AIBU to think it is rude to correct people's grammar on MN

[heathermumof3]

Ok I am getting little upset and peed off that some people on here find great fun in correcting people grammar. Personally I have dyslexia (if that's spelt correct) and esp when I am tired mt grammar and spelling lacks the attention. I find it if you can read it and understand it what's the problem. Is there any need to be so petty.
Sorry if there is any grammar mistakes above in advance.

I think it depends. If a post is so badly spelled and sloppily punctuated that you can't understand it then its reasonable to pull people up on it. But by and large you are right. Its mainly pedants who get a huge sense of superiority in their knowing the correct use of the apostrophe; basically stealth education snobbery. With apologies to HenghanRoard I couldn't disagree more: its one thing if you're on a talk forum about grammar or English literature. MN is supposed to be a forum for mothers and all human life is here (or should be). If people with a superior education spend their time taking pot shots at those with a less superior one it not only is tedious and self-important, it actually intimidates people who fear their grammar may not be up to scratch.

It fucks me off the most when an OP is posting about something that's been bothering them for ages, maybe taken them a lot to pluck up the courage to post about it, and some tosser comes on and picks apart their grammar/spelling.

Say something to them about it and they're like 'What?? I was just being helpful'.

Yes, lots of help.

"Spelling and punctuation do matter, for clarity of expression."

I would agree with that - up to a point. But it is very rare for spelling/punctuation to be so bad that it interferes with my ability to read someone's posting. You're reading them within the context of the entire thread, which will usually compensate.

TBH, the postings I find lacking clarity of expression are usually fine for spelling and punctuation.

X-posts with you Bathy, we must be right

It is a bit weird if someone won't give advice because they don't like the way the question was presented-especially if the person is obviously crying out for help!

'If a post is so badly spelled and sloppily punctuated that you can't understand it then its reasonable to pull people up on it'

I don't think it is, why should people who struggle with the written word be excluded from the help and support MN can give.

Who are The Pedants to decide who can get advice?

Madams provided the perfect Friday thread "AIBU to think that a graveyard is 'consummate ground' and 'coq-au-van' means exactly what it suggests?

They'll learn something in the process. They certainly will Hengsham. Theyll learn that there are a number of intolerant pedants on mumsnet and that some intolerant pedants, yourself included, should attend to their own grammar before casting aspersions on others.

It's rude and pointless and to me clearly screams 'I'm much smarter then you so ner'

I find it particularly hard to stomach when someone is so obviously in need of help and others are just adding to the OPs distress by mocking them.

AgentZigZag agree with you... I don't think grammar show-offs should get any quarter here. Just that I have come across the odd post which I literally couldn't understand and sometimes you do need to get to the bottom of things.

Yes it's very rude. If someone makes a typing error, spelling mistake or grammatical error there is NO excuse for pointing that out. It is extremely ill mannered to do so. If the issues are such that the post cannot be understood, then tell the poster you are unclear on what they mean. I type very quickly and make a lot of spelling mistakes - I really don't care, it is not an issue. If anyone pointed it out to me or correct my grammar I would think they were ill bred, ignorant and extremely rude.

Its pathetic. However, I do h8 txt spk.

corrected my grammer that should say - unless anyone wants to point it out in order to inject a bit of meaning and importance into their life? :)

I always read reviews on Amazon before buying something and there is a Dutch guy who seems to spend his days doing nothing but going from review to review nitpickingly correcting English grammar/spelling etc. He gets very, very nasty if anyone challenges him.

He drives me crazy. I just think it is a pointless excercise designed to piss someone off, I always think of him as a modern day version of the old Green Ink Brigade ranting off from his bedsit.

Just tiresome.

yes, it's rude and is often used instead of providing a real argument, on the other hand some errors really wind me up so I love a good pedantry thread. A place for everything...
Although last time I read a pedantry thread I lost hours trying to understand hanging participles.

