Comments on Treppenwitz: The <em>short</em> school bus of weblogsTypePad2007-11-11T12:00:49ZDavid Bognerhttps://www.treppenwitz.com/tag:typepad.com,2003:https://www.treppenwitz.com/2007/11/treppenwitz-the/comments/atom.xml/alissa commented on 'Treppenwitz: The <em>short</em> school bus of weblogs'tag:typepad.com,2003:6a00d8341c581e53ef0105361af2ac970c2008-11-23T18:23:33Z2008-11-23T18:23:33Zalissahttp://altmanaliyah.blogspot.comI'm slowly catching up on these posts, and of course, had to try it out. And just for fun, I...<p>I'm slowly catching up on these posts, and of course, had to try it out. And just for fun, I put Treppenwitz in again. You seem to have slid backwards, because now it's coming up elementary school! Or is that you are even more proficient at making things eminently readable? ;)</p>jg commented on 'Treppenwitz: The <em>short</em> school bus of weblogs'tag:typepad.com,2003:6a00d8341c581e53ef00e5503ee88b88332007-11-25T05:56:00Z2008-02-14T04:53:48Zjghttp://nycgadgetgirl.com/jg/soccer dad is likely right about the Flesch-Kincaid. Also, this only measures whatever posts are on the page you feed...<p>soccer dad is likely right about the Flesch-Kincaid. Also, this only measures whatever posts are on the page you feed into it (presumably your home page) at that time, so it doesn't take into account all your brilliant past posts. </p>Amanda commented on 'Treppenwitz: The <em>short</em> school bus of weblogs'tag:typepad.com,2003:6a00d8341c581e53ef00e5505272af88342007-11-20T19:13:27Z2008-02-14T04:53:54ZAmandahttp://www.customerservant.comI'm glad to see that someone above commented on the canned link from this site. If there hadn't already been...<p>I'm glad to see that someone above commented on the canned link from this site. If there hadn't already been comments, I would have chimed in and discouraged anyone posting it. I hate canned spam links. And BTW, my site ranked at a high school level. </p>soccer dad commented on 'Treppenwitz: The <em>short</em> school bus of weblogs'tag:typepad.com,2003:6a00d8341c581e53ef00e550526e9a88342007-11-13T16:48:01Z2008-02-14T04:53:13Zsoccer dadhttp://soccerdad.baltiblogs.comI don't understand what everyone's getting so worked up about. I'm reasonably convinced that this is some variation on the...<p>I don't understand what everyone's getting so worked up about.</p>
<p>I'm reasonably convinced that this is some variation on the Flesch-Kincaid grade level.</p>
<p>I ranked <a href="http://soccerdad.baltiblogs.com/archives/2007/11/13/sophomoric_perhaps.html" rel="nofollow">High School</a> and my Flesch-Kincaid grade level was 8.65. (Your Flesch-Kincaid is 6.62.)</p>
<p>But having a junior high/high school school is ideal if you're striving for "readability."</p>
<p>Here's where to check your readability scores:<br />
<a href="http://juicystudio.com/services/readability.php" rel="nofollow">http://juicystudio.com/services/readability.php</a></p>
<p>I'm guessing that the reading level pretty much tracks the readability scores.</p>Back of the Hill commented on 'Treppenwitz: The <em>short</em> school bus of weblogs'tag:typepad.com,2003:6a00d8341c581e53ef00e550526a7d88342007-11-13T02:20:32Z2008-02-14T04:52:31ZBack of the Hillhttp://atthebackofthehill.blogspot.com/My blog rates a Junior High. Hmmmm. I remember some very cute girls from that period of my life. Extremely...<p>My blog rates a Junior High.</p>
<p>Hmmmm.</p>
<p><br />
I remember some very cute girls from that period of my life. Extremely cute. Visually, it was a good time of my life. Oh yeah. I was also at my smartest then. </p>Jersey Boy commented on 'Treppenwitz: The <em>short</em> school bus of weblogs'tag:typepad.com,2003:6a00d8341c581e53ef00e550526e7f88342007-11-12T22:53:32Z2008-02-14T04:53:12ZJersey BoyI got elementary school. I guess that's OK, considering that I'm writing CHILDREN'S STORIES!!!! Works for me. Larry<p>I got elementary school. I guess that's OK, considering that I'm writing CHILDREN'S STORIES!!!!<br />
Works for me.<br />
Larry</p>Jersey Boy commented on 'Treppenwitz: The <em>short</em> school bus of weblogs'tag:typepad.com,2003:6a00d8341c581e53ef00e550526e8688342007-11-12T22:53:23Z2008-02-14T04:53:12ZJersey BoyI got elementary school. I guess that's OK, considering that I'm writing CHILDREN'S STORIES!!!! Works for me. Larry<p>I got elementary school. I guess that's OK, considering that I'm writing CHILDREN'S STORIES!!!!<br />
