Random rant

Grammar and spelling are not taught in schools as was once the case. Of course language evolves and always has done, and it is true that until the eighteenth century there was no formalised spelling anyway. Children need to learn to express ideas from an early age. It is sad how many people are almost incomprehensible.
 
Just a guess here, are the people complaining the same people that are being criticized?
I don't know, maybe. I've seen these comments in letters to the editor in the paper, on our community's Front Porch Forum, etc. So they could be complaining because they've been corrected or criticized, but they also could just be sensitive to seeing others being corrected.
 
Calling out a business, especially for a service you pay for (ie. a paper), is different from bemoaning spelling/grammar errors on places like chicken forums. It is vastly different from correcting statements made about chickens and their care that are misleading or even dangerously incorrect. Honestly, reading people's spelling/grammar corrections on a forum like this are far more annoying to me than the actual mistake/error could ever hope to be. This is especially true when the person doing the correcting has errors within his or her own writing. Associating spelling/grammar errors with laziness or stupidity leaves a particularly unpleasant taste in my mouth. Of course, people are free to do all of the above. Others are free to quirk a brow in return, or to view such corrections in a less than positive light.
hu.gif
One thing that would be nice to see is a thread that offers helpful grammar lessons and patient guidance for those asking for such guidance within the thread.
:thumbsup
 
I can understand the frustration. I work in publishing and am surprised by the number of simple grammer and spelling errors made in emails by other people working professionally in publishing. I think sometimes people are too rushed to pay attention or care.

But, on an online forum with such a wide and open demographic I think there is room to be forgiving.

This forum is open to people of a wide variety of ages, educational backgrounds and countries. Not everyone is a native english speaker. Not everyone has had the benefit of the same education opportunities. I have met a few people on this site that have learning disabilities. It does not mean that they are "dumb." I would still like everyone to be able to participate here. I personally am pretty severely dyslexic and know that I make mistakes and that my sentences are occasionally odd. I try to proof read as well as possible but I know it probably slips through more than I want to admit. There are some words that just look identical to me even though they are not. I would like to think people will see past that.
 
Last edited:
I read a lot. As of late I've completely quit reading self published authors due to poor grammar, usage and spelling. Some of it is as bad as a craigslist ad.

I should not complain. Every rejection letter for stories that I have submitted for publication has mentioned punctuation. The editors are either being very picky or they feel that I should loosen up comma usage. But I'm not an English major.
 

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom