Pushy Spelling/Grammar People

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Replies

  • MyChocolateDiet
    MyChocolateDiet Posts: 22,281 Member
    Does it tick you off when someone corrects your spelling and or structure in an online forum? Or, do you EVER see it as helpful? What do you think motivates a "grammar Nazi"?
    I don't even get the urge when the entire post is barely English. But, occasionally, an otherwise intelligent and well-stated post makes me wonder if the writer would like to have the error pointed out. I know I would.

    I've had my error pointed out when I never knew otherwise...case in point..."up and at 'em". I always thought it was up and Adam. Don't even know why.
  • MyChocolateDiet
    MyChocolateDiet Posts: 22,281 Member
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    Somebody should really jump in and help the horse. Uncle Jack seems too far gone either way IMO.
  • MireyGal76
    MireyGal76 Posts: 7,334 Member
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    Shouldn't that be:

    helping your Uncle Jack, off a horse

    OR

    helping your uncle, Jack, off a horse

    I don't think "Uncle" is capitalized if there is a comma separating it from "Jack"



    and I only comment because it's kind of ironic... unless of course I am wrong... in which case...
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  • MyChocolateDiet
    MyChocolateDiet Posts: 22,281 Member
    1599424d22031da92937aac7e8daa15e.jpg

    Shouldn't that be:

    helping your Uncle Jack, off a horse

    OR

    helping your uncle, Jack, off a horse

    I don't think "Uncle" is capitalized if there is a comma separating it from "Jack"



    and I only comment because it's kind of ironic.

    Good catch I do beleive you are correct. When it's "Uncle Jack" that's his whole name and no comma in between. When it's help your uncle "Jack" being the uncle the comma is needed.

    Still though, the horse is really the one I'm concerned for if Jack is having such strange ideas and/or unable to dismount a horse by himself.
  • iamspdd
    iamspdd Posts: 134 Member
    What do you think motivates a "grammar Nazi"?

    It makes them feel gooder about themselves.
  • MireyGal76
    MireyGal76 Posts: 7,334 Member
    What do you think motivates a "grammar Nazi"?

    It makes them feel gooder about themselves.

    OCD
  • MyChocolateDiet
    MyChocolateDiet Posts: 22,281 Member
    What do you think motivates a "grammar Nazi"?

    It makes them feel gooder about themselves.

    OCD

    Sometimes people use grammar corrections during an argument as a red herring and/or to discredit the opponent as a criticism of their intelligence level.
  • MyChocolateDiet
    MyChocolateDiet Posts: 22,281 Member
    I don't correct stuff usually. I do, however, judge people based upon the way they write.
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    ^^ QFT. If the message is important enough that you really want people to take it seriously, then you should probably spend a bit more time on it's presentation. It can make the difference between "Have you eaten, grandpa?" and "Have you eaten grandpa?"

    Okay that's IT! I want to go on the record as saying that I just decided that the comma is the single most important punctuation/keyboard key/phone button in history. BRB gonna go make a slogan T-shirt with nothing but a giant comma on it.
  • iamspdd
    iamspdd Posts: 134 Member
    What do you think motivates a "grammar Nazi"?

    It makes them feel gooder about themselves.

    OCD


    I apologize if I made your OCD twitch. I can't control my sarcasm sometimes. :grumble:
  • jacques57
    jacques57 Posts: 2,129 Member
    Fundamentally this is an issue of evolution.

    If I am a grammar nazi and spelling OCD-anado, then I will be repelled by people who aren't and attracted to those who are. It is not a matter of who is smarter, but who is more detail-oriented and methodical about communicating. Eventually you have two populations: those who read and write, and those who produce and watch FOX news.
  • feliscatus84
    feliscatus84 Posts: 80 Member
    I'm not insanely picky about grammar or spelling, but I would like to be able to understand what you're trying to get across with ease. Avoiding punctuation really makes that difficult. Also when people "tYpE LyKe diS".

    Sometimes I cringe a little when people fail to know the difference between to, two, and too or their, they're, and there but I am not going to judge anyone on it. People aren't perfect!
  • Myhaloslipped
    Myhaloslipped Posts: 4,317 Member
    Just annoys me when people have to post a rant about how it is "lose" not "loose". You normally see a few of those posts a day. Okay, we get it.

    I actually agree with this. If someone insists on writing like an ignoramus at this point in life, these types of threads are clearly not going to stop them. However, this particular error gives off the impression that the person is careless and sloppy in general. That may not always be true, but words are all we have to go on in these forums when forming opinions about the intelligence of others.
  • Tigg_er
    Tigg_er Posts: 22,001 Member
    if you use than instead of then, were instead we're and your instead of you're you deserve to be corrected no matter how well written the post is and no matter who you are

    text speak is ok between people and is cool to cut down the amount of typing/swiping and everything you have written whilst not correctly spelled does appear to be correct word usage except for "their" when they meant "there" for which they should be corrected.