Tbf jeck, getting to the bottom of what a poster's saying doesn't necessarily hinge on their spelling/grammar, hence 600+ posts about whether the cucumber was chopped or sliced

I am Dyslexic (not self-diagnosed either have the piece of paper to prove it too .)

If I am starting a thread I will write it in a word doc and then cut and paste. But with not being the world?s fastest on the keyboard either if I try to do that in the middle of a thread I look like a loon responding to something that was said written 30 minutes earlier.

If I am angry or upset it becomes worse, and as part of my form of Dyslexia I cannot see the misspelt word. If I mean to type bottom and accidently type potton , my brain will read it as BOTTOM. I cannot see what I have typed is incorrect.

I was constantly harassed and bullied in school by teachers who didn?t believe in that nonsense, but was bloody lucky that before it wore me down too much I have a wonderful teacher who pushed to get me diagnosed and the help I needed.

I?m telling you all this because although in real life and of my friends/ colleagues would describe me as confident, laid back and never takes offence, and for most things I don?t.

But anytime my spelling ability comes up I die a little inside even when mentioned rather than pointed out if you see what I mean. (takes me right back to age 7 being yelled at by teachers and called stupid, reminds me of how much my parents worried)

I agree that if you can make sense of a post, yes, point it out but there are ways and ways.

What?s wrong with saying I?m guessing you?re upset/angry whatever but I can?t read your post can you make it a bit clearer so I can see if I can help/point you to the right thread/in the right direction?

Lol at these comments. Thank you for evey one who agress with me the vast majority any way. I don't think people would generally pull up others peoples grammar in a conversation so why do it online.

I spend most of my day doing emails for work but I have spell check for that. I do find when I am rushing or upset I spell so many words wrong.

I would never email some one back to complain about there grammar and my email are mostly off soon to be mums or new mums with the classic baby brain lol.
I come on MN for fun and to relax not worring that if I post some one is going to be on the here questioning if there and thier are correct.
By the way I don't think my baby brain has ever gone away.

If you can understand what is being said, no need to correct anyone.

It is not a school classroom or a grammar test

nit picking about grammar and spelling is passive aggressive belittling
usually when no other cogent argument to put,they resort to its their not there or somesuch

and it speaks volumes about rudeness of the pedant doing it

mn is only online blibber blabber not an academic paper

I'm sorry but none of the posts I have seen have been so poor that you didn't understand what was being sad.

It's really gets to me when it is clear the op is upset or it's a sensitive subject and the first post back says i'm not going to read you post cause there aren't enough paragraphs. Ffs way to be supportive!

that does not stop us arguing points. Writing for publication is different. Then I suppose we get it right. (Or try to)

We are right, Agent

"Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at an Elingsh uinervtisy, it deosn'tmttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht frist and lsat ltteer is at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a toatl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae we do not raed ervey lteter by it slef but the wrod as a wlohe."

I don't think a comma in the wrong place or a lack of paragraphs or the odd misspelled word will prevent anyone from being able to figure out what someone is saying. People are fairly good at figuring out what is meant even if there are errors in how it is said!

When you communicate, it is important to be clear, yes. and some errors can totally change the meaning of a sentence

A woman, without her man, is nothing
A woman: without her, man is nothing

But there's a time and a place for correcting, and when someone is asking for help is NEVER that time or place.

spelling is an oft used mn put down.but fortunately most ignore the dweebs who point ot out

first post back says i'm not going to read you post cause there aren't enough paragraphs.

On first look that really made me laugh-but unfortunately it happens quite a lot! If you don't want to have to plough through it you can just ignore. It generally happens when someone has a terrible problem and they have to start by apologising for the way it was written!

I have never corrected anyone's spelling or grammar on here, but I do still think it is important to be able to spell, punctuate and express yourself clearly. Many people can't, and it can hinder them in some workplaces.

So yes, it is rude to correct people on MN, but that doesn't mean we should all give up good spelling and grammar in favour of textspeak. And for the 25 year old poster, I'm 27 and I have never used textspeak when communicating with my friends.