Microsoft and Collective Illiteracy

It's getting worse.

I don't know who started it, but I am determined to end it.  I seek to end the continued demonstrations of collective illiteracy at Microsoft.

At first, it seemed isolated to the Microsoft-centric habit of starting sentences with "so".

Now, it has spread to using "ask" as a noun. 

Ask is not a noun.  It's a verb.  Don't believe me?  Look up "ask", there is no noun representation for "ask" (besides attributing to a person as an "asker"). 

I don't have an "ask" for you... I have a request.

While I would love to say this has been an isolated incident, I have noticed this becoming more and more pervasive.  During the general keynote at the recent Vista and Office launch events, I heard "ask" used as a noun at every single one of them.

At one of the launch events, I heard (during the general keynote, again, in front of thousands) someone commit both crimes at once:

"So, my ask of you here is that you fill out your evaluation forms."

GAAAHHHH!  Make it stop!

Comments

• Anonymous
  February 22, 2007
  It is important to note that Kirk's wife was an English major in college.  He also was an English major for a short time before he discovered he might be able to make a living on the computer. Love, Your Wife

• Anonymous
  February 23, 2007
  So is this your ask? Or are you asking to make it so? :)

• Anonymous
  February 27, 2007
  I've heard it too man...and i found myself doing it once or twice :(

• Anonymous
  March 22, 2007
  Kirk, haven't you heard, Ask and ye shalt receive? If he didn't ask, how would he receive?