Do you care about spelling (online)?

KilOit · 14-07-2011 04:19PM

My grammar has gone to $hit since leaving school, I blame online gaming, were typing fast to get the message across is more beneficial than proper grammar. You actually forget how to spell certain words after many years being so lazy, Pity, got an A for English in the Leaving Cert.

Zebra3 · 14-07-2011 04:24PM

hondasam wrote: »

give us some examples on how to use these word correctly.

Which word?

secrecy_ie · 14-07-2011 04:27PM

Gandalph wrote: »

On a professional site then yes. But on Boards I hate the grammer nazis.

Grammar.

Unless you were referring to Frasier and Cheers star Kelsey Grammer. If so, your quote may be libelous.

Mr. Boo · 14-07-2011 04:35PM

Cottontail wrote: »

Me too. Another common mistake I've noticed a lot recently is when people write 'could of' instead of 'could have'.

When I read this it makes me think the person who wrote it is silly. There's no malice behind it, it just boggles the mind.

see also. they're, there, their, your, you're, accept, except, affect, effect, etc.

TheBunk1 · 14-07-2011 04:39PM

Spelling mistakes on a website trying to sell you a product are unprofessional. It's like having spelling mistakes on your CV.

I wouldn't care too much about spelling on message boards, unless the person was being a c*nt or if it was consistently shocking.

People not using punctuation drives me f**king mental though.

Emiko · 14-07-2011 04:39PM

Noo wrote: »

...I really hope that anyone using "yore" in a sentence will have the ability to spell the word and others correctly.

It's not such a popular word now, but it was used more often in days of yore.

biko · 14-07-2011 04:52PM

Gandalph wrote: »

On a professional site then yes. But on Boards I hate the grammer nazis.

Lemsiper wrote: »

:rolleyes:

W.Shakes-Beer wrote: »

^ That emotion is more annoying than any spelling mistake.

W.Shakes-Beer wrote: »

Also, people who can't be bothered using correct grammer when trying to sell a car for example, puts me off instantly.

I must say I lolled, you didn't learn from someone else's mistake?

biko · 14-07-2011 04:55PM

Tbh, people make typos all the time and that's fine.
It's when they clearly doesn't grasp the rules of written language it bugs me.

"They're, there, their"
"I would of"
...

Mongarra · 14-07-2011 05:05PM

Liam Byrne wrote: »

.....if it were nipped in the bud from day one (by a supposed "grammar nazi", it wouldn't have spread to infect everything.

If you're going to be a "grammar nazi" please close the brackets!:)

Lapin · 14-07-2011 05:14PM

And use a capital 'N' for Nazi. ^^^

tallaghtmick · 14-07-2011 05:16PM

i(notice lower case) couldnt(notice no apostrophe) care less(no full stop:pac:)

Davidius · 14-07-2011 05:38PM

Proper spelling and grammar is considered a minimum requirement for a site to at least seem professional.

Strict adherence to spelling or grammar on a message board is not all that important as long as the idea is clear and it's reasonably legible. The main problem with text speak is that it actually takes time to decipher so it's hardly practical. However if you are very concerned about somebody using the wrong form of "they're/there/their" then I think you're just being pedantic. I know I've made that slip plenty of times despite knowing the difference. Usually the meaning will be obvious so it doesn't reflect well on you if you have serious trouble understanding the sentence "I don't go their anymore".

Just because somebody isn't proficient in a language doesn't mean they're stupid. It's not as though an argument suddenly becomes weaker because the poster used "loose" instead of "lose" or said "could of" instead of "could have". You're also going to have plenty of people who will peddle bull**** and try to disguise it under the guise of good grammaring and big worditude.

tallaghtmick · 14-07-2011 05:46PM

Davidius wrote: »

Proper spelling and grammar is considered a minimum requirement for a site to at least seem professional.

Strict adherence to spelling or grammar on a message board is not all that important as long as the idea is clear and it's reasonably legible. The main problem with text speak is that it actually takes time to decipher so it's hardly practical. However if you are very concerned about somebody using the wrong form of "they're/there/their" then I think you're just being pedantic. I know I've made that slip plenty of times despite knowing the difference. Usually the meaning will be obvious so it doesn't reflect well on you if you have serious trouble understanding the sentence "I don't go their anymore".

Just because somebody isn't proficient in a language doesn't mean they're stupid. It's not as though an argument suddenly becomes weaker because the poster used "loose" instead of "lose" or said "could of" instead of "could have". You're also going to have plenty of people who will peddle bull**** and try to disguise it under the guise of good grammaring and big worditude.

Or "shurrup" instead of "shut up" :pac:

mcmoustache · 14-07-2011 06:04PM

bluewolf wrote: »

On boards I don't really care about laziness & typos but I would care about common errors that people seem to believe are actually correct.
"It didn't phase me" would be a good example there.

That's a new one for me. Thanks for that.

