Remote Ringer Helps You Find Your Misplaced & Silent Android Phone

thnaks for sharing

“As a result of this negligence,” you wrote.  Hmm.  It’s always interesting to read articles written by those for whom English is a second language.   Oh, don’t get me wrong, I’m not finding fault.  Fully grasping the subtleties of a second language sufficiently well to write in it like a native is a huge problem… especially with English, which can be a challenge even for those born to it.  I can’t even IMAGINE how bad I’d be at it were I trying to write in your language.

“Negligence,” just so you know, is a word which, while technically — though only very roughly — accurate as used in this article, is way too strong.  To native English speakers, being negligent is an inherently bad thing.  Forgetting to turn one’s phone ringer back on after it being silent at work all day isn’t suffiently either harmful, or potentially so, to anyone or anything in the universe, to warrant being termed as “negligent.”  Rather, it’s more along the lines of a simple “oversight;” an innocent forgetting.  Words which convey that would be more appropriate.

“Negligence” is generally reserved for situations in which someone either fails or refuses do something — so, in other words, either by omission or comission — which s/he should have done; and so real harm to someone or something either actually resulted, or it should have been foreseeable that it could have.  It’s that foreseeability, whether or not actually foreseen, in addition to the inherent egregiousness, which raises the transgression to the level of negligence.  It is neglegent, for example, for a mother to fail to insist that her child put on his/her seat belt before moving the car to begin a trip to the supermarket.

Knowing how the word “negligent” (and all its iterations) is commonly used in both everyday language and, especially, in US law, I would hate to think that I could be considered “negligent” simply for having forgotten to take my phone out of silent mode before laying it down somewhere in my home where it could be easily forgotten.  Stupid, maybe; forgetful, perhaps.  But not negligent.  Negligent is bad.

Again, it’s not a complaint… or even a criticism.  I think it’s remarkable, frankly, that non-native English speakers so far away from countries where English is natively spoken would undertake the task of running an English-language tech web site like this; and that they would do such an overall good job.  An outstanding job, actually.  Seriously… it really is remarkable, and my hat’s off to you all.

But just know that you’re all, quite likely, occasionally going to write something in such a manner that it will raise the eyebrow, or cause a small grin, on the faces of native English speakers.  It’s actually kind of entertaining, to be candid; and it reminds the likes of me, at least, just how much the Internet has helped to globalize us all.  For some strongly US-centric (and often arrogant about it) Americans, that’s ending-up being quite an adjustment in life.

When/if this web site can ever afford one, it should hire a native-English-speaking copy editor.  At newspapers and magazines, the “copy” editor is the last person who reviews all articles before they go to press.  All articles — even if written by the editor-in-chief — funnel through the “copy” desk.  The “copy” editor is the final checker of grammar, spelling, tense, syntax, flow, logic, conformance/compliance with whatever is the publication’s agreed-upon style manual, etc., etc.  Copy editors generally don’t mess around with the article’s subject matter, or general  points… er… well… you know… that is, unless there’s a really glaring problem with such things in the piece, at which point most good copy editors will contact the writer and work with him/her for a few minutes to get things right.  Mostly, good copy editors just make sure that the writer doesn’t look like s/he flunked-out of all his/her basic English classes in high school and college.  Good ones also know the law just well enough to keep the publication out of libel and copyright trouble; and if the publication has a particular style beyond the agreed-upon style manual, the copy editor makes sure that all copy conforms.  The copy editor is usually the busiest just before deadline.  Every newspaper and magazine reporter/writer knows that a good copy editor can make him/her look like an even better writer than s/he already is.

Of course at most newspapers and magazines, there’s another level of editing before the copy desk.  Most writers at newspaper and magazines work for a certain “desk”… the “city desk,” or the “arts desk,” or the “business desk,” or the “sports desk,” etc.  And each desk has an editor who makes all the initial edits.  At some publications, the desk editor edits the piece with the writer present (or on the phone, or logged-in to the same computer screen via screen-sharing software, or something of that nature).  That’s actually where the BIG edits happen.  At a publication like yours, were it large enough, there would probably be a “news articles” desk editor, and a “Windows articles” desk editor, and an “Android articles” desk editor… basically a “desk” (and its editor) for each of your categories shown to the right of the search box up at the top of the page.  Of course, you’re not big enough for that, but I’m just saying that that’s how it would work.  And in your case, it wouldn’t necessarily be important for the desk editor to be a native English speaker, though it would help if s/he nevertheless quite good at it.  The copy editor, ultimately, would fix all English subtleties which the desk editor missed… as it should be.

And, of course, in the case of THIS article, a good native-English-speaking copy editor would have caught, immediately, the subtlety of that “negligence,” as used here, is not quite right; and then s/he would have simply fixed it.  Good copy editors have more than one dictionary and thesaurus and style manual next to them as they work; and they’re constantly referring to them.  No dictionary, style manual or thesaurus can typically survive more than a year’s use in the hands of a good copy editor.  They become so worn that they start to fall apart. And so, the right word, other than negligence, would have been found.  That, and dealing with a few other flow, crudeness and inelegance issues in this article, is exactly what a good and experienced copy editor could do for you.

I love your web site, but I confess that as I read its articles I often think to myself, “boy, could these guys ever use a good native-English-speaking copy editor!” Please include figuring out a way to hire one in your future budgeting.  It needn’t necessarily be expensive, by the way.  I’ll bet there are a lot of young journalism students in the US who already work as copy editors for their college newspapers who’d love the additional experience, and whatever small amount of money that you could pay them… along, of course, with being able to put it on their resumes.  Of course, the PROPER way to do it is to find an experienced, full-time, long-term copy editor… someone who really knows what s/he’s doing… maybe a retired US or UK copy editor, who has the time, and who maybe wouldn’t require the kind of salary that s/he once earned so that you could afford him/her… something like that.  S/he would also have to understand technology; in fact, more than that, s/he should have technical writing training.

Whatever you do, though — and I ask you to trust me on this — make sure s/he’s a NATIVE English speaker, with a good education.  The subtleties of English are such that even someone for whom English is a second language, but who’s nevertheless really, really good at speaking and writing English, may still not be quite good enough in the really obscure things to be a good copy editor for you.  Or so, at least, it is my opinion… tempered by that I used to be, yes, you guessed it, a copy editor (albeit it MANY years ago).  I was also a desk editor for a while, too… for two different desks… also MANY years ago.  So, my point is, that I kinda’, almost, maybe a little bit, know what I’m talking about, here. [grin]

Anyway, look… you guys are doin’ a great job.  Yes, I criticize, but it’s with good intent.

Regardless, KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!!!

Peace.

______________________________________
Gregg L. DesElms
Napa, California USA
gregg at greggdeselms dot com