Spell Check

reply to post by babloyi


lol, good way to get your point across..

You are right though, long winded posts with little content annoy me far more than bad spelling..
I'm the opposite, call me lazy, but why use 10 lines when only one is needed ?

When I began several years ago working for a family from India, they were a bit confused about my name. They had heard of it, many times, but didn't understand the way I spelled it. The traditional spelling of the name Mary, is Mary. This is all they knew. When they saw my name, Merry, they thought I was mispelling my own name, lol!

I explained to them that there is the traditional spelling, the biblical name of Mary, and the variation my parents chose for me. I thought they got it. I was wrong.

To this day, if anyone named 'Mary' makes a reservation with them, they spell it Merry. I cannot make them understand. I gave up trying a few years ago, but again, it gives me a good laugh when someone named 'Mary' is checking out and see that their name is spelled 'Merry', then look and see my name tag,

I can understand that the site is international and so perfect spelling cannot be expected, but some of the most egregious errors are from North America or the UK. Sometimes, I would rather correct a post than to provide a rebuttal.

For me, if care is not taken in how an argument is crafted than I wonder in the argument's validity as well.

I have a feeling that Lincoln would not have seen much success if his proclamation of emancipation read "ya slaves b free 4eva"

Originally posted by vjr1113
haha

if you have firefox it checks everything you type, you should try it if you dont have it already, you also get adblock an noscript, but dont block ads from ats because they need the support

google chrome is also good in this department

reply to post by Dendro

I have a feeling that Lincoln would not have seen much success if his proclamation of emancipation read "ya slaves b free 4eva"

No, but the slaves may have understood it better..

Seriously though, I get the point but don't really see it as being THAT important..
But that's just my opinion...

reply to post by backinblack


Spelling/Grammar are the basics of communication. If someone cannot grasp the differences between your/you're, their/there/they're, definite/defiant then it begs to question how much of the argument they also comprehend.

reply to post by Gseven


Funny. When have we stopped bastardising the English language? It's just as absurd for me to suggest you spout nonsense like a Victorian peasant. There is no such thing as proper English because the language is always evolving. Don't like the way someone uses the language, jog on.

Originally posted by Dendro
reply to post by backinblack

 

Spelling/Grammar are the basics of communication. If someone cannot grasp the differences between your/you're, their/there/they're, definite/defiant than it begs to question how much of the argument they also comprehend.

No it doesn't..Some very intelligent people are illiterate..
Wasn't Einstein illiterate ??

reply to post by backinblack


Physics are a language unto themselves. Errors in a formula would be catastrophic to the results.

Originally posted by backinblack
reply to post by Gseven

 

So what would you and "The Sword" suggest ?

Should a grammar test be taken before you are permitted to join ATS ?

I have seen many posts with multiple spelling mistakes and grammatical errors that I have found to be quite insightful..
I have also seen perfectly formed posts that were simply a waste of bandwidth..

So you tell us what you recommend rather than just criticizing others less educated than yourself..

A spell check, like the OP suggested. Don't mince my words and take it out into left field. Nobody said anything about a grammar test, and these "perfectly formed wastes of bandwidth" are your OPINION and have nothing to do with this topic. And let's get one thing straight - laziness and apathy deserve a swift kick in the rear. There's no excuse! Maybe that's the parent or the grandparent in me, but I don't buy excuses when every activity on these boards contradicts every excuse I see. It has nothing to do with a lack of education, but rather a lack of self pride and concern for how they present themselves to the world. If folks have the time to spend countless hours on their computers, mindlessly surfing through forums and learning text message shorthand, they sure as heck have the brainpower to learn the right way to communicate with their native tongue. If they have the time to sit and play video games for hours on end, they have the time to improve their language skills. This is a topic that really fires me up, because I see so many young people who can't form a decent sentence to save their lives, and more disheartening, they don't seem to care that they can't. They'd rather waste their brains.

Again, don't make me repeat myself - mistakes happen. That's not what I'm talking about. I'm not above mistakes myself. What I'm talking about is GROSS misuse of the English language and the lack of motivation to want to do something about it. In fact, I just read a post from someone a few minutes ago from someone in the U.S., (on another thread), and I REALLY hope they are foreign born. It was sad. Their parents should be ashamed, since it was very clear to me they are most likely in high school. Their TEACHERS should be ashamed. I find it more shocking that people aren't taking a tougher stance on our youth to shake the video game/iPhone/reality TV daze out of them, and get them to take pride in something tangible. What happens when we lose all communications one day? Who will be the dummies then? The ones who can communicate properly or the ones who will be lost without their iPhones? You tell me!

I'm more concerned with why you're taking this so personal. Obviously, you aren't one of the ones whom I'm referring to.

