Pedantry and the state of written English.

[Fab Foodie]

I owe somebody here an apology tonight.

Sometimes one feels the need to try and make a bit of a stand. It's concerning the state of written English, spelling and punctuation used on the forum and whether we think it's important or not. I'm by no means perfect and constantly strive to improve, but occasionally there are some shockers and maybe I'm getting more sensitive to them.

Do the panel think we should point-out (in a nice way), particularly poor English usage such as lack of capitals etc?
Should we correct common spelling errors, especially those pertaining to cycling such as Peddles and Breaks?
Pedantry of this sort was in the past part and parcel of forum life, but it seems to have declined, maybe it's good, maybe not.

Yes, I am fully aware of issues such as Dyslexia, being the parent of a sufferer.

So, while I sit back and await a critique of the above .....

Am I an insensitive Wayne-Kerr or should we strive to improve?

Fire-away.

 

[Noodley]

Nah

 

[Fab Foodie]

Nah

awwrite noodly i was wondrin wear u was

 

[TheDoctor]

Well, it depends.

Typos and mis-spellings, especially from a regular, can be ignored.
It's someone who's first post is all :-

[font="'Comic Sans MS"]hi i've got a new bike but it dontwurk cn any1 of u onhere helpme the weels all wrong and the breaks stuk LOL[/font]

then I feel an irrational urge to visit them with a big stick.

 

[HLaB]

awwrite noodly i wis wondrin wear u wir

FTFY

 

[Fab Foodie]

Well, it depends.

Typos and mis-spellings, especially from a regular, can be ignored.
It's someone who's first post is all :-

hi i've got a new bike but it dontwurk cn any1 of u onhere helpme the weels all wrong and the breaks stuk LOL

then I feel an irrational urge to visit them with a big stick.

Me too, but then I just end-up thinking I'm being an arse-hole.
It's striking a balance that's tricky.

 

[Fab Foodie]

FTFY

Magic

 

[MacB]

Me too, but then I just end-up thinking I'm being an arse-hole.
It's striking a balance that's tricky.

If the meaning is clear and I can follow it then I don't care, otherwise I just switch off. But I'm in the don't text, don't use facebook and don't use twitter camp, so maybe some of the stuff I find hard to follow is perfectly clear to others.

 

[swee'pea99]

"Do the panel think we should point-out (in a nice way), particularly poor English usage such as lack of capitals etc?
Should we correct common spelling errors, especially those pertaining to cycling such as Peddles and Breaks?"

I'm not 'the panel', but I say no & no.

This is not an English forum, this is a cycling forum. No-one should be belittled or made to feel bad on account of their writing skills. It's about whether they enjoy cycling and have something to contribute, period. If you can't understand, ask for clarification - in a nice way. Otherwise, judge a post on its merits, not its grammar.

 

[PK99]

If the meaning is clear and I can follow it then I don't care, otherwise I just switch off. But I'm in the don't text, don't use facebook and don't use twitter camp, so maybe some of the stuff I find hard to follow is perfectly clear to others.

The one thing that has be reaching for the Big Stick is : "I could of done that" - or similar non sentences. Refreshingly rare in these parts but depressingly common on a footie message board I frequent.

 

[snorri]

Interesting that this topic should come up now.
Last night I had composed an answer to a route query on another forum then decided to scrub it because the guy asking the question had made a spelling clanger with a place name which suggested to me he had not bothered to look at a map and try to work things out for himself.

 

[slowmotion]

I quite like the idea of being careful and accurate with words and punctuation, and I know I fail miserably sometimes.

There are some things that cannot be conveyed by "text-speak".

Innit?

 

[marzjennings]

Do the panel think we should point-out (in a nice way), particularly poor English usage such as lack of capitals etc?
Should we correct common spelling errors, especially those pertaining to cycling such as Peddles and Breaks?
Pedantry of this sort was in the past part and parcel of forum life, but it seems to have declined, maybe it's good, maybe not.


So, while I sit back and await a critique of the above .....

Am I an insensitive Wayne-Kerr or should we strive to improve?

Fire-away.

I think you'll find 'panel' is singular and your 'do' should be a 'does'.

 

[vernon]

Pedantry with respect to spelling, punctuation and grammar is a dangerous activity.

I've yet to see an opening gambit left intact after the proof readers have given it the once over.

 

[mr_hippo]

It's someone who's first post is all :-

??????