QUOTE I often have the same sort of problem - experts miss things, and proofing is one thing thats fraught with problems in everything from text to artwork.
In corporate life I found one solution that worked quite well. You have to exploit human natures little foibles.
I'd make several copies. Find several people in the office that really did not get on with each other. Make each person sign his proof copy and the correction notes when done and then I'd circulate them/pass them to the next.
Each would go out of their way to not miss anything their "enemy" might find to show them up, and each would then try hard to find things the others had missed, and make a point of highlighting the added discoveries.
At the end of the process, I had multiple copies all scrutinised so hard they'd almost read the detail off the paper.... Very little ever got past their delight in showing each other up
. Sad, but very helpful when you are printing a huge quantity of 60 page colour glossy colour catalogs and don't want errors!
Richard
There has to be an idea there somewhere for manufacturers of model railways...
...could they not exploit journalists in a similar fashion?
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What journalist is going to suggest something is not quite right if he/she has vetted the proof!
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For example:-
Hornby invite 10 journalists to Margate Towers. Lock them in a room one at a time with a document and a model and ask then to find fault. As one comes out the next one goes in and examines the same document and model. And so on. At the end of the session the journalists are all shown what they have found and are all asked to sign the document. There are brownie points for the journalist who has the most notes to his/her name. A few weeks later they are all invited back to take another look at the model with the revised notes and the same process takes place. This time round they make further ammendements and so on until such time as there is absolutely no issue that any journalist can pick up!
Then the model gets made and the journalists review the model. What can they say?
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Are there any flaws with this process?
![]()
I have made a basic assumption that journalists are the most knowledgable of model railway folk and will do a good job of representing the hobbyist!
Happy modelling
Gary
In corporate life I found one solution that worked quite well. You have to exploit human natures little foibles.
I'd make several copies. Find several people in the office that really did not get on with each other. Make each person sign his proof copy and the correction notes when done and then I'd circulate them/pass them to the next.
Each would go out of their way to not miss anything their "enemy" might find to show them up, and each would then try hard to find things the others had missed, and make a point of highlighting the added discoveries.
At the end of the process, I had multiple copies all scrutinised so hard they'd almost read the detail off the paper.... Very little ever got past their delight in showing each other up
. Sad, but very helpful when you are printing a huge quantity of 60 page colour glossy colour catalogs and don't want errors!Richard
There has to be an idea there somewhere for manufacturers of model railways...
...could they not exploit journalists in a similar fashion?
What journalist is going to suggest something is not quite right if he/she has vetted the proof!
For example:-
Hornby invite 10 journalists to Margate Towers. Lock them in a room one at a time with a document and a model and ask then to find fault. As one comes out the next one goes in and examines the same document and model. And so on. At the end of the session the journalists are all shown what they have found and are all asked to sign the document. There are brownie points for the journalist who has the most notes to his/her name. A few weeks later they are all invited back to take another look at the model with the revised notes and the same process takes place. This time round they make further ammendements and so on until such time as there is absolutely no issue that any journalist can pick up!
Then the model gets made and the journalists review the model. What can they say?
Are there any flaws with this process?
I have made a basic assumption that journalists are the most knowledgable of model railway folk and will do a good job of representing the hobbyist!
Happy modelling
Gary
