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13 Comments

news

(It’s “pat”)

By Jonathan Goldsbie

2008_3_16Disaptcher.jpg
It’s long been clear that the TTC would never spend taxpayer dollars on such frills as copy editors or proofreaders (the recent “Transit Security Tips” brochure implores you to inform the authorities “if you are the victum of a crime”), but given that each of their members is Worth a Million—and the fact that their ads are four feet by six feet—we really expected ATU Local 113 to splurge for a second set of eyeballs, or at least an application with a spell-check function.
Photo taken by Jonathan Goldsbie at Dundas station.

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Comments

  • Doggiez

    Hmm, Wheel-Trans “Disaptcher.” What a disachster!

  • mdtoronto

    And this is supposed to be funny?

  • Mark Ostler

    There are minor spelling mistakes in every single publication, even the big ones that have dozens of copy editors. Even Torontoist has the odd spelling mistake. It’s kind of like saying the Toronto Star forgot the word “a” in an article on page RR13 on Saturday. Not a huge deal. I’ve seen worse spelling mistakes.

  • Mark Ostler

    The title of the post is wicked funny though.

  • dowlingm

    On an ad it’s a bit more serious I think. I’ve seen several in ads posted on subway cars (since you have nothing to do but stare at them while listening to your neighbour progressively degrade his hearing).
    I wish that blog comments had spell check, and grammar check – hell gimme an “everything check” :)

  • antiboy

    Yay the TTC is stupid… hooray… huzzah! (rollseyes)

  • Jonathan Goldsbie

    mark0: Yes, yes, of course there are typos everywhere. My point here is that it’s especially embarrassing when a careless error appears in sizable print in a large-format advertisement that is specifically trying to convey the message that the union’s employees are valuable and competent and should be respected as such. A highly visible public relations campaign in the midst of high-profile contract talks is not the same as page RR13 of the Star.

  • mdtoronto

    groan

  • rek

    Firefox has spell checking built in to comment/text entry boxes, dowlingm.

  • WannaBinToranna

    So, it’s too much to expect for a job where you communicate with the public, that a minimum job requirement be that you can spell? How many people looked at this before it went out?
    I’ve bought books that have had numerous typos, I emailed the publisher’s website saying I could do a better job than their proof-reader. We’re either getting dumber or lazier.
    How about a doctor spelling your prescription wrong? D’oh!

  • jep

    “TTC would never spend taxpayer dollars on such frills as copy editors or proofreaders” -
    I’m always wondering, as I ride, why the TTC doesn’t save a couple of bucks by NOT making the posters they do – like “how to ride an escalator”, for example.
    Re. this union ad, I was surprised that they offer their “commercial” in Portuguese, Italian and Chinese – and apparently not French. (Also surprised they think people might make the effort to watch such a thing at all).

  • Kevin Bracken

    French is the 9th most-spoken language in Toronto… right after Urdu.
    Seriously, look it up.

  • joeclark

    mark0 wins this month’s prize for Most Spirited Defence of Entrenched Toronto Mediocrity. You fit right in!