Pedantry and the state of written English.

[Globalti]

I think bad grammar should be corrected. If people join the forum expecting help and advice they have a small duty to ensure that their questions are clearly written; explaining a simple technical query only takes a little effort. Older wiser members of the forum are usually pretty good at guessing the problem, there being only a limited number of things that can actually go wrong with a bicycle, but if people come on here wanting to improve their cycling and repairing skills they have an opportunity to improve their conversational English for free and should take it.


If I see "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" I just can't be bothered to answer because I feel the answer will be ignored anyway. This kind of question is not asked by someone who can be bothered to explain clearly. They need to make an effort.

 

[Aperitif]

Plus one. (Meaning that I concur with the above comment. And I speak as one who carves up the lingua on a fairly wregular basis.)

 

[Spinney]

I generally agree with the posters who say we should not correct others' spelling and grammar.

There are two exceptions:

- I think new users of the txtspk variety should be told that they can carry on posting in txtspk if they wish, but presenting their message in that way will greatly reduce the number of people who read it and hence respond to queries

- occasionally someone posts a letter of complaint they are thinking of sending to a bus/lorry company for comment. I think all such letters have a greater impact if spelling and grammar correct (assuming they don't get opened by a txtspk yoof at the other end), and so such errors could be (nicely) pointed out.

Spinney

(who thinks she has got her spelling correct, but isn't going to guarantee it!)

 

[slugonabike]

I'm not the best at spelling and grammar, I frequently check spellings before I post, and I often make typo's (because I rush things and don't check properly) so I tend to make allowances for the occasional mistake. It does make me cross if a post is full of errors and textspeak though. I usually foam at the mouth, bite a cushion but not say anything. I would not respond to such a post - but I know that others would and that is up to them.

 

[Mark_Robson]

+1
I couldn't have put it better myself.
I agree that it can be frustrating trying to decipher some posts but if we start to criticise people then we will discourage them from posting, and IMO it's rude to do so.

And now you have me worried about my grammar and punctuation!

 

[Arch]

Mistakes do grate for me, but I can ignore them most of the time. I do find I judge a new poster by their style - the "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"* would probably put me off answering, mostly out of laziness because I'd need to find out a lot more information before I could provide any help. Posts with no use of the shift key or punctuation or paragraph breaks really irritate me, and if they are long, I do find them harder to read.

With words like 'pedals' and 'brakes', I like to think that exposure to the correct spelling would give people a hint, but if it doesn't, after lots of posts, I'd be tempted to say 'oh, by the way...'. It's something to do with the feeling that someone isn't actually reading the replies and picking up their mistake.

I know there are words I struggle to get right first time - I never know if it's 'separate' or 'seperate' until I type it and see what looks right, but I hope that mistakes which make it online are down to sloppy proof reading (proofreading?)

My boss at St Nicks is quite dyslexic, so I'm used to skimming over errors - but he will ask how to spell a word, and make sure anything important is read by others, so I know he cares about it.

And of course, I'm far more likely to pick up errors from someone disagree with, or don't especially see as a friend, and let others go. And there are always places where text speak or innit or "I can haz biskit?" is entirely warrented within a conversation - just as I speak differently at work, or in front of my Mum...

* TheDoc has got this wrong of course. No one typing a sentance like that would use an apostrophe.

 

[Crackle]

No: People correcting other people, greats on me far more than people getting it wrong in the first place.









Anyone correcting that sentence will go in my little book

 

[MacB]

No: People correcting other people, greats on me far more than people getting it wrong in the first place.

Anyone correcting that sentence will go in my little book

We're safe then as you would probably make such a mess of the entry that you'd never be able to identify who you'd meant

 

[Crackle]

We're safe then as you would probably make such a mess of the entry that you'd never be able to identify who you'd meant

That's grate. wone in.

 

[ThePainInSpain]

It would be interesting to know whether the culprits are youngsters. I suspect they are, I see it as a sad indictment of our failing education system.

I have the automatic spell check on so that most mistakes and typo's are picked up.

When I see posts where capitols are not used or are written in text-speak, I tend to not bother to read them, it's too much hard work.

 

[Arch]

I have the automatic spell check on so that most mistakes and typo's are picked up.

When I see posts where capitols are not used or are written in text-speak, I tend to not bother to read them, it's too much hard work.

The problem with spellcheckers though, is that they don't spot when you've used the wrong spelling of a word that may be spelt in different ways...

 

[Globalti]

The plural of typo is typos, not typo's.

 

[Arch]

Having just come across the post that prompted this, I've realised what grates about posts with no punctuation and very poor spelling - they 'sound' a little hysterical. As if someone has just rushed in, and sat down and pummelled the keys without thinking. If you were sitting in a cafe with mates, and someone rushed up to your table and started streaming forth anecdotes without a pause for breath, or for you to tell them to go away, you'd probably not enjoy it very much.

 

[PK99]

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

That is always a difficult one. If addressing the Panel as a collective and expecting a single response, you are correct.
If, however, one expects individual, varying responses from panel members, there is a case that the OP's usage was correct.

 

[threebikesmcginty]

This forum is for cycling and www.grammartossers.com is for literacy.