On spelling and grammar....

[thegoat4]

How many people here would agree that at a bare minimum decent spelling, grammar, and punctuation are important?

I'm not going to post any specific examples because I don't want to cause a flamewar, but some of the posts around here are damn near unintelligible.

Usually it's minor stuff like switching tense mid-sentence or using the wrong version of "there." But recently there's been a spate of posts that are one huge stream of words, little or no punctuation, typos all over the place, the occasional collection of letters that isn't even close enough to a word to figure out what the hell it's supposed to be, and absolutely no structure or flow. It's like a keyboard barfed.

When you think about it, this is a written forum--virtually all of our communication is written. So, it stands to reason that writing well, or at least non-horribly, matters.

 

[Carlos Murphy]

Grammer

Yup, no watt cha mean, know mater witt ue say theirs always

sum kritters thatel disagree whit cha butt knot everbody is as

edgeamacated as me is an kin tell the deferanse

 

[Insanejughead]

AGREED!!!!!


10000%!!

I'm one of those people to completely spell out words and use punctuation (as well as double spacing between sentences) on my cell phone when I text.

I have tried to "dumb" myself down when it comes to typing... but the plain fact that it bugs the living sh!t out of me forces me not to do it.

Also, when I switch ideas or thought paths, I usually start a new paragraph to set it out from whatever else I was saying.

Anyway... AGREED!!!!

 

[Todd]

Yes I would have to say that It can bug me sometimes when you cant understand someone.

But let me say that I am one of those illiterate types at times. I type everything out in word then cut and paste it into TRS. I do this because my spelling sucks. The literary world has never been my cup of tea. Im a mechanical engineering student at a prominent engineering school. Technical writing I can do as its not the same as just telling a story, but it can also be difficalt at times for me. I know what is going on in my head but I have troubles getting it in writing.

This being said take it easy on some people. It might not necessarily be there fault they cant type well, use punctuation, or grammar. But the info they can share might be better then someone who can.

 

[broken2wd]

recently there's been a spate of posts that are one huge stream of words, little or no punctuation, typos all over the place, the occasional collection of letters that isn't even close enough to a word to figure out what the hell it's supposed to be, and absolutely no structure or flow. It's like a keyboard barfed.

lmao

 

[97RangerXLT]

Yep, I agree 100%.

The language you use daily, whether it is typed or oral, says a lot about your intelligence level or perceived intelligence level. I understand that sometimes just a quick reply or question is all that is needed at times, but do so in a way that is understandable and clear written. the Mozilla Firefox browser comes with a spell checker built in, so it will check your spelling as you type.

Some of the more annoying points I see are the one paragraph that runs on and on with no breaks. Even with punctuation, in a forum this is very tedious and hard to read. Break your paragraphs up according to subject, do not put 3 or 4 subjects into one long paragraph. I tend not to read posts that are jumbled together because it gives me a headache trying to sort it all out. If you have several problems with your ranger, give each problem its own paragraph.

Now before someone jumps in and says it, I do realize that if you have a learning disability like dyslexia, spell check is not going to help all the time, and sometimes not at all. Do the best you can, ask for help from a friend or family member to help. A lot of times it will help to read what you typed out loud. You will then see it does not sound right and you can adjust it from there. And for those of you who do have dyslexia, my best friend has it pretty bad, yet he was able to get a Bachelor in Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from Southern Illinois University. So, you can overcome this disability.

End rant.

AJ

 

[MAKG]

It's not so much that it describes intelligence. Not really.

It DOES describe attention to detail, which in some respects is far more important.

The ability to communicate effectively is critical in ANY field. For engineers, it makes the difference between having a chance at being effective and being useless. Even if the analysis done is absoultely perfect and brilliant, it does no good if the reviewers, fabricators, safety analysts, and so on can't understand it. Technical writing often involves graphs, charts, drawings, diagrams, and so on, which may be more effective than written words at communicating, but they don't replace it.

From my own engineering perspective, I've found that a clearly written concept of operations is absolutely critical for any device, and EVERYONE involved in its development has to understand it.

To the point at hand, when asking for help, it's silly to expect volunteer readers to do all the deciphering work.

 

[rangernotlifted]

idk who would ever do such a thing as not use right puncation, not me at all

 

[metalmacguyver]

It's like a keyboard barfed.

I know I’m not the best at capitalization and I think that I will try to make better effort to have well written posts in the future. What I sometimes do is copy and past my post into Microsoft word and spell/grammar check it there. Then copy and past it back into the post box and put it up.

I did it this time and look at how nice that rambling looks...

 

[reno]

i no i thank that 5 out of 4 people rite bad.

 

[blkmazda90]

Sorry, Won't let it happen again.


I guess im going to be the one that says that it does not matter.

If you can read and comprehend what they are saying. wth is the big deal? I think its almost just as bad when someone rides a damn textbook to ask a simple one line sentence.

I understand that some posts are just about impossible to read but maybe they werent gifted perfect writers like you.

Just a thought.

 

[mhughes165]

im sure im a offender of this keyboard barfage, but come on people, ITS A INTERNET FORUM, im not writing a dissertation or attempting to get a doctorate, its a bunch of people talking and trying to help people out who need it.

I simply do not feel like taking the time togo back and fix every little typo or spelling mistake that is made becuase the computer cannot keep up with the speed at which i type.

Also, alot of the older folks on here simply arent computer literate, does that mean they are illeterat NO, it just means they arent as "schooled" on using the computer....

just my.02, if it bugs u then just dont read it, simple as that.

 

[Psychopete]

I simply do not feel like taking the time togo back and fix every little typo or spelling mistake that is made becuase the computer cannot keep up with the speed at which i type.

LOL, are you on a 386 10mhz machine?

I think that particular problem lies between the chair and keyboard.

I've just typed for so long, I guess I don't really think about it.

What really gets you no responses is lack of periods, the post is next to impossible to decrypt. (rangernotlifted for instance) Speaking of which, what elementary/middle school did you attend? I'll be absolutely certain not to send my kids there when and if that ever happens.

Pete

 

[Capt Jay]

I've had the same criticism/thought several times. Every time I have expressed it I've been flamed by someone ( at least I think I was, I usually couldn't understand what they were typing ).

It is very important to be able to express yourself clearly and precisely. In my field, precision of language is not only courteous but a matter of safely. If a person does not practice precision of language and a thought or instruction is not properly conveyed at a critical time, people can get killed.

On a different note, I think it's rude to make people try to have to decipher what ever cryptic message people spew. It doesn't take any more time to type a full word instead of what ever text shorthand is used that day.

Here's the order to do this.
1. Type
2. Spell check
3. Post

Very simple very easy.

 

[Totalled]

Some people's posts read like an exploded can of alphabet soup...