What's your reaction to hideous grammar/spelling/punctuation in gun-related postings?

I AM ALWAYS GREATFUL when someone corrects my errors. Those who are not simply show their overwhelming ignorence, self indulgence, and narcissism.

Posters need to realize that forums are a permanent record (something i'm sure they have heard before...somewhere) that follows them in internet perpetuity. If they want to have examples of their lack of attention to detail available FOREVER then I guess I can avoid comment. At least most of the time.
Joe

I ani 't got no probblem wite it, at thall! LOL!

i Aint done seen any mispeled ads, it dont make sence to rite incorectley



(My 1,600 Post!)

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Yawn.

If the message is rendered ambiguous or incomprehensible I'll ignore it, but otherwise I don't worry about it.

Things like using FTF or FTE without defining them when asking for help are far more annoying.

Extremely poor grammar and spelling is a negative to forum posts. It can be hard to take the post seriously or even get through it.

In publications it is unacceptable. I have a reloading manual here where they auto corrected to the wrong word in a chapter header (repeated on every page of the chapter). If this was not caught how much can I trust the data that is in that manual?

To me it depends on what is being written. There are many who do not post a lot and may not because they know their spelling and grammar are lacking. I actually love to see posts from people who are this way because it helps them express themselves even though they aren't as educated as many here. I look right past their errors and read it for the value of their experences.

On the other hand, I detest posts containing the latest abbreviated words and text talk. It's laziness and has no place on a writing forum. The ones that are the worst are the ones with no punctuation or paragraphs, just one long sentence. They use the excuse that they are using their smart phone. Well, thousands also use them with no problems with proper writing. I generally don't even read what they write since they have no desire to do it properly.

Some irritating ones are those who think they are the grammar police or are judgemental in someone's choice of guns, accessories or whatever. They then use poor spelling like "they're, there or their" errors. They are intent on pouncing on someone for owning a Hi Point yet don't know proper grammar and spelling. These are probably the worst offenders out there. They need a life.

To those who just can't spell due to lack of schooling or whatever, just post away. You probably have great experiences to share and we can understand what you are saying just fine. We welcome your posts.

Our enemies read these things as much as our supporters. Obvious errors make us all look unintelligent or sloppy, something that might be used down the road.

There is an affected style of "country writing" that appeals to some people.

Sum folk laik to writ up theys wordings sos they be all fancified by countrification.

It seems disproportionately popular in some corners of the shooting world.

Hoo boy that stuff be bang-on pop-u-lardy 'roun somefolk who be gunfolk.

But it is hardly unique to the shooters, and I don't think there is sufficient evidence to tie it to neurological damage from lead exposure.

Shoot, son, it ain't lead what pickled them brains, and it ain't just shootists be 'pandin that vo-cab-u-lation.

I find it a turn-off, but then again I don't like doing business with Olde Worlde Shoppes either.

Sum folk ain got no humors, no how.

Why do you ask?

We got a problem hea, boy?

There are some grammatical errors in word usage that make me flinch, as "affect" for "effect" or vice versa. I can usually get past these, as I am not perfect myself.
I had rather see too much punctuation than too little.
Spelling I can handle, "I never met a man so narrow that he can spell a word in only one way."

There are some technical usages that annoy me, as "bore diameter" for "groove diameter."
There are made up names for parts. I see some number of "guide rod springs" which are not usually to be found on the parts list of an automatic pistol. They do seem to be in the same vicinity as the recoil spring, though.
These are harder to ignore because they make me wonder if the poster knows what else he is talking about.

But one of the worst is, as larryh says, the run-on sentences, no paragraph breaks, and often no capitalization. I frequently pass these by entirely unless the thread title is really captivating like a good newspaper headline.

Another aggravation is the "Twenty Questions" post, with insufficient information given to start a reasonable discussion.

I don't let poor grammar and spelling trouble me too much. That said, I do appreciate properly written posts.

Of course, there is the occasional post that is so bizarre that it verges on the incomprehensible. Those need work.

If a poster has that kind of problem, why not keep a word processor window open to take advantage of spelling and grammar checkers so a quick cut and paste can be done? Taking a moment to consult an online dictionary can also help if one is not 100% sure of a meaning.

if you really want to see crap-- mediamatters.com

Kynoch said:

What's your reaction to hideous grammar/spelling/punctuation in gun-related postings?

Do you think hideous grammar/spelling/punctuation is mostly a product of limited intelligence, ignorance or simply a lack of diligence?

Finally, how do you view "grammar nazi" rants from those that are tactfully corrected? Thanks.

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My initial reaction is usually not such a good reflection of myself.

I don't think poor grammar/spelling/punctuation can be mostly blamed on limited intelligence or on a lack of diligence. It is not so simple.

