to think you can be educated and have a well paid job even if you post grammatical errors here

[ladygingina]

I do get a lot of personal insaults here calling me stupid, uneducated and doubting I have a well paid job just because of poor grammar and spelling.

Seriously unless I was working as a copywrirer then these skills aren't not really relevant. I do spend more time on official document then I do bashing away on my phone here!

I have a first class science degree and a Masters degree and cannot spell for shit. I only realised the difference between where and were the other day whilst writing a technical report for a client!

I am not stupid, I am very bright, I am just not very good at spelling words.

It's depressing that people who can't spell or use grammar correctly DO end up with good jobs. They should be made to go back to school until they get it right!

Context is key.

My old manager once sent a departmental email layind down the law on a few things. It was littered with mistakes. It was embarassing and completely undermined what he was saying. He was an actuary by trade so obviously pretty intelligent and he was very senior in the company. Still looked daft.

If you're on a thread going on about your perceived stupidity of other people and coming across as a know it all then it really shouldn't be a shock if anyone pulls you up on your mistakes.

If you're on a jokey "things we now know to be false" thread and pull someone's grammar up then you look ridiculous.

I generally assume that mistakes are typos, fingers moving slightly quicker than brains when getting thoughts down or smart phones doing what they do. Doesn't occur to me to wonder whether the person writing it realises they've made a mistake.

It's really hard to proof read your own posts anyway, because you know what it should say and that's what you read. I think I have a decent standard of English and I do see mistakes in other people's work but I can read something I've written myself several times before I spot the errors.

I see a lot of people on this very board who claim to be grammar pedants, but their writing is inelegant and they use higher-order vocabulary slightly outside of its proper context. I would much rather see a spelling error.

Unless it's being done to pull a particularly nasty poster down a peg or two, it is unacceptable in my view to come on here and start picking people up on grammatical and spelling mistakes.

I write for a living and have a degree in English and I still make tons of mistakes in posts. I don't proof read everything I post on here. It's just a bit of lighthearted fun or a diversion or an opportunity to post on something I feel strongly about. Quite often the grammar police actually have nothing of any interest to say on a thread, and are just boring pedants. Their posts usually say a lot more about them than the OP in my view.

I agree that they're twats. It is extremely rude to correct an adult's grammar or spelling, unless they make such mistakes in the course of correcting someone else's grammar or spelling. Or, if they are unbearably smug.

Picking on someone for their poor English or typing on an internet forum is bullying, isn't it.

I think official documents, work emails etc should be written with close attention paid to spelling and so on, but here, really?

Who here only ever speaks with perfect grammar? And, were a friend opening up to you about their PND or nasty boss or evil MIL, would you say 'I'm going to stop you there, yes it's awful that you spend all day crying and wishing you'd never had a baby, your new nickname in the office is 'Slutface' and your MIL has told her whole family you cheated on your dh, but you just said 'pacific' and therefore deserve all you get.'

Unless you have a learning disability, there is no excuse for not bothering to learn how to spell your own language.
Not learning how to read and write is lazy and unjustifiable. You are contributing to lowering standards.
And to say that it's ok as long as you have a decent job is as moronic as when George Bush told students theh didn't need to study hard as he became president without a degree.
YABU.

It's depressing that people who can't spell or use grammar correctly DO end up with good jobs. They should be made to go back to school until they get it right!

Back to school?

You mean back to the school that didn't teach them in the first place?

You do realise that there was a huge trend away from drilling children in the basics at school?

Which school should people go back too because my primary school was a scandal and i did not learn anything whilst there?

Should I go back to that school?

TheBatteriesHaveRunOut

Yes I agree, but you have to remember some people only come on to sites like this to make themselves feel better, by putting someone else down.

If they can do that to the op, they will, swiftly. If they cant get that hook into the op, then the next level of abuse is their written English.

It some how makes them feel better and more superior. Of course it doesnt actually make them better or superior but they must feel they have had a good day after nit picking.

