FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Q. Who are you guys, really?
Sorry for being enigmatic, but we are us.
Q. Where are you based?
We grew up in the Los Angeles area, and we still call it home.
Q. Are your tweets and posts even legit?
We know it’s hard to take seriously an educational website that regularly features memes, rage comics, British icons Sherlock and the Doctor, characters from Adventure Time, Naruto, One-Punch Man, One Piece, Attack on Titan, and an unhealthy quantity of G-DRAGON and K-Pop GIFs, but that’s kind of the point: this isn’t your grandfather’s grammar site. Your mom probably won’t get it, either. For that matter, even your hippest teacher might look at it for five seconds and then dismiss it as being both ridiculous and trivial. 😒
That’s totally cool. What you learn from us will be our inside joke. The YUNiversity (in its myriad forms) exists so that you can actually enjoy learning about grammar and vocabulary while also laughing at charts, photos, comics, and other eye candy. After all, life isn’t only about academics, and learning doesn’t have to bore you to tears. And we love interacting with all the different fandoms that we come in touch with. We are fans too. 😍
As for the accuracy of our content, we can’t possibly fool all 600,000+ followers on Twitter, Tumblr, Pinterest, and Instagram—many of whom are teachers, professors, university administrators, and professional editors. It’s safe to say that we know our sh*t. We might not know precisely in what year in the Middle Ages a certain archaic word originated, but if you insist on that level of minutiae, you might want to look elsewhere.
Q. Who runs this site?
The YUNiversity began in 2010 as a one-man operation run by Henry, an English major and alumnus of the University of California at Berkeley who has a strong background in a hodgepodge of fields, including editing, journalism, marketing, writing questions for standardized tests, international trade consulting, and teaching. To ease the burden of the massive volume of questions and requests that he receives daily, he has recruited his erudite wife and a trusted confidant to assist in managing The YUNiversity.
Q. Are you affiliated with any real university?
Nope. But many wish that we were. #TrueStory
Q. Do you have a book?
Making a grammar guide was never an objective, but due to overwhelming demand (enough to get us off our indolent fundaments), several grammar zines are in the works, so save your ducats. In fact, the very first one is available now. You can purchase it on our store page. Our next e-book is scheduled for the end of January, so stay tuned.
Q. Dudes, why don't you answer my question about (x)?
As of 1/1/18, we had more than 6,500 unanswered questions on Tumblr and ask.fm. (And that doesn’t even include the countless Twitter mentions that get lost among the deluge that we receive daily.) We honestly do our best to get to as many questions as we can, but like everyone else, we have only 24 hours in a day in which to work. We can’t promise that we’ll answer every question you submit, but we will do our best. We know it sounds weak-sauce, but a weak-sauce truth is better than a strong-sauce lie.
Q. Why don't people just use Google instead of wasting your precious time?
We wondered the same thing back in the day, and several followers chimed in by saying that our answers were always more entertaining and easier to understand than what they could find on their own on Google. That’s the kind of affirmation and compliment that keeps us answering even the “easiest” questions. (Yeah, we’re easy to please.)
This applies to the previous question as well, but if you’re dying to get an answer to an urgent question, you’ll probably find it by using Google. The answer might not be as entertaining or simple as ours, but if you’re desperate, you don’t have a choice. (If you're lucky, Google might point you to one of our old tweets, posts, or articles. See the next question.)
Q. Is there an easy way to find my own answers to questions?
Yes! Click here. 👈🏻👩🏻💻
(If you're wondering where that link will take you, rest assured: it'll direct you to our A–Z (i.e., alphabetized) archive of tweets, articles, and Tumblr posts on the most common grammar, vocabulary, and usage questions we receive.
Q. Do you consider yourself Grammar Nazis?
Oh, hell no. We respect people’s right to call themselves whatever they want, including the despicable epithet “Grammar Nazis,” but we wonder if they would also call themselves “Spelling Child Molesters,” “Vocabulary Serial Rapists,” or “Punctuation Psychopaths”—ironically or otherwise. We wouldn’t.
Q. Do you have a Facebook page?
Nope. It’s hard enough Tumblring, Tweeting, Instagramming, answering questions on ask.fm, managing a kick-ass team of interns, and writing articles on Medium. Everyone’s getting sick and tired of Facebook anyway, so what’s the point? (And have you seen the atrocious grammar there?) 🙈🤢
Q. What's up with all the G-DRAGON and K-pop references?
We love G-DRAGON. He is our muse.
We also love K-pop. We love the energy, colorful characters, loyal fandoms, and of course, the music. For instance, Henry’s brainwaves are at their peak while listening to K-pop—for whatever reason. If he really needs to get some writing done, he’ll listen to a six-hour playlist of his favorite bops. You’ll notice a lot more K-pop references on our Twitter page, where you’re guaranteed to see at least one or two tweets every day that involve our favorite Korean idols.
Q. I'm a teacher. May I use your articles and images in my classroom?
Most definitely! In the past, we’ve had middle school and high school teachers print our Tumblr posts and use them as posters. We also recently heard from a YUNicorn 🦄 at the University of California, Riverside that her English professor used one of our tweets during a lecture. Feel free to use anything we produce. We are all about sharing knowledge. (Just give us credit and spread the word to fellow teachers who might also benefit from our content.)
Q. What's up with all the GIFs?
You do know that we got our start on Tumblr, right? (Much love and respect to The Frogman.)
Q. What's up with putting glasses on everything?
Q. You guys are funny, and everything you do is fun. (Did I need a comma there?)
Thanks, and yes. (But some people will say no. And that's also OK.)
#BecauseEnglish