To think Talk Guidelines should...

[sassysally]

.. ban grammatical, spelling, punctuation pedantry.

Not a bad idea. Last night's painting one for instance was particularly

At least answer the OP's question as well as patronise over spelling etc at the very least.

If it's legible, and the poster hasn't invited comment (eg by posting in Pedants' Corner, or asking for help with a letter), then it's ill-mannered to comment, and downright rude to criticise.

Should fall under other TGs though, maybe? A kind of personal attack perhaps.

I struggle with spelling, I don't mind being pulled up on it if it is done nicely.

I agree. Especially when you have 30/40 replies to an OP just commenting on the grammar with added sarcasm. It's too much.

When an OP has poured their heart out, typing through tears and the first answer is -

'Have you heard of paragraphs?'

Also once the first rude person has pointed it out the 'terrible' spelling/grammar crime there is no need for everyone else to say the same is there?

YANBU. It's rude, judgemental and serves no purpose other than to put people down.

People from a wide range of backgrounds use this site, for some English may not be their first language or some may be dyslexic, I am and I simply don't want or need to have my spelling a grammar pulled apart the result is that I take a lot longer writing my posts to try and avoid errors, which to be frank affects my enjoyment of the site as I often don't see the point of trying to engage with fast moving threads. Others may simply not have had a the best education, people come here primally for advice and support and to post just to criticise the OP's grammar is pretty poor behaviour.

I think people enjoy jumping on a bandwagon and see people with grammar mistakes as an easy target. It's odd how grown women still swarm together like that. It comes across quite bullying when you see one of these threads.

Just imagine what these pedantic posters are like IRL Probably Billy no mates .

"Those" posters are simply rude.

It has nothing to do with use of language. It's just one of the (many) possible ways to be an utter, utter arse.

YANBU, and I am Ms Grammar of CorrectGrammarVille.

I think it is one of the nastiest things you see on MN. Narrow minded snotty people who think they are actually being clever and witty pointing out someone's mistakes.

They go immediately onto my shitlist. Then I pursue them round the boards picking them up on their own misuse of English, for t'is the law of Sod that once you have criticised someone else, your own level of English suffers in return.

It's nice and karmic when it happens.

It's wrong to pick up on spelling mistakes because with many people it's due to some degree of disability rather than just laziness.
It's not always possible to tell the difference, and we shouldn't tease someone who has a genuine problem.

I do think there is a difference with this 'should of' thing though because it's not just written - it sounds bad as well and puts the user at a disadvantage in formal occasions like interviews. This is such an obvious error, both written and spoken, that I do wonder why so many children leave school without it being corrected. Can a teacher comment?

If you want to discuss the use of language, there are the topics "cunning linguists", "pedants' corner" and "bilingualism" where it can be done so to the hearts content and where knowledgeable and friendly posters hang out.

That's unrelated to picking on a poster because of one aspect of a post that is irrelevant to what they are actually on about.

If something is so badly worded it is ambiguous or evenincomprehensible, it's fine to ask for clarification. But that can be done neutrally, not nastily.

Except Pedants' Corner is currently being used to take the piss out of the poster from last night mentioned above.

Still, my shitlist has been nicely updated.

Drank that's the second thread like that today. Nasty!

I tend not to read anything posted in text-speak. It just hurts my brain to read.

Although I'm a pedant for spelling/grammar in my working life I think it's useless and unkind in this situation. Chatting to so many other expats - and having rubbish grammar as I learn Dutch - teaches a person pretty quickly that you never know what someone's background is or how hard they're trying to simply communicate with other human beings. Ease off, right?

Ha, it's been zapped, good.

I think it very much depends on the context.

On some posts, it actually becomes difficult to understand what is being said because it is written so badly. Some effort does need to be taken to get your point across clearly. I appreciate that is more difficult for some people, but paragraphs, lower case and limiting the txt spk really does help.

On lighthearted posts, it's mainly just banter, but on serious ones, it is completely inappropriate.

There is no context, other than a poster asking the actual question "can someone check this for me?" or "is this right?" where correcting, or talking about their English is appropriate.

Absolutely, DrankSangria. I like the idea of following the concerned-corrector around the boards and pulling them up mercilessly. Why do people do that correcting thing anyway? They must realise how awfully crass they sound, surely?

YY usual that is just hateful. Not even a response to the AIBU just a grammar correction.

Sallyingforth I am an English teacher. Regarding the awful 'could of' etc. I think it is highly unlikely they haven't been corrected. Trouble is, like the grocers' apostrophe, 'of' instead of 'have' is ubiquitous and they receive far more reinforcement of it than of my 'could have' correction. It's partly an ear related issue - people hearing could've as could of. However, I have a friend who definitely says 'of' not ''ve', so it has been internalised by many I think. I don't know the answer, but can assure you I correct it every time!
I am an uber-grammar-pedant, but wouldn't correct on the forum unless there was a specific reason to - for example as a PP said if the person had unkindly corrected someone else...Or more helpfully if they asked for correction/explanation of errors. I can't help a wincing type reaction, though, and I don't read long posts without paragraphs so don't comment on them at all.

I only wince when I see 'could of' in a post because I know the OP is going to get it in the neck.