Topic

[Spelling/grammar-freak me] Hello, and thank you for your interest in The Internet.

Something made me think of these images. They're kind of funny. But also kind of rude.
http://i.imgur.com/u10eW.png
epic-win-photos-screening-win

I am glad I never been twitching here before on the forums, I just realized it is a wonderful place where most people can make full coherent correct sentences... (Note that I said: "can make"..)
Thanks all, keep it up, maybe you can let others follow your example if you keep doing it :)

Disclaimer: In no way is this meant as an insult against dyslectic people.
I just....get some kind of itchy feeling when I see that someone makes no effort in writing properly. (No caps, punctuation, proper spelling or grammar..) I know I'm not perfect either, I bet I make mistakes as well and I bet I also use some l33tspeak or abbreviations without realizing, but still.
It's just... sort of an abuse of language. I even have discussions about it with friends who think that the use of capitals is overrated and unnecessary.
I know, some people don't do it on purpose. Some people don't know better. It's just that most people don't care. And I kind of twitch when I see it.
Maybe I shouldn't post this. But I'm still twitching. I cannot / will not adress the reason why/who/when, for reasons I cannot say.

Goodnight wonderfull Glitches!

And yeah, go ahead, make me twitch and reply in the worst possible way, because I am asking for it by posting this. Not that I am really asking, but you get my point.
And now, before I see any replies........ *runs away covering her eyes*

Posted 13 years ago by Miriamele Subscriber! | Permalink

Replies

  • I won't make you twitchy because I am posting from my phone and not my very un-ergonomic laptop setup where too much usage of the shift key makes my hands start to hurt. But hey, check it out! We have an off-topic forum now! Pretty cool, huh? ;)
    Posted 13 years ago by katlazam Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Why don't you put your antagonistic thread over in OFF TOPIC where all the other crap goes  :)
    Posted 13 years ago by Misha Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Oops. I should have posted it there then. Didn't expect it, therefore didn't see it.
    There's a nice test about the black spot you have, and not the real black spot but a test where people had to observe something and later they didn't see the monkey...
    Hmm going offtopic... sorry.. time for bed..
    Posted 13 years ago by Miriamele Subscriber! | Permalink
  • The people over their are looking at me funny, I think there up to something. They're is nothing much I can do though other than wait and see.  
    :D
    Sorry, couldn't help myself. *splanks self* 
    I'm used to all types of spelling and grammar. I guess I've been on the internet for so long that it rarely phases me anymore. Just so long as I can understand the general idea of what someone's saying, it looks like they're not purposefully trolling, and doesn't look like they've just mashed their head up against the keyboard... it's all good with me :)  
    I make typos and errors fairly often, so I guess I can't complain about others typing or grammatical skills .
    Posted 13 years ago by Ebil Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Got to add a smug face..see i'm pulling it now :)
    Posted 13 years ago by Misha Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I share you're affliction Miriamele.

    (Hah, you see what I did there?!?!?)  :)
    Posted 13 years ago by Vicereine Linnæa Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I'm a professional proofreader. I don't care how people talk in IMs, texts and chats; I mess up all the time as I type and think too fast and not always in a synced-up manner. In forums I enjoy seeing some kind of attempt to at least separate things with commas or periods and the occasional use of a capital letter, but forums are more for personal communication, so it's not such a huge deal for me. Bugs me a bit, but eh...life's too short to fret over that stuff in informal communications. (Even if I do tease a particular dev about it now and then. Ahem.) Especially because we can't know the communication difficulties of others (dyslexia, autism/Aspberger's, English not first language, etc.). I'm totally persnickety and picky about my OWN posts though. I think the "edit" button is afraid of me because I WILL go back and change one letter or punctuation mark. :D
    Posted 13 years ago by RM Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I'm like Rascalmom. On Tumblr I am a huge punctuation/syntax/spelling/grammar fiend.
    Posted 13 years ago by Cerulean Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I would agree with your sentiment, but you are being part of the problem with ellipsis abuse.  It happens a lot;  people try to paper over their fragmented thoughts by peppering their sentences with extra periods.  It's just a little bit more work to structure what you write into solid sentences.  Often, just reaching for the semicolon instead of mashing the period key repeatedly makes the difference.

    Granted, this isn't a formal setting.  None of this is going to be published in an academic journal so a more verbal style is acceptable.  But the bit about "not casting the first stone" is relevant.
    Posted 13 years ago by Parrow Gnolle Subscriber! | Permalink
  • You spelt "wonderful" right the first time, and wrong the second!

