Guest notJames Report post Posted February 7, 2003 In the year or so that I've been posting (not just here but on various boards), I've noticed that the majority of the posters are well-rounded and knowledgable, with insight and writing talent (not to mention funnier than a pet coon). However, I have a hard time getting to all that intelligence and insight when I'm bombarded with mispellings and grammatical errors left and right. I know some posters don't use English as their first language, and some like to post quickly in order to get their points across first and foremost, and some really don't care about it at all, but I think it's essential to write eloquently in order for those points to get across. Someone might have the greatest insight on why HHH needs to be the top dog, but if the first sentence... nay, the title of the thread says Why Triple H Can't Loose, I "loose" all interest in reading. And I don't mean obscure words or phrases or names that even Noah Webster would have trouble with; or really long words that are typed quickly; and I don't mean infrequent typos -- everybody has them, yours truly included. But there are certain things everyone should have learned in grammar school, like: • When to use their, there, and they're • There is no such thing as "could of" or "should of" • The differences among two, to, and too • F-U-E-D is not a word • The differentiation between do and due • "Per se" should never be spelled otherwise • The differences between threw and through (or the more common "thru") There are countless others I could get into, but the gist of it is that this prevents me from reading further into a post, which lessens my desire to take this person seriously. How can I value someone's intellect or insight if their lack of writing skills proves otherwise? I know one doesn't necessarily preclude the other, but nine times out of eight, the writing is on the wall, so to speak. And it's not like it's unavoidable. If you're on a computer, you have a plethora of resources to turn to if you're not sure how to spell something. Dictionary.com offers so many alternative spellings if you're not sure of a word. It's really not that hard. I've gotten into numerous discussions about this on other boards, and I've heard the arguments about the paradigm shifts in language and that the electronic medium, replete with spellcheckers and whatnot, makes proper spelling and grammar obsolete, but I don't see it that way. And I know lots of people write and talk differently. If we were all in the same room and we could actually speak to each other, I'm sure none of this would be an issue. But the bottom line is that this medium demands that we express ourselves as eloquently as possible in order to be taken seriously. Otherwise, we're nothing more than 11-year-old AOLosers with our pinkies on the Caps Lock key, abbreviating everything and saying nothing. If I come off as a grammar nazi, so be it. I just want to share and partake in intelligent discourse (and some shits and giggles too) from people who probably know more than I will ever learn about wrestling, movies, and the like. But I can't be bothered to attempt to decipher gibberish in order to get to the meat of an argument. We should hold ourselves to higher standards. Shouldn't we? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest HecateRose Report post Posted February 7, 2003 I am a bit of a "grammar nazi" myself, and I agree everyone should make the attempt at writing each post as correctly as possible, but sometimes that is easier said than done. If a discussion gets heated, and many people are responding quickly, sometimes you do have to enter your responses as quickly as possible just so that they are still relevant in the conversation. I know I have been in a few discussions here where taking the time to check my spelling and grammar would have rendered my post irrelevant due to its position in the thread. Also, not everyone here has the same level of education when it comes to reading and grammar. Some have only had high school level English, while others may have taken upper level college writing courses. It isn't fair to hold everyone to the same standard when, in all reality, they may not have been taught the proper usage/grammar for a particular word/phrase/etc. I do believe that there are some people who post almost indecipherable passages, but most do not. More often the mistakes are small enough to work around and, in the end, have at least a good understanding of their intended message. Besides, this place is meant for discussion, but at the same time it is meant for fun, and bad grammar/spelling or not, in most cases the common mistakes posters make do not actually harm their posts. I consider this sort of a forum a bit of a gray area due to educational differences among the posters, and believe it is unreasonable to expect everyone to post to a certain "standard." Now, if everyone here had a PhD, I would think otherwise. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest RenegadeX28 Report post Posted February 7, 2003 Mispellings annoy me as well. The one that annoys me the most.... When people spell feud like this: fued. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest IDrinkRatsMilk Report post Posted February 7, 2003 I, agree totaly with everything u r saying. