to think that posters who rip apart others for spelling and grammar issues are Twats?

[SqutterNutBaush]

I'm so sick of seeing this on here lately, perfectly reasonable posts and then someone trying to be funny starts picking it apart and acting like a smug moron.

There really is no need for it, I make mistakes in my posts whether its because of auto-correct or the fact that I'm generally not great with grammar and spelling sometimes but there are others who have literacy problems and I really fail to see what good it does to start taking the piss out of them.

Sometimes I really do think that these people might as well be in the playground, then again I doubt they'd be so rude and insensitive if it weren't for them hiding behind a screen.

I love MN but this is becoming much more common and its crap, stop picking on other posters and think about underlying problems before you jump in with your oh so funny put-downs.

[magimedi]

As a child I was always told it was very rude to correct other people, unless they asked for help.

I stick with that even if I wince at bear & bare. As long as I can understand the post, I'm happy.

I do find long posts without paragraphs a bit of a trial to read, especially on a screen.

[cuttingpicassostoenails]

Sometimes, an incoherent and badly spelled post is just an indication of the distress level of the poster.

[Smilesandpiles]

YANBU

It only ends up making them look like a twat, no matter how they try to justify it. Leave them to it.

[mrsjay]

you are right cutting sometimes folk need to get the words out and it can look like a jumble but it is just how they are at the time.

[MardyBra]

Tbh, it think that the majority of posters do let it go. And anyone who does rip apart someone else's spelling or grammar without justification usually gets leapt on by other posters.

[Mintyy]

But, op, do you really think it happens on here a lot? When you consider the gazillions of posts, I do think its only an absolutely miniscule number that ever attract a spelling/grammar comment.

[5Foot5]

In general I agree with you.

I think the only time it is worth a comment is when an accidental misspelling then gives an amusing meaning that wasn't intended. I can't think of any examples now but I am sure I have seen some on here where there have then been humorous comments. And I hasten to add I don't mean that in a "taking the piss" sort of way just sharing the joke.

I admit that when I see a long block of text not broken in to paragraphs then I don't usually bother to read it, but I wouldn't comment on that I would just move on to another thread and ignore the daunting block of text.

[5Foot5]

But, op, do you really think it happens on here a lot? When you consider the gazillions of posts, I do think its only an absolutely miniscule number that ever attract a spelling/grammar comment.

^^ Just seen this and I think Mintyy makes a very good point

[ExcuseTypos]

YANBU.

Hence my username!

The only time people should point out mistakes, is if the poster is a sneery twat who has little empathy for others. Then they deserve it

[SqutterNutBaush]

Mintyy perhaps I should have said I've noticed it increasingly as opposed to a lot and in the grand scheme its probably not that much but everytime I see it I just want to scream "Well don't feckin' read it then!!".

Oh dear I'm being a judgey twat by judging the judgey twats :o

And sorry I have to ask but Caravans?? People are judged by their caravan on MN nowadays... bizarre.

[mrsjay]

i love auto correct typos they are funny, especially if they are rude

[Nennypops]

I think it goes two ways. If you want someone to read your great thoughts, it's polite to make a bit of effort to phrase them in a way that is reasonably comprehensible. If I'm reading something and it's difficult to make sense of it, I tend to decide that if the poster can't be bothered to write it properly, then it's just rude to expect me to be bothered to read it. I also think it doesn't help the person posting - if I'm reading something and suddenly come across 'could of' or 'he gave it to ds and myself' or 'been' instead of 'being', I'm pulled up short and begin to lose the sense of what I'm reading. It doesn't hurt me, but it means that the person who wrote whatever it was hasn't managed to convey they sense of what they wanted to say and has wasted their time.

I'm certainly not bothered about typos and I'm happy to make full allowances for dyslexia etc; but when people have posted something that is sheer lazy gibberish I am seriously tempted to say something, though I haven't given into temptation yet.

There's also, to be honest, a distinct sense of entitlement in some people who do this - a sense of 'I don't have to make any effort to write plain English, and I'm entitled to take offence if you ask me what I mean or misunderstand me'. So, how about a bit of effort on both sides of the debate?

[Nennypops]

Dang it, I just knew I wouldn't get through that without a mistake! "convey THE sense", not "convey they sense".

[DrankSangriaInThePark]

I am a total SPaG pedant....that said, YANBU at all.

I have only corrected one poster's abysmal use of English. And that was a rather well known blogger/writer/ex MP who had called me, and others, a muppet, so she got what she deserved.

[SqutterNutBaush]

But then perhaps by pointing it out you've hit a raw nerve and unless a poster specifies they are dyslexic how would we know before passing comment?

[mrsjay]

Fair enough drank

[SelectAUserName]

I usually notice errors but I would only mention it if I needed clarification because of the context of the rest of the post (e.g. poster had said "I can do X" when the context suggested they meant "can't", when I might ask "do you mean 'can't, OP?") OR in a joky thread where an obvious autocorrect has changed a word to something bizarre, e.g. someone said "nightgown" and it turned out their phone had AC'd from "meltdown".

I would never say anything otherwise - if the post is incomprehensible I'll just close it and move on, and I wouldn't dream of pulling someone up on an error in a serious "world falling apart" type thread. That's cunty in the extreme.

There are loads of things that annoy me - should of, defiantly for definitely etc - but I keep it to myself because I'm not a smug show-offy cunt.

[ExcuseTypos]

Nenny so you assume that many people who write posts with poor spelling and grammar, have don't it because they "haven't made an effort" or are lazy?

Are you for real?

[ThingsThatGoBumpInTheNight]

Just direct them to pedants corner

[ExcuseTypos]

done it

[MardyBra]

I tend to agree with your post Nenny, but surely often it is lack of knowledge rather than effort that causes posters to use expressions such as "could of" etc.

[RandallFloyd]

Just how pompous and lacking in self-awareness do you need to be to want to correct grammar on an internet chat forum?
I just find it breathtakingly arrogant.

I agree that long posts without paragraphs are more difficult to follow but if you 'simply can't read them' then just don't bother. Seriously. Why would anyone think their input would be so valuable that they need to say that?

I can completely understand that if language is something you love then grammar/spelling mistakes might grate on you but why be so self-important as to think anyone would be grateful or impressed when you correct them? It baffles me.

My XDH is a professional singer, he doesn't hang around karaoke bars pointing out the flat notes and lack of proper phrasing.

[RandallFloyd]

(X-post with Pag.)

[OnIlkleyMoorBahTwat]

Squtter, there was a thread a few days ago where a poster was complaining about her neighbour keeping a caravan on the neighbours drive.

Cue loads of posts going on about how ugly they were and how people shouldn't be allowed to keep caravans on their own driveways, and that it lowered the tone of the neighbourhood.


I know that they're a bit annoying if you get stuck behind one when driving and Top Gear like to blow them up, but I had no idea go the almost universal hatred towards them.

[SauvignonBlanche]

I'll give you the benefit of the doubt OP and assume that is not a thread about a particular thread.
The only time I do allow myself to take the piss is when the. OP is being particularly sanctimonious or judgmental about others.
That's got to be allowed, surely?