    Language has to change and evolve over time and does need to keep up with the times and its usage, so writing things in text speak is acceptable from this view, but again this doesn't mean that you can use the wrong word just because of the way you speak, things like the above (than/then etc) aren't really acceptable within this evolution, saying UR/ur instead of your when wanting to say your correctly whilst infuriating to some is acceptable.

    Hope that makes sense

    Couldn't have said it better myself!

    Oh, that reminds me of a huge pet peeve: "c/would of" instead of "c/would have". Seeing that one more and more. The worst was in sophomore year of high school, when we were studying the imperfect tense in Spanish class; our teacher repeatedly rendered the English translation as "use to" (rather than "useD to"), again and again, until it was clear that she simply didn't know a "d" belonged there. Traumatic for a young grammar fanatic! ;-)

    Well I got lost on this one.
  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 9,311 Member
    I realize that when 'texting' people will use short cuts, make spelling errors due to closeness of keys, use text speak, etc., and that is well and fine and understood as trying to be quick about communication. When I read online posts with spelling mistakes, and/or grammar errors, I judge the writer's credibility. What is being said (written) is less credible to me with spelling errors. I find that I start correcting the grammar and spelling rather than caring to understand their viewpoint.

    I think that is something you need to work on then.
    I don't think discrediting people's point of view because of spelling errors is something to be proud of ( or of which to be proud, if you prefer :tongue: )
    Chris gets up to give a presentation in a new, tailored suit, hair done well, obviously well-groomed, and speaks in a clear, confident voice while maintaining eye contact with the audience.

    Pat gets up to give a presentation in disheveled, dirty clothes, hair uncombed and obviously not well-groomed, and speaks in a quiet mumble, all the while staring down at the notes.

    Is it your contention that you'd judge both presentations equally, or solely on content rather than including delivery in your evaluation?

    Hardly the same context as an online forum.

    However, to answer the question,I would try very hard to not let presentation get in the way of content. I am not saying I would be entirely successful - but I wouldn't automatically dismiss the content of the poorer presentor, whilst being proud of doing so.

    That's the way that poster came across to me - taking pride in dismissing content when there were spelling errors, rather than trying to see past presentation.
    On an online forum, the words you choose are the clothes you wear, the way you style your hair, and the manner in which you speak. If you do not see the analogy, I guess that's too bad.

    I didn't say I couldn't see the analogy - I said I would try hard in each case ( the live presenter and the online post) to see past the presentation to the content - as opposed to taking pride in dismissing the content because of oresentation.

    Having said that, online errors really don't bother me much anyway.

    1. I went back and read the whole thread; could you highlight the person who said they take pride in correcting written errors, please? I saw nobody using that phrase except you, to dismiss those who do it.

    2. Do you not see "I think that is something you need to work on, then" as judgmental? From here, you're judging someone based on the fact that they judge people on their written word. . . .

    1. the post at top of this quote, the one I originally quoted.

    No, they don't say they take pride in correcting errors - and that's not what I said either.
    I said discrediting the content of people's posts because of spelling mistakes is not something to be proud of and I think the poster should work on that - otherwise they are missing some very good content by " What is being said (written) is less credible to me with spelling errors. I find that I start correcting the grammar and spelling rather than caring to understand their viewpoint"
    So they are not trying to understand the view point, they are just correcting the spelling and grammar.

    2. that seemed to me to be something to work on, so as to not miss good content by focusing on spelling.
    That may be judgmental of me, I'm not sure.
  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 9,311 Member
    I absolutely despise when people use incorrect grammar.. particularly when they use the wrong your, you're, they're, their, or there.
    -_-

    When I see someone type out the incorrect word, especially in a post that is particularly intelligent, it tells me one of two things:
    1) You're too lazy to reread or even to go back and correct your own work
    2) You're not educated enough to use the correct word

    Either way, it directly changes my view of how credible your take is on whatever it is we are discussing.
    That being said... I rarely ever go out of my way to correct the spelling or grammar of others in a public forum. I form my opinion of you immediately, and it would be a futile effort to start a pointless battle over highlighting your errors. People tend to only make my view of them worse by arguing that their poor use of grammar "shouldn't matter" if their facts are correct.

    Unlike many forums (fora for the pedants :wink: ) this one does not have a 'preview' so you can see your post before it is posted.

    If I post something and then notice a minor spelling or grammar error or a typo but it is obvious the post will still be understood, then I don't bother editing it.

    I am writing a forum post, not an essay for a Uni assignment.

    I don't mind what your view on me is - but am stating this upfront so you can put me on ignore if you want to.

    Of course by the time you have all mis-spellers, cant be bothered editing-ers etc on ignore, you might miss a lot of posts - but that's up to you.

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