35 Times People Spotted Such Stupid Copy-And-Paste Fails, They Just Had To Document Them

Bored Panda also got in touch with Lisa McLendon, Ph.D., for a chat about writing, editing, and proofreading text. McLendon is the William Allen White Professor of Journalism and Mass Communications and the Bremner Editing Center Coordinator at the University of Kansas, and she was kind enough to answer a few of our questions. You'll find our interview with her below.

We were curious about the kind of attitude needed when editing and proofreading text, as well as what writers can do to ensure that they won't embarrass themselves down the line.

"The right attitude is that everything needs an editor!" Professor McLendon, from the University of Kansas, told us.

"Writing and editing are two related but different skills, and having a fresh set of eyes on something you’ve written can help spot not only typos but inconsistencies, repeated text, unclear sentences or structure, potentially biased or offensive language, and questions the audience might have that aren’t answered in the piece," she noted why it's so vital not to ignore editing as a whole.

The professor highlighted that writing and editing are different skills, therefore, it's difficult to compare them in terms of which one is 'more difficult' or 'easier.' However, professionals tend to have preferences.

"Many writers bristle at editing, and many editors find writing a chore. Both are necessary for any writing intended for an audience," McLendon explained to Bored Panda.

"If someone is unwilling to edit their work, they’re risking readership. I like to put it this way: You’re asking readers to give you their time and attention (and maybe their money!), so you owe those readers the courtesy of the clearest, cleanest, most engaging writing you can give them." It's something that's worth keeping in mind for everyone whose job might be related to writing in some way or form (odds are, it is!).

Finally, we were interested in what a world without the copy-and-paste function on computers would look like.

Here's what the professor told us: "There was plenty of dull writing before copy and paste; blaming the tool isn’t really fair," she said.

"Copy and paste makes revision a little easier since you can move blocks of text around to get the best flow. But as with any tool, proficiency and thoughtful use brings about the best results." 

Oh, don’t get us wrong, everyone makes mistakes in their line of work. Nobody’s immune to this. You might be overworked, exhausted, and unable to focus. You might have double and triple-checked every single thing that you did, but an error slipped through the cracks. In times like these, we feel that it’s best to admit to your mistake.

Don’t let your embarrassment turn into shame and definitely don’t try to run away from the fact that you’ve made a mistake. Own up to it! It’s uncomfortable, but it’s what helps us grow as working professionals.

On the flip side, some of the people sending out unedited messages might be completely lazy and not give a flip about their jobs or their potential clients, for all we know. You’d have to dig deep to figure out exactly what went wrong in each particular case.

However, the moral of the story is pretty darn clear. In order to avoid copy-paste fails like the ones that get shared on r/copypastegonewrong, you ought to care enough to slow down and put more effort into what you send. Take the time to go over the text. Edit some sentences to make them shorter, clearer, and more reader-friendly.

Check whether all of the links you’re sending actually work and, well, go where you want them to go. And please, please, PLEASE take the time to notice if what you’re sending is at least a personalized piece of text, instead of the formulaic chunk of word-dribble your company prepared for you in advance. Don’t go into auto-pilot mode!

It’s weird to realize just how much we rely on the copy-and-paste function in our daily lives. For one, it shows how ubiquitous computers have become in the workplace, and how widespread smartphones are, too. Whether you’re sending your friend a link to a funny article or retweeting/resharing a post you agree with, you’re essentially duplicating data and then plopping it down in a different context.

Life would be very different without copy-paste ever existing, that’s for sure. Everyone would have to type everything out while duplicating funny cat pics would become impossible. As a result, we imagine that everyone would take a slower, more nuanced approach to how they share data and send messages.

Ideally, in a world without copy-pasting, people would be more descriptive and personal in what they write. Realistically, though, internet users would probably just copy things word for word, just without the added safety net of duplicating things as they are. You might actually end up with more typos and errors than you do now!

After all, it’s easy to write a lot: you start typing and you keep typing until you’ve got all of your surface thoughts on the (digital) page. It’s incredibly difficult to edit your thoughts into something coherent, entertaining, and informative. Who enjoys cutting out their own words when they’ve put so much time and energy into the entire writing process? But if your job is related to communications, editing is a must. 

There’s another argument to be made for (re)writing and (re)typing things out word by word instead of relying on copy-pasting information over and over. Researchers found that passive learners, who simply study the information provided to them instead of taking notes, end up with the ‘illusion of competence.’

Passive learners believe that they’ll outperform note-takers, but actually end up remembering far less information. Rewriting information commits it to our memory far better because we’re more engaged with the material at hand. Copy-pasting the info your professor gives you into a text document will give you far, far worse results than actively taking notes on what you’re reading or listening to.

Copy-pasting is incredibly useful, yes. But it can force you to switch your brain off. Just like relying exclusively on spellcheck software.