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.

[Fakebook]

People have always done this on the Internet since the beginning of Internet time though. Can't get worked up about it. Grow a thicker skin and carry on writing how you like, as long as you make sense.

[Lesleythegiraffe]

loosing the argument

[Tanith]

Pop stars have misspelled their names and hits since the dawn of time (well, for over half a century, anyway).

I can just about remember the fuss over Slade's "Cuz I Luv You" and similarly illiterate hits being blamed for the poor spelling of 70's Youth.

[Valdeeves]

YANBU - this is not a GCSE English class! I think some people are very rigid about having to point out other people's mistakes. In real life if someone corrected my grammar they would never be a friend - far too superior for me.

[Thereishope]

I notice many grammar and spelling errors on this website - there instead of their, weather instead of whether, loose instead of lose. I would not dream of pointing it out though.

Lack of paragraphs irritate me. I do not read these posts- I have little patience.

[Sparklysilversequins]

YANBU.

However sometimes when a poster is being an utter twat, it's really hard not to deliver a grammar body blow to take the wind out of their sails.

[wordfactory]

People who pick up on these thing are essentially saying that those with LDs, those who had a poor education, those with English as a secind language are not welcome! Their opinions don't matter and can be ridiculed.

[Burren]

I write for a living and tend to be pulled out of a post by poor spelling or grammar, but wouldn't dream of mentioning it. It's also, I think - possibly because I teach and am used to essays - very obvious when a poster is dyslexic, has English as a second language, or has had an autocorrect fail.

However, it does sometimes concern me that posters who clearly haven't had much access to education and/or may not have English as a first language and and who possibly don't read a great deal other than online, may 'learn' poor spelling/grammar from posters who simply aren't bothered. I would imagine, for instance, that someone could easily imagine that 'definitely' is spelled 'defiantly' or 'definately'. It's a small thing, obviously, in the scheme of things, but for someone with literacy difficulties it's not.