The dying art of proofreading

oddcellist commented on the decline in proofreading standards - a matter on which I have many thoughts, seeing as how proofreading is part of how I earn my living.

Short version: Proofreading is a pretty specific skill. Most people don't have it - and/or haven't put in the effort to develop it - but because of the explosion in access to desktop publishing equipment and the Web, vastly more people are now releasing documents to the public than ever before. Many of them don't consider proofreading necessary or important. Those of us who do can get very worked up about this, but really, on the scale of human suffering, it doesn't really feature.

(This, at any rate, is how I reconcile it to myself when the blood pressure starts to rise - and after all, if everybody could copyedit and proofread flawlessly, I'd be out of a job...)

( Long version... )