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest MrRant Report post Posted February 7, 2003 I am a bit of a "grammar nazi" myself, and I agree everyone should make the attempt at writing each post as correctly as possible, but sometimes that is easier said than done. If a discussion gets heated, and many people are responding quickly, sometimes you do have to enter your responses as quickly as possible just so that they are still relevant in the conversation. I know I have been in a few discussions here where taking the time to check my spelling and grammar would have rendered my post irrelevant due to its position in the thread. Also, not everyone here has the same level of education when it comes to reading and grammar. Some have only had high school level English, while others may have taken upper level college writing courses. It isn't fair to hold everyone to the same standard when, in all reality, they may not have been taught the proper usage/grammar for a particular word/phrase/etc. I do believe that there are some people who post almost indecipherable passages, but most do not. More often the mistakes are small enough to work around and, in the end, have at least a good understanding of their intended message. Besides, this place is meant for discussion, but at the same time it is meant for fun, and bad grammar/spelling or not, in most cases the common mistakes posters make do not actually harm their posts. I consider this sort of a forum a bit of a gray area due to educational differences among the posters, and believe it is unreasonable to expect everyone to post to a certain "standard." Now, if everyone here had a PhD, I would think otherwise. OMG!!!! A NAZI!!!! BAN PLZ!!!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The Dames 0 Report post Posted February 7, 2003 I'm actually the same way, even with my IM's. It just undermines what their saying when they don't spell things correctly. Here's a perfect example. RickyChosyu always brings up great wrestling discussion, but his posts are full of spelling errors, so he doesn't come across as knowledgable as he should, despite the fact that the guy does know what he's talking about. Dames Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest MrRant Report post Posted February 7, 2003 I'm actually the same way, even with my IM's. It just undermines what their saying when they don't spell things correctly. Here's a perfect example. RickyChosyu always brings up great wrestling discussion, but his posts are full of spelling errors, so he doesn't come across as knowledgable as he should, despite the fact that the guy does know what he's talking about. Dames Too bad with all your grammar correctness you still don't come off that way either. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The Dames 0 Report post Posted February 7, 2003 Yeah, I know...you can't hide stupidity, right? Dames Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest kkktookmybabyaway Report post Posted February 7, 2003 I normally care about speling and grammer, but not on a message board... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Kinetic Report post Posted February 7, 2003 I'm actually the same way, even with my IM's. It just undermines what their saying when they don't spell things correctly. Hypocrite. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Downhome Report post Posted February 7, 2003 I don't care about small mistakes, because hell, everyone will make them at times on a message board, especially whe someone types it up fast out of excitement, anger, etc... There is ONE thing I do care about, and as a matter of fact, I will not even read a post, email, PM, or anything else if someone writes to me like this. You know, using stuff like... ...u, r, kool, gr8, and the rest of that mother fucking bullshit. To take this to another level, I will never even LOOK at shit when people type lIkE tHiS, never, period. People like that can be shot as far as I'm concerned, I despise it with every part of my being. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest SP-1 Report post Posted February 7, 2003 Anyone ever notice that a great many of my posts wind up edited? That's because if I catch a spelling error or something like that I go back and change it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest DrTom Report post Posted February 7, 2003 Damnit, Kinetic, I was going to point that one out. Oh well. NotJames, I agree with you 150%. As a fellow with an English degree, it disheartens me to see people misspell and misuse so many words. I think what annoys me the most are the ghastly "could of" and "should of" that you cited. I've always looked at it this way: in a medium where you communicate via typing, you're going to look like an idiot if you type like one. It's a shame so many people are so willing to look like idiots. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest notJames Report post Posted February 7, 2003 ...not everyone here has the same level of education when it comes to reading and grammar. Some have only had high school level English, while others may have taken upper level college writing courses. It isn't fair to hold everyone to the same standard when, in all reality, they may not have been taught the proper usage/grammar for a particular word/phrase/etc. I do believe that there are some people who post almost indecipherable passages, but most do not. More often the mistakes are small enough to work around and, in the end, have at least a good understanding of their intended message. I addressed that to some extent already, and I try not to hold accountable those who are obviously non-versed in the English language (which, when compared to others, especially the Romance languages, is extremely difficult to learn) or those who don't err that often. But there are some instances where posters are consistently undermined (thanks, Dames) by their spelling and grammatical errors, errors which, when judged against the reminder of their posts, could have been easily rectified. It almost renders their arguments and comments untenable by default. I try not to dismiss a poster on this basis, but find it happening more times than not. As far as examples, Dace is truly the man of a thousand holds, but his writing is full of a thousand holes. I have to assume English is not his mother tongue, but it gets really hard to read his stuff, especially with something like describing wrestling moves, where it's critical to be as articulate and succinct as possible. And Renegade, did you actually read my post, or are you just trying to be funny? