Well, I suppose I am a grammar fascist, in the name of continuous comprehension (any document containing words or phrases which are used, very hip (or cool) for a few months and then disappear is doomed to early obsolescence - even more so than a work which invents new terms internally defined). No character of mine would split an infinitive, and only an evil one would attempt to terminate a proposition with a preposition.
Still, those of you who have been red penned by me (and survived the experience) will know I recognise that a language which is unchanging is no longer a living one l'Académie Français fighting a desperate rear-guard action to prevent anglicisms immigrating into the Hexagone, or even more extreme, classical Arabic not tolerating any word that does not appear in the Koran - I used to dub training films about bulldozers, and the number of occidental words that were essential for the understanding inserted into the text was amazing. So, I'm not trying to block change into complete stasis - all I (and the majority of pedants) are trying for is local stability, try to make sure three successive generations can understand each other's productions, and that the various dialects and geekspeaks do not completely block comprehension (I include legalese among these, as well as text speech and various professional and sporting speciality tongues). I might be old fashioned myself, and prefer 'would it were so' to 'I wish it was', but do not require - nay, do not even desire - that others go by my rules and preferences, merely that there be enough common ground that everyone can follow a book written a few decades earlier, and who knows? Maybe even a television or radio program. Keeping my foot firmly on the brake is only necessary because I've no contact with the steering wheel.
