Punctuation

[talktoo]

Is it just me being an old fart or do others hate posts where there is no punctuation or poor punctuation. I end up having to reread things several times to understand what people are trying to communicate. I know tech-talk tends to be abbreviated and speedy but surely it's reasonable to expect at least enough punctuation to make the post legible.

I'd have a read back through that if I were you, and consider your own punctuation.
A comma is a wonderful thing. An Oxford comma is glorious. I love an Oxford comma.

Nevermind commas and full stops, I hate a lack of paragraphs.
I end up skipping so many posts as I just can’t be arsed reading a wall of text.

Hmm. You're missing a question mark, a hyphen and at least one comma.

Pot/kettle?!

I find it hard both ways but I have dyslexic so my posts will sometimes come across bad.

No, I don't really care. I think when people point out others' grammar and punctuation errors they are being dicks, unless they are their teacher.

Is it just me being an old fart, or do others hate posts where there is no punctuation, or poor punctuation? I end up having to reread things several times to understand what people are trying to communicate. I know tech-talk tends to be abbreviated and speedy, but surely it's reasonable to expect at least enough punctuation to make the post legible?

FTFY

I think we all know that the OP is referencing posts which are incredibly badly written, and which have simultaneously a lack of flow due to the constant stopping to work out what a word actually us, plus too much flow in that the entire post is one sentence.

Ha, I just made a mega long sentence paragraph, too.

OP clearly doesn't mean posts which are not perfect but are still easy to read. I have university level English qualifications, but if I am not writing something important or academic, then I don't see the point in checking myself.

Op is actually missing two question marks. At the end of the first and last sentences.

I agree in principle, OP, but it's a pity you didn't use the preview function before you posted, because then you might have spotted your own punctuation errors. It's a bit daft to criticise others when you don't get it right yourself.

That said, I tend to scroll past those long rambling posts which are just a wall of text as they are so hard to read, especially if there are no paragraphs.

Honestly? Some people haven’t had the luxury of being quite so well educated. For some, life is enough of a struggle without turning this site into somewhere with an entrance exam.

I do find the posts with long paragraphs and no punctuation very difficult to read, but you can't start a thread criticising other people's punctuation with the list of errors in that OP

Punctuation makes a difference :

There's a maypole dancer

is quite a different sentence from

Theresa May: Pole Dancer

@Dramatical I'm fairly sure all schools in the UK teach basic grammar and punctuation. And education in the UK is free and compulsory. Lack of education could hardly be said to be an issue.

People might not have paid attention in class but that doesn't mean they weren't offered an education.

I'm fairly sure all schools in the UK teach basic grammar and punctuation. And education in the UK is free and compulsory. Lack of education could hardly be said to be an issue

How utterly naive.

People might not have paid attention in class but that doesn't mean they weren't offered an education.

Pesky kids not paying attention 🙄

Don’t suppose you have considered any factors at all that may have affected a child’s education?

Must be wonderful in your fluffy world.

@Lockheart I didn't go to school a lot due to an illness.I know of people who didn't go to school because of different reasons such as having to stay home and care for a parent.

To say every child has access to an education is naive.

Actually, (I believe) the commas that were added in don't need to be there. Or and but are co-coordinating conjunctions and so don't require a comma. And yes it does my head in when I have to read and re-read due to lack of basic punctuation which can drastically alter the meaning. It's not always lack of education. Sometimes the poster just rushes and you can usually tell as it comes out as a stream of conscious style rant. There's worse things though.

I agree, OP. Sometimes I give up halfway through a post when confronted with very little punctuation, a wall of text and other delights such as 'myself and DH should of went to the .....'

Eats Shoots and Leaves

I'm a grammar and punctuation pedant but I can cope with most ungrammatical or badly punctuated posts. The ones I can't cope with are those that have no full stops or capital letters and no paragraphs. It's just too difficult to get the sense of the post. .

If it's hard or laborious to read YANBU. If It's OK to read but not perfect, then YABU.

Who's got time to proofread text on a forum? Not me.

As I clearly pointed out in my post, I accept and indeed follow the modern style of tech-talk where punctuation is less formal or important. So thanks for pointing out my errors. My point is that some posts and comments have NO punctuation, leading to the text being meaningless. A long constant rambling of words with no coherence due to a complete lack of punctuation. That is different from minor infringements, typos and auto corrects.

As long as I can understand the post I don't care about spelling or punctuation.

Just hide the thread if you can't understand it because of SPAG, and move to another.

A long constant rambling of words with no coherence due to a complete lack of punctuation.

I doubt this helps coherence much either. Are you doing it deliberately now?

@BackforGood 😂 Fabulous!

We all make mistakes - even the most pedantic of pedants.

But deliberately not punctuating a post with at least full stops does make them sometimes unreadable.

And I don't care how much school you missed - it's something that should be second nature to all of us, given that the full stop is used in all forms of written communication!

But you won't get any sympathy on MN @talktoo, because there is some sort of 'badge of pride' sported by those who support poor SPAG.

Unless the posts are written by someone who clearly needs help/support or just an acknowledgement of their post, just ignore them and move along.

Loving the back-pedalling OP.

Some might even believe you if you insist on your "tech-talk" excuse for your own inferior use of English long enough.

And I don't care how much school you missed - it's something that should be second nature to all of us, given that the full stop is used in all forms of written communication!

It's a shame your understanding of life isn't as good as your grammar.

There are people out there who, for one reason or another haven't managed to have a full education. Normal people would show empathy, not have a go at them for missing out a full stop.

But you won't get any sympathy on MN @talktoo, because there is some sort of 'badge of pride' sported by those who support poor SPAG

Or maybe people are just not twats.