[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Good Writing and Posting (Page 1 of 2)
Posted: 2/21/2004 11:26:55 AM EDT
|
I am often intrigued by the comments when someone offers a correction on grammar or spelling and is accused of being a "grammar Nazi". I try to use proper grammar and use Spell Check if I can. I think the effort put into a well-stated post shows that the author knows what he is writing about and cares enough to do it well. Sure, we all make typos and miss them when checking. But I am put off by authors that obviously make no effort to capitalize, or punctuate, or spell correctly. I may be wrong, but it seems to indicate laziness or a lackadaisical attitude. What do you guys think? Poll coming. |
|
Quoted: Whether right or wrong, poor [red]grammer[/red] or spelling detracts from the post and often lessens the weight of the stated opinion or response. I'm not a grammer Nazi, but I think proper [red]grammer[/red] and spelling go a long way toward carity and precision of thought. It's grammar. I was in the spelling bee, too, when I was a kid. |
|
I try to use grammar correctly when I post. Sometimes I post quickly and don't give a shit. Other times I post, then correct little items that others would understand were typos and still get the meaning, but they bug me nonetheless. I try to spell words correctly and rely very little on spell check. |
| I think it is important. The appropriate and correct use of our Standard written word is reflective of the high intellect and standards typical of the American firearms enthusiast. We should all propagate this characteristic, for it infuriates the anti-gunners and America-haters to the greatest degree whenever they are reminded that we are not a gaggle of nit wits. |
|
Quoted: I actually have to break out the old paper Dictionary. [:D] Why not just keep MS word loaded up and before you hit submit C+P your text over to Word and watch your errors light up in red. Then just click them to fix 'em fast! That’s what I do at work. Actually less work doing that than using the boards spell checker! |
|
Quoted: Quoted: I actually have to break out the old paper Dictionary. [:D] Why not just keep MS word loaded up and before you hit submit C+P your text over to Word and watch your errors light up in red. Then just click them to fix 'em fast! That’s what I do at work. Actually less work doing that than using the boards spell checker! That's one of those "slap your forehead and say, why didn't I think of that?" things. [:D] I'll give it a try. Thanks. |
|
Quoted: Quoted: I actually have to break out the old paper Dictionary. [:D] Why not just keep MS word loaded up and before you hit submit C+P your text over to Word and watch your errors light up in red. Then just click them to fix 'em fast! That’s what I do at work. Actually less work doing that than using the boards spell checker! |
|
I have to admit that, while I generally have very good grammar, I don't really care about the occasional typo. I love you guys (in a manly way [;)] ), but it's just not important to me to have every single word spelled correctly. Often, I post here as a little break from work - and I don't want to spend time spell-checking. I am one of the people who occasionally DOES complain about people who cannot spell properly - but in a very self-serving way (I admit) typos in themselves do not bother me. (However, if I screw up too badly, I'll sometimes go back and edit the worst typos). |
|
Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: I actually have to break out the old paper Dictionary. [:D] Why not just keep MS word loaded up and before you hit submit C+P your text over to Word and watch your errors light up in red. Then just click them to fix 'em fast! That’s what I do at work. Actually less work doing that than using the boards spell checker! Even better! |
|
Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: I actually have to break out the old paper Dictionary. [:D] Why not just keep MS word loaded up and before you hit submit C+P your text over to Word and watch your errors light up in red. Then just click them to fix 'em fast! That’s what I do at work. Actually less work doing that than using the boards spell checker! Even better! Why not learn learn how to write correctly in first place? |
|
I HATES WHEN MY GRAMMER UZES POOR GRAMMAR. not too menshun spellin in wretin: an punn shooashun is reel importemant. On a slightly more urbane note, have you folks noticed the increase in "everyday" typos? As an example, I've seen these in print and online ads: "... her fiery [red]maine[/red] of red hair" "...satisfaction guaranteed, or [red]you're[/red] money back" And probably hundreds more - I feel like I should be carrying a huge red marker, and stand up and shout "NEIN!" when I spot these things (Deputy G.E.). I know it's just a result of "letting the spellcheck do the work" and not [b]physically[/b] proofing, but c'mon. If you're spending millions of dollars in an ad campaign, wouldn't you want to project a professional image? Or maybe we (society in the form of "popular" culture) don't give a fashizzle, yo? |
|
You bring up an important point, Tango7. I'll hijack my own thread for a moment. [:D] I was teaching some courses at Lamar University Technological College in the Business Management Department. The course I was teaching had a series of "Case Studies" that the students were required to complete. The purpose of the case studies was to determine if the students understood and could apply the concepts taught in the course. I wasn't necessarily interested in English composition. But some of the papers turned in were so poorly written that I could barely understand what the writer was saying. I finally graded one week's papers with two grades. The top one was the grade for the subject matter. The lower grade was for grammar. Many had "F" as the bottom grade. Several said, "Since I'm not getting graded on English, why should I care if I write well?" I told them, "I am not counting the lower grade in your records. It was a lot of trouble grading the papers for grammar, but I wanted to make a point. If you folks intend to work in the marketplace, you need to learn to write well. No one is going to take you or your ideas seriously if you write so poorly. You are doing yourselves a disservice by writing so poorly." Writing well takes an effort. It is a well-spent effort. |
|
