Grammar/Spelling/English *in posts*

[Chicklet]

Do you expect to see perfect sentence structure and grammar, perfect spelling, capitals, no mistakes, in the posts on lit? Do you feel disgusted when you see mistakes, or run-on sentences? Personally, it doesn't frustrate me, but sometimes I see people making fun of others who spell badly, or who don't use good grammar, etc. When I write posts I don't expect myself to do perfectly, I expect mistakes. I get flustered when I think people might say to themselves "That Chicklet bitch spelled *** wrong" or "God, could Chicklet have run that sentence any longer?"

What do you think?

 

[openthighs_sarah]

Do you expect to see perfect sentence structure and grammar, perfect spelling, capitals, no mistakes, in the posts on lit? Do you feel disgusted when you see mistakes, or run-on sentences? Personally, it doesn't frustrate me, but sometimes I see people making fun of others who spell badly, or who don't use good grammar, etc. When I write posts I don't expect myself to do perfectly, I expect mistakes. I get flustered when I think people might say to themselves "That Chicklet bitch spelled *** wrong" or "God, could Chicklet have run that sentence any longer?"

What do you think?

I don't expect perfection or mind at all, except when certain unnamed individuals post on the General Board, and the post is something like, "Your all a bunch of c--ts". Then, I feel that it's acceptable to laugh at his grammar, and even to throw things at him.

If the mistakes make the post impossible to read, though, I just won't bother.

 

[Pookie]

Until Laurel puts a spellchecker in here, I won't expect perfection. Probably still wouldn't even if she did. I usually overlook most grammatical mistakes. I do laugh at some of the more humorous ones though.


Pookie

 

[violent intimacy]

For the most part, I do expect posts to be basically grammatically correct and with decent spelling. Punctuation and sentence structure isn't a big deal to me. If a post is absolutely atrocious in all of the above, sometimes I'll skip it (after Pointing & Laughing (tm), of course).

Common spelling mistakes that make me cringe include "loose" in place of "lose", "their" in place of "there", "discrete" in place of "discreet", and "advise" in place of "advice".

Misused or mis-worded phrases are another pet peeve: "dominate" when they mean "dominant", "should of" when they mean "should've/should have", "for all intensive purposes" in place of "for all intents and purposes"

I do not expect perfection and I certainly don't sit here going "omg, s/he wrote that totally wrong, what a dumbass!" It's more of an internal flinch when I see something horribly wrong (to me), then I move on.

This is a public forum. Anything you post here has the potential to be seen by hundreds, if not thousands, of people. I believe it is mere courtesy to at least give your posts a brief review before hitting the submit button. I also believe that what you choose to post here - and the way you word it - can be a reflection of you (though not necessarily of your writing ability).

While I don't go over my posts with a fine toothed comb to find even the tiniest mistakes, I do take some care in my typing, wording, and (especially) spelling. As informal as everyone is here, it's also my way of saying, "You're important to me and I want you to see me as thoughtful and literate." Maybe I'm the only one who cares, but that's reason enough for me.

 

[Star of Penumbra]

Persons using chatroom shorthand on message boards really piss me off.

 

[obedientpet]

I certainly don't expect people to write perfectly because I know I don't, but hey, I try. I am amazed at how poorly some people write since this is a literature site and all. And, I know not everyone here is an "author" but a great deal of them write poorly as well. I also know that the "net abbreviations" are a display of lazy pople, so to each their own.

 

[oggbashan]

Typos

I have trouble with typos.

My middle-aged fingers don't work as well as they used to and they never did work as well as the average person's.

So I'm tolerant of other peoples' typos and occasional spelling errors.

Abbreviations don't bother me either as long as I can work them out.

The posts that do irritate are those made when the brain isn't in gear. I have made a few of those. I think I know what I am writing about when I don't.

Og

 

[pop_54]

Do you expect to see perfect sentence structure and grammar, perfect spelling, capitals, no mistakes, in the posts on lit? Do you feel disgusted when you see mistakes, or run-on sentences? Personally, it doesn't frustrate me, but sometimes I see people making fun of others who spell badly, or who don't use good grammar, etc. When I write posts I don't expect myself to do perfectly, I expect mistakes. I get flustered when I think people might say to themselves "That Chicklet bitch spelled *** wrong" or "God, could Chicklet have run that sentence any longer?"

What do you think?

Basically NO, I don't expect it to be perfect in a rushed reply.
I like to see a bit of thought put into a new thread first post however, but even then I wouldn't hit the back button over poor grammar/spelling. If laurel does fit a spell check, I probably wouldn't bother to use it, I've got better things to do in life than seek perfection 24/7.

pops..........

 

[TheEarl]

I don't expect it to be perfect; typos will never be avoided. I can't stand atrocious spelling or txspk. I jst cnt stnd tht knd of thng. Makes you long for a vowel.

Chicklet: you are in no danger.

The Earl

 

[DurtGurl]

Huh!

I I can't stand atrocious spelling or txspk.

I think you'r just makeing fun of me because I didnt' go to high school.