I make no apologies. No excuses. I don't take excuses from my children, so what makes anyone think I'll take them from other people's children? An excuse is merely a justification as to why someone doesn't WANT to do something.

reply to post by Gseven



I wish I could star your post because I would do so repeatedly.

Originally posted by quackers
reply to post by Gseven

 

Funny. When have we stopped bastardising the English language? It's just as absurd for me to suggest you spout nonsense like a Victorian peasant. There is no such thing as proper English because the language is always evolving. Don't like the way someone uses the language, jog on.

More excuses as to why everyone is so comfortable with being sub-standard with their communication. Victorian peasant?? Clearly, you've not read Victorian literature. And excuse me, but the proper spelling of words and their proper usage are not evolving. Let's stay on topic, shall we?

reply to post by Gseven


That's your opinion, long though it is..
Everybody doesn't share it and I guess that's the beauty of a site like ATS..

reply to post by Gseven

I'm more concerned with why you're taking this so personal. Obviously, you aren't one of the ones whom I'm referring to.

That's just the way I am, but if the ones you are referring to posted you would probably mock their bad grammar/spelling..

I'd see it as a crime if posters were too frightened to post due to fear of the grammar police..

Originally posted by ancientthunder
reply to post by backinblack

 

I like your style of communicating keep it up! language and the wayyyyyyyyyyyy we write also communicates in a modern way. I love all styles of writing and those with their above tendencies are welcome to keep to their standard and I will keep to mine. Some prefer a high dose of ego instead of ink, thats ok! its a free world. Sugar originally had an h in it and then somewhere along the road it fell off. Others preferred to write in lemon juice its all fun, how about leaving some room for experimentation?

Good point, but just as in music, the musician must first learn the scales before he can start to improvise, otherwise it's just noise that irritates the listener and makes no sense. Improv is good as long as the basics are there FIRST.

Originally posted by backinblack
reply to post by Gseven

 

I'm more concerned with why you're taking this so personal. Obviously, you aren't one of the ones whom I'm referring to.

That's just the way I am, but if the ones you are referring to posted you would probably mock their bad grammar/spelling..

I'd see it as a crime if posters were too frightened to post due to fear of the grammar police..

Not true! I don't mock anyone for their mistakes on here, and I never will. I'm of the opinion that you can influence people simply by drawing generalized attention to something, such as what this thread does. It doesn't single anyone out, but a lot of folks will read it and it will stick with them whether they like it or not. If it motivates them to be better, then I've done my part. But the world never changes in the midst of apathy.

Originally posted by backinblack
reply to post by Gseven

 

That's your opinion, long though it is..
Everybody doesn't share it and I guess that's the beauty of a site like ATS..

That's the beauty of being able to type. My fingers can keep up with my thoughts. And yes, I learned how to type on an old-fashioned typewriter - the kind you had hit the return key to make the paper feeder come back in line with the tab set so you could continue typing on the next line. EVERYONE had to take a semester of typing in my school. That's where I learned how to really pay attention to my spelling, because we were graded on words per minute, MINUS the ones that were incorrectly spelled! Personally, I think all high school students should take typing class, if nothing else but to improve their computer usage, but mostly, make them more aware of their spelling and grammar.

And because I can type fast, I do a lot of writing. So I make no apologies for that either. That's just me. I typically find that those who agree with me, don't mind, and those who don't agree, do mind. It's all good!

reply to post by Gseven


You know my opinion and I know yours..
They are not the same and I'll leave it at that..

Originally posted by backinblack
reply to post by Gseven

 

You know my opinion and I know yours..
They are not the same and I'll leave it at that..

Maybe when you have kids, if you don't already have them, you'll understand where I'm coming from a little better. When you raise kids to be the BEST that they personally can be in the things they do, you tend change your view of the world around you. I get what you're saying, really I do, but I'm not talking about foreigners, or people that are illiterate, and unless we have a large herd of dropouts on ATS, I really don't see anyone who would be uneducated. I'm talking about laziness for the sake of laziness. I just want to make sure you understand where my target is....and where it isn't.

This is always to much for me to handle. There typos are often stuff that we learned in First Grade. Then again, I suppose most Americans were raised to avoid actually learning and just cheated on every test or attempted to just get a D on everything.

Yes, my typos in the above sentences were completely intentional, because it is that kind of stuff that I see native speakers do on a daily basis. I'm like, seriously? You can't remember to add the extra 'o' when you are writing about having 'too' much of something or being included with someone 'too?' Then, you have 'there,' 'their,' and 'they're.' They're not complicated to use, there's nothing particularly confusing for people who went to school in English, and the people who keep making mistakes simply aren't using their brains.

Honestly, there's a point when something is a typo (and I'm still referring to people raised in mostly American school systems, though honestly, I have seen a lot of foreign speakers with better spelling and grammar than Americans) and when something is just plain not trying.