Spell check/punctuation in posts

[howyadoin]

I agree with the "Idiocracy" comment earlier...it's becoming more and more obvious that our great nation is heading in that direction.

[muddytaco]

idiocracy is a great movie, just throwin it out there

[blackdiamond]

http://www.grammarbook.com/english_rules.asp

Here's a good link for "brushing" up on your grammer skills.  I use sites like this and dictionary.com on a regular basis at work.

[85_4RNR]

Edited

[Rockcrawlintoy]

I'm not the best when it comes to english and grammar, but some people are horrible when it comes to spelling. I will admit I'm not the best when it comes to capitalization mainly because I'm lazy. Also, I think a lot of the problem is that spell check works well but people do not read back over their message or do not know the difference between the words. 

[79coyotefrg]

i was told by a friend that's a teacher in public schools that things went to when the "no child left behind" bull crap was passed in congress.   She said nowadays they couldnt fail a student no matter how stupid they were.  If the text spoke everything they still had to pass them so that they wouldnt be "left behind" in a grade with kids younger than they were.     our government at its best.

[junya92toy]

The real problem is the parents want everyone else to raise their kids, but they do not want them to discipline them.
And it seems like most people do not want to be responsible for their own actions, they want someone to. I mean look at how the news presents things, they TELL people what to do, how to act, and just about everything else.

[IronClad]

:

I text.  In fact, since getting my phone just a week and a half ago, I text quite a bit.  And when I do, I type the full word and use most of the proper punctuation, though I do avoid some in the name of time.

I do the same too and it bugs me when people cant even spell out 3 letter words as if its harder or takes longer.

[junya92toy]

Or when someone says, I heart this, but then puts NE1?

[howyadoin]

The real problem is the parents want everyone else to raise their kids, but they do not want them to discipline them.
And it seems like most people do not want to be responsible for their own actions, they want someone to. I mean look at how the news presents things, they TELL people what to do, how to act, and just about everything else.

This is sadly the truth!

[81_yota]

not every person is perfect in spelling so srry lol omg idk idc so ?? lol lmao opps sorry hahahaha  

[possume22]

i you cant understand things without the ...... the ?? the!!!!! then they must be something wrong with you its like you cant comprehind something without proper ...?!!!!!,,,... when you read it it should make sense if you got sense i know im the worlds worst at this but i had a stroke in 2006 and i forgot everything i had to learn all over again even to walk and talk i can spell decent but havent a clue where to put them symbols at  i was good in english in school i didnt have to take  basic english for college until i had a stroke i used them some people like me cant help it so before you go calling people stupid and dumb and blameing teachers you should think and understand not everyone is perfect like you

[Tofudude]

the biggest factor i believe of poor grammer is texting. kinda of a pregnant dog to text with the original 10 button phone. Kids who got older kept that in their head and slowly it spread to everything else including their kids. i'm not that good of a writer, but i try to avoid using slang and short hand

i you cant understand things without the ...... the ?? the!!!!! then they must be something wrong with you its like you cant comprehind something without proper ...?!!!!!,,,... when you read it it should make sense if you got sense i know im the worlds worst at this but i had a stroke in 2006 and i forgot everything i had to learn all over again even to walk and talk i can spell decent but havent a clue where to put them symbols at  i was good in english in school i didnt have to take  basic english for college until i had a stroke i used them some people like me cant help it so before you go calling people stupid and dumb and blameing teachers you should think and understand not everyone is perfect like you

were talking about ordinary people (hopefully), if something happend to you or anyone else that is not what this is about. Were talking about normal healthy folks whose english is just as bad as a 5 year old.

[yjay]

I concur. I don't expect someone with an impediment such as yourself to have perfect grammar or punctuation just as I would not expect someone who's first language isn't English to necessarily be perfect (or even very good). I would think this would be a given and understood, if not, let me assure you that nothing from me was directed towards people who have difficulties through no fault of their own, only those who can help it. And obviously it's their decision how 'they' choose to communicate, not mine.
Just expressing how things come across to me, and it looks like a few others.

[JanMarie13]

Sorry, but I have to say that threads like this just kind of piss me off.  This is an internet 4x4 forum, not English class.  There are plenty of hard-working individuals out there who are valuable and contributing members of society, but maybe English wasn't their strong point.  I believe these threads are probably meant to be geared toward the "young punks" out there who simply don't care--who may currently be in school, but are "too cool" to bother.  But what they end up doing is making the aforementioned individuals feel like they aren't good enough to contribute to or participate in this forum.  It makes them second guess every post they make, and feel like if they don't do everything just perfect, everyone is going to think they're stupid or pick them apart.