Works for me.<br />
Larry</p>amechad commented on 'Treppenwitz: The <em>short</em> school bus of weblogs'tag:typepad.com,2003:6a00d8341c581e53ef00e5503ee2f388332007-11-12T11:57:15Z2008-02-14T04:52:55Zamechadhttp://amechad.blogspot.comCollege! Ha! I'm an elitist and damn proud of it!<p><a href="http://www.criticsrant.com/bb/reading_level.aspx" rel="nofollow"><img src="http://www.criticsrant.com/bb/readinglevel/img/postgrad.jpg" alt="cash advance"></a><p></p></p>
<p>College! Ha! I'm an elitist and damn proud of it!</p>Dan commented on 'Treppenwitz: The <em>short</em> school bus of weblogs'tag:typepad.com,2003:6a00d8341c581e53ef00e5503ee04088332007-11-12T11:37:39Z2008-02-14T04:52:27ZDanSee Dr. Eugene Narrett's blog, http://www.israelendtimes.com/blog for a genius rating.<p>See Dr. Eugene Narrett's blog, http://www.israelendtimes.com/blog <br />
for a genius rating.</p>mother in israel commented on 'Treppenwitz: The <em>short</em> school bus of weblogs'tag:typepad.com,2003:6a00d8341c581e53ef00e5503ee23388332007-11-12T10:09:30Z2008-02-14T04:52:46Zmother in israelhttp://mominisrael.blogspot.comMy guess is that the score has a lot to do with sentence structure.<p>My guess is that the score has a lot to do with sentence structure. </p>aliyah06 commented on 'Treppenwitz: The <em>short</em> school bus of weblogs'tag:typepad.com,2003:6a00d8341c581e53ef00e550526ed088342007-11-12T09:09:44Z2008-02-14T04:53:15Zaliyah06http://www.bakadiary.blogspot.comhee,hee...well, I'm in good company, Trep--despite published opinions in court cases, breezing through AP English and near-perfect verbal SATs (we...<p>hee,hee...well, I'm in good company, Trep--despite published opinions in court cases, breezing through AP English and near-perfect verbal SATs (we won't talk about the math score, thank you), I, too, rated "Junior High School." Look on the bright side--almost ANYONE can read us!</p>treppenwitz commented on 'Treppenwitz: The <em>short</em> school bus of weblogs'tag:typepad.com,2003:6a00d8341c581e53ef00e5503ee1a888332007-11-12T07:31:58Z2008-02-14T04:52:40Ztreppenwitzhttp://www.treppenwitz.comMike Miller ... Yeah, I tried to strip out the links but obviously didn't do a good job. Sarah... Thanks...<p>Mike Miller ... Yeah, I tried to strip out the links but obviously didn't do a good job.</p>
<p>Sarah... Thanks for setting the record straight. :-</p>
<p>tnspr569... Good theory.</p>
<p>Jack... I wanted to write waffle house, but it just sounded wrong. :-)</p>
<p>mother in Israel... Maybe that's it. The more problems the scan encountered with spelling, grammar and unidentified words the higher the score. Weird!</p>
<p>Tamara... I did a little test last night and found that it only looks at the first post or two... so the rating will change depending on what is at the top of the page (and who wrote it).</p>
<p>zahava... As usual you point out the obvious... which I managed to miss. :-)</p>
<p>cruisin-mom... Somehow I imagine your SATs were just fine. :-)</p>
<p>Is that your version of, 'call me anything you want but don't call me late for dinner'? :-)</p>
<p>Benji... Wow, MII just keeps getting smarter and smarter! :-)</p>
<p>Irina... All silly rating system's aside, I am constantly amazed at the incredibly high level, perfect English on your site. You grew up in a non-English speaking home and yet manage to write far better than most born-and-raised Americans I know!</p>
<p>Shimshonit... If you like 'See spot run', you're gonno LOVE my site. :-)</p>
<p>Judy... Possibly. I didn't check that in my tests yesterday.</p>
<p>Debbie... See my post today. I really appreciate your opening the door to discussing this issue.</p>
