Will Baude over at Crescat Sentenia is suffering from a challenge by a fellow blogger:
Imminent Death of the Editor?
Unlearned Hand writes:
I only have one wish this Christmas and that is that you never ever use an [editor] aside again. Please?
In exchange, I promise I won't have comments when my solo blog re-opens.
(For more on this particular affectation, you can read Daniel Drezner's explanation in this interview with himself.)
The tic is most famously used by Mickey Kaus, but apparently it makes some people cringe. I've always found it one of the most useful ways to mock myself (and lord knows, I need it, what with Assprat Pretentia having fallen by the wayside). But I'm in no particular mood to make my readers cringe, after all. So out of pure curiosity, I'd like to know whether you hate the “ed.” persona. Vote below. (And remember: “It's not the voting that's democracy; it's the counting”). [In other words, he listens only when he likes what he hears. -ed.]
Since I'm in the UK at the moment, it is maybe appropriate to report that the [Author inserts a message purporting to be from the editor-ed.] method of making asides is an old, old British journalistic device. I believe it comes from accidental editorial comments that actually got published. Certainly publications such as Private Eye and some columnists in the broadsheets, especially the less serious columns such as the diaries (miscellany), have used it for more than two decades. So it's not a Kaus thing, which would be suspect in my book, but a British thing, which may or may not be suspect in yours.
Anyway, I like the [ed] so long as it is not over-used [You better like it-ed.]. If you agree, vote to retain it on Baude's posts. When I checked the vote was only narrowly in favor, so a few votes could make a difference.
