Comment by tptacek
1 day ago
Claude is an excellent proofreader, but don't let a single word it generates hit your final copy. Use it to catch things and point things out, and for nothing more.
1 day ago
Claude is an excellent proofreader, but don't let a single word it generates hit your final copy. Use it to catch things and point things out, and for nothing more.
I’ll keep that in mind, thanks!
Why?
It's good at spotting stuff, like:
* Overusing verbs
* Poor structure
* Bad transitions between grafs
* Passive voice
And even bigger-picture stuff, like "you might want to zoom in here" or "this section isn't paying off". I've only in the past few months started using it for proofreading, and it's pretty solid.
But if you take any of its words, you're infecting your writing with Claude's tone, and it will show.
It's super useful as a reader of your writing. It's a terrible collaborator, unless you're writing for an audience of middle managers.
I’ve always had a sophisticated vocabulary, now people think my content is AI generated. Frown.
1 reply →
The guy you are responding to has "All comments Copyright © 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2018, 2023, 2031 Thomas H. Ptacek, All Rights Reserved." in his HN profile....
Sounds like a hedge against Agentic bots.