<p>Dave (Balashon)... Yeah, but you use a lot of jargon associated with lexicography which likely confuses the scan software into thinking you are smart. :-)</p>Dave (Balashon) commented on 'Treppenwitz: The <em>short</em> school bus of weblogs'tag:typepad.com,2003:6a00d8341c581e53ef00e5503ee97788332007-11-12T06:56:32Z2008-02-14T04:53:55ZDave (Balashon)http://www.balashon.comMy blog is College Level, Postgrad. Which is ironic, because I never got that far...<p>My blog is College Level, Postgrad. Which is ironic, because I never got that far...</p>Debbie commented on 'Treppenwitz: The <em>short</em> school bus of weblogs'tag:typepad.com,2003:6a00d8341c581e53ef00e5503ee48988332007-11-12T03:17:47Z2008-02-14T04:53:09ZDebbieHi, we don't really know each other (although our paths crossed a few decades ago at Hebrew U), but I'm...<p>Hi, we don't really know each other (although our paths crossed a few decades ago at Hebrew U), but I'm a regular reader here...and I have to take exception to the title of your post...which I believe makes reference to the "short bus" used to transport mentally retarded students to school. I'm sure you can guess where this is going...my son Binny has trisomy21 (down syndrome), and rides the short bus to his public school class (in the afternoon, after his morning at the day school). Perhaps this is not what you meant, in which case I withdraw my comment, and commend you on your score! Sorry if I come off sounding like the political correctness police, but as long as people look at my cute, innocent son and see something to mock, it's my job to stand up and say something. </p>Judy commented on 'Treppenwitz: The <em>short</em> school bus of weblogs'tag:typepad.com,2003:6a00d8341c581e53ef00e5503ee24288332007-11-12T00:42:35Z2008-02-14T04:52:47ZJudyhttp://adloyada.typepad.com/adloyadaI got rated as College (Undergrad) level. Maybe that's just a response to using British English spellings....<p>I got rated as College (Undergrad) level. Maybe that's just a response to using British English spellings....</p>Shimshonit commented on 'Treppenwitz: The <em>short</em> school bus of weblogs'tag:typepad.com,2003:6a00d8341c581e53ef00e5503ee15e88332007-11-11T20:20:26Z2008-02-14T04:52:37ZShimshonithttp://angst-in-a-sunburnt-land.blogspot.com/This rating system is good for giggles and some buzz. In the end, though, I am reminded of what I...<p>This rating system is good for giggles and some buzz. In the end, though, I am reminded of what I saw grammarcheck do to Shakespeare when I was writing a paper once--a sea of green. Only later did I discover that anything that rated more sophisticated than the fifth grade was similarly greened. I'm all for tasty prose, but if the goal is to write dull text in big words and rate high on a scale like this one, gimme "See Spot Run."</p>Irina commented on 'Treppenwitz: The <em>short</em> school bus of weblogs'tag:typepad.com,2003:6a00d8341c581e53ef00e550526af988342007-11-11T19:08:23Z2008-02-14T04:52:37ZIrinahttp://sicat222.blogspot.comMine's junior high school as well (same as The Volokh Conspiracy's, a legal blog most junior high school students will...<p>Mine's junior high school as well (same as The Volokh Conspiracy's, a legal blog most junior high school students will probably not be able to read without having a question... or a few) and yours... and seriously, I have no idea whether it's true or not. But to be honest, I'd rather have my blog be as readable as possible, than incomprehensible and unnecessarily obfuscating, the way many college undergrads are, unfortunately, taught to write.</p>Baila commented on 'Treppenwitz: The <em>short</em> school bus of weblogs'tag:typepad.com,2003:6a00d8341c581e53ef00e550526e7c88342007-11-11T18:58:52Z2008-02-14T04:53:12ZBailahttp://www.illcallbaila.blogspot.comWow! Mom in Israel, you scored a genius when I checked you out!! I scored JHS, much to my surprise....<p>Wow! Mom in Israel, you scored a genius when I checked you out!! I scored JHS, much to my surprise. I thought I'd get kindergarten.....</p>Benji commented on 'Treppenwitz: The <em>short</em> school bus of weblogs'tag:typepad.com,2003:6a00d8341c581e53ef00e5503ee44788332007-11-11T18:58:07Z2008-02-14T04:53:07ZBenjihttp://www.whatwarzone.comAs long as you read it, you can call it whatever you want. : )<p>As long as you read it, you can call it whatever you want. : )</p>cruisin-mom commented on 'Treppenwitz: The <em>short</em> school bus of weblogs'tag:typepad.com,2003:6a00d8341c581e53ef00e550526c1988342007-11-11T17:25:39Z2008-02-14T04:52:48Zcruisin-momhttp://cruisin-mom.blogspot.comwoo-hoo...I'm at elementary school level...thank goodness, I wouldn't want people to struggle while reading my blog. (actually, if you knew...