Bad Grammar

[xylaria]

Generally I find when someone whinges about grammar on this forum it is some smug pedant that is losing an argument so pulls up the bad grammar and spelling of another poster. I am not being pedantic, or smug, I would just like to politely say I can't read a post that is written with no capitals at the beginning of sentences and a lack of full stops. There is more and more of this type of post appearing, and because I am dyslexic I really struggle to read them, and it can't be easy for those that speak English as a second language either.

Full stops and appropriate use of capitals are pretty basic, they are part of the key stage one targets for seven year olds. I don't think this is to do with any lack of education, it is more to do with laziness using the cap shift key. I have to check one of my own posts, for spelling, missing words and basic grammar a few times before posting to make sure it is readable to others. I am just asking others to do the same, please.

 

[John Fenna]

It is not only dyslexics who have a problem with this kind of thing!
I struggle too...and although my spelling and typing skills are poor, I am not concidered dyslexic...
I have to agree with the above post - and add that text speak is a closed book to this wrinkly and might as well be Chinese (which I do not read either!)

 

[sapper1]

My favourite posts are the ones that are all capitals and no punctuation,the very best have no spaces either.LOL
Xylaria, how long did it take you to perfect your post? I have tried to be pedantic and smug by finding an error ,all to no avail.
I do agree though some posts are really difficult to read.

 

[xylaria]

My favourite posts are the ones that are all capitals and no punctuation,the very best have no spaces either.LOL
Xylaria, how long did it take you to perfect your post? I have tried to be pedantic and smug by finding an error ,all to no avail.
I do agree though some posts are really difficult to read.

I will write this without putting it through a splee checker or reading it through. Generally I take about mintie to spell check, and few mintues to read through. I hope this you an idea of what i write like without putting the effort into making it readble to others.

 

[Barney]

The written word can always be improved to make it more readable, more descriptive or to create greater emphasis.The differences in style and presentation are part of the joy and diversity of the language and communication IMO. MY daughter has a right old laugh when I text her, as frequently I spell out every word correctly. She cannot understand why I do this at all.

 

[sandbender]

I will write this without putting it through a splee checker or reading it through. Generally I take about mintie to spell check, and few mintues to read through. I hope this you an idea of what i write like without putting the effort into making it readble to others.

Without resorting to the spell checker your spelling is still superior to some

Badly written posts do bother me, not so much because of the effort needed to translate them but because the entire BCUK forum will be a resource for generations to come. There is a great deal of irreplaceable experience and knowledge to be found on these pages and we should at least try to put it down in a manner that is legible for those future readers.

 

[sapper1]

I find it is my typing that lets me down rather than my spelling,the keys seem to move around on my keyboard.It's srprising how badly I can type with two fingers.

 

[Barney]

IT seems to me that alkohol si oftn the case of manny suspoect posts.

 

[Barney]

Or rather, Ecesive consuption of!

 

[Shewie]

You should see the state of some of the A-level work SWMBO brings home to mark.

Some of it is just pure laziness but a lot of it is genuine learning difficulties. I think we just have to grin and bear it on a public forum though for the same reasons.

 

[Wayland]

Can I just add "text speak" to this list of lazy posting practices m8.

I really can't see how urgent your post is if you have to save a fraction of a second by abbreviating everything.

The stupid thing is that you probably spend more time working out how to abbreviate it than just typing the darned word. :bluThinki


I try to double space my lines to help make them easier to read too.

It's a simple thing but it does make it a little easier to read than solid blocks of text with no punctuation or paragraphs.

Spell checks are wonderful tools that frequently stop me looking a fool, but I still follow the policy of read twice, post once, to catch the things even the spell chequers miss.

 

[locum76]

You're nowt but a bunch of grammanazis.

 

[w00dsmoke]

whit aboot vernacular? one musn't be so judgemental we efter agh er a comun, comuna, ach big group of fowk fae ah pairts, wae agh differen needs. Git ma drift Absolutley.


(I am of course writing this with tongue in jowl as they say up here!).

 

[Nagual]

I'll put my hands up and say I'm far from the best speller and combined with my in accurate typing, well it can lead to some interesting contributions. Luckily for me, Firefox has an inbuilt dictionary which not only highlights mistakes but also offers various correct wordings. My particular pet hate is people who capitalise every first letter of every word: Like This, It Makes It Hard To Read. yuck. Or ' i did this, i went ' lack of capital I. Wayland, actually for me double spacing is harder to read than single, not sure why, but it kind of breaks up the flow slightly, however it is far from actually hard to read if you know what I mean?

 

[Barney]

Aoccdrnig to rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a toatl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe.

 

[harryhaller]

One should express oneself freely, in dialect if one wishes - indeed that's good. Spelling doesn't have to be "correct" as long as it is clear what word was meant.

But all on the condition that you don't forget that the reason you are doing this, is in order to communicate something to other people.

If you forget about the person at the other end trying to understand what it is you are trying to say, you will fail.

Or worse - they may misunderstand you. That's why we have smileys, so that people at the other end know whether you are joking, serious, tongue-in-cheek etc.

Communication is based on "protocol" - if the two parties aren't using the same "protocol", they can't communicate. The word "protocol" comes from computer jargon to describe the manner in which two computers communicate with each other.

The great break-through necessary for the internet was that all our PC's use the same "protocol". Before that they didn't.

Communication is the name of the game - and everything is allowed as long it works

 

[BorderReiver]

I can easily ignore the bad spelling if it doesn't interfere with the understanding of what's being said.

The lack of punctuation and capitalisation does make the reading of those posts not worth the effort.

Even little things like "to" or "too" can be irksome as well. You have to think about what the poster actually means.

These posts are in the minority however, so they don't detract too much from the enjoyment of BcUK.

 

[sapper1]

Barney ,research also shows that we only read the tops of the letters and not the bottoms.If you plce a piece of paper to caver the tops of a sentence see if you can read it ,then cover the bottoms of a different sentence and try again.

 

[Nagual]

Barney ,research also shows that we only read the tops of the letters and not the bottoms.If you plce a piece of paper to caver the tops of a sentence see if you can read it ,then cover the bottoms of a different sentence and try again.

Gave that a quick shot, and it seems to be right. Not heard of that one before as I had Barneys. I think it has to do with the amount of difference in the top halves of letters compared to the bottom half, generally speaking. Most letters have more distinct shapes at the top then the bottom, and those that don't are compared to whats next to them to make an educated guess. I wonder if we took the tops of letters and mixed them up as per Barneys example we could still read them?

 

[Toddy]

I don't read all the threads but I must admit I hadn't noticed an increase in the no capital letters or full stops type of post

As a general rule, text speak will be pulled up. If it persists, I'll remove it for sheer bad manners on a forum which clearly does not use it.

Abbreviations, well common ones, like tbh, fak, edc, etc mea culpa, I do use

I'm old fashioned enough to struggle with to, two and too, or there, their and they're, when these are used in the wrong context. It's simple clarity, which word does the writer actually mean ?
No paragraphs are a pain, I doubt one person in thirty could be bothered reading a screed that has no natural breaks within it's layout.

On the whole I think the forum is very clear, but I have no problems with threads like this gentle reminder. In fact, it's a very courteous way of making us all think about the how we edit and post our responses.

cheers,
Toddy