DNA or not, compliments are nice!

Sometimes I feel that giving compliments and expressing appreciation --  comfortably with no strings attached -- doesn't seem to be imprinted strongly in our DNA. And I admit, I'm thinking of myself when writing that -- and realizing I should do better.

Still, here's an email message I got just this morning. It's one of two messages I've gotten so far today that have made my day:

Dear Mr. Larson,

I just discovered your Web site and cannot believe I didn’t know of it before. It’s wonderful.

I’m an oldish (xx) copy editor, and I find it difficult sometimes to steer a course between gibberish and the hidebound.

I feel better already just knowing that I have your site and blog to turn to.

Thank you endlessly.

Signed
New York, NY

I'm not sure which website she's writing about, since Garbl's Writing Center has separate sections, besides My Garblog:

• an annotated directory of writing resources on the Web
• an editorial style manual
• a plain-English writing guide
• several guides to concise writing
• a bookshelf of writing references I recommend.

Still, messages like that are all the compensation I need for developing and maintaining this free online resource. Of course, I make a few cents per book if visitors to my site buy a book I've linked to on Amazon.com.