<p>woo-hoo...I'm at elementary school level...thank goodness, I wouldn't want people to struggle while reading my blog. (actually, if you knew my SAT scores...this would all make sense).</p>zahava commented on 'Treppenwitz: The <em>short</em> school bus of weblogs'tag:typepad.com,2003:6a00d8341c581e53ef00e5505270a288342007-11-11T16:56:51Z2008-02-14T04:53:33ZzahavaSarah raises an excellent point - this rating system doesn't rate how well the blogs are written, rather the level...<p>Sarah raises an excellent point - this rating system doesn't rate <b>how well</b> the blogs are written, rather the level of education required to <b>understand</b> them. Is it possible that by expressing your ideas (not all of which are terribly simplistic) with clarity that you make them <b>more</b> accessible to the general populace? Or, more directly, that the more education required to comprehend actually translates into less intelligible material?</p>
<p>Hmmmmmm?</p>
<p>Maybe it's the communications professional in me, but isn't the desire to be <b>understood</b> rather than <b>graded</b> the goal behind most blogs?</p>Tamara commented on 'Treppenwitz: The <em>short</em> school bus of weblogs'tag:typepad.com,2003:6a00d8341c581e53ef00e550526f7588342007-11-11T16:30:10Z2008-02-14T04:53:21ZTamarahttp://tamaraeden.wordpress.comI'm a high school English teacher. I blog pretty casually. My rating... Junior High. The good thing is that that...<p>I'm a high school English teacher. I blog pretty casually. My rating... Junior High. The good thing is that that is still higher than my high school students who read on average at 5th grade level. :) </p>
<p>Oh, and the group blog I'm a part of: http://jewsbychoice.org They rank high school level. It's a good thing I don't post too often, I might bring their ratings down. :)</p>mother in israel commented on 'Treppenwitz: The <em>short</em> school bus of weblogs'tag:typepad.com,2003:6a00d8341c581e53ef00e5503ee18b88332007-11-11T16:16:02Z2008-02-14T04:52:39Zmother in israelhttp://mominisrael.blogspot.comIt said my writing is on a college level. Seriously, I agree with Sarah that you don't need a fancy...<p>It said my writing is on a college level. Seriously, I agree with Sarah that you don't need a fancy vocabulary to write well. Trep, don't feel too bad, because our competitor Michael J. Totten's blog is at a Jr. High level. </p>
<p>I noticed several very bad usage errors--ones that even my Sabra kids wouldn't make (they make different ones)-- in a genius's blog so I wouldn't put too much stock in the whole thing.</p>
<p>Thanks Mike for the heads up--I removed the widget.</p>Jack commented on 'Treppenwitz: The <em>short</em> school bus of weblogs'tag:typepad.com,2003:6a00d8341c581e53ef00e550526f4f88342007-11-11T16:04:42Z2008-02-14T04:53:20ZJackhttp://wwwjackbenimble.blogspot.com/My friend Jameel (he of the Muqata Pancake House) DOH! I leave the country for a while and he expands...<p><i>My friend Jameel (he of the Muqata Pancake House) </i></p>
<p>DOH! I leave the country for a while and he expands the menu from just waffles to waffles and pancakes. </p>tnspr569 commented on 'Treppenwitz: The <em>short</em> school bus of weblogs'tag:typepad.com,2003:6a00d8341c581e53ef00e5503ee64288332007-11-11T14:58:47Z2008-02-14T04:53:24Ztnspr569I guess I received a high school rating because I'm fairly fresh out of high school? And I thought those...<p>I guess I received a high school rating because I'm fairly fresh out of high school? </p>
<p>And I thought those A.P. English courses would have brought me up to a college rating...go figure.</p>
<p>Perhaps the rating should be reversed...it would make more sense that way, don't you think?</p>Sarah commented on 'Treppenwitz: The <em>short</em> school bus of weblogs'tag:typepad.com,2003:6a00d8341c581e53ef00e5503ee2f788332007-11-11T14:34:48Z2008-02-14T04:52:55ZSarahhttp://chayyeisarah.blogspot.comI feel quite honored to be at the same level, Trep. In the interests of accuracy -- since I *did*...<p>I feel quite honored to be at the same level, Trep.</p>
<p>In the interests of accuracy -- since I *did* go to journalism school -- I want to say that I did not attend an Ivy League program in Journalism.</p>