With the correction, I now know how to spell it and I will remember to spell it correctly next time I need to use that phrase. This is why I believe grammar nazis should be tolerated a bit more around here. They provide an education and some constructive public humiliation which strengthens and educates the recipient. If we had lots of grammar nazis, the standard of spelling in AH would improve within a week.

I just re-read that and if it sounds like sarcasm, it isn't.

Liam Byrne · 14-07-2011 06:07PM

Emiko wrote: »

It's not such a popular word now, but it was used more often in days of yore.

So they really mean "past ma" ? As in "not your present ma" ?

NOW I get why it's an insult!

Liam Byrne · 14-07-2011 06:08PM

biko wrote: »

Tbh, people make typos all the time and that's fine.
It's when they clearly doesn't grasp the rules of written language it bugs me.

Cues Alanis Morrisette........

mcmoustache · 14-07-2011 06:09PM

Liam Byrne wrote: »

But not proper spelling ?

Likewise the "that's not a word / phrase" reaction that kicks in when people make stuff up like "could of" and other such nonsense.......but as others have pointed out above, that's now so commonplace that it makes you wonder where and when it started and why there's such a wide level of illiteracy that people started using it......if it were nipped in the bud from day one (by a supposed "grammar nazi", it wouldn't have of spread to infect everything.

FYP

This correction was brought to you by Grammar Nazi Officer 17 of the After Hours Precinct.

Seriously though, I agree with nipping these things in the bud. A correction and a little humiliation might even lead to the correctee never making the same mistake again. (Yes, I know I just made up the word "correctee").

Liam Byrne · 14-07-2011 06:41PM

mcmoustache wrote: »

FYP

By introducing the most objectionable version of the bastardisation of the language ?

vampire of kilmainham · 14-07-2011 06:47PM

i dont give a fcuk if i spell thing RONG and if people moan i couldent care less about about the stupid pricksssss that do make a big deal of it ass holes

biko · 14-07-2011 07:03PM

Liam Byrne wrote: »

Cues Alanis Morrisette........

How embarrassing

saa · 14-07-2011 08:05PM

I hate when people don't care, it just shows up a negative streak in their character.

Although! I will spell you're like youre and don't like dont.
Out of laziness

But if its on social networking, youtube, boards ect. its fine but for your own website, official, work stuff ect. its absolutely not okay.

Misspelling words that you don't use 20 times a day is acceptable but basic or common words is a bit annoying.

Unless you're dyslexic like me then well we're okay!

StrawberryJazz · 14-07-2011 08:26PM

I don't mind abbreviations or regulars like OMG or FYI or gf/bf but I can't stand people being unnecessarily stupid e.g....
bt instead of but
using the same amount of letter but spelling the word crazy such as thanx instead of thanks
oh and cRazY cAPitOLS tHAT HuRts YouR EyEz

in general use "s" instead of "z" for plurals...its will bring your IQ up at least 20 points

Scuid Mhór · 14-07-2011 08:39PM

looksee wrote: »

Well that is true, you can always say that about any discussion on Boards. It is also true that language is changing faster than anything since the great vowel shift, yes we survived that, but the written word has never been so important at any time in history as it is now.

We seem to be attempting to go through a phase that will be identified in the future something like this: (back translation)

'In the early 21st century the phenomenon occurred which ultimately destroyed written English. It is thought that the word 'txtspk' was associated with this fast decline. There is a theory that this is a corruption of 'text speak', but it is not clear why the vowels were eliminated, or what the two words together imply.'

massive hyperbole aside, i can't tell if you're being satirical or if you're actually debating with me so for safety's worth i'll assume it's both.

so basically my argument against what you posted goes something like this:

In the early 21st century the phenomenon occurred which ultimately destroyed written English.

teenagers and young adults shortening their text messages to keep them within 160 characters will never 'destroy written english'. this is not an opinion; objectively speaking, it's just not going to happen. look at this thread - nobody's posting in 'txtspeak'. all of my friends in real life (i've just turned seventeen for what it's worth) all claim to hate text speak and that it's annoying. on my facebook, everything is fairly literate. sure, people spell the occasional word wrong but nobdyz tokin lyk dis.

There is a theory that this is a corruption of 'text speak', but it is not clear why the vowels were eliminated, or what the two words together imply.'

it's pretty self explanatory: text speak. what do we do on mobile phones? text. it's the texting language, as most carriers have a 160 word limit per text, it saves money to shorten what you're writing so you can fit more into your message.

