The Law According to John Bangsund

Every time I leap into a Smofs list debate, or get into any kind of e-mail argument, I can count on making invisible typos that will erupt from the screen as if written in letters of fire the moment my message hits the list.

I just learned a few days ago that a subset of this experience is so widespread it has inspired Muphry’s Law, an adage that states that “if you write anything criticizing editing or proofreading, there will be a fault of some kind in what you have written.”

Muphry’s Law was invented by John Bangsund, the great Australian fan writer, in 1992. While it is easy to imagine Bangsund writing something of worldwide interest, Muphry’s Law implies John sometimes made copyediting mistakes — he’s such a polished writer I find that beyond belief.

A lot of superb fan writers who thrived in the age of the mimeograph have none of their articles online. We’re fortunate that a treasure trove of Bangsund’s work is available. Don’t miss out!

[Via Mark Manning, Randy Byers, Andrew Porter.]