Now I have seen a handful of posts on here in my years here that were just so far out in left field that I couldn't tell what they were trying to say.  One time I even paraphrased the entire post for the kid so that he would get some actual answers, and it worked.  I don't think we should jump to conclusions and say that kid's an idiot, or his parents didn't discipline him, or whatever.  Typically you have no way of knowing anything about a person's personal history, so don't be so quick to pick them apart and make them feel lower than they may already feel.

[Stocker]

No offense, Jan, but threads like this don't piss me off b/c I see them as directed at those who know better but are either lazy or think it's a normal way of communicating. Some of us disagree, and we have a right to express our views. I would hope nobody is complaining about anyone with a disability or a language issue.


What kinda pisses me off is....

Deceptive product packaging -- a box or bottle which, when opened, is only half-full because they wanted it to appear as if you were getting more for your money.

Dog crap in your Vibrams.

A hair in your biscuits & gravy.

[JanMarie13]

But how do they know whether someone they're complaining about does or does not have some sort of underlying disability or language issue?  I'm not making this up, people confide in me.  Because I'm just such a nice person I guess.     So that's why it "kind of pisses me off," because it's making good people feel bad about themselves.  I know that's not what it's meant to do, but unless you say "Billybob1069 needs to learn to put together a paragraph" then everyone is going to think that it might pertain to them.  And I'm not talking about kids here.  What about people who aren't in their teens or early twenties.  School is long-since behind them and now they're just out there working their asses off.  They come here for truck advice and get ridiculed on their English skills.  Just doesn't seem right to me.


EDIT: I guess "pisses me off" may have been a little strong of a way to express my feelings about the topic...it rubs me the wrong way because I know it's making some people feel bad about themselves. 

[Stocker]

But how do they know whether someone they're complaining about does or does not have some sort of underlying disability or language issue? 

Point well taken... If I voice my opinion in a thread like this, I try to direct it towards those who know better and apparently don't think it matters. I guess I am old-fashioned, but I do think it matters. 

What about people who aren't in their teens or early twenties.  School is long-since behind them and now they're just out there working their asses off.  They come here for truck advice and get ridiculed on their English skills. 

I hope nothing I have posted comes across as ridiculing anyone, though I realize that one's frame of mind can easily be misunderstood on a message board. One person's good-natured ribbing may be seen by someone else as an insult.

As to school being a distant memory, it's been nearly 44 years since I have been in a classroom....   

[blackdiamond]

MPA, I think the real focus of this thread is, as Stocker mentioned, the posts that make it obvious that people simply don't take the time to even attempt to write something correctly.  A lot of the time it's things like missing parts of sentances that should be obvious if they took a second to read what they had typed before pushing the post button or when text jargon is used.  There are some of us that have no excuse for grammer, spelling and punctuation errors, but these types of errors generally entertain me more than anything else.  I realize that most people didn't get the educatioin in grammer and punctuation that I did.

I had a crazy teacher in 7th - 10th grades and drilled it into us daily, his English class in 7th grade was harder than a lot of high school and college classes I've taken when it comes to the time required to complete the homework.

It usually fairly obvious when English isn't someone's first language and I fully expect them to make errors.  I certainly couldn't function in another language.

As for people with learning dissabilities, I wouldn't intentionally judge their posts unless they had the attitude that I can't do it (or it's too hard) so why bother trying.  People can improve at anything if they put forth an effort.  Only they would know if they're taking the time to do their best or just making an excuse.  Even though the posts on this forum are not likely to make a significant impact on their lives in a direct way, taking the time to do their best will most certainly improve their skills and that can help them in other areas of life.

[IronClad]

Dog crap in your Vibrams.

That pisses me off to no end but not dog crap.. cat crap!

[Steve_925]

the thing is not everyone cares about their grammer or spelling, i try to spell and punctuate(just used spell check), but i dont really care if you think i cant spell or speak well. do you dress up every time you walk out the door so no one will think your a slob because you have oil stains on your clothes, i dont. its not that i dont care about knowing grammer or spelling in general, i just dont care about it when it shouldnt be cared about.

[Rocksurfer]

In a nutshell here's where the problems all stem from, I realized this from my sons schooling. In Spanish class he needed a pocket translator, in math he needed a calculator, in English he needed spell checker with grammar correction. These were not just things he was able to use, they were required for the classes. What is wrong with this picture, how is anyone to learn anything when a machine is required for the class? If I were to even look at a calculator in math I would have failed the class. The others weren't even invented when I was in school so I had to do it the old fashioned way, I LEARNED IT! Why all of a sudden can we be allowed to legally cheat our way through?

