Illegible posting

[Big Dreamer]

I'm getting more than a little concerned that our school system is failing us based on many (certainly NOT all) of the posts submitted by younger members these days. Improper spelling, no adjectives, no punctuation, incorrect use of punctuation, and lack of upper case characters where appropriate are just a few of the liberties being taken with the English language around here. I'm not talking about the use or "r u horny" or "see u later". I personally don't write like this, but I understand that there's an internet culture that does.

I know that for some, English is a secondary language and I applaud those people for making an effort to communicate in written form when they're a little unsure of themselves. But "English as a second language" LPSG patrons surely are not a massive percentage of the posts in question here.

I'm not bringing this up simply to exercise my whining muscles. I mention it because many of the Original Posts butcher the English language to the point where the idea being presented is indecipherable and therefore many people don't respond due to lack of comprehension. Please take a minute to proof read your thoughs before hitting the SUBMIT button people. Since your reason for taking the time to post must be to present an idea or pose a question, you'll get the most "bang for your buck" in terms of responses if you present legible, cohesive thoughts.

 

[thoswood]

The font on my screen is legible enough, but sometimes the posts can be undecipherable.

 

[Mr. Snakey]

This is the beauty of it all. Is it not? Sometimes we see the trees for the wood........

 

[D_alex8]

Please take a minute to proof read your thoughs

:tapedshut:

 

[danerain]

The font on my screen is legible enough, but sometimes the posts can be undecipherable.

Lol!

 

[SteveHd]

Big Dreamer, I fully agree. I generally devalue posts that are written by a native English speaker without capitals and really poor grammar. Often I won't reply when otherwise I would have.

On the other hand, I give a lot of latitude to those whom English is a second language. I'll take the time to read their messages carefully. Often they write a comprehensive message even with grammatical errors.

It's the native English speakers that annoy me. Of lot of it is blatant laziness. I can overlook spelling errors but not the phone-style crap.

 

[D_Gunther Snotpole]

It's the native English speakers that annoy me. Of lot of it is blatant laziness. I can overlook spelling errors but not the phone-style crap.

I feel the same way, Steve. But we're fighting the wind.

 

[playainda336]

wut r u tking boutt i spel gud...ass

i hily litirate

 

[Big Dreamer]

:tapedshut:

Yup.... there was certainly a spelling mistake in there. My original point was that sometimes the accumulation of spelling and grammatical errors cause the idea being presented to either be watered down or completely lost. I just perused the OP and I think the message still comes across, even with the erroneous spelling of a single word.

I'm not trying to be the grammar police here. I'm just sick of seeing threads where someone posts an impossible to understand paragraph, and a ton of people jump in and say "What the Hell are you talking about??". There could be some interesting discussions getting missed out on.

 

[Big Dreamer]

wut r u tking boutt i spel gud...ass

i hily litirate

That was much easier to understand than the type of posts I'm referring to. :biggrin1:

I won't cut and paste any examples in here, as it would be impolite to the OP.

 

[Kassokilleri2ff]

I have very good language and grammar skills, i pwn english and i used to read like... 24/7. I can write a paper with correct grammar and spelling and punctuation, but online i could not possibly care less. Some people think grammar and spelling are an indication of inteligence. Another reason why in many cases i wont do things right. Language skills have been proven to have little correlation with inteligence. So if im arguing with sombody, i wont spell right, or use completely proper grammar. Why? because when they call me out on spelling and grammar, they have no points for thier argument anymore, meaning i win. lol. I play alot of computer games and talk in chat rooms and get into alot of arguments and ive seen they often turn to spelling wars and dropping the original topic. lol. So bad spelling may help you!
And you might say, "why would you purposly make yourself look like an idiot" well again, language skills and inteligence have little correlation, so i want to make a point of it, by having valid debate points, inteligently stated, yet improperly spelled and "gramatisized" <--i dont think thats a word ahahah!) so when they do turn the argument to my spelling, ive won the main argument, and proved my point that you dont need to spell right to be smart. ^^

 

[Big Dreamer]

The font on my screen is legible enough, but sometimes the posts can be undecipherable.

Legible
1.capable of being read or deciphered, esp. with ease, as writing or printing; easily readable. 2.capable of being discerned or distinguished: Anger was legible in his looks and behavior.