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest notJames Report post Posted February 7, 2003 Same here, Downhome. AOL has killed the English language. I fear for the next generation. Anyone ever notice that a great many of my posts wind up edited? That's because if I catch a spelling error or something like that I go back and change it. Can you pass me an oar, 'cuz it looks like you and I are in the same boat. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest notJames Report post Posted February 7, 2003 ...in a medium where you communicate via typing, you're going to look like an idiot if you type like one. It's a shame so many people are so willing to look like idiots. This is why I couldn't get an English degree. It took me roughly 500 words what you just said in 33. Sorry for the tommy-gun posting... so many replies from others in the time it took to write my first. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest SP-1 Report post Posted February 7, 2003 Aye, matey. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest KingOfOldSchool Report post Posted February 7, 2003 I'm by no means perfect, but like SP, if I catch an error in one of my posts, I'll go back and fix it. What bugs me is that it's the most basic things people misspell; things which you were taught in elementary school and have no right to mess up on, such as "their," "there," and "they're." I also have to say that I hate internet acronyms, which are only appropiate in chat rooms, and even then some people take it too far. Likewise, I also hate all caps and ThIs. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest SP-1 Report post Posted February 7, 2003 What bugs me the most is when I go back and read one of my posts and I have something retarded like, "liek" or "taht" or some such. TYPOS. They are evil. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest LooseCannon Report post Posted February 7, 2003 I really don't give a damn about this shit on a fucking wrestling message board, for christs sake. Unless it's so egregious that I can't figure out what someone is saying, then who cares? This isn't the Oxford fucking debating society people. But then again, I must acknowledge that mispell words and use poor grammar often enough that I know I can't be a dick about this stuff. Especially when I'm so fond of a pseudo-word like "kind've" which would presumably be the same as "kind have." Kind have? That doesn't make any fucking sense!!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest evenflowDDT Report post Posted February 7, 2003 Anyone ever notice that a great many of my posts wind up edited? That's because if I catch a spelling error or something like that I go back and change it. And all this time I thought it was because you were getting TOLD~! That's probably my biggest problem in regards to grammar. Starting sentences with "and" and "but". Fragments too, I suppose, although only on message boards. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Downhome Report post Posted February 7, 2003 What bugs me the most is when I go back and read one of my posts and I have something retarded like, "liek" or "taht" or some such. TYPOS. They are evil. You say they're typos, but we all know the truth my friend. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest SP-1 Report post Posted February 7, 2003 And all this time I thought it was because you were getting TOLD~! Nah. I've never edited a post to appear less weak. I'd rather take the ability to get another post under my belt and reply. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest SP-1 Report post Posted February 7, 2003 Taht's so liek, untru DH~! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Downhome Report post Posted February 7, 2003 While we are at it, let me ask this... ...just what in the hell does ~! mean? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest evenflowDDT Report post Posted February 7, 2003 While we are at it, let me ask this... ...just what in the hell does ~! mean? Beats me. I use it for EMPHASIS ACCOMPANIED BY ALL CAPS~! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Downhome Report post Posted February 7, 2003 Taht's so liek, untru DH~! U r LiEk So lieing OVR their Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest SP-1 Report post Posted February 7, 2003 no wei! ur 2 kewl 2 bee lieing to! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest notJames Report post Posted February 7, 2003 Especially when I'm so fond of a pseudo-word like "kind've" which would presumably be the same as "kind have." Kind have? That doesn't make any fucking sense!!! Well, since the correct phrase would be "kind of", why don't you just use that? It's the same amount of characters. And truth be told, it took me a while to realize that "kind have" really didn't make sense. Yoinks! And Evenflow, it's not unforgivable to start a sentence with "but" or "and". Everybody does it... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Downhome Report post Posted February 7, 2003 lEtz BeE fRiEnDzzz~! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
