The correct way to respond to misspelling and grammar

[BobC]

BUT NOT EVERYONE IS AS WELL EDUCATED AS SOME OTHERS. SOME PEOPLE HAVE LIFE LONG LEARNING DISABILITIES AND MAY NOT HAVE THE CAPABILITIES TO COMMUNICATE PROPERLY. ALL ANYONE DOES IS COME HERE LOOKING FOR HELP. TRY TO COMMUNICATE TO THE BEST OF THEIR ABILITIES. THEN THEY GET SHUT OFF BECAUSE THEY SPELLED A WORD WRONG OR DID NOT FORM A PROPER SENTENCE SHAME ON THE PEOPLE THAT WILL NOT HELP THEM.

[Andrew Schreiber]

Originally Posted by BobC

BUT NOT EVERYONE IS AS WELL EDUCATED AS SOME OTHERS. SOME PEOPLE HAVE LIFE LONG LEARNING DISABILITIES AND MAY NOT HAVE THE CAPABILITIES TO COMMUNICATE PROPERLY. ALL ANYONE DOES IS COME HERE LOOKING FOR HELP. TRY TO COMMUNICATE TO THE BEST OF THEIR ABILITIES. THEN THEY GET SHUT OFF BECAUSE THEY SPELLED A WORD WRONG OR DID NOT FORM A PROPER SENTENCE SHAME ON THE PEOPLE THAT WILL NOT HELP THEM.

I know someone like that, in fact they are a very good friend of mine. They do indeed try to the best of their abilities but they recognize that they often have a hard time saying what they think. I respect these people for trying.

We aren't talking about "shutting off" anyone because they misspelled a word. We are discussing not responding to someone who has obviously not made any effort to communicate in a socially acceptable manner. When I see a post that is terrible one day I probably respond. If the next post is terrible I might shoot them a PM (unless it is obvious they are just bad at English). If they respond to the PM blowing me off with "Bah, I am too busy to be bothered." then I will not answer another question they ask. I may even go so far as to hit the neg rep button on the next poorly written post in a last ditch effort to let them know it is not an effective way of communicating.

On a semi related note. Do you really need to use Caps Lock? It makes your post go from a great post to reading solely as "RAGE! ARGH!!!!!!!"

[Mark McLeod]

Originally Posted by BobC

BUT NOT EVERYONE IS AS WELL EDUCATED AS SOME OTHERS. SOME PEOPLE HAVE LIFE LONG LEARNING DISABILITIES AND MAY NOT HAVE THE CAPABILITIES TO COMMUNICATE PROPERLY. ALL ANYONE DOES IS COME HERE LOOKING FOR HELP. TRY TO COMMUNICATE TO THE BEST OF THEIR ABILITIES. THEN THEY GET SHUT OFF BECAUSE THEY SPELLED A WORD WRONG OR DID NOT FORM A PROPER SENTENCE SHAME ON THE PEOPLE THAT WILL NOT HELP THEM.

Ow! Ow! Ow!
That hurts my eyes!
Please, somebody make him stop...

I'll be good and promise to answer questions, I swear...

[BobC]

It was meant to be rage because I am upset about this subject. That some people thinking they are better than others without knowing them. It may keep some people from asking questions because they are afraid they will get ridiculed.

[Molten]

Originally Posted by BobC

TRY TO COMMUNICATE TO THE BEST OF THEIR ABILITIES.

This is the perfect example of someone not trying to communicate to the best of their abilities. If someone were to continually post in all caps, I'd stop reading their posts. There is no disability that causes a person to lose control of their caps lock key. There is also no excuse for not capitalizing your sentences. I understand that some may not be able to form sentences properly. I also understand that some people can't spell the best. Can someone name a disability that causes the person to speak in leet? Or that takes away their control of their caps lock/shift key? If not, then there really isn't an excuse for these type of problems.

Also, it really doesn't matter how much something annoys you...there is no need for yelling on CD.

[David Brinza]

if some one posts a question without anypunktuation or capital letters were it is two hard to figure wut there axing i might answer there question but i might comment on there gramer and speling two.

Any problems with that??

[BobC]

Originally Posted by David Brinza

if some one posts a question without anypunktuation or capital letters were it is two hard to figure wut there axing i might answer there question but i might comment on there gramer and speling two.

Any problems with that??

looks good 2 me and i agree but I will not comment in public.

[ATannahill]

Originally Posted by David Brinza

if some one posts a question without anypunktuation or capital letters were it is two hard to figure wut there axing i might answer there question but i might comment on there gramer and speling two.

Any problems with that??

I refuse to answer your question due to a. poor grammar b. poor punctuation c. poor spelling d. I need more evil points.

I can see your point but I will leave my line open to definition by me and only me.

[Alivia]

*sigh*

I'm afraid this is another one of those topics in which everyone has his/her own opinion, and we'll never really end up agreeing one way or another.

As for me...