Boy just you waite until im a famos writer and have several things poasted on Lit.com. Then youl'l be sorry.
DG

 

[DarlingNikki]

I like to see a certain amount of effort put into a post but I'd never hold a few typos or misspellings against someone. And I'd never hold comma problems against someone because that's my biggest problem.

But I guess when I see posts by authors that are just chock full of errors it makes me wonder a bit. I've never called anyone on it, because what good would that do for anyone? But I've seen it happen on another message board. And then when some of the people who make a lot of errors defend themselves by saying "it's just a message board" or "well, you understood it, didn't you?" I feel a little... not so much offended, but kind of... something. Like, hey, don't we deserve a little of your effort if we're being asked to read your post?

On the other hand, when you're have a debate with someone and they ignore your argument to point out a spelling error, which I see all the time, well that's just silly.

One thing I do hate is text language. But I guess that's just because I'm unnaturally proud of my fast typing. I mean, we're not paying by the letter or anything. It's easier for my fingers to type "are" than figure out that it sounds like "r" and type that instead. But that's just me. I guess text is easier for some.

 

[Dirt Man]

I pretty much don't care other than...

When I see a post with massive spelling, and grammatical errors, I make a point to jot down the author's name in my: Never bother reading their material, list. LOL


DM

 

[MathGirl]

Perfectionism

I firmly believe that anything worth writing is worth writing good.
MG

 

[OT]

Formal posts warrant (more) formal writing.

Much of the posting around here is "conversational". I tend to not care about (and thus barely notice) mistakes.

If I'm reading a rant or a review, then mistakes by the poster tend to detract from their credibility.

 

[KillerMuffin]

I expect people to make an effort at clarity. Thinking about what they're spelling if the words are difficult, using punctuation and paragraphing for the reader's convenience, and writing in plain English rather than chat shorthand. That sort of thing. I think that making a little effort shows repsect to the people around you. I don't expect perfection in any of the above nor do I expect meticulous editing. A once over before hitting submit wouldn't hurt anyone, though. Least of all myself.

 

[Dirt Man]

Sock it to me, sock it to me...

I think that making a little effort shows repsect to the people around you.

R-E-S-P-E-C-T

LOL Couldn't help myself.

DM

 

[KillerMuffin]

Now, Dirt Man, this is a serious topic that deserves respect.

*giggle*

Sorry about that.

 

[Un-registered]

A different gripe ...

I don't use chat rooms, or text messaging, so I have never learned the language. Therefore posts of that kind are incomprehensible, and if one seems to be crucial to the thread, I tend to move to another thread.

The gripe I have is the recent habit of putting one or more pictures in contributors' signatures. I use a relatively slow machine over a dial-up line (20 miles from the capital, so too far away to be allowed broadband) and I run with Avatars switched off to save time. [RANT]These huge signatures take a long time to download and display, and take up far too much screen space.[/RANT]

 

[TrinaT]

Ok, I'll admit I've been guilty of using chat text on occasion, i.e., LMAO, LOL, MHO, etc. I do agree with Pop, the thread starters, especially if their thoughts, opinions, or questions are lengthy, should review their post before submitting. If you're unsure of spelling, you're online anyway, use the online dictionaries that are available.

I don't condemn anyone for errors found in their posts, although I may struggle in an attempt to understand what they are trying to say. I certainly don't keep a list (to each his own) since I'm sure I've made many of those same errors along the way. I do review my replies before submitting (so not to appear illiterate), but quick post/chat-type responses, I don't think its necessary.

Just my thoughts and humble opinion.

TrinaT

 

[openthighs_sarah]

Re: Perfectionism

I firmly believe that anything worth writing is worth writing good.
MG

*appreciative snicker*
*without sarcasm*

 

[wildsweetone]

there's one heck of a lot of interesting information to be learned via reading posts, no matter how good or bad the punctuation/grammar is.

the trick is to close your mind off to the surface stuff and be openminded to what's underneath.

having read anything that special needs children and adults can chuck at me, i don't tend to find reading spelling a great problem.


just as a thought.... often phonetic spelling is far easier to read than the spelling of those of us who managed to reach 'dictionary' level in school.

quite apart from the above, there are a lot of more mature folks posting on the Litland boards who simply didn't finish their schooling. life was way different for a person who went to school 60 years ago. oddly enough, spelling wasn't a top priority.

 

[Chicklet]

I expect people to make an effort at clarity.

good summery. i like it.

 

[reohoko]

*cry
someone said they don't like chatroom chatter
*cry
wait...
question...
does that mean I am not allowed to be dingy here?

I always found that errors on posts gave people character...
SO, you can write sentence and spell all the words write.
BY GOD you can even use appropriate grammer... but where is the adventure? where is the character?

Sorry, maybe too many years of Everquest and IMs (not the chatrooms been to two I think in 3 years). But I think you learn a lot about a person that posts in their own form.

I am a sucker for an intriguing character to learn more about (and just a note I can't spell, I would die without my spell checker).

 

[reohoko]

*faint
I wrote write instead of right...
OK NO ONE SHOT ME!!!!

*giggle

 

[openthighs_sarah]

*faint
I wrote write instead of right...
OK NO ONE SHOT ME!!!!

For one misspelled word? On the General Board, you'd be elected president for that.