LET'S COMMUNICATE
Agriculture Communication Newsletter
October 2003, No. 94

CONTENTS

WRITE THE RIGHT WORD
WHAT'S NEW IN PEGASUS 4.1?
WORDS FOR THE WIRED

 

WRITE THE RIGHT WORD

* From a newspaper ad: Free Sight Evaluation and Estimate

"Sight" relates to vision, mental perception, or something worth seeing or unusual. This should be "site" -- a position, location, area or exact plot of ground.

* From a newspaper story: The five finalists are Joan Baltezore, West Fargo; David Volk, Fargo; Alicia Bata, Cavalier; Donna Knutson, Killdeer and Al Henry, Devils Lake.

Use semicolons to separate elements of a series when individual segments contain material that also must be set off by commas -- name, hometown; name, hometown; etc. Be sure to include the semicolon before the final "and" -- which the example above doesn't.

* From a sports section photo caption: Vaughn smiles as he and Stormacash are lead to the winner's circle.

The past tense of lead (to go before or with to show the way) is spelled "led," even though it's pronounced the same as lead (a bluish-gray metal).

* In a headline: Moorhead customers loose power after truck accident

The word "loose" (loos) means something has become free from restraints, while "lose" (looz) means you're without something.

WHAT'S NEW IN PEGASUS 4.1?

The newest version of Pegasus can be downloaded from www.pmail.com.

In Pegasus 4.12a, you can highlight a message and click on the right mouse button to:

Mark as read: Allows you to mark a message as having been read without actually reading it.

Mark as unread: Note that marking a message as unread in the new mail folder means that any new mail filtering rules you have defined will be applied to it again the next time you open the new mail folder, and that if the sender has requested confirmation of reading, he or she will receive another confirmation the next time you read the message.

Toggle read-only status: This will change the status of the message so it cannot be deleted.

Add/Edit annotation: Annotations are stored in a separate file from the message and are automatically deleted when you delete the message. When you move a message to another folder, its annotation will move with it. If you make a copy of a message with annotations then delete either the original or the copy, the annotations will be deleted as well.

Delete annotation: Quickly delete an annotation without opening the message.

Add sender to mail list: When you select this command, Pegasus Mail will open the distribution list selector and prompt you to select a list. The addresses of the sender of every marked message in the folder will be added to whichever distribution list you select. Pegasus Mail will not duplicate an address that already appears in the list.

Remove sender from mail list: Same principle as above, but removing sender from a distribution list.

Sue Hendrickson

WORDS FOR THE WIRED

Writing *for* the Web is much different than writing something that simply goes *on* the Web. If you're developing material specifically for the Web, take advantage of the strengths and avoid the weaknessess of the medium.

* Remember that reading rates slow by 25% - 40% on screen and 80% of Web readers scan text.

* Write concisely. Readers don't like to scroll so keep to one idea per paragraph and link to more detailed information. Aim for half the words for the Web as in hard copy. Focus on the facts, and filter the fluff.

* Write consistently. Keep with an easy-to-follow style and look. Except for headlines, copy should be in upper and lower case in a sans serif type for easiest reading.

* Write credibly. Keep your goal and target audience in mind.

* Information should be in short chunks, not necessarily beginning to end. These different chunks are various entry points so readers can get to the information they want quickly. Break up the copy with headlines, subheads and bulleted lists.

* Don't let slow-loading graphics or busy layouts take away from your content.

* Write thorough captions that reinforce main points for most graphics since visitors will read those before paragraphs.

* Write in the inverted pyramid style with the most important information first.

* Try to include links to other sites at the end of paragraphs rather than in the middle so you don't interrupt or lose readers. Another option is to put most links in separate blocks.

Tom Jirik, Rich Mattern and Becky Koch