Using strikethrough function in blogs...you may know 'how', but do you know 'why'?
Yesterday, I was about how I needed to edit some typos in a blog post. The whether I fix the typos or use the "strikethrough" function. That brief discussion for this post.
Most everyone knows how to use the strikethrough, but I wonder if everyone knows why it exists so far as blogging is concerned. If not, perhaps a little blog history lesson is in order.
Since their inception, one signal characteristic of blogs has always been their immediacy. Blogs were (are) very extemporaneous in nature with commentary that often went unedited. There was a strong sense of letting the record stand and "keeping it real."
One blogger who exemplifies this mindset is Tim Warner, who established his own blogging code of ethics, one tenant of which says...
"I will let the record stand; I will not delete posts, or parts of them, unless not doing so would violate one of the foregoing principles, and I will give notice that I have done so. If I modify a post, it will be by adding to it; and I will mark these additions clearly. I will not post an update notice when fixing grammatical errors."
Well-known PR blogger, Jeremy Pepper, has a credo of his own, which states: "When I correct mistakes - if they are beyond spelling and grammar mistakes - I will note that a post has been updated."
The strikethrough function is the HTML tag normally associated with this type of "letting the record stand" form of editing. It mimics the long-standing tradition of striking through non-erasable text. Thus, it's a perfect fit for the keep it real blog mentality.
Blogging has evolved away from use of strikethrough
As blogs have evolved toward more long-form, essay-style journalism, there is a trending away from this coarse style of editing. I rarely ever see strikethroughs any more, at least not among the cadre of bloggers I follow regularly.
Maybe I'm just a follower one of the sheep, but I have to admit using the strikethrough function sparingly myself. Typically, if it's a typo, I'll correct it without a notification. However, if it's a factual error or rephrasing of a sentence, I'll use the tag.
About a year ago, NY Times commentator Noam Cohen suggested that bloggers were using the strikethrough in ironic fashion, as a clever way of "simultaneously commenting on your prose as you create it." In other words, rather than using the HTML tag as a correction, it's used to emphasize commentary that the poster wants read.
I hope blogging's evolution as a form of journalism never takes it so far that we lose the historical precedent. While I believe blogging's future is bright, to lose sight of the past would be to do a disservice to the craft.
What do you think?
PS: If you don't know how to use the strikethrough function, here are some links to help:
- Blogging Tips - Strikethrough Text
-
Crying
FoulWolf with the HTML Strikethrough Element - HTML Del Tag
