Importance of Grammar/Spelling

[Queen_Dopplepopolis]

Best thing to happen to my message board-posting is Google Toolbar. It has a spell check for all text that you enter in web-boxes!! I LOVE it!

To answer the question: Grammar and spelling are somewhat important to me. However, I will say that my spelling and grammar really tend to slack off when using IM or posting on message boards... and even then, I have my pet peeves (the your/you're mix up DRIVES ME INSANE). Despite my tendency to slack off a bit, I'd say my grammar is still quite good... but, that goes hand in hand with the fact that I do a lot of academic writing.

 

[mojo1701]

I guess I'm happy as long as the post is comprehensible and not written like an IM-message.

Or Leet-Speak.

 

[Jesus_marley]

The only problem I have when it comes to reading someone's posts is whether or not they use the "word" "Irregardless". For some strange reason I can forgive almost any other error but that one. Even when spoken, I have a compulsion to thoroughly throttle the person who uses it, even if it means I have to reach through cyberspace to do so.

 

[mojo1701]

The only problem I have when it comes to reading someone's posts is whether or not they use the "word" "Irregardless". For some strange reason I can forgive almost any other error but that one. Even when spoken, I have a compulsion to thoroughly throttle the person who uses it, even if it means I have to reach through cyberspace to do so.

i'm going to become rich and famous after i invent a device that allows you to stab people in the face over the internet

- from http://bash.org/?4281.

 

[Harmon]

Grammar and spelling on message boards not one of my pet pevs.

It does bother me that people think its the most important part of posting. Getting an idea out that would change the world and everyone only speaks of how bad your spelling is just plain stupid.

Do we really need to write something five times until the proper grammar and spelling is in place then have someone go over it with a red ink pen "just one last time" ? Let it be, its a message board, not a novel.

 

[Cheiromancer]

I usually try to ensure that my own posts are grammatically correct and with proper spelling. If I notice something wrong, I usually edit it, unless it is something minor like a single instance of transposed letters ("teh" instead of "the" for example).

One thing I will do is correct typos in a quoted message. If someone has written "teh" instead of "the" I will transpose them back. But then I feel guilty about misquoting them.

 

[der_kluge]

I'm actually not as bad as most people think about this sort of thing. Like Diaglo, I hate seeing the common "grammer", "rouge", etc. types of mistakes. I always die a little bit on the inside when someone says "loose" when they mean "lose".

But I tend to ignore most small mistakes, and can usually recognize typos versus actual mistakes. If I see someone repeatedly misspell "rouge" or something, sometimes I will point it out. Often I assume that people are like myself, and want to better themselves in life, so I feel it is important to correct these mistakes because I assume that the person might actually want to know they are making a mistake, so that they can correct it.

 

[orchid blossom]

My personal pet peeve is mistakes with words that are pronounced alike, but the spelling alters the meaning. Peel/peal, bare/bear, are/our. They're the kind of mistakes that force you to go back and figure out what the poster meant before you can go on. (Although it can make for some funny statements.)

In general, a few mistakes in a post don't bother me. But when I see someone who makes the same mistakes over and over I just start to ignore them. I am left with the impression that they just don't care enough to bother, and if they don't care, why should I?

I try to cut plenty of slack for non-native speakers, although they often don't need it. An unusual turn of phrase or a formality with the language that is absoultely correct but not often used is what tends to give them away to me.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

I've been called a human spell-checker...but I'm not going to excoriate someone over incorrect typing on a board or email...unless 1) it actually does matter for some reason 2) the poster I'm correcting is otherwise being a jerk 3) I'm trying to be funny.

 

[Uzumaki]

Grammar and spelling have always been huge issues with me. Other people probably think it's obnoxious, but I have an early memory of going off on a girl for screwing up the alphabet when I was in daycare.

IM speak baffles me, as it just takes too much effort for me to not capitalize my words, or spell out "to," or end a sentence with a punctuation mark. It's just so basic that it pisses me off when I see other people doing it, because it smacks of ignorance.

The more nitpicky grammar rules, such as ending a sentence with a preposition, I let slide.