I was using the word legible more in the context of definition #2.

 

[Blocko]

It's not the fact that the education system is failing the young these days (although, there are people that slip through the cracks), it's the fact that people of an older generation who are lacking in education (or just plain stupid) don't usually have the knowledge or learning skills required to operate a computer and post at a website like this.

I've seen it in many organisations that client for me, when I do analysis. Older people who have poor learning skills fail to be able to learn or deal with new processes. Younger people learn new processes much better, as their brains aren't hard wired yet (even if they are ignorant/stupid).

I'm getting more than a little concerned that our school system is failing us based on many (certainly NOT all) of the posts submitted by younger members these days. Improper spelling, no adjectives, no punctuation, incorrect use of punctuation, and lack of upper case characters where appropriate are just a few of the liberties being taken with the English language around here. I'm not talking about the use or "r u horny" or "see u later". I personally don't write like this, but I understand that there's an internet culture that does.

I know that for some, English is a secondary language and I applaud those people for making an effort to communicate in written form when they're a little unsure of themselves. But "English as a second language" LPSG patrons surely are not a massive percentage of the posts in question here.

I'm not bringing this up simply to exercise my whining muscles. I mention it because many of the Original Posts butcher the English language to the point where the idea being presented is indecipherable and therefore many people don't respond due to lack of comprehension. Please take a minute to proof read your thoughs before hitting the SUBMIT button people. Since your reason for taking the time to post must be to present an idea or pose a question, you'll get the most "bang for your buck" in terms of responses if you present legible, cohesive thoughts.

 

[Big Dreamer]

I have very good language and grammar skills, i pwn english and i used to read like... 24/7. I can write a paper with correct grammar and spelling and punctuation, but online i could not possibly care less. Some people think grammar and spelling are an indication of inteligence. Another reason why in many cases i wont do things right. Language skills have been proven to have little correlation with inteligence. So if im arguing with sombody, i wont spell right, or use completely proper grammar. Why? because when they call me out on spelling and grammar, they have no points for thier argument anymore, meaning i win. lol. I play alot of computer games and talk in chat rooms and get into alot of arguments and ive seen they often turn to spelling wars and dropping the original topic. lol. So bad spelling may help you!
And you might say, "why would you purposly make yourself look like an idiot" well again, language skills and inteligence have little correlation, so i want to make a point of it, by having valid debate points, inteligently stated, yet improperly spelled and "gramatisized" <--i dont think thats a word ahahah!) so when they do turn the argument to my spelling, ive won the main argument, and proved my point that you dont need to spell right to be smart. ^^

Nobody tried to associate spelling skills and intelligence anywhere in this thread. I guess if your reason for posting is to argue, then incorrect spelling and grammar may help to further your cause. I personally don't view this a playground for arguing, but as a place to exchange ideas and experiences, so I can't see how intentionally being difficult to understand would be an asset. I've made a lot of friends here, and I do NOT like to waste my friends time by making them weed through a pile of half formed thoughts that I was too lazy to finish.

 

[B_big dirigible]

I can write a paper with correct grammar and spelling and punctuation, but online i could not possibly care less.

So what makes you fantasize that anyone could possibly care about your posts? If even you don't give a shit, why should anyone else?

If it's worth saying at all, it's worth saying intelligibly.

 

[playainda336]

That was much easier to understand than the type of posts I'm referring to. :biggrin1:

I won't cut and paste any examples in here, as it would be impolite to the OP.

Well hey...I TRIED. LMAO.

I'm not good at writing illegibly. >_>

 

[DC_DEEP]

<...>
Improper spelling, no adjectives, no punctuation, incorrect use of punctuation, and lack of upper case characters where appropriate are just a few of the liberties being taken with the English language around here. I'm not talking about the use or "r u horny" or "see u later". I personally don't write like this, but I understand that there's an internet culture that does.

I know that for some, English is a secondary language and I applaud those people for making an effort to communicate in written form when they're a little unsure of themselves. But "English as a second language" LPSG patrons surely are not a massive percentage of the posts in question here.

