Here are a few facts that I would like the MN community to know:
-Some people who use MN are not English. Many people who use MN did not start learning English as babies. They learnt as older children or adults. It is not easy communicating in another language.
-Some people who use MN have a learning disability. They may have difficulties expressing themselves clearly.
-Some people who use MN have dyslexia which can make writing accurately difficult.
-Some people who use MN have had little or no formal education. They may write poorly due to this. This is not their fault.
Speaking English as a second language is not a crime (actually it is a gift).
Having a learning disability, dyslexia or a lack of education is not a crime. None of the above is the person's fault.
Many people who write poorly are deeply ashamed about this.
Over the last year, I've seen a few posts that are badly written, comments by other posters are rude to say the least. It feels like we do not want people here unless they can write well. We don't want people with poor spelling, grammar or punctuation. How can this be right?!!
If you see a post written by someone who does not write well, try to focus on the actual message, they may well be in need of help! If you genuinely don't understand, either ignore the message (someone else may well understand it) or ask nicely for clarification.
Many people here have children with special needs. In some cases their children will never be able to write 'well', it must be upsetting for parents to see how MN tends to treat people who don't have a great grasp of written English.
If MN is the first place you have encountered people with reading and writing problems, that says a lot more about you than them.
Who decided that it is ok to make derogatory comments about people with poor written English?