To wonder what positive contribution pedants make to society.

[AgentSpod]

What is it that makes a normally quiet, unassuming person, turn into a despotic dictator cutting innocent posters down with their barbed grammatical comments?

Poor, poor patronised posters, left to rebuild their confidence without a second thought thought from these language fascists.

I ask you...what gives them the right??

Sorry X posted with marine about the split infinitives

Split infinitives are great. It wouldn't be the same if Kirk and co were on a mission 'to go boldly'.

Pedants improve the world because really, no matter how much you say you don't mind, you would rather read a post that was written well than one full of mistakes and confusing sentence structure.

Being right gives them the right.

I've just received voting papers for Governors for our NHS Trust. I have read through all the statements from the candidates and excluded those who have not been able to write with correct grammar and punctuation. That left two. I was allowed to vote for 4. I haven't. If you can't write grammatically or punctuate properly then you can't be a Governor of an NHS Trust. Sorry.

They make me smile.

Should all thread titles in this section not begin with a lower case "t" in "to....?"

Nothing wrong with a bit of pedantry. If you've been fortunate enough to have had a decent education then what's wrong with a bit of academic snobbery and brow-beating those who abuse all the rules of punctuation?!

What I'd really like to ask is am I being unreasonable to want to bring back the death penalty for repeated inappropriate use of apostrophes, especially wrongly for plurals?!

Coalition, so why are pedants always arguing about what's right, (Am I correct to have used a comma there?) if they're always right??

I know all my their/they're/theres, bit crap on my loose/lose, choose/chose, but I'd feel awful if I pulled up another poster on how they'd written their OP...unless I thought they were being totally unreasonable and weren't accepting it

The occasional typo or error, especially on informal online forums is one thing, but repeated poor grammar, spelling and punctuation, especially on anything official, does grate me I have to admit.

Loose/lose are completely different words: I want to lose some weight so that my clothes will be loose.

Choose/chose are present/future and past tense for the same thing. I chose to have salad for lunch today so that this evening I will be able to choose something fat from the menu.

I saw the following on a BBC TV News caption:
'John Smith...(from the) Childrens' Society'. Beeb should know better.

AgentSpod - If you don't correct someone they will be wrong forever. Some errors are like being slapped in the face. Pacific for specific etc.

Praps i like bein rong coalition

That does not make you any less wrong though.

Hehe - true

One of the things that sets Mumsnet apart is the refusal to roll over and die in the face of textspeak and bad spelling/punctuation.

Have you seen other sites? They make my eyes hurt.

My middle ability year 7s know how to use apostrophes so why don't the BBC?

Er Funny, I think it's why doesn't the BBC?

Ironically, for pretty much the same reason as the placing of the apostrophe in Children's Society?

It depends if you are referring to the BBC as an entity in itself or as group of people.

Probably.

The BBC is?
The BBC are?

Is, surely?

Must be BBC is.
BBC is single entity, like the Government.

There is nothing, I repeat, nothing, incorrect about split infinitives. (as others have said!)

It's quite fun to out-pedant a pedant, sometimes.

Whatever you do, don't buy the iPod Scrabble App. I am not a fervant pedant, but it UPSETS me - it really does! I take great pleasure in beating the iPod everytime.

Ask Oxford on the BBC thing. Don't agree with them that split infs are poor style, mind, but that is just a matter of fashion/taste.