    Also, be consistent in your ellipses! They have three dots!

    And never start a sentence with "and"! Or over-use exclamation marks too much!
    Posted 13 years ago by Nossidge Subscriber! | Permalink
  • The ellipsis abuse is a more nuanced grammatical error.  I'm talking about gross injustices that make the meaning of what has been written hard to comprehend.

    English as a second language or other types of real difficulties when trying to express ones self are obviously excused.   Even the occasional typo or error in a relaxed setting is just fine too.  Sheer laziness is not.
    Posted 13 years ago by Vicereine Linnæa Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Maybe we all have things we are lazy about? None of us are perfect. I'll twich at mis-spelled words or punctuation and grammar errors but I'd question whether it is my place to correct them. On the whole surely it is the content and ideas of a post that are important rather than the way (we perceive) it is communicated?
    I tend to feel (in the spirit of the game) that it is better to be relaxed about these issues. We are here to have fun and maybe wind-down from external stresses (in the main anyway!), so why not apply that lenience to forum posts?
    Anyone who has seen my in-game message probably knows my fingers get a bit over-excited when it comes to typing and Glitching at the same time. I just get a bit carried away sometimes...
    Lets all go and munch some purple flowers and being a bit more forgiving of each others oversights.

    p.s. I really am not such a Hippy as I probably sound here! Life is just too short!
    Posted 13 years ago by Twoodle Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Better said than me, Twoodle, but sort of what I meant :). Besides, I spend 40 hours a week getting paid to find mistakes, so no point doing it in downtime. LOL
    Posted 13 years ago by RM Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I am perfect, always. I just thought you should know. ;)

    *Runs off giggling...*
    Posted 13 years ago by Innie✿, Obviously Subscriber! | Permalink
  • that's what I thunked, Innie.
    Posted 13 years ago by bored no more Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Let me introduce... the alot!

    I also love the "grammar" comics from the Oatmeal. They're very educational and I sometimes even use them as a cheat sheet. I wish I was an English teacher, so I could decorate my classroom with these :)
    Posted 13 years ago by Victoria Subscriber! | Permalink
  • @victoria ask permission to deliver them to your local schools =)

    (I was very tempted to use the wrong your there... But i'll keep in the ellipsis abuse and pronoun capitalisation and use of en_gb spelling)
    Posted 13 years ago by arcturus Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I love the alot and that whole blog, Victoria. Heeeee! Oh wait: ... i am like all you're capitols, to ...
    Posted 13 years ago by RM Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I've been an English teacher in Italy for many years. I still do a few translations that help me keep sharp so I'm pretty used to being careful when I write, even though distraction forces me to edit fare more often than I would like. 
    My main problem is the chat. It's fast, and I become a dyslexic hippo when I try to keep up, throwing ellipses everywhere like there was no tomorrow.
    This is my official "please forgive me" post. I will refer back to it in case of criticism or accusations of verbal wantonness. 
    Posted 13 years ago by Zira Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Loved the alot as well Victoria (as I restrain myself from hitting the ! key).  Thanks for lightening up the mood folks (hmmm to comma or not to comma after folks - that is the ?).  Laughing Out Loud, MisAdventure.
    Posted 13 years ago by MisAdventure Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Hmm seems I have to clarify it a bit, and now that I've seen that I'm not the only one who is a bit annoyed with that spelling I dare to speak out a bit more.

    It's not so much the minor spelling errors or grammatical errors, it's more sentences like the one in the general forum from a seemingly very young player.
    I know I'm far from perfect regarding English spelling and grammar (or Dutch, for that matter). My fingers stumble a lot on the keyboard.

    All the spelling and grammar errors everyone put in the posts in this thread don't get me twitching like the OP in another thread. Perhaps there is a word for that kind of spelling.
    The spelling that goes: "u" instead of "you", "2" instead of "to", lots of "lol, rofl, xxx " in a sentence, no capitals or punctuation at all.