I have to say though I think the biggest problem in using the English language is texting, it has absolutely ruined how words are put together.

[howyadoin]

I have to say though I think the biggest problem in using the English language is texting, it has absolutely ruined how words are put together.

I've had people actually comment regarding the fact that my texts are all spelled out with punctuation...kind of freaks them out.  Swype texting has been a life saver for me time-wise.  I'm sure alot of this also depends on a persons vocation, as mentioned above, some people probably NEVER write anything except on internet boards, so it's not really a part of their "real life".  I, on the other hand, write and type constantly...including presentations, etc.  If my "communications" were poor, I couldn't work.  I don't think that people should feel "called out" in this thread, but I do think it may be good to make some people think about what they're writing and how they spell and punctuate as a general rule.  .02

[yjay]

I've had people actually comment regarding the fact that my texts are all spelled out with punctuation...kind of freaks them out.  Swype texting has been a life saver for me time-wise.  I'm sure alot of this also depends on a persons vocation, as mentioned above, some people probably NEVER write anything except on internet boards, so it's not really a part of their "real life".  I, on the other hand, write and type constantly...including presentations, etc.  If my "communications" were poor, I couldn't work.  I don't think that people should feel "called out" in this thread, but I do think it may be good to make some people think about what they're writing and how they spell and punctuate as a general rule.  .02

Well said.
By the way, a possessive, (a persons vocation), should have an apostrophe and be 'a person's vocation'.
I couldn't resist. But, I think I can tell from your post you can take a bit of constructive correction as I did in the second post in this thread. That was part of the original intent and spirit of this thread.
It seems to me that if people attempt to spell, punctuate, and speak to the best of their ability and try to improve it is probably to their advantage in most aspects of their life. I try to make it a habit so it's automatic. You never get a second chance to make a first impression. (I think that is from a commercial)
People can take this whole thread for what it's worth. It's probably not worth much.

Post script...Do I use parentheses too much or incorrectly?

[howyadoin]

Well said.
By the way, a possessive, (a persons vocation), should have an apostrophe and be 'a person's vocation'.
I couldn't resist. But, I think I can tell from your post you can take a bit of constructive correction as I did in the second post in this thread. That was part of the original intent and spirit of this thread.
It seems to me that if people attempt to spell, punctuate, and speak to the best of their ability and try to improve it is probably to their advantage in most aspects of their life. I try to make it a habit so it's automatic. You never get a second chance to make a first impression. (I think that is from a commercial)
People can take this whole thread for what it's worth. It's probably not worth much.

Post script...Do I use parentheses too much or incorrectly?

Well said and I certainly stand corrected.  I agree completely, we all make mistakes without a doubt.  I think this is a perfect example...taking a moment to at least "attempt" to make something readable is really the point of the thread imho. 

[blackdiamond]

Well said.
By the way, a possessive, (a persons vocation), should have an apostrophe and be 'a person's vocation'.

Post script...Do I use parentheses too much or incorrectly?

If I remember correctly, parantheses can be interchaged to a certain degree with a comma, but when you double them up it's certainly overkill.  Also, I'm pretty sure that you should have use a double quote (") rather than a single quote (').  Single quotes are genreally reserved for quotes within double quotes.  Finally, I'll have to look it up again, but I'd swear that the final quote actually goes after the period in most cases.

[blackdiamond]

If I remember correctly, parantheses can be interchaged to a certain degree with a comma, but when you double them up it's certainly overkill.  Also, I'm pretty sure that you should have use a double quote (") rather than a single quote (').  Single quotes are genreally reserved for quotes within double quotes.  Finally, I'll have to look it up again, but I'd swear that the final quote actually goes after the period in most cases.

http://www.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/quotation_marks.html

Here's some information on the use of quotations.

http://www.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/parentheses.html

And another for parentheses

[Stocker]

I'll have to look it up again, but I'd swear that the final quote actually goes after the period in most cases.

If your quote ends with a period, then yes, there should be a quotation mark after that period. However, if that quote is at the end of your sentence, a second period (following the quotation mark) is required, to indicate the end of your sentence.

Geez, this is starting to feel like nineteen sixty-something all over again!   

[85_4RNR]

yjay,

You spelled "losing" wrong in your first post of this thread.

 

[yjay]

yjay,

You spelled "losing" wrong in your first post of this thread.

 

You are correct. Thank you for helping me to improve my writing skills.
I am starting to love this thread.