Do grammar and spelling matter on a message board?

[Dinkeldog]

It's off topic in General, but on topic in Meta, so that's where we're going for this.

Oh, and I'm with Wulf and Mouseferatu.

 

[TheAuldGrump]

It drives me nuts when other people are wantonly careless with their spelling and grammer, and find it very, very, annoying when I find spelling errors I have created. (And I always do... Mostly missing characters typed with my off hand.)

The Auld Grump

 

[Zappo]

Spelling and grammar matter, period. A person can't be bothered to use correct spelling and garmmar, other people won't be bothered to read him.

I agree, but there are many people for which English isn't their primary language (me included), and a few mistakes are ok (yours included ).

Anyway, my general principle is, if your post isn't important enough for you to spend a few extra seconds making it readable... why should it be any more important for me?

 

[EricNoah]

I don't think any reasonable person is going to hold the occasional typo, misspelling, etc. against you. There's a world of difference between "writing to get some ideas out there" vs. "writing publication-quality material". I think the amount of effort that goes into your writing should be proportional to its importance. On message boards, you're just shooting the breeze.

I also think folks who offer unsolicited corrections are being kind of rude, or at the very least out to show how clever they are. This is, I think, a personality trait of many gamers, though -- if they have to choose, they'd rather look clever/smart/competent than be thought of as "nice."

I should add, though, that when publishers have mistakes like this on their websites or press releases, that does kind of make my skin crawl. But again, it's related to the importance of writing to their job and the products they're trying to sell me.

 

[Mark Chance]

Bad grammer and bad spelling are a sign of laziness.

Lazy!

Spelling and grammar matter, period. A person can't be bothered to use correct spelling and garmmar, other people won't be bothered to read him.

I'd have read what you wrote, but the lousy grammar and spelling in your second sentence just put me off. So, I'll let a very widely-read poet answer this assertion:

i sing of Olaf glad and big
whose warmest heart recoiled at war:
a conscientious object-or

his wellbelov'd colonel(trig
westpointer most succinctly bred)
took erring Olaf soon in hand;
but--though an host of overjoyed
noncoms(first knocking on the head
him)do through icy waters roll
that helplessness which others stroke
with brushes recently employed
anent this muddy toiletbowl,
while kindred intellects evoke
allegiance per blunt instruments--
Olaf(being to all intents
a corpse and wanting any rag
upon what God unto him gave)
responds,without getting annoyed
"I will not kiss your ing flag"

straightway the silver bird looked grave
(departing hurriedly to shave)

but--though all kinds of officers
(a yearning nation's blueeyed pride)
their passive prey did kick and curse
until for wear their clarion
voices and boots were much the worse,
and egged the firstclassprivates on
his rectum wickedly to tease
by means of skilfully applied
bayonets roasted hot with heat--
Olaf(upon what were once knees)
does almost ceaselessly repeat
"there is some I will not eat"

our president,being of which
assertions duly notified
threw the yellowsonofabitch
into a dungeon,where he died

Christ(of His mercy infinite)
i pray to see;and Olaf,too

preponderatingly because
unless statistics lie he was
more brave than me:more blond than you.

 

[Silveras]

In a text based medium your ability to write well is your ability to communicate well.

That is exactly right. That is the practical reason.

I also agree with the sentiment that poor spelling and grammar skills undermine the opinion expressed. There/Their/They're confusion, Your/You're confusion, typing "and" for "an", while all common errors, undercut the strength of any opinion expressed. Why ? Because writing is reflective of thought processes. Sloppy writing contributes to sloppy thinking, and sloppy thinking produces sloppy writing. Thus, when I see poor spelling and grammar, I have to wonder about the thinking behind them.

 

[Heretic Apostate]

A quote I rather enjoy.

"Is sloppiness in speech caused by ignorance or apathy?"

"I don't know and I don't care."

 

[Faraer]

Selfishly, good writing gets your point across better; and morally it's wrong to put the burden of decoding your badly written stuff on the hundreds of people who will read it.

I also think folks who offer unsolicited corrections are being kind of rude, or at the very least out to show how clever they are.

I don't think it's rude at all -- if I consistently spell a word wrong I want to know so I can spell better -- but I don't correct (almost always) because of people's tendency to take it as an attack on their ego.

 

[Monster Manuel]

I do a lot of my posting late at night, since that is when I do my best writing. At those times, my creativity is at its best, but my math, spelling, and *sometimes* grammar abilities are weak. I marked 'no'.

Let me qualify that. I don't read posts here looking for typos or spelling mistakes, and if there are a few, I don't get bent out of shape over them. I don't feel that the poster personally hates me, or that they are uneducated- believe me, I've met many educated folk with atrocious spelling and grammar. I make plenty of mistakes, especially while trying to post to a topic quickly, or while falling asleep. I read and post to the boards for the industry news, for fun, and for personal edification in an informal environment.

As long as the the basic the criterion of 'getting the point across' is met, I think that quibbling over minutia like a stray comma, an 'i' before 'e' error, or grammar quirk is absurd. Even for many of us who write for publication, a message board is for informal communication.

 

[Umbran]

Both matter, but only to a point. These boards are an informal discussion forum, not a formal one. This is a place where friends get together to chat, not a place where official and important stuff happens. Seeking perfect adherence to the laws of language here would get in the way of the relaxed and friendly tenor of the place.

Do you use perfect grammar and word choice when speaking face to face with your friends? Probably not. So don't expect perfection here either. Do you expect your friends to be coherent? Probably, so expect and ask for that instead.