to think some people on MN would fail English comprehension?

[HollyMiamiFLA]

Because they seem unable to understand exactly what someone has said, they interpret sentences differently and they seem to say posters have said something which the poster clearly hasn't.

Sometimes I think there should be a message at the top of the thread adding detail from the OP.

Especially if they have changed their views. People still post that they ABU.

"I spent three years getting pissed and partying myself into a coma...at the end of which they gave me a degree, which was rather spiffing of them"

Crap - so all this work I'm putting in should just be abolished and I should go out and get wrecked? Gosh darn it....

Crappy double crap.

Some people are just determined to read a post as if it says something it doesn't.

Usually it's so they can either have a go, or so they can perceive a sleight that isn't actually there.

It's the, 'of course, but when people say x they actually mean y' people who really annoy me. How can they possibly know what every person who's ever said x really means?

I've told at least one person before that their comprehension skills are lacking. But some people are just intent on detailing / frustrating the topic in hand.

Yanbu! I stumbled across an old thread of mine yesterday where a poster had decided that I was exploiting my pil for free childcare that they didn't want to do, when infact dc had been invited by the pil to stay with them for 3 days in the summer holidays. It got quite funny, actually. People were pleading with this silly billy to read the op, read my posts, even read a bit more of the thread. But, no, she was having none of it. And kept justifying herself by saying "but I am looking at the facts in my way and my way is just different to yours".

Oh yes - I remember that thread, Mintyy! There was just no reasoning with some of the posters on it.

3 days? Crikey. I have 10 days to submit the first draft of mine. LOADS of time then!

I agree Holly. But I have seen you do it too. I assume people are often disrupted on MN and so don't always fully take in what is being said.

Sometimes I think there should be a message at the top of the thread adding detail from the OP.

Holly, that's not a bad idea as it goes, you should suggest it to MNHQ. Not editing the original post because that would cause more problems than it solved, but adding postscripts might be a big help in many ways.

This is why I suggested, some time ago, and MNHQ still haven't done it or adequately responded, that the OP's posts should automatically be highlighted in every thread, rather than having to tell people who haven't discovered it yet, that they can go into Customise and do it themselves.

People who only read approx. 1 word in 3 of the OP, make the rest up to suit their own agenda and then fail to read any of the OP's updates make me everso cross!

Funny as I was thinking the same thing yesterday. There does seem to be an increasing number of posters who do not make any sense at all and people ask what they are trying to say then they just get upset etc. I've given up bothering to try when I see ones like that.

OP i can't believe you're saying that only English people can post here! This mumsnet at its worst.

gin

But isn't it the case that 10 people could read the same paragraph and come away with 10 different interpretations?

I suppose it depends on the background from which you are reading.

I think it's just as common the other way around. OP so stuck on their flawed, small minded position that they wilfully misunderstand responses. Either that or they just can't comprehend another view.

Subtle differences of meaning is one thing, but you can post "I do not drink and drive" and someone will say "well you are being irresponsible for drinking and driving"

Sometimes the OP feels that they have stated something very clearly, but use expressions have different meanings to other people. Go look at the D&V thread that is active now, for an example...

No, the d & v thread is not a good example. The people who have taken it to mean domestic violence have not read the & in D&V. Thus they would fail English comprehension.

Swings and roundabouts.

OP: What do you think of X?
Poster: I think xyz about X.
Op: You're not X. How dare you have a differing opinion. Check your privilege.

It's a chat forum. It's Aibu. No matter how much a discussion or debate online makes you feel like you're heading Question Time, you're not. We need to accept this and move on.

I laughed out loud to the last bit of your post KungFu_ brilliant!

I do think that sometimes people feel 'caught out' when they make a mistake or don't get the unanimous support they expected. Then they keep going round and round in circles, re-framing their statement to make it sound less wrong/offensive/inaccurate and getting increasingly cross that people don't buy it. It always seems a rather pointless exercise, especially when it would be easier to just accept that they are either wrong or just have a difference of opinion which won't be changed by both parties stating their case over and over again.

I really wish people would read the thread. I sort of agreed that I might have been a bit unreasonable but I still had loads of abuse after that concession

And I hate misinterpretation. I know it's hard on the Internet but I wish people would think before posting.