The world is over-stocked with people who are ready and eager to teach other people to write. It seems astonishing that so much bad writing should find its way into print when so much good advice is to be had. Robertson Davies 1959

The World Wide Web doesn't have a monopoly over the 23rd letter of the alphabet. At this site, "WWW" stands for Words: Woe & Wonder — a forum where you can comment on writing at the CBC.

If you love words you probably love explanations, from definitions to etymology. In Latin, explain means to put on a level surface or open up, which is why some English poets have described flower petals explaining in the spring. Explanations, then, are beginnings that can grow on you. So let's start with this forum's title.

WOE

The idea of Woe is probably as obvious as a split infinitive. Readers, viewers, and listeners are welcome to grouse about what they consider misuse of the language. However, just as most grammarians consider split infinitives acceptable, the "woe" may turn out to be debatable. Consider the feud over hacker versus cracker.

WONDER

Wonder goes beyond mere queries, such as "I wonder if it's okay to end a sentence with a preposition?" (The answer, by the way, is yes.) Wonder is also related to marvel, an opportunity to share what you think is wonderful use of the language, including, perhaps, intentional errors — a dandy figure of speech known as enallage. ("You pays your money, and you takes your choice.")

You might also want to pass on a discovery (such as a new word's appearance, an old word's bizarre origin, or a website worth visiting), or issue a challenge (such as an anagram, palindrome, doublet, or some other word game.)

WORDSTRUCK

Wonder is meant to balance Woe, and what might otherwise be a collection of pet peeves about English. In his book Wordstruck, Canadian-born journalist and former CBC announcer Robert MacNeil encourages us to celebrate a beautiful or clever turn of phrase. "If you love the language," he writes, "the greatest thing you can do to ensure its survival is not to complain about bad usage but to pass your enthusiasm to a child. Find a child and read ... the things you admire."

The CBC is supported by some fine writers, and they're not all on the payroll. Many are television viewers, radio listeners, and internet readers who share a passion for language. This is one of their spots in the wired world as the words rush by.