Postscript
by Elisabeth Thomas
Also at the EdNSW trivia event (thank you again to all who attended and to those who worked hard to make it all happen), we ran the second iteration of a fun poll. Thanks go to EdSA — that kicked off what will, hopefully, become a regular round of online trivia nights across IPEd — for their survey questions (see the EdSA report in February 2021 Gatherings).
1. You are on a deserted island and an urgent job comes in via a message in a bottle (yes, it is a plot hole — we know). What is the one resource you must have to get the job done?
a) Your laptop (even with dodgy wi-fi)
b) The Macquarie Dictionary
c) The Aust Govt Style Manual
d) A good cup of tea and some chocolate to get you in the mood.
At the EdNSW-hosted event, players voted clearly for a laptop, even above chocolate — but there were comments that results may have been different if the beverage was coffee.
2. I dread hearing:
a) I have a friend who has written a novel. You should edit it.
b) Do you have to read the whole book?
c) I know you work from home, so I thought I’d pop round for a cuppa.
d) Don’t people just use spell check?
With some votes for all choices, the horror of the belief in spell check was a clear winner here.
3. My eyes bleed when I see:
a) Typos on the first page of a friend’s self-published novel
b) Apple’s and orange’s
c) Authors in Facebook chats saying you don’t need an editor.
As with our SA colleagues, the trauma induced by apostrophe crime was a definite winner here.
4. You can take my freedom, but you can never take my …
a) Oxford comma
b) Red/blue pen
c) Hard copy of the Aust Govt Style Manual
d) IPEd membership.
While SA event players had a resounding result (in December 2020) for the hardcopy 6th edition Style Manual, most of those attending the NSW trivia event (some months later and with competing style manuals now available), voted for the value of their IPEd membership.