___

my original post, for what it's worth, was actually dealing with the way i type online. just a lax way of writing with capitals etc. and should other people correct other people's spelling/grammar online? no, on account of two things: one, there are different standards of english for different people, as someone in this thread already posted - i have friends who are dyslexic and frankly, if someone attempted to correct their spelling in real life, you can expect to get punched in the face. secondly, the people who attempt to correct others are usually incredibly insecure and need to make themselves look more intelligent. personally, i can't think of anything more close-minded than people saying they refuse to read a post because it's not properly formatted. the best posters i know online all post by their own style that usually completely disregards grammar.

is text speak going to 'eliminate' the current standard of spelling as we know it? i doubt it - i reckon the text speak epidemic we've been living through is nothing more than media hype and mass hysteria. i barely know anyone who uses text speak anymore. that and i reckon the people who have a proficient knowledge of how to convey what they want to communicate via the english language definitely outnumber those who'd rather use text speak.

that's my thoughts, anyway. apologies if there wasn't a clear formula to what i was writing in regards to the way i was replying to what you posted but i figured i'd go with what i thought was most important and work my way down from there.

twirlagig · 14-07-2011 09:34PM

While bad/careless spelling does get on my nerves, I have to admit I have to seriously think for a second or two each time before I write 'quiet' or 'quite'.....

I'd good enough with the there/their and the you're/your but this 'quietness/quiteness' thing always gets me!

mcmoustache · 14-07-2011 09:47PM

Liam Byrne wrote: »

By introducing the most objectionable version of the bastardisation of the language ?

Yes. I was taking the Michael.

In real life, my jokes are only found funny by me.

Oh_Noes · 14-07-2011 09:55PM

I wouldn't even think of buying from a site if they had spelling errors. The same applies to real life. It's the height of unprofessionalism.

A friend of mine really wanted me to join his kickboxing gym too but I couldn't bring myself to do it because they have a van on the road which advertises "adult classe's", "childrens classe's" and "advanced classe's". I don't quite understand why why and I'm not neccessarily proud of it but that kind of apostrophe use physically makes me shudder.

Peanut · 14-07-2011 11:55PM

About the BBC story claiming that it's costing the UK "millions of pounds of lost revenue".

It's probably not costing the UK millions of pounds of lost revenue, because wide use of localised Google search results (e.g. using google.co.uk) means that people shopping online will just go to another website which is most likely in the UK.

looksee · 15-07-2011 12:19AM

Scuid Mhór wrote: »

massive hyperbole aside, i can't tell if you're being satirical or if you're actually debating with me so for safety's worth i'll assume it's both.

so basically my argument against what you posted goes something like this:

teenagers and young adults shortening their text messages to keep them within 160 characters will never 'destroy written english'. this is not an opinion; objectively speaking, it's just not going to happen. look at this thread - nobody's posting in 'txtspeak'. all of my friends in real life (i've just turned seventeen for what it's worth) all claim to hate text speak and that it's annoying. on my facebook, everything is fairly literate. sure, people spell the occasional word wrong but nobdyz tokin lyk dis.

it's pretty self explanatory: text speak. what do we do on mobile phones? text. it's the texting language, as most carriers have a 160 word limit per text, it saves money to shorten what you're writing so you can fit more into your message.

___

my original post, for what it's worth, was actually dealing with the way i type online. just a lax way of writing with capitals etc. and should other people correct other people's spelling/grammar online? no, on account of two things: one, there are different standards of english for different people, as someone in this thread already posted - i have friends who are dyslexic and frankly, if someone attempted to correct their spelling in real life, you can expect to get punched in the face. secondly, the people who attempt to correct others are usually incredibly insecure and need to make themselves look more intelligent. personally, i can't think of anything more close-minded than people saying they refuse to read a post because it's not properly formatted. the best posters i know online all post by their own style that usually completely disregards grammar.

is text speak going to 'eliminate' the current standard of spelling as we know it? i doubt it - i reckon the text speak epidemic we've been living through is nothing more than media hype and mass hysteria. i barely know anyone who uses text speak anymore. that and i reckon the people who have a proficient knowledge of how to convey what they want to communicate via the english language definitely outnumber those who'd rather use text speak.

that's my thoughts, anyway. apologies if there wasn't a clear formula to what i was writing in regards to the way i was replying to what you posted but i figured i'd go with what i thought was most important and work my way down from there.

Oh dear! I'd actually forgotten about you about half way through the first sentence, and got a bit carried away entertaining myself. Obviously I was indeed the only person I was entertaining.

jaffacakesyum · 15-07-2011 12:41AM

Wow..163 people care about spelling!! Get a life. I generally have pretty good spelling but couldn't care less if people make the odd mistake here or there.

Text speak on the other hand is a different story. Very annoying.

eternal · 15-07-2011 12:56AM

barbarians wrote: »

It can't be that hard to get all your spelling and grammar correct even for responding to a boards thread. I think grammatically correct sentences/responses look much better and tidier.

I would go so far AS to say a grammatically correct response is taken more seriously or respected more than a grammatically incorrect, hard to comprehend sentence filled with spelling mistakes even if they both made the same point.

(Where was my spelling mistake ? :P)

He he

Do you care about spelling (online)?

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