To think that pedantic grammar policing should be abandoned on here?

[Enoughreally]

There are plenty of people with very valid questions and opinions that seem to be slated from the very minute that they post. The only objection I have is the lack of paragraphs in an OP,that renders me cross-eyed.
Surely, if everyone can actually understand what is written,there is no need for constant correction (intimidation) of new posters. It would be good if some character could be allowed to shine.

It's only really an issue because the whole point of writing is to communicate. If very poor spelling/grammar is hindering the communication of the posters message, then it's failed.

Some poor use of grammar makes the meaning of a post ambiguous.

And I don't mean mean the little stuff, just basic punctuation, use of pronouns and tenses. The "he don't" stuff might irritate, but I understand what it means.

Oh please don't, it's the only education i get these days.

Don't mean big stuff I meant. See I'm not making sense any more!

Are the Grammar Police some kind of secret police so scary that you have to name change to dare criticise them OP?

Should I now await a knock on my door to drag me away down the stairs?

Ah shit...

I read the thread in question, and I don't think it was an issue with grammar policing, it was more an issue with people just being plain nasty, including linking to the Jeremy Kyle website and going "I think you'd find better support here".
Thank goodness there were some more understanding people on that thread who weren't chiding the poor OP. Really poor form - the girl was distraught (as you would be), particularly when people started making huge assumptions about why and when she and her DP got together, why the DSD was not coming to the wedding etc. They would probably be livid if similar assumptions were made about thm.

"Re the paragraphs - it's not "sneering" to want people to put breaks in their long posts"

It is when you read - as I have read - "I got bored halfway through" and the like.

That's the sort of thing I am referring to

HengshanRoad: "It's all about communication though. Since we are all behind computers, it is imperative that we use good enough English to be understood. Call me a snob but I DO judge ppl hu rite lyk dis, and who don't use paragraphs."

That's very honest and I'd agree that it's difficult not to judge someone who writes in such a way. I guess it boils down to whether or not people should comment on it. In some ways, it could be considered cruel to remain silent and not point out to the poor girl (we know which one) how her posts make her appear and, most importantly, that there's no such word as 'getten'!!

Sorry. Lost my ability to bite my tongue at the end there

I agree Hecate.

There needs to be a distinction being saying that good use of language is useful and aids communication, and being unpleasantly snide about saying so.

But on MN I think there is a tendency to be chippy about grammar and spelling, and to denounce all those who think these things are useful and important as pedants.

ScaredBear (presumably stranded?)
I must admit I read your posts and thought you were being uncharacteristically harsh on the other thread.
Like others on here, I do wince sometimes at poor spelling and grammar, but tend to leave commentary for Pedants' Corner (or I might make the occasional joke comment if I know the poster and am aware if they can handle a little joshing!)

Lylah How would it be helpful for you or anybody else to point out that the way a poster has written is not 'up to snuff'? If the poster could have written it in any other way, surely they would have? All that will happen is that you will have drawn attention to the fact that the poster hasn't met your standards to such a degree that you feel it is necessary to point that out.

It's cruel - and completely unnecessary. The egos of some on MN must be the size of watermelons to think that their 'expertise' is so sought after and their opinion so 'necessary' that they need to comment on the manner in which posts are set before them.

LWITW I didn't say that the OP in question was not up to snuff, I merely threw out the possibility that it could be considered cruel to remain silent - in the same way that it could also be considered cruel to point out grammatical errors. There are at least two sides to this argument and a simplistic 'people shouldn't comment on the way people write' isn't necessarily the most valid.

For example, sometimes people's comments are difficult to understand and sometimes someone is (and has been) using a word out of context for years. If I was doing that I'd like someone to tell me. I have a friend who keeps on writing 'on route' instead of 'en route' and I corrected her (privately of course). This wasn't cruel in opinion, it was actually kind as the mistake was allowing her to be judged by other people as 'not up to snuff'

:)

I agree with you Kat. I love language and hate it being abused

But it's all about time and place. And when someone is posting for support, it is never the time to have a go about their spelling or grammar. Never. I think posters who do that are mean. It is kicking someone when they are down and it is wrong.

Scaredy - just looked back and I think I was being a little harsh on you there. I was getting wound up by general comments about the OP's grammar. I noticed that you were one of the posters (who I recognised) who alluded to her writing style, and was surprised. But looking back, it wasn't in an attacking manner.

Mea culpa (thought I'd slip that one into a pedanty thread).

Many apologies.

Lylah I suppose the pinch-point is whether you can understand the post or not. This bearing in mind that other people invariable do manage to comprehend the post and respond on the content of the OP.

You might like somebody to tell you if you are using a word out of context, that's fine. To assume that other people would also appreciate that is wrong. I agree with you on the 'en route' example; the difference though being that it was a friend of yours and you notified her privately.

I personally think that if people can't comprehend what somebody has written then they should keep quiet - or ask what the OP meant, in a tactful way. The posts on the other thread were not tactful, nor kind, they were spiteful and done for humour at the OP's expense. That's not ok, not in my book anyway.

MrMan - who said anything about making fun of people who can't spell? I didn't. I admitted to disliking bad grammar and spelling - I think we should all care about this.

But in the spirit of utmost honesty, I have been known to be a little mischievous in response to a badly-worded post - but only if the OP is being a twat (usually on some sort of hysterical rant). Not because they can't string a sentence together.

(Also I was responding purely to the OP's question, I was not alluding to any other thread)

I dont see any spelling mistakes in the quote of mine used above. There is a distinct lack of apostrophes due to my complete inability to work out how to use the keyboard on my new tablet...

It depends.

Agree with Cogito that it's hard to resist pointing out mistakes made by people posting 'high-handed points about someone else's intelligence, or the standards in schools'.

Also agree with Hecate that lots of typos etc. are probably made because someone's too upset to proofread: 'If someone is in a state, then it is natural that their words and thoughts come tumbling out. Just as you might speak in a rushed, jumbled fashion if upset.'

I make mistakes often. I sometimes punctuate in the wrong place and realise it when the post is on the screen. I sometimes pickup useful hints and tips - like the difference between 'infer' and 'imply', for example. I don't mind if posters were to pick me up on my mistakes but some might mind.

The most obvious 'delight' I've seen is from posters gleefully picking up mistakes in posts made by critiquing posters who are themselves being high-handed and obnoxious.

I think Hecate makes a very good point about the state people can be in when they post and it's all too easy to make assumptions based on very little other than 'presentation'.

I totally agree that articulate posters tend to get a different response to what is fundamentally the same post than inarticulate posters (as I pointed out on the thread which I think is being discussed here).

Spelling mistakes don't really bother me, but poor grammer (especially lack of punctuation/paragraphs) can make a post hard to understand, and more likely to be misread/misunderstood. I for one am more likely to miss a detail of a post if it's shrouded in a sentence which runs unfettered by commas for a hundred words or so.

I'm a sel-confessed pedant who even correctly uses an apostrophe when sending text messages.

I do think some of the comments on the thread linked were vile, I don't read long posts without paragraphs and can't abide 'txtspeak' but am happy to tolerate differing standards or writing. Yes, I may sneer but I keep it to myself.

I always think once you start to resort to criticising a poster's spelling you have lost the argument. I once had a typo corrected and just thought the person was a knob.

See, there's a typo above, I must be thick!

Hahaha, SauvignonBlanche, I also do that with text messages and get deeply stressed by my iPhone's attempts to impose "it's" on me whatever the context.