The correct way to respond to misspelling and grammar

[fsgond]

I think by not replying a person is forgetting what FIRST is all about, GP. I think that a PM would be the best method of saying that I cannot understand your message.

Personally I am sure that I post many things (possibly this) with grammatical errors. This is not English class, people do not post here to be critiqued.

[Rick TYler]

Back In The Day on alt.folklore.urban, one of the froup's rules was: spelling flames are lame. I think that pretty much says it all.

[Andrew Schreiber]

Originally Posted by Rick TYler

Back In The Day on alt.folklore.urban, one of the froup's rules was: spelling flames are lame. I think that pretty much says it all.

Spelling flames may be lame but communication skills are the bee's knees. (That is what you kids say these days right?) Would the rule of thumb be, don't be obnoxious about correcting them but if it is offensive please mention it?

[Molten]

I will only correct it publicly if it is something terrible. Such as text-talking. Otherwise, if it is slightly less(not capitalizing each sentence) I will PM them. If it is even less(as I've seen a few times on this thread) I will cringe and move on.

My suggestion for anyone that has serious trouble with grammar and spelling: Try to get someone else to proof-read your post if at all possible. Perhaps this isn't reasonable for all posts. But keep it in mind if your going to post something important.

[Denman]

Originally Posted by Andrew Schreiber

Yes, the poster obviously does not think that I am worth anything or they would show me the respect of taking the time to spell. No, saying they aren't good at spelling is not an excuse. If English isn't the poster's first language the story is different.

If you want a respectful answer take the time to proof your post. Hiding behind excuses and claiming that I am not being "GP" won't cut it. Put a good faith effort, that is all I ask.

I want it noted that in your particular case, I don't know. This is a general statement.

Or the other person may be dyslexic or have some sort of problem with their spelling that isn't there fault. (Dyslexics are teople poo )
Generally its blatently obvious whether its pure laziness or just a mistake, remember, people make mistakes

[Mr. Pockets]

One technique I sometimes use when the person has made only mild errors, I simply correct them when quoting the person. Probably not the best method for teaching the individual though.

[Alivia]

I'm not sure if I really think that grammar and spelling mistakes in a post show a person's lack of respect. Sure, it is annoying when people speak in short-hand ways and I would prefer them not to. But would I refuse to answer a question, until that person asks me the said question in a grammatically correct way? No. Definitely not.

People here use 'IMHO' and 'CD' as shorthand phrases, yet they are normally not pointed out as being disrespectful. Personally, I think saying "You don't respect me because you don't use good grammar, and therefore I'm not responding" is more disrespectful than poor language usage. We're all on the same level here. While some are more wise than others, no one is above anyone else. While most of the people on here are helpful, there are some who take critiquing to a whole new level. Where will it end? Will people eventually not respond to me because of a misplaced comma? Some may laugh at this and I'll be the first to admit it sounds ridiculous. But where do we draw the line? I'm all for constructive criticism, but I fear some may need a refresher course on just what "constructive" means. If a person is writing so terribly that you can't understand what he/she is saying, or it takes an exceptional amount of thought to decipher what he/she is trying to say, then by all means, PM that person and let them know. If there are only a couple of mistakes, maybe give them a break. We can't all be Bill Shakespeare's.

Being a journalism major, I've had to learn the ins and outs of language usage. More often then not, the posts on CD have some sort of error in them. (And mine is no exception, I'm sure.) I think we must remember CD for what it is: a place to share thoughts and opinions about FIRST/FIRST-related things...not a place to learn grammar.

If there are any mistakes in my post, I promise it was not meant out of disrespect for anyone on CD. 4 realz.

[Andrew Schreiber]

Originally Posted by Alivia

I'm not sure if I really think that grammar and spelling mistakes in a post show a person's lack of respect. Sure, it is annoying when people speak in short-hand ways and I would prefer them not to. But would I refuse to answer a question, until that person asks me the said question in a grammatically correct way? No. Definitely not.

People here use 'IMHO' and 'CD' as shorthand phrases, yet they are normally not pointed out as being disrespectful. Personally, I think saying "You don't respect me because you don't use good grammar, and therefore I'm not responding" is more disrespectful than poor language usage. We're all on the same level here. While some are more wise than others, no one is above anyone else. While most of the people on here are helpful, there are some who take critiquing to a whole new level. Where will it end? Will people eventually not respond to me because of a misplaced comma? Some may laugh at this and I'll be the first to admit it sounds ridiculous. But where do we draw the line? I'm all for constructive criticism, but I fear some may need a refresher course on just what "constructive" means. If a person is writing so terribly that you can't understand what he/she is saying, or it takes an exceptional amount of thought to decipher what he/she is trying to say, then by all means, PM that person and let them know. If there are only a couple of mistakes, maybe give them a break. We can't all be Bill Shakespeare's.