    Ingame, or in a chat, using that kind of language is less annoying. I do it too, "np, thx, nn", it's fast language when you are in the flow of a conversation.
    But a post is something that will stay, it's written language and is much slower. Usually people don't expect an immediate answer, so there is no need to be very fast. You can take the time to write a post.
    using punctuation makes it a lot easier to read text it feels like a long rant without a pause for breath when you type like this i am even feeling out of breath irl when reading sentences likt this
    *gasp*
    Posted 13 years ago by Miriamele Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Oh and words that end with "ful"- somehow I always want to write them with a double L at the end.
    Also I am going to google what ellipses are. I bet it's the little dots at the end of a sentence that make it seem like you let the sentence fade or build up suspension or something with the word trail. (I know the word "trail" can be used to describe what I mean, at least I think so, but as I thought about the word and how to use it in a sentence it became a strange word in my head. Now I don't know anymore how to use it. Trail away? Trail off?)

    edit: Read the meaning in Parrow Gnolle's reply. I should learn to read as well it seems. Perhaps some more sleep would be a good idea.
    Posted 13 years ago by Miriamele Subscriber! | Permalink
  • lol what ahppen.
    Posted 13 years ago by naitPee Subscriber! | Permalink
  • (Now looking up what a semicolon is).
    Posted 13 years ago by Miriamele Subscriber! | Permalink
  • caps are for Chumps.
    Posted 13 years ago by emdot Subscriber! | Permalink
  • hmmmm......I had no idea that this was wrong.....and.....annoying.....learn something new everyday.....
    Posted 13 years ago by Stormy Weather Subscriber! | Permalink
  •  im SO with u their Miriamele I feel like ppl who cant form correctly punctuated sentnces (unless there dyslexic, im only tlking bout ppl who dont try) r just obnoxious and will annoy theyre fellow internet-users

    (also luv the links, their awsum)

    Bahaha. Sorry, had to ;)

    Grammar lesson: THIS is how the above paragraph SHOULD be written:

    I'm SO with you there, Miriamele. I feel like if people who can't form correctly punctuated sentences (unless they're dyslexic; I'm only talking about people who don't try) are just annoying and will annoy their fellow internet-users.

    (Also: love the links, they're awesome.)

    Ta-da! :D
    Posted 13 years ago by Cupcake Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Cupcake, would you like a gold star or a lollipop? :PPPPPP tee hee
    Posted 13 years ago by RM Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I use a proof-reader at work and I'm AMAZED at what I don't know.  I'm also middle-aged and don't really care too much because I'm so mind-muddled I can't remember how to spell my own name at times, but when it is for professional writing - yep it's gotta be right.  Here, not so much.  I do my best.  And I really didn't know about the  (...) whatchamadingys.

    Edited to add:  I also didn't know about not leaving two space behind a period.   Gosh - where does one go to catch up?  (as you can see I still use 2.....  LOL
    Posted 13 years ago by Stormy Weather Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Wait. What?  I was always taught that you put 2 spaces after the end of a sentence.  Is that not proper anymore?
    Posted 13 years ago by Vicereine Linnæa Subscriber! | Permalink
  • SW and Linnaea, with proportionally-spaced fonts, it is apparently now the norm to only put one space after a period.  Frankly, habits being what they are (and I don't think that 2 are unsightly) I'm just doing what I've always done since I learned to type on a typewriter in the early '80s.  

    Personally, I think it's a silly thing to get one's y-fronts into a wad over, but some people seem to think it's really super important that we stop doing it right now.  (Nobody here, I don't think - Those people.  Out there - on the internet).
    Posted 13 years ago by jasbo Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Nope, two spaces after period are not proper anymore, for at least 15 years-ish. Has to do with the mechanics of typewriters vs. computers. Really. Hmm, my Chicago Manual of Style and AP guide, nor any of my other sources here, do not explain the full reason but do back me up in my assertion here that one space is indeed correct :). Bloody books — they're supposed to know everything so I don't have to. LOL, jasbo. I'm just so used to its being a habit by now (once I retrained myself) and because at work of course I get paid to remove the extra spaces. So it leaps to my eye in a way it wouldn't with anyone who has been less warped. Believe me, proofreading warps your eyeballs. I can't even watch TV or read for pleasure without my brain going, "Oh, double space there! Comma error! Oh, misspelling!" It's like having a disease. But I have carefully taught myself to ignore it in chat and IMs. :D
    Posted 13 years ago by RM Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Feel like proofreading my wikipedia entries on mushrooms Rascalmom?

    I kid! I kid!
    Posted 13 years ago by Vicereine Linnæa Subscriber! | Permalink
  • LOL, Linnaea, um, no because I'm helping proof another very short wiki and already driving the other bananas, I think :P
    Posted 13 years ago by RM Subscriber! | Permalink
  • @Jasbo - yep me too.  I learned to type on a typewriter in the very early 80s.  And a big LOL for "get one's y-fronts into a wad"   Good translation into Glitchian.

