To think that it is very unfair, to pick someone up on spelling or grammar, just because you disagree with what they are saying.

[smokepole]

I posted recently on a ongoing topic in this section, I was picked up for my "appalling" grammar, my use of punctuation and for my sentence construction. I noticed that when my opinion changed , strangely enough my grammar or incorrect use of exclamation marks was not picked up upon. I have noticed that this happened on other threads as well. I think this is wrong for two reasons, the first being that it is a kind of bullying, intimating that because someone struggles with spelling, punctuation or correct sentence construction, that there are thick, therefore their argument or view point does not stand up. The other point it is very unfair to pick people up who have not benefited from higher education, or in my case not even education post GCSE'S, people need to realise this and accept that they have been fortunate to have been able to access higher education, but they need to give people like me some slack over my poor grammar or sentence construction.

So true Morloth. Theirs are the only posts that I take pleasure in going through with a fine toothcomb.

Hello smokepole

I was one of those who criticised your 'appalling grammar' on the Dowdle thread, so it's only fair that I respond here.

As you rightly suggested, it was a way of responding to your mistaken view on that case, and when you revised your view the comments all stopped. You are also correct that complaining about the grammar doesn't do anything to rebut the actual intention of the post.

I can't speak for the others, but in my own case I suppose that my indignation at Dowdle's action was extended to someone who appeared to be supporting him. That was wrong of course, and I apologise for the offence that I caused you.

Also I must give you full credit for listening to the many comments about the case and changing your view accordingly. That is something many AIBU posters refuse to do.

morloth - this is true.

The problem with grammar and spelling is well, they are so fluid. We are all trying to staple the flapping butterfly. To hell with it and enjoy conversing with people from different cultures, backgrounds and literacy !
: )

Thank you for your post Sallyingforth..

I was not really offended , I just thought it diverted the topic away from Dowdle and his behaviour.

The reason I changed my mind on that issue, was because after reading other people's posts, it became clear that Jacob Dowdle was not a victim of "rough justice". However, some people posting on other subjects, may get turned off and not participate in the debate, due to having the quality of their grammar questioned.

Quite right :)

Ah, I wondered if it was that thread.

Kudos indeed to you OP for having the guts to publicly change your mind.

Beggars belief though that your grammar was being slagged off because people didn't share your opinion....

don't worry, when I've got a free half hour, I'll nip back over to that thread and list all of their mistakes, because there will be loads, you can be sure of that

Erm, U2? Your grammar is pretty damn good and your posts are very clear. Keep going, you are obviously getting there

Thank you, Wilson. That has made my week

I agree it's considerate to break a long post into paras and to give your post a quick read over to ensure it makes sense.

But I don't think posters should have to check that they've put apostrophes in the right place, said they're instead of their and all that stuff. For a professional document yes, for a post on MN no.

Even more annoying is when you put an apostrophe in the wrong place in your thread title, realise it too late, and know, just know, that some dullards will come plodding on for no other reason than to point that out to you.

I wonder if a forum dedicated to those who wish to commit to posting only perfectly written posts would bea good idea, a little like the concept of a quiet carriage on trains, if everyone wanting the same thing get together everyone will be happy!

I am a huge pedant and I am always noticing stuff. I tell myself that (a) English might be a new language for that person (b) they could be dyslexic or have some other relevant issue, (c) it might be their iPad anyway and (d) they may just not have got those specific skills, for whatever reason.

They may still be right about what they are posting.

So I STFU about it unless they have corrected someone else; if they do that, the gloves are off

But I do enjoy the language threads where we linguists can talk about language stuff without offending others.

Pointing out posters spelling and grammatical mistakes, is crass and ignorant, especially when the poster is posting seriously.
Some people have concentrated on grammar and forgotten to learn some manners.

"LRD Fair enough - but I'll only do one as I'm short on time. Corrections in square brackets

'sittinginthemorningsun Chelsy we're chatting casually on an internet forum, not taking an A level paper

[full stop at the end of a quotation needed here]

Alas, when you receive a letter from the NHS or your local authority containing spelling errors, it does make you doubt their ability to get other things right.

[If I were being a stickler, I'd quibble the punctuation, but it's colloquially acceptable.]

I was thinking more of posts on Facebook though.

[Comma after 'Facebook' needed, and 'however' would be better English.]

Am I the only person to have FB friends (not all with degrees) who post in better English in their second language than quite a considerable number of native English speakers?

[This is badly phrased - your 'better than' needs to be comparing like with like. You've meandered from comparing languages ('better English') to comparing people ('English speakers').]

I have several friends from a country where there is no universal free education

[comma would be good here]

and its

[it is, or it's - you need an apostrophe when you contract]

only available to those whose parents can pay or who benefit from charity, and even then commonly not as long as the English receive.

[receive it? I think you've missed out a word here]

Hope that was actually useful - I would never correct to this level for someone who wasn't happy to be corrected, and some of these, as you can see, are more quibbly than others."

LRD I don't find that helpful at all, as you are obviously scraping the bottom of the barrel to come up with criticisms. The only one I will give you is "it's". The missing "it" is a typo. When quoting someone, its inaccurate to change their usage and I do believe the quote function on here doesn't bold if you add full stops. I would have thought the average educated reader could manage to deduce this. Much of the rest relates to the use of commas and qualifiers which is your personal preference and not incorrect - however if you over-puncuate, as you recommend, you risk changing meaning or reducing clarity.

"however, if you over-puncuate, as you recommended, you risk changing meaning, or reducing clarity"

FGS don't over-use commas! It breaks the flow. If it reads perfectly without it, don't include it.

Please feel free to correct spelling and true errors of grammar, as this can be useful. I don't usually point out spelling mistakes, but I inwardly cringe when I read them note I used but there rather than however in an attempt at colloquiality and I silently applaud the upholding of the English language.

It's a pity you don't find it useful. However, you're being a bit ungracious. You asked for help. I gave it, and I acknowledged that some of the corrections were more important than others. We all know many of your mistakes are typos (as, of course, is everyone else's).

Your punctuation is a bit dodgy. It's not the end of the world, but it's an issue. Your writing doesn't 'flow' - in fact, in places, it is incoherent, because your punctuation is at fault.

I'm sorry, but I am struggling to take you seriously as your ruffled-feathers response shows quite clearly you were unaware of your mistakes and now you want to pretend they don't exist so you can keep criticizing other people!

Btw, you do know, you've just managed another 'typo' with a missing apostrophe in exactly the same word as before.

This is a good example of why it's cruel and silly to assume people making repeated mistakes must be ignorant, rather than that they're typing fast. You are prone to this particular error, presumably because of the way you type. Next time you start to judge someone else for making the same error multiple times, you might remember that we all do it.

See, I didn't even notice puncuate, because that's one of my regular errors.

Not sure who wrote "I'd quibble the punctuation" - is it Chelsy or LRD? But you know, you ought to say "quibble with". Quibble isn't like "question" or "challenge".

There's an example of something I wouldn't mention unless the poster was correcting someone else, in which case, it seems only fair.

It were me.

And I agree with you, though I will say, if you stop to correct every error I've made, you will be here all night. There are thousands of them. That's kinda my point, though.

I do try to correct them and to keep to an understandable level, which I think is basic courtesy (as others have said), but I'm never going to manage it perfectly. All I'm trying to demonstrate is that setting yourself up as an authority who never makes a mistake is just begging the gremlins in the net to fill your posts with errors.