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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think basic literacy skills on this board are AWFUL

233 replies

Pinkandwhiteblossoms · 19/04/2017 16:13

I know it's bad form to point it out in the midst of someone else's distress, but seriously, am I the only one who has noticed it?

"your defiantly wrong"
"have you considered councilling"
"their going to take over"
"alot of people don't bother"

I'm not expecting Samuel Pepys but seriously, I find it difficult to respond as the wider point is lost amidst the terrible writing!

OP posts:
TalkingofMichaelAngel0 · 19/04/2017 17:13

Louise you didnt corret loose. Surely it isnt loose your cool? It is lose your cool, or is that a northern thing?

I wouldnt dream of correcting spelling on here (my phone screen is so cracked i cant see a lot of what i type) but i do roll my eyes when educated people not just teachers type could of or alot.

WicksEnd · 19/04/2017 17:13

It really doesn't bother me. I can't believe it bothers you so much that you felt the need to start a thread about it to be honest. It's just a forum, not a newspaper.

TragicallyUnbeyachted · 19/04/2017 17:15

Of course, if we WERE all Samuel Pepys then our writing would look like this and I doubt the OP would be happy with that either...

To think basic literacy skills on this board are AWFUL
PooHOle · 19/04/2017 17:16

YABU. No one likes a smart ass

KayTee87 · 19/04/2017 17:17

You realise a lot of adults have literacy problems don't you? Does it make you feel important starting this thread?
I'm sure they won't miss out on much by you withholding your advice due to their spelling.

TheFirstMrsDV · 19/04/2017 17:20

I make loads more mistakes on my phone than I do on my laptop.
I am perfectly up to scratch with Their/There/They're but have used their/there incorrectly when posting quickly on my phone. I have no idea why it happens, but it does.
There are some words I don't know how to spell and I rely on spell check.
I have a basic grasp of grammar.

I have never, and will never, understand someone who can read:

Please help me my hubby hit me last nite and I dont no what to do about it he says he will take the kids if I say anything to anyone.
I dont hav a job and my mum is ded
i am skared.Plse help me.

and reply

MY EYES! I can't understand your post.

I have seen that happen over the years and always think 'what an utter arse'

Greeneyedgal38 · 19/04/2017 17:20

I tend to type something quite sensible and damn auto-correct decides that it knows best and changes it. I think that is often the case.

KayTee87 · 19/04/2017 17:24

publically

Oh the irony GrinGrin

GattoColorCioccolatto · 19/04/2017 17:24

There was a thread the other day. The OP had been dumped by text. The amount of people who pulled her up on her writing skills instead of offering some sympathy was disgraceful.

Especially as in many cases, their own comprehension skills weren't up to much. Many kept asking for details she had clearly stated in her first or second post.

I felt so sorry for her. She was distraught and asked for help. Instead she got a kicking from snotty, cold fuckwits.

ChickenVindaloo2 · 19/04/2017 17:27

Meh, I'll be the lone voice in the wilderness, OP.

I agree with you.
And too many people are making excuses "it's autocorrect", "I'm busy". You can't be that busy or you wouldn't be on MN!

BuckinghamLass · 19/04/2017 17:28

"I have never, and will never, understand someone who can read:

Please help me my hubby hit me last nite and I dont no what to do about it he says he will take the kids if I say anything to anyone.
I dont hav a job and my mum is ded
i am skared.Plse help me.

and reply

MY EYES! I can't understand your post."

Totally. Complete empathy bypass.

I'm a writer and live by my grammar and spelling. But calling others out on theirs is really fucking smug. Grow the fuck up.

maddiemookins16mum · 19/04/2017 17:29

I actually find the vast majority of posters very articulate on this site. It's quite unusual to find poorly (for whatever reason) written posts, maybe that makes them stand out.

It doesn't really bother me, sometimes I notice, mostly I don't.

We all make mistakes though, I do. Plus I write letters, file defences etc for my job and last week (to my total shame) wrote Edingborough on a letter (I was very, very tired). Thankfully I spotted it before pressing send.

ifcatscouldtalk · 19/04/2017 17:30

op you haven't answered the question at the end of my post.

Do you want this to be a forum where only people with a certain level of literacy can join in?

Goodasgoldilox · 19/04/2017 17:32

'I'm not expecting Samuel Pepys'

He wasn't troubled about spelling and actually wrote his famous diaries completely in code. I suspect that he would have loved all funny little ways.

(Missing the point in the rush to get some historical accuracy in here.)

frieda909 · 19/04/2017 17:33

GattoColorCioccolatto that thread was so sad to read. The OP's posts were a little disjointed but it really wasn't hard to work out the situation if you actually read them carefully. But everyone was so busy falling over themselves to sneer at her writing stile that they couldn't be bothered to even try.

LouisevilleLlama · 19/04/2017 17:33

Ah yes Talking I did miss one but I still knew what it meant I was just doing something whilst posting but still I did claim not to be a literary genius. And by you correcting me, you also knew what was meant so in that case the post would be readableWinkGrin

frieda909 · 19/04/2017 17:33

*style, not stile obviously... Hmm

elQuintoConyo · 19/04/2017 17:33

I'm an English teacher and could not give two figs about spag on MN.

It doesn't make my teeth itch. It doesn't make my eyes roll out. It doesn't make me think the writer is ignorant or anything nasty like that. It doesn't make me not want to read the full post or write a reply.

I'm quite pedantic myself, but I would never point out grammatical errors on MN. Because I'm not a cunt.

ArriettyClock1 · 19/04/2017 17:34

I have been on MN for many years and definitely notice the decline in grammar standards and it's generally not anything to do with using phones or autocorrect.

The growing use of 'should of/would of' makes me despair as does the incorrect use of 'you're/your' and 'there/they're/their'.

But what can you do? It's not the done thing to point it out, so you just have to wince and move on.

BeyondThePage · 19/04/2017 17:34

if the writing style is sooooo bad, I simply don't read on any further

I usually stop reading if the post consists of one huge paragraph, or if it has obviously been written on a phone, in the dark, without glasses on.

I make mistakes. It does not usually alter the meaning of my posts. That is the key - whether you can understand the gist or not.

GattoColorCioccolatto · 19/04/2017 17:35

I know Frieda, it was disgusting. It was really easy to work out what was happening. And really easy to see she was beside herself.

wiccamum · 19/04/2017 17:38

This thread is getting far too serious,

Let me leave this pic of Michael Fassbender with a Bloody Mary and holding a fag, just here...to lighten the mood.

You are welcome.

To think basic literacy skills on this board are AWFUL
WorraLiberty · 19/04/2017 17:38

I actually find the vast majority of posters very articulate on this site. It's quite unusual to find poorly (for whatever reason) written posts, maybe that makes them stand out.

Maybe the vast majority on this site are very articulate, because those who aren't, are completely put off posting due to threads like this?

There have been loads of threads like this over the years and loads of sarky comments to OPs, who aren't very articulate.

SoloDance · 19/04/2017 17:39

What can you do? You could try not to be a twat about it. You could try to understand why some people find spag difficult.

elQuintoConyo · 19/04/2017 17:39

wiccamum you missed the apostrophe in F'Assbender

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