Correct your e-mail; then we'll talk

USA Today columnist Craig Wilson wrote about grammar and spelling mistakes Tuesday.

There isn't too much in there that you haven't read already -- the usual pet peeves from readers.

But he does share this anecdote:

A college freshman e-mailed me the other day. He said he was interested in journalism and wanted some advice. I get e-mails like his all the time.

But his request was filled with misspellings, grammatical errors and one whopper of a run-on sentence.

I e-mailed him back and said I'd be more than happy to chat with him, but only if he corrected his e-mail and sent it back to me.

I wasn't being a jerk, I told him. Honest! I was trying to help. I also said his submission would have earned him an immediate F in journalism school.

Never heard from him again.

Maybe he "could care less," as so many do these days.