    @Rm - yes my proofreader is the same.  Mistakes just reach out and scream to her.  Good for you for being able to turn it off.
    Posted 13 years ago by Stormy Weather Subscriber! | Permalink
  • LOLLIPOP. LOLLIPOP. LOLLIPOP.

    Cherry. With gum. And make it jumbo.

    :D
    Posted 13 years ago by Cupcake Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Nice, informative article about why there should only be one space after periods: http://www.slate.com/id/2281146/
    Posted 13 years ago by Shepherdmoon Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Any good typesetting program should do kerning automatically, so that it's irrelevant how many spaces you put after the period on a sentence.  That said, there are a lot of really bad pieces of software out there masquerading as typesetting programs.

    The article from Slate linked in the preceding post is ludicrous.   They tried to make a 'deep historical reference' but they don't seem to understand what typesetting was in the early 20th century:  "Felici writes that typesetters in Europe began to settle on a single space around the early 20th century. America followed soon after."  Back then, typesetters didn't have a key they pressed that set the spacing after a period.  They didn't have any sort of keyboard at all unless they were linotype operators.  They had boxes of type and spacers and metal slugs to insert between sentences.  I suppose some renegade typesetters would use several of the thin brass spacers instead of one thicker lead spacer.  It was just really weird trying to figure out what they were talking about in the article.

    Yes, I've set type by hand.  Yes, I could probably set a line of text still fairly quickly from cast type out of a California Job Case.
    Posted 13 years ago by Parrow Gnolle Subscriber! | Permalink
  • @Shepherdmoon: Yeesh, that article was both fascinating and devastating.

    All through school I had teachers pounding it into my head that I needed exactly TWO spaces after every sentence. My 10th grade English teacher even went as far as to explain that by not adhering to this rule, we would end up homeless, toothless, and living off the street in cardboard boxes. He'd say things like "Your boyfriend may only use one space. Your mom may only use one space. Your manager at MacDonalds may only use one space. Educated people use two."

    He nearly failed one kid for consistently arguing with him about it.

    The idea of two spaces between sentences is so ingrained in the way I think and read, that I can't seem to work my head around it. One space? I can't do it. Writing this reply has had me going through and painstakingly deleting the extra spaces that I'm hardwired to include, but even now, it looks awful to me. I swear I have a facial tic that triggers when I don't see those extra spaces "where they should be".

    So, yeah. That article has destroyed some fundamental piece of my perception of reality, and it'll be a while before I fully recover. But, when I do, I will have at least come out of it with a better grasp of written communication. (I think.)
    Posted 13 years ago by Kipple Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Cheer up Kipple, lol. There are those of us who will always use 2 spaces, because thats what we were taught in school. Typesetters might get their knickers in a twist over it, but I really don't think its going to make anyone paauuuuse akwardly between sentences, haha.
    I agree with Miriamele, I like to see punctuation and at least an effort put into a sentance. Reading u instead of you and r instead of are, really *does* make me stumble mentally, and destracts me from the meaning of the writing.
    But I'd be a terrible proof reader, cause I usually see what should be there, rather than what is.
    And can someone *please* tell me, why are people suddenly saying "different than" instead of "different from"? Its my latest tooth-grinder, when did it change?
    Posted 13 years ago by Phoebe Springback Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I think the appropriateness of "different from" versus "different than" is a matter of the context in which it's used.

    Here's an article I found on the matter:
    www.uhv.edu/ac/newsletters/...

    (You know, thanks to all you lovely Glitchren, I've really been spending a lot of time on Google tonight.  Look, Super Nintendo Chalmers, I'm Learnding!)

    <3

    EDIT / AFTERTHOUGHT - Oooh! Hey, wait! Speaking of "a lot" (and since we're posting articles about grammar and all that), has anyone ever had a close encounter with the loveable "alot"? Yeah, here's an article about 'im:  hyperboleandahalf.blogspot....

    EDIT AGAIN!  -- Shoot! Someone already posted the "alot" link. Several replies ago, in fact. How did I miss that?! Ignore me, I suck.
    Posted 13 years ago by Kipple Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I used to not care till I joined FS. Then I started to fret over little mistakes, because I somehow came to the conclusion that not caring about spelling is immaturity. Or maybe just all forum posts there have correct grammar, so I followed suit. Anyway, when chatting with me, prepare to see things like this: 

    KkC: I thunk I did something wrong.
    (A second later)
    KkC: *think
    Posted 13 years ago by KitkatCat Subscriber! | Permalink