I was taught to read and write before kindergarten by a mother whom insisted on correct English. She was Canadian and educated that way but, I find in my older years that I often forget how words are spelled, how sentences zre constructed, and sometimes just exactly where a comma is to be placed. Sometimes, I even make keyboarding errors (typing mistakes, to my elders). Yes, some people are not as intelligent as you or I (and I'm not so sure of myself these days), and some people are intelligent but blatantly lazy. And some people are limited in how they are able to express their ideas because of medications, physical disabilities and/or injuries, which have absolutely no bearing on their intelligence. And a lot of these people are simply common folk that don't care what other people think of how they write.

To quote my GF's father, "How smart can you be if you only know one way to spell a word?"

I learned not to be the grammar gestapo after I met a woman I insisted on correcting. It turns out she was in a very similar situation to Dr. Stephen Hawking, with a similar level of education. Boy, I was ashamed of myself.

Just 2 more quick points;
I can swear like a sailor, and take a certain joy in creative cursing. I am rarely shocked but, I know when it is appropriate and when it is not. It is not appropriate in a family forum like THR.

second, If you think that it's bad in a gun forum, you should scan a few others. Some other fora (or am I allowed to use 'forums'?) are actually much worse. Take beekeepers and ham radio operators for example.

Text talk script is a put off for me. The assumption is that the poster is young and has little experience to speak from.

Generally, I overlook grammar as long as the content is interesting.

Hideous? I ignore hideous posts. Sorry guys, this is a forum where we must exchange thoughts and ideas through the written word. If your grammar and spelling is hideous and it causes me effort to read it, I won't make the effort because you didn't. I'll sometimes use Word to compose a long post or spell-check certain words before I post. If I can make the effort. . .


If you're the public face of an organization, it reflects poorly. Always keep that in mind if you write, or a reader might think you're writing on behalf of a movement or group.


That said, I often read THR from my Kindle and have fallen into the habit relying upon auto-correction/auto-complete. I can forgive the they're /there /their kind of errors because I've seen my own posts have them using this tool.


Run on sentences, poor grammar and no punctuation make posts a chore to read. So I don't make the effort to reconstruct someone's thoughts from gibberish. I only scan it with a (former) Mod's eye and move past it after I conclude its not inappropriate for THR.

Kynoch said:

What's your reaction to hideous grammar/spelling/punctuation in . . .

Click to expand...

It depends.

Something that looks like typical typographical slips of the keyboard, whether from a computer or handheld device are no big deal. Especially if you can tell the person gave a legitimate attempt to communicate well.

If a post is nothing but run-on sentences, with no capitalization, no paragraph breaks, and is basically unreadable . . . well, I can't wrap my brain around that.

Might it keep you from taking someone seriously? Could it keep you from purchasing their goods for sale? Do you think it reflects poorly on the pro-2A community?

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Yes, yes, and YES. Particularly since our opponents strive so mightily to use proper grammar, seem to know how to use spell-check, and, more importantly, understand that the credibility of one's message is suspect when the delivery is heinous ...

It doesn't bother me in the slightest. If this was a writing forum or a literature club, I could understand it. In those cases where the writer doesn't take the time to make their point clear, I just skip it and move on.

Some of the smartest people I know talk like country bumpkins. If I disregarded their knowledge because of their lack of oral/written eloquence, I would be poorer in deed.

The only time I have ever been somewhat annoyed by bad spelling/grammar is when someone accuses another poster of the crime while being unable to make the accusation with proper English themselves. Even then, it is almost better to ignore and move on.

The quality of the underlying post determines how much bad grammar I can tolerate.

There is a particular poster on this forum who is obviously quite knowledgable on matters of riflesmithing and reloading, yet most of his posts require me to read them 2-3 times before I can decipher exactly what he intended to say. In his case the quality of the signal makes the noise worth looking past. Others not so much...

It's an internet forum, not a forum on how to publish a perfectly written piece of literature . Forums are made for getting a quick thought or answer out, they were never started to be a published work. For those who expect perfect grammar and punctuation, perhaps a forum on spelling would be of better use.

I have to say. I'm probably one of the younger folks on this forum at 28. My generation does not care. We grew up being the first people to take "See you there" and make it "CU THR" We have also always had spellcheck (except some of us in grammar school before computers really caught on).

And honestly, the only time I ever see anyone throw it out there anyway is because they are trying to make someone feel stupid. I'd have to say 9 times out of 10 its during some stupid internet argument about some non important topic. It really doesn't even accomplish what it was set out to do and it makes the person correcting the other person look petty.

What's your reaction to hideous grammar/spelling/punctuation in gun-related p...

No it doesn't really matter to me nor do I feel it reflects poorly on the poster.

And here's why.

It was James Burke who once pointed out a life truism when talking about Medieval peasants.

To paraphrase: it's not that people then were stupid. They just knew different things. They might not could have been able to read or write but nor could we farm turnips and figure out how to not starve to death in a cold Northern European winter.


Yes there are actually stupid people in the world. But just because their grammar isn't highly refined doesn't mean they may not be smarter than and know how to do all sort of things you don't know how to do.