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on the naming of names

professional norms… what are they for

BDM
Dec 17, 2024
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Let’s say I think a book critic—we will call her Mary Lamb—mostly produces bad work for Mother Goose, the paper for which she writes. There are a number of ways I could choose to express this opinion of mine if I wanted to do so.

If I wanted to do it in the way you’re supposed to, I could say:

  • “a lot of book reviews are bad now,” or

  • “the Mother Goose book review section is pretty bad,” or

  • “there’s a book critic I think is bad right now, and they…,” or

  • “I really think it’s bad when reviews do [something Mary Lamb often does].”

All of the above would be—I think—considered the professional way of speaking about my problems with Mary Lamb’s work for Mother Goose.

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If I wanted to make a big outsider splash for myself as a bold teller of truths, on the other hand, maybe I’d write something like the following:

  • “Mary Lamb’s careerist dishonesty represents everything wrong …

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