police on FB. Adriana, you are correct, and I don't care if it has become accepted to use 'that' incorrectly. There are way too many things that have become accepted these days.
Much worse in my book is Happy Belated Birthday. If you are late sending a birthday wish the birthday is not 'belated,' your Happy wish is belated. Cut those stamps apart so you can stamp the phrase correctly: Belated Happy Birthday or Belated Birthday Wishes.

I've never thought about this before, but clearly you are right! Maybe a few emails to the stamp companies to show them the error of their ways? Would be interesting to see the response...

[Paula O.]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dancingpurplecat

Money speaks louder than words, or in this case, bad grammar. If no one buys the stamp, they may learn from it.

The sad thing is that people who buy the stamp will either 1. not notice 2. not care 3. not know that it is wrong

[stampincatlady]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Webster8

Maybe the idea is that you miss the moon, continue on and land among the stars. Would that be correct?

This has always been my interpretation. If you aimed a rocket at the moon and missed it, your rocket would still be above the atmosphere and among the field of stars as seen from here on earth. I don’t think the concept is meant to imply literal interstellar travel. lol

Although the literal interpretation might make a funny science nerd T-shirt.