I'm glad you brought this up. In all honesty, I am dismayed at the lack of attention to proper grammar and spelling, but since I can't do anything to change other people's posting/writing habits, I simply try to look past it. It is the very rare occasion when I look back at a post of mine and see a spelling mistake. Part of this is because I keep both a dictionary and a thesaurus at my desk, and I use them. Occasionally I will break open Simon&Schuster's Handbook for Writers when I have a more technical question on grammar and usage. Good writing is that important to me. Of course, being a former newspaper reporter (and columnist), you'd have to expect that level of attention to detail. Having two college degrees doesn't hurt either. In any case, I hope I have'nt stepped on you're toes. [:D] Edited to fix spelling. |
|
Quoted: You bring up an important point, Tango7. You've brought up an important point, Tango7 I was teaching some courses at Lamar University Technological College in the Business Management Department. I used to teach some courses in the Business Management Department at Lamar University Technological College. The course I was teaching had a series of "Case Studies" that the students were required to complete. One of the courses I was teaching did have a series of "case studies" which my students were required to complete. But some of the papers turned in were so poorly written that I could barely understand what the writer was saying. Some of the returned papers were so poorly written I could barely understand what the writer was trying to say. I finally graded one week's papers with two grades. The top one was the grade for the subject matter. The lower grade was for grammar. Many had "F" as the bottom grade. Would you kindly consider re-phrasing above paragraph? You're confusing the gentle reader by using mixed expressions. "Top grades" and "lower grades" are generally used to rate the quality of something, not positioning of the grade marks in relation to each other. Writing well takes an effort. It is a well-spent effort. Word ;) Double-typed spaces between the punctuation mark and the first letter of the next sentences are quite obsolete and shouldn't be used. A- |
|
My dad was a QC Engineer for GE on the Apollo Project. Actually he was the only QC guy who wasn't a college graduate. He did however write all the reports because he was the most competent. It didn't really surprise me as he was about 20 years older than the rest and the quality of education was slipping from the late 60's on. |
|
Quoted: I think it is important. The appropriate and correct use of our Standard written word is reflective of the high intellect and standards typical of the American firearms enthusiast. We should all propagate this characteristic, for it infuriates the anti-gunners and America-haters to the greatest degree whenever they are reminded that we are not a gaggle of nit wits. DAMN....That is a Mouthful....Jeeeeeeezzzzzz... |
|
I write a lot. I read even more. People who write poorly be it misspellings, incorrect grammar, malapropisms or whatever, do detract from my ability to enjoy or sometimes comprehend their work. These errors interrupt the flow, and like it or not, they cast a shadow on the intellect of the author. Some of the worst examples of all of the above errors come from some of the "liberal" sites I visit. And regardless of the apparent illiteracy, those authors always are the ones calling conservatives "stupid." They are apparent products of the worst of the public school systems. An occasional typo or inadvertent misuse ("your" in place of "you're" for instance) I usually can skip over, but errors throughout an entire post - or worse, an essay - make reading almost painful. Generally, however, message boards such as this are informal places, so errors in short posts aren't that big a deal. But when someone writes a multiparagraph piece - PLEASE! - make an effort to clean it up for those of us who want to understand what you meant to say. And that's my 2¢. Edited to add: And Hank Reardon is right on the money. |
|
The ability to express oneself is more limited in text than in speech. When I speak it is not in a monotone. I use inflections in my voice, talk louder or softer, faster or slower, depending on the message I want to convey. Sarcasm, humor and empathy are far more evident in speech than text. Because of this, I think it is very important for any text based message to be well written with proper spelling and grammar, not to mention paragraph breaks. I personally consider it an insult to be given a huge block of unformatted, uncapitalized text that the writer expects ME to dissect and figure out what he wants to say. Proper writing conveys a level of respect for the reader, which also reflects on the writer. I write as well as I can because it shows I care about the matter at hand. If I want to convince you of something, the way I write and the form it takes should melt into the background leaving only the message. |
|
Quoted: I did that on purpose. And you fell for it. Boy, don't you feel dumb now. Meekus: "Duh, I knew it was a joke." Brint: "You didn't know it was a joke." Ha, I love that movie. We even named our rats Meekus and Brint. As for grammar and spelling, it is a matter of communicating clearly. I don't care if someone makes a mistake here or there in spelling or syntax, but some of the posts it is almost impossible to tell what the person is trying to say. Plus I do judge the worth of people's statements, in part, on how appropriately they express themselves. I think it is just a natural reaction. If you write like an idiot you are going to sound like an idiot no matter if what you are trying to express is valid. But then again, if people want to type in all lower case without punctuation, that is fine by me. I probably just won't read it. BTW: their: possessive, they're: they are, there: positional. [:D] |
|
Quoted: I try to write so that it can be easily read because errors cause me to stop and say "what's that again, and oh[red],[/red] yea[red]h[/red] that[red]'s[/red] what the author means." But sometimes I miss things and I do go back and correct them when I see it. Missed 3 of them, huh? Quoted: [red]iI[/red] type the way it is in my head. sometimes not very good. [red]i[/red] loved comprehension and history. Quoted: "It's a [s]mute[/s]Moot point..." OK, I am no grammar Nazi, but if your going to do this thread, do it right. |