I'm not bringing this up simply to exercise my whining muscles. I mention it because many of the Original Posts butcher the English language to the point where the idea being presented is indecipherable and therefore many people don't respond due to lack of comprehension. Please take a minute to proof read your thoughs before hitting the SUBMIT button people. Since your reason for taking the time to post must be to present an idea or pose a question, you'll get the most "bang for your buck" in terms of responses if you present legible, cohesive thoughts.

Poor writing skills are often seen as a badge of being "cool." The "r u horny" types in particular fit that description. I agree, it does make the post difficult to read, and often makes the post so unpleasant to look at, many members just pass it by. Other examples include capitalizing every word, using no capitals at all, ellipses between every phrase, and typing in all-caps.

Just so we understand one another, here's a minor little quote from the LPSG Terms of Service:

Language- We try to promote the use of good grammar, therefore we'd prefer that you not use leetspeek or internet shorthand, as in “2” instead of “to” or “too,” or shortened words like “ur” for your. For many of our members, English is not their first language and this makes your posts difficult to understand. Perfection is not required, but common sense is appreciated. Simply try to be mindful of these things in order to keep the posting quality of the forum high. Please make your posts relevant, clear and as concise as possible, so that we all may benefit from LPSG.org. Try to put posts in the most appropriate section, and please, only one place.

 

[Big Dreamer]

Thank you DC. That paragraph from the TOS does a much better job of illustrating my point.

You don't need to be an award winning author, just make an effort.

 

[Blocko]

Language skills have been proven to show little correlation to certain types of intelligence. There is actually a subset of intelligence called, oddly enough "Linguistic Intelligence" and is to do with understanding communication and language. It does tie into all the other intelligence types in different ways (maths and logic both require grammatical structures within which to live, for example).

Take for example Joseph Conrad, a native of Poland who learned English while sailing. Instead of communicating like a taxi driver, his works in English are more powerful than most native speakers could muster under the best of circumstances. This shows a clear form of linguistic intelligence, related to comprehension, the power and impact of diction, syntax and structure, the application of grammar rules and finally the ability to sympathise with the people you are communicating with, such that you can put your message correctly into their context .

To say that it has no correlation to your intelligence is a poor argument at best. Not to mention that it's an argument you failed to provide any evidence for (there is nothing self-evident in your post either).

As to your argument regarding "not caring"... you should not have to try/care to have good English or communication skills. Sure, the odd faux-paus you don't bother to fix, but why should you have to "care" to communicate well? So, either you don't have good language skills, or you are deliberately being a poor communicator... which doesn't really seem like a good way to be when you're in a forum designed to communicate with other people.

I have very good language and grammar skills, i pwn english and i used to read like... 24/7. I can write a paper with correct grammar and spelling and punctuation, but online i could not possibly care less. Some people think grammar and spelling are an indication of inteligence. Another reason why in many cases i wont do things right. Language skills have been proven to have little correlation with inteligence. So if im arguing with sombody, i wont spell right, or use completely proper grammar. Why? because when they call me out on spelling and grammar, they have no points for thier argument anymore, meaning i win. lol. I play alot of computer games and talk in chat rooms and get into alot of arguments and ive seen they often turn to spelling wars and dropping the original topic. lol. So bad spelling may help you!
And you might say, "why would you purposly make yourself look like an idiot" well again, language skills and inteligence have little correlation, so i want to make a point of it, by having valid debate points, inteligently stated, yet improperly spelled and "gramatisized" <--i dont think thats a word ahahah!) so when they do turn the argument to my spelling, ive won the main argument, and proved my point that you dont need to spell right to be smart. ^^

 

[SpoiledPrincess]

If English is your native language and you haven't managed to have learned how to spell reasonably well and use grammar and punctuation in a passably decent way after x number of years at school then I'm afraid (despite what anyone says about there being no link between this and intelligence) you're going to look stupid and people will treat you accordingly.
We can all make a typo but I think it's blaringly clear when it's a typo rather than poor spelling.
English is a language that evolves quickly and also has built into it a facility to use nonce words, however, separate will always be separate and definitely will always be definitely, and if you can't grasp that then you're a bit daft.
When using a chat room we all do things which make our sentences grammatically incorrect, I often change sentence construction mid stream and for the sake of speed don't go back to alter the whole sentence, but when writing formally or even posting on a thread you have the time to give it a quick once over. If it doesn't make sense people will automatically assume that's the way you think and mentally label you a moron.