Why do so many poster use "then" when they should use "than"?.

[JoeSU]

Wetlands (the journal of the Society of Wetland Scientists)

Maybe your avitar should be "Stuckinthemuck"
Not my field, although back in the day I published several salt marsh geochemistry papers.
ESF grad?

 

[JoeSU]

The use of "then" vs "than".... I like pickles better then squash.

Not to judge people, but it makes them appear like they missed middle school English Class.

What are some of your pet peeves?

Here's a funny essay on this topic for folks who are into this sort of thing:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=103169900

Other rules they learned me were to not verbify a word by adding a suffix. (5) Avoid cliches like the plague. (6) Use adverbs sparingly. (7) And do not speak in the negative. (8)