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TotallyOz

Spelling and Grammar Police

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I really do not understand why anyone feels the need to point out that someone has spelling or grammar issues in a post. I find it crude and rude. I know in the online arena it is easy to pick on someone you don't know but is there really a point to it?

 

If someone is not a native English speaker or they have some issues like me (dyslexia) I really do see the need to pick and poke.

 

I read a thread on here today (now deleted) in which a poster felt the need to point this out. I'll start my own I don't Get It List and this is at the top.

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I agree with Michael but if it's done in non-invasive and non-sarcastic manner I don't mind small correction as long as it's free of unnecessary side comments. As not a native speaker I would treat this  as part of learning  process but it's may be just me.

 

Great advantage of this forum is being relatively free of sarcasm and poke remarks

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I'll start my own I don't Get It List and this is at the top.

Ah, but there's different kinds of I don't get it lists.

 

If you are restricting it to message boards then fair enough. They all have their own peculiar quirks and styles, their own do's and don't's and of course their (usually anonymous) mix of members and posters.

 

However, if Thailand as a whole is taken into account, there must surely be dozens more worthy competing for top spot.

 

My top spot?

 

For Thailand: It has to be the country's ability to shoot itself in the foot time after time. A beautiful country with charming people is being gradually ruined by greed, corruption, incompetance, etc etc.

 

For our beloved GT: With such a large readership and membership, why we don't get more people posting. To anybody reading this who hasn't posted in a long while or maybe never at all, why not take a couple of minutes to give us your views and opinions? Nobody's going to shoot you down (well, maybe the pesky spelling and grammar police but they've been well muzzled!).

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I never have understood why the grammar and spelling on a message board is so important to some either. The idea in a message that someone posts is more important, at least to me.

 

I am a terrible typist. I hit the wrong keys all the time. I don't do it om purpose. So I agree with Michael. So why do some feel it is so important? I believe it is a medical problem, Superioritis. Almost impossible to cure, but usually not contagious or fatal.

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Ok, I have this compulsion to point out others' mistakes (when I read a book, I have an extra sheet of paper to note them down). It would help me if others pointed out mistakes in my posts.

 

It looks like we are quits: others have dyslexia and I have the compulsion to mention their mistakes (but I can control it, I will refrain from pointing out others' grammar and spelling mistakes for the rest of the year). It's not meant to be rude, but it's of no help to the poster (unless I say what is wrong) and useless information for others who can see it themselves.

 

I would prefer if all members wrote in correct English, but don't let this deter you from posting. Well, if you post on messageboards about gay Thailand, you must have a skin that is thicker than getting upset about someone mentioning your mistakes.

 

Why was that thread deleted?

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Ok, I have this compulsion to point out others' mistakes (when I read a book, I have an extra sheet of paper to note them down). It would help me if others pointed out mistakes in my posts.

 

It looks like we are quits: others have dyslexia and I have the compulsion to mention their mistakes (but I can control it, I will refrain from pointing out others' grammar and spelling mistakes for the rest of the year). It's not meant to be rude, but it's of no help to the poster (unless I say what is wrong) and useless information for others who can see it themselves.

 

I would prefer if all members wrote in correct English, but don't let this deter you from posting. Well, if you post on messageboards about gay Thailand, you must have a skin that is thicker than getting upset about someone mentioning your mistakes.

I personally don't care if you point out my mistakes. I make so many it should keep you busy.

I see you tried to be humourous by writing message boards as "messageboards".....I did not catch that though, spell check did...

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- Everyone makes typos, including myself.

- A lot of posters seem to compose their messages just after coming home from a night of drinking.

- Some posters speak English as a second language.

 

All the above is easily overlooked. I only get out the red pencil and the sharp tongue when I read a post from someone who seems to think that their opinions should reign supreme yet they don't know "there" from "their" or "they're".

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I really do not understand why anyone feels the need to point out that someone has spelling or grammar issues in a post.

...

I really do see the need to pick and poke.

 

I assume you mean "do not" in the second line as well?

 

I don't want to appear "crude and rude" but as this is not a grammar or spelling issue I feel safe - it is however a classic example of why you need to proof-read your posts carefully if you want people to understand you!

 

the same often applies to "there", "their" and "they're" etc - dyslexics and non-native speakers aside, everyone can make mistakes sometimes but too many posters consistently seem like they could not be bothered spending their time to proof-read their message before clicking post so why should I waste my time trying to decipher it or give their opinions any credence?

 

bkkguy

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I don't want to appear "crude and rude" but as this is not a grammar or spelling issue I feel safe - it is however a classic example of why you need to proof-read your posts carefully if you want people to understand you!

People who want to require everyone to proof read every post to perfection (I try but I miss many things) are all pro-life, voted for Bush and masturbate to Osama bin Laden porn.

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People who want to require everyone to proof read every post to perfection (I try but I miss many things) are all pro-life, voted for Bush and masturbate to Osama bin Laden porn.

 

 

- A lot of posters seem to compose their messages just after coming home from a night of drinking.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well, if you post on message boards about gay Thailand, you must have a skin that is thicker than getting upset about someone mentioning your mistakes.

 

 

MichaeI, I'm glad you restored your health and a vivid imagination, almost peed laughing reading about  "Osama porn"

 

 

Mah , If one is able to compose input to the board just after coming home from night od drinking I wonder what he  was drinking all night, buttermilk only  perhaps ?.

 

Christian, I agree with you about need for thick skin on some forums and admire sometimes that you are able to keep cool when attacked. In similar situations I  would be  tempted to remind my adversaries how their grandmother conducted herself  when she was still  in the high school.

 

And by the way, I noticed you are travelling and posting about less frequently recently. Did you fall in love or you are devoting rainy season to wealth accumulation?

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I see you tried to be humourous by writing message boards as "messageboards".....I did not catch that though, spell check did...

 

I did not try to be humorous, I have problems with spelling in one word or two words. Indeed, spell check recommends "message boards".

 

I just learned about National Punctuation Day September 24 (every year).

 

In very general terms, that should not offend anyone: if you have problems with punctuation, you can consult their website:

 

http://www.nationalpunctuationday.com/

 

and check this out as well:

 

http://theoatmeal.com/comics/misspelling

 

(with comics and mnemonics: "If you put an A in "definitely", you are definitely an A-hole")

 

re vinapu: I stay in when it rains in the evening, and sometimes I have a computer-free day on the weekend (or even a full weekend without computer, because I don't want to sit in front of a computer every day). But there are still plenty of stories to tell.

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Agree minor errors commonplace, but there are/were

posters who wrote incomprehensible prose, exhibited

the language skills of a slow nine year old student

and butchered the language. There are men who stopped

going to school and dropped out as preteens. Some men

cannot read or write at all. Some enjoy irritating

others, some crave any attention at all and some are

always in a drunken or drug induced stupor.

Some live for these forums and take it all too seriously.

Some create endless lies and live out their fantasies

and some feel the need to inform all of the mundane

trivialities of their daily routines.

It is just the way it is:-)

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You may make errors for whatever reason. You should not be "condemned".

 

But that doesn't mean you are right.

 

And it is certainly no reason to be proud, nor to try to level down the others.

 

Many posters whose english is not the native language make less faults than the others. Look at Christian !

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For Thailand: It has to be the country's ability to shoot itself in the foot time after time. A beautiful country with charming people is being gradually ruined by greed, corruption, incompetance, etc etc.

 

"Greed, corruption, incompetence, etc. etc." I did a reverse dictionary look-up. That's the definition of government's role... "A good government remains the greatest of human blessings and no nation has ever enjoyed it." Dean Inge, (6 June 1860 – 26 February 1954),

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