PM and ask me questions all you want. Try your best to practice some good punctuation and grammar, but I'll understand if you make a mistake or two or several. I'll answer you to the best of my ability.

And for any new users out there reading this? Don't be scared to ask for clarification. For it is by questioning that we learn the most.

[David Brinza]

Please excuse my prior sarcastic post. I wondered if I could actually rite like that...

I've PM'd a few CD newbies in the past to help them get better results from their posts. Here's the basic content of my message (or is it a sermon?):

ChiefDelphi is an open forum for exchanging ideas, asking questions and tapping into the expertise of some true experts. Many of the mentors who actively participate in CD discussions are professional engineers (such as myself) or business people. We have high standards for almost everything, because it is the nature of our world. Time and communication skills are highly valued in our "real world", so try to respect that.

You need to take a little more time with your posts. If you have a question, please search the forums (I do this all the time). If you don't find any prior threads that address your question, then go ahead and post it. If you want to get the best responses to your question, take the time to ask it correctly. By correctly I mean, use proper grammar, punctuation and spelling to ask the question as clearly as possible. If that seems to difficult to do, keep in mind that the people who might give you the best answer might not have the time or desire to try to understand what you are asking.

CD has a lot to offer because it isn't a lightweight chat-room, instead it's a forum to tap into incredible resources of expert knowledge. Used properly, CD can save you a lot of time, frustration and even money.

Posting on CD shouldn't be intimidating, but if you have a serious question, how you ask it can determine the quality of the answers. This thread: How to Ask Questions the Smart Way is well worth perusing. The article Brandon cites was written for hackers, but applies more generally.

[Rick TYler]

Originally Posted by Molten

There is no disability that causes a person to lose control of their caps lock key. There is also no excuse for not capitalizing your sentences. I understand that some may not be able to form sentences properly. I also understand that some people can't spell the best. Can someone name a disability that causes the person to speak in leet? Or that takes away their control of their caps lock/shift key? If not, then there really isn't an excuse for these type of problems.

I think we need to draw a line between what is obvious laziness and a genuine problem with written communication. If someone is writing in LEET or without any attempt to form sentences, and is clearly a native English speaker, I'm with the "no tolerance" faction. If someone simply has trouble writing I suggest total support and flexibility. Poor writing is not an automatic indicator of laziness, not caring, stupidity, or even lack of literacy.

I know of three things that make someone's writing hard to read through no fault of their own, and I am sure there are other causes. First, there are a lot of dyslexic (why do I always want to spell that incorrectly?) people in the world. Both of my siblings and one of my best friends have severe problems with dyslexia. None of them write particularly well, but all try hard and are at least as smart as the average CDer. Second, people with autistic spectrum disorders MAY tend to write in non-standard ways. I know a gifted hands-on techie who writes very clearly, but uses non-standard capitalization all the time. This used to annoy me until he explained that he is mildly Autistic and has never been able to understand grammar rules, so he tends to over-capitalize. Third, non-native English speakers have as much trouble writing in English as I, with my high-school German far in the past, would have in writing German.

My recommendation here is to cut a lot of slack to someone who simply does not write very well. You don't know what their problem is, so there is no need to be judgmental. On the other hand, someone writing like they are using their cell for text messaging deserves the pillory.

[Al Skierkiewicz]

Guys,
Before we lose track of our mission and the fact that newbies are starting to read this board as we approach kickoff, I think we need to think about moderation here. We are in the business of inspiring and there are a variety of ways to that, not all of them good and not all of them bad. I will answer any question, if it seems sincere, in a way that helps the poster and brings them better communication skills. I would hope all of us would do the same. To those that refuse on principle, then fine, answer when you feel you can, in a manner befitting this board. I would much rather answer a sincere question written badly than to ignore the poster simply because they haven't achieved my (or someone else's) level of experience. We do what we can when we can. We can ask no more. Private discussions would be better to remain in private.
Happy Holidays!

[Ziaholic]

Interesting topic. And I agree with most of what has been posted, especially about letting the little things slide past, and the appropriate use of PM's. I feel that not even ATTEMPTING to write in a commonly accepted and pseudo-intelligent fashion shows a lack of respect to the folks that probably have answers for you.

... but I couldn't let this thread die without mentioning my FAVORITE forum quote of all time ...

Typically it is in response to poor grammar ... but I absolutely love it when the rude reply-er responds with: Your an Idiot!


Thankfully, I haven't seen it happen here, but I have seen it many times on some of the other, less mature forums that I frequent, and it always makes me smile.

[BobC]

Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it dseno't mtaetr in waht oerdr the ltteres in a wrod are, the olny iproamtnt tihng is taht the frsit and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. If you can raed tihs, psot it to yuor wlal. Olny 55% of plepoe can

[JaneYoung]

Originally Posted by BobC

Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it dseno't mtaetr in waht oerdr the ltteres in a wrod are, the olny iproamtnt tihng is taht the frsit and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. If you can raed tihs, psot it to yuor wlal. Olny 55% of plepoe can

I can read this, do I get a cookie?