To think poor spelling/grammar/punctuation gets you less sympathetic advice on MN?

[FermezLaBouche]

Ok, a thread about..... many threads, really!
I just notice that when there's an OP where the spelling is not so great, the punctuation is less than perfect and there's an abundance of "txt spk", the original poster seems to get much more blunt comments in response than someone perhaps more articulate.

i meant txt spk is just lazy and crap.

speling and punctuation ability may vary, so i don't judge it really.

choosing text speak is rubbish imo.

If they are too lazy to write a proper OP, why should people spend time on their answers?
Poor spelling etc is different, you can usually tell when someone can't as opposed to can't be arsed.

I have to agree - there is a marked reduction in tolerance to poorly written OPs.

I have to also admit that if I click on a thread and the OP is one long spiel of unpunctuated text speak then I will tend to go elsewhere rather than burn my brain trying to work out what the hell it all means.

Sometimes it's not that hard - other times, punctuation makes all the difference in the world to comprehension of the post - and if I have to work twice as hard to understand the post, then I tend to be a bit more short-shrifty in my answer to it (if I even get that far).

I'm not proud of myself for that, far from it - but I just can't see why people don't at least try to make their posts comprehensible to as many people as possible, if they want considered answers.

There is also the consideration about text speak that a few posters are known to use text readers, which don't work with text speak; and that it can be very hard for people with dyslexia to cope with - so it's not really a good idea to use it if you want a full range of responses.

I cannot help but judge.

I think it is indefensible to pick people up on their mistakes and I always say so.

Posters may have LDs. They may have had a poor education. They may not be clever. They may not spk englihs as their first language. Are they then not entitled to respect? Are they to be mocked and belittled?

And the worst one for doing this are the supposed enlightened liberal posters, often banging on to others about how they should live their lives more morally.

And what of lurkers?

Are we to give the impression that the only posters to be respected are middle class oxbridge educated who speak perfect english?

I may be wrong but I usually assume that OP's who write in text speak are young? So I help as best I can (if I have time to try to desipher).

The easy answer is that if people want to write a long OP, all they have to do is type it into a Word document and check it all for spelling mistakes, grammatical errors and correct punctuation as well as sentence construction.

When satisfied, copy and paste the lot into Mumsnet.

I admit it - I automatically think that someone who can't spell, or punctuate, or use grammar, is a bit thick. I know it's more likely that they've just had a state education in the last 25 years or so, and it's probably not actually their fault, but my brain judges them. I mostly don't even bother to read the OP when it's badly written, I haven't got the patience and am definitely less likely to be sympathetic to the poster so there's no point.
There are a couple of posters who spring to mind whose every post has me grinding my teeth and thinking "Oh fuck OFF you ignorant twat" too just because their spelling, grammar, and even syntax is so bad, which probably says more about me being an impatient judgmental old miseryguts than it does about them and their intelligence or lack of it...

Surely, if posters are picked up on their non-accidental mistakes, the pedants are only trying to help them and any others who will be reading the forum.

I don't mind shortened words or mild text speak. What I can't stand is massive long winded chunks of writing that have no relevance, without any commas or full stops. Why can't people just get to the point?

I just read an OP that gave a whole paragraph worth of irrelevant information at the start. Such a waste of time.

I think for me it depends on whether they've got the message across rather than how they spell or how good their grammer is.

So if you use text speak, I don't get the message and struggle to understand it.

Whether if you don't spell well and your grammer isn't great then I don't have a problem. You can still get the message across.

I have problems with my spelling, and frequently get my words mixed up or miss them out. I don't think that makes me taken less seriously.

Its about whether you put the effort in to communicate effectively in the first place that matters most to me. If you are using text speak... well you are just being lazy and not doing that.

They often get uncalled for hurtful comments that they would not get if it was a face to face conversation.

It makes me really cross that people can be so rude to somebody who may well have a dyslexic disability or learning disability. If it was a physical disability the OP would get a much better response.

Sadly the Paralympics spirit is not reaching all of MN

Rule Britiannia, I find your posts rather offensive, please don't tell me how to live with my disability. It's like saying I should do more physio so I can walk on a prosthetic leg rather than rely on a wheel chair

I really struggle to read posts with no paragraphs or punctuation, full of text speak or misspellings. Very often I'm flicking through on my phone whilst feeding ds3 so just CBA to decipher posts like that.

Not really. Maybe from people whose advice you wouldn't want in the first place? I can't abide the self-appointed morons who don't have anything to add other than 'witticisms' about the OP's grammar/spelling.

Some posts are difficult to read, either persevere or leave them without comment... not hard at all.

RuleB you obviously think you are so very very clever that your opinion is far more important than anyone with a disability that might affect their typing/spelling/grammar.

However, there are a few people in the Olympic Village who I suspect might disagree.

I'm guessing everyone else is seeing the obvious irony of the oh so intelligent posters who can't understand someone's post if their grammar or spelling is a bit off

yes, i agree, it does.

It's not because we necessarily look down on txtspk, but it makes it really hard to read a post when the punctuation and grammar is bad.
spelling, not so much, but definitely the wrong usage of words (lose/loose, rite/right/write, your/you're)

the reason we have rules in the English language is to make the written word easier to understand.
If it's littered with errors, it is difficult to do.

It's quite easy these days to try to spell/punctuate/use correct grammar, if you put your post into Word first, maybe or have spell check on your internet browser.

I make mistakes all the time, but they're mainly typos, and when I read them back, I can bearly understand what I've written!

by the way, I think it's not because people have dyslexia that they don't get the help or sympathy or attention their post deserves - in general, worse response comes from replies to those that say "u" instead of "you" or use textspeak.
I think those with dyslexia are more likely to make mistakes while trying to use real words, not weird abbreviations. (ie, they generally don't try to use the textspeak because more often than not it's harder to type/decipher than using real words)

Would you pull someone up who was speaking to you and they had a heavy accent? Or a speech impediment? Or were deaf?

Are you one of those dreadful people who shout at forreigners?

Wordfactory - if they were impossible to understand then yes, I'd make it clear that I couldn't understand them and try to find a way to improve communication.

Conversation, whether written or verbal, relies on comprehension.

But no, I don't shout at foreigners.

I never pick anyone up on spelling/grammar, even though part of me dies inside reading it. It's rude. I wouldn't let it change my response either.

However, I did have a little dig the other day when somebody had insulted another poster with 'Your uneducated'. I really, really couldn't help it. May god forgive me.

I'm guessing everyone else is seeing the obvious irony of the oh so intelligent posters who can't understand someone's post if their grammar or spelling is a bit off

Not really, since no one has actually said that. A bit off is not the same as txtspk gobbledegook.