<p>My BA in English is from Barnard, which is part of an Ivy League University (Columbia). My MA in Journalism is from NYU, which is a very good school, and where I learned everything I needed to create the career I have today, but which is not in the Ivy League.</p>
<p>FYI it takes a lot of talent to write complicated ideas in a simple enough way that even a Junior high school student would understand them.</p>
<p>:-)</p>Mike Miller commented on 'Treppenwitz: The <em>short</em> school bus of weblogs'tag:typepad.com,2003:6a00d8341c581e53ef00e55052707a88342007-11-11T13:57:04Z2008-02-14T04:53:31ZMike Millerhttp://mikeage.netI got genius too :) ; probably due to the plethora of Hebrew in my Choshen Mishpot posts. The canned...<p>I got genius too :) ; probably due to the plethora of Hebrew in my Choshen Mishpot posts.</p>
<p>The canned link text they generate attempts to put a link to a cash advance site; I noticed you took it out (although you missed the ALT text). Others should be aware as well.<br />
</p>treppenwitz commented on 'Treppenwitz: The <em>short</em> school bus of weblogs'tag:typepad.com,2003:6a00d8341c581e53ef00e5503edfb388332007-11-11T13:20:45Z2008-02-14T04:52:23Ztreppenwitzhttp://www.treppenwitz.comBenji... Don't sell yourself short. I've always considered your writing to be high school level. [ducking and running] ;-) Jameel...<p>Benji... Don't sell yourself short. I've always considered your writing to be high school level. [ducking and running] ;-)</p>
<p>Jameel @ The Muqata... No, this would have been far too easy. I like revenge that involves several layers of complexity... a modicum of financial risk... perhaps some compromise of personal safety... and of course a large, enthusiastically supportive audience. :-)</p>
<p>a. ... Yes, I'm sure your frequent lapses into your German impress the heck out of the algorithm. :-)</p>
<p>Alice... While I may not be a fan of the 'Gray Lady's politics, I aspire to her level of writing. Please don't dump all US papers into the same classroom. :-)</p>
<p>Jameel @ The Muqata... Just write every 3rd or 4th post in German and you too can be rated a genius. :-)<br />
</p>Jameel @ The Muqata commented on 'Treppenwitz: The <em>short</em> school bus of weblogs'tag:typepad.com,2003:6a00d8341c581e53ef00e550526aa988342007-11-11T13:11:04Z2008-02-14T04:52:33ZJameel @ The Muqatahttp://muqata.blogspot.coma: Did you know you can score "genius"? I just found out. Well, why don't you share the knowledge?<p><i>a: Did you know you can score "genius"? I just found out.</i></p>
<p>Well, why don't you share the knowledge?</p>Alice commented on 'Treppenwitz: The <em>short</em> school bus of weblogs'tag:typepad.com,2003:6a00d8341c581e53ef00e5503ee72e88332007-11-11T13:05:10Z2008-02-14T04:53:35ZAliceYour average newspaper in the US is aimed at the 5th grade level. Don't worry.<p>Your average newspaper in the US is aimed at the 5th grade level. Don't worry. </p>a. commented on 'Treppenwitz: The <em>short</em> school bus of weblogs'tag:typepad.com,2003:6a00d8341c581e53ef00e5503ee76288332007-11-11T12:28:58Z2008-02-14T04:53:39Za.Did you know you can score "genius"? I just found out.<p>Did you know you can score "genius"? I just found out.</p>Jameel @ The Muqata commented on 'Treppenwitz: The <em>short</em> school bus of weblogs'tag:typepad.com,2003:6a00d8341c581e53ef00e550526bb288342007-11-11T12:20:51Z2008-02-14T04:52:44ZJameel @ The Muqatahttp://muqata.blogspot.comAnd I thought you were going to get back at me for last week's quip (endorsing mominisrael). I guess I'll...<p>And I thought you were going to get back at me for last week's quip (endorsing mominisrael). </p>
<p>I guess I'll continue to stay in my bunker...</p>Benji commented on 'Treppenwitz: The <em>short</em> school bus of weblogs'tag:typepad.com,2003:6a00d8341c581e53ef00e550526a3388342007-11-11T12:09:19Z2008-02-14T04:52:29ZBenjihttp://www.whatwarzone.comIt's official: that site is a bunch of hooey. Mine got "high school." A high schooler's level of sarcasm and...<p>It's official: that site is a bunch of hooey. Mine got "high school." A high schooler's level of sarcasm and pop culture knowledge, *maybe*.</p>