Thats my feelings on these people who go round picking at it.

Mumsyfox the vast majority or errors on here are just that, errors, not lack of knowledge by people who didn't bother to learn how to spell.
And some people do have difficulties with spelling, in the same way that some people have difficulties with figures or technology etc. It's not necessarily down to laziness, stupidity or a learning disability.

And anyone who worries about the odd spelling mistake or grammatical error on a forum, and thinks it's okay to point these out to posters really needs to 'learn' a bit about manners.

"Not learning how to read and write is lazy and unjustifiable. You are contributing to lowering standards. "

Oh, and your comment above is beneath contempt.

Don't you want to learn OP? You write as if it's almost a mark of pride to get your grammar and spelling wrong.

Incorrect grammar and spelling can both lead to misunderstanding and confusion, and make your writings more difficult for foreigners (who have learnt the rules of English correctly) to understand.

If I make a mistake, I am usually grateful to the person who points it out, so that I can avoid making the same mistake the next time.

Unless you have a learning disability, there is no excuse for not bothering to learn how to spell your own language.

I wasn't diagnosed with dyslexia till quite late as I had the ability to mask many of the problems - it's not uncommon. Plus getting some schools like my DC to actually test for it is nigh on impossible.

I'm not sure if my DC have inherited my dyslexia - I am sure that they way they are taught spelling hasn't helped them.

Weekly spelling tests are notorious bad ways of leading to spellings being learnt and retained and used regularly - yet are main method used by many schools. Some of the list some weeks almost seem to designed to cause confusion in the DC.

If I make a mistake, I am usually grateful to the person who points it out, so that I can avoid making the same mistake the next time.

Really?

Unless you have a learning disability, there is no excuse for not bothering to learn how to spell your own language

Seriously. We are talking about a forum where people post quickly. Not a spelling bee competition or a job application.

I wouldn't dream of correcting someone's spelling or grammar on an Internet forum. Having said that, I share a previous poster's puzzlement at something that is often said on here -- people who claim they can write perfectly, or do write perfectly in professional situations, but can't be bothered on Mn or text messages. Obviously they are perfectly within their rights to do so, but I can't imagine deliberately discarding reasonably good syntax and spelling because a forum or text doesn't merit it. It's a bit grim, IMO, to think of correct spelling being seen as something you save for special occasions, like party dresses or interview outfits.

(Obviously, no one should feel precluded from posting anywhere on the grounds of their perceived poor writing. It would be terrible if someone in need wanted Mn advice but was too afraid of the grammar police to post.)

Middleagedmother

Do you apply that logic to RL as well. If someone says "I should of gone earlier...." in a conversation, do you chip in and correct them, under the assumption that they will be 'grateful' and know not to say it next time. I mean, a foreigner listening might get confused as they will have learnt how to express themselves in correct English.

YANBU OP.

However, as others have said, it says far more about the twats that make nasty comments than it would ever say about you.

Someone got a "ha ha, look at your elementary mistake" comment on a thread I was on yesterday. I had a quick look to confirm Muphry was still on the side of the angels, and indeed, whilst the person being mocked had spelled one word wrong, her mocker had made eleven mistakes on the same thread.

Muphry alive and well on this thread too, btw.

I am trying to help them outside of school - but it's not the only areas that the need help with.

It's a good school but they've needed our outside help at times with learning to read, maths, handwriting - some of which takes money but mostly time and time with already tired DC who have spent all day/week at school.

The difference Rusticated is that when I'm sending out a professional document or piece of written work I proof read it several times. I certainly don't do that when I'm posting on here. Why would I? It's just a virtual chat.

Good point, vintagejazz. You could find yourself in a heap of trouble correcting someone's grammar.

Muphry alive and well on this thread too, btw.

Quite right.

Iggly, PC isn't for twats to point out other people's mistakes.

Some of them do like to use it for that. Then they have me to answer to.