Being a journalism major, I've had to learn the ins and outs of language usage. More often then not, the posts on CD have some sort of error in them. (And mine is no exception, I'm sure.) I think we must remember CD for what it is: a place to share thoughts and opinions about FIRST/FIRST-related things...not a place to learn grammar.

If there are any mistakes in my post, I promise it was not meant out of disrespect for anyone on CD. 4 realz.

Spelling and grammar mistakes are one thing but what I am talking about is a completely different thing. Recently I responded to a post that contained no capitalization and very little punctuation. I gently followed up my post with a PM suggesting they take the time to capitalize and punctuate. The response was simply, "I don't have time." I was shocked and appalled. If the person can't bother to capitalize their posts should they really be posting? I know for me it was actually a strain to read their post because I generally skim posts. I look for certain cues, question marks, capitalization ,etc. These help me find what they want first then back track through their explanation. If I don't see any of those I have to sit and read the post 2-3 times before I even know what they are asking. When this poster decided not to use proper punctuation they made it so I could no longer use the methods for understanding that I have developed over the last several years. Asking people to spell and punctuate properly is really asking them to make it easier for us to answer their questions faster. We all have tricks we use to pull meaning from what we read and having a set of common rules by which we all write will help us develop or hone those tricks. Disregarding common rules makes it more difficult for the rest of us.

(Now, I KNOW there is at least a handful of mistakes there. My bet, comma/semi colon placement. I never did get the hang of those)

[SteveJanesch]

I'll let minor infractions slide by. If it's bad enough to comment on, it should be done with PM, as to not hijack the thread (or is it "as not to hijack the thread"?). If it's so bad that I can't understand the post, I'll post a request for clarification so everyone can benefit, or not respond at all.

Since most folks on CD post multiple times, it's pretty easy to tell if it's an isolated mistake or a recurrent problem.

- Steve

[Andrew Schreiber]

Out of curiosity, if you try to nudge them in the direction of spelling/punctuating even slightly better (or at all) and they blow it off as a "concern" is there a less subtle way of telling them they need to start punctuating? I mean, I could always just reach for the neg rep button but I prefer to avoid that approach as it just tends to irritate people more than educate.

[Molten]

Originally Posted by Andrew Schreiber

Out of curiosity, if you try to nudge them in the direction of spelling/punctuating even slightly better (or at all) and they blow it off as a "concern" is there a less subtle way of telling them they need to start punctuating? I mean, I could always just reach for the neg rep button but I prefer to avoid that approach as it just tends to irritate people more than educate.

This is why I sometimes make a post within the thread rather then PM.

If you create a post:
1. It allows others to see that the problem has been addressed.
2. If they continue to be lazy then people will start ignoring them.
3. It is a reminder to others that might make similar "mistakes".

PM's can work for some instances. However, if I see the same thing multiple times on CD(even if it's different users) I create a post. I know that some might not agree with this method, but I find it to be relatively effective.

[Adam Y.]

Originally Posted by artdutra04

Are simple spelling and grammar errors enough to refuse to answer someone?

No. He was right the first time which is the reason why unless the errors are egregious you really should not complain.

[BrendanB]

Simple spelling errors are not something that should dissuade you from replying to a topic. If someone says, "Heeeyyy guyzz, i realy need help right nw!!!! Could you plz show me wher there are good diagrams/instructions stuff on cading!!!!! Any help would be AMAZING!!!! k thxz!" Then I would not respond. Just type the whole word and not use a "z" instead of an "s". And I'll admit that I'm not the best speller ever or use correct punctuation. Am I happy with that? No. It's something that I'm always learning everyday.

brendan

Just as a side note, CADing was the first thing that came to mind.

[BobC]

If people did not answer questions that I posted because of miss grammar or miss spelling half of my questions would NOT get answered.

[Andrew Schreiber]

Originally Posted by BobC

If people did not answer questions that were posted because of minor miss grammar or miss spelling half of the posted questions would NOT get answered.

Fixed that for ya.