writin scills

[VeeDubb]

I may have a foul attitude about this, but here it goes anyways.

When I post on internet sites, I'm usually killing a few minutes between other tasks at work or at home. My opportunity cost of proof reading my posts are high. Therefore, I usually type and hit send. I also don't expect greatness from others on chat rooms or internet boards. If I can comprehend it, that's all I care about even if it looks like dog scribble.

As for intelligence and writing, bruce381 is quite possibly the worse typer on this board (no offense bruce). But he is also one of the most knowledgeable and I pay special attention to his posts regardless of how they are written.

 

[Julian]

Originally Posted By: Pablo
Originally Posted By: Julian
You didn't review résumés back then?

I could twist this.....I'll be better off leaving it to the vivid Technicolor® or Kodachrome® imagination......
Awww... guess we'll have to wait for the movie.

 

[rainman49]

I are a writer.

Therefore, I know the pitfalls of editing one's own copy. That's why I have several people check my copy, and there are times when an error will still be missed. It's just the way our brains are wired - like the little brain teaser that asks how many times the letter f appears in a sentence. Our brain skips the word "of."
I notice the incorrect grammar and misspellings, but I don't obsess over the errors. The main gripe I have is the overuse of text-messaging patter in forums. I rarely text-message, so I don't understand that [censored].
That's my opinion, and I agree with it.
Rainman

 

[G-MAN]

Originally Posted By: VeeDubb
As for intelligence and writing, bruce381 is quite possibly the worse typer on this board (no offense bruce). But he is also one of the most knowledgeable and I pay special attention to his posts regardless of how they are written.


That should be "worst."

 

[MarkC]

Originally Posted By: JHZR2
There is no excuse for having poor command of the English language. Typos are one thing, not using something like your and you're, their and there, etc., properly is absolutely ridiculous. It is third grade level stuff at best, things that should be second nature, and of which people dont have a clue?

Mistaking punctuation is another one. A misuse of a comma, semicolon, etc. is understandable. Sometimes the uses of these items is not clear. However, we are not citing literature here. We are not producing bibliographies. We are writing relatively simple sentences, of which the punctuation generally is, simple. So it does not make sense to me that people cannot punctuate their writing properly.

And finally, when somebody posts asking a question in one or two lines, not enough background information, poor spelling, grammar, etc., why should anyone take that person seriously? Unfortunately at that point, when this person responds in other threads, they will likely not use proper language there either, and thus not be taken seriously anyplace on the forum. This leads to friction and folks being bothered with others.

The uneducated have no excuse to being so. They had access to this sort of information, and (theoretically) have been using it since the third grade, or so.

JMH

I agree with this, and typos are usually glaringly obvious, as opposed to spelling errors.

 

[Cutehumor]

my opinion...You don't know anyone on the site face to face. so why would they care to type correctly? or maybe it's a sign of the decline of education in this country. hmm..

 

[Oldmoparguy1]

I know I don't do very good at spellin and context, which is kind of sad, considering that I worked for over 2 years as a technical writer/proof reader. So, I don't judge others by the quality of their writing, but by the content of their posts. Sometimes, it just takes a little more effort to read for content.

On The Other Hand:

 

[97tbird]

I hope my non-native English/American English is good enough to understand...I'm still learning it, every day...spoken and written, and will take a while till I'm satisfied, though.
I've been living in USA for about 5 yrs now...but did learn English growing up, and in school in Sri Lanka...(former british colony, btw)
Most people I talk to say I speak/sound fine, with the occasional odd phrase/sound..
oh well..

 

[Jethro]

I always dreaded proof-reading or "grade each other's work" days in English classes. In high school it was understandable that I was gonna get some real pains to look at, but in college, give me a break!!! Some of the stuff I had to wade through was real trash.

I did proof-reading for Taiwanese grad students in the TESOL program while I was in college and it was easier to do than with much of the American students' work.

But this is a bulletin board system. It's not graded or reviewed by a professional publication.

 

[VeeDubb]

Originally Posted By: Cutehumor
or maybe it's a sign of the decline of education in this country. hmm..

Perhaps, but at work and in other professional settings, I rarely see sloppy reports and papers that have atrocious grammar. I see more sloppiness on the internet, which is no surprise considering the lower stakes. So I see it as a sign that people know how to pick their battles and allocate their time efficiently. A person that needs to be perfect on the internet really has too much time to hang out on the internet.

 

[XS650]

Originally Posted By: 97tbird

Most people I talk to say I speak/sound fine, with the occasional odd phrase/sound..
oh well..


Relax, it's the odd phrases like "UOA" they are talking about, not your Sri Lankan/Brit flavoured English.

 

[Pablo]

Originally Posted By: VeeDubb
When I post on internet sites, I'm usually killing a few minutes between other tasks at work or at home. My opportunity cost of proof reading my posts are high. Therefore, I usually type and hit send. I also don't expect greatness from others on chat rooms or internet boards. If I can comprehend it, that's all I care about even if it looks like dog scribble.

As for intelligence and writing, bruce381 is quite possibly the worse typer on this board (no offense bruce). But he is also one of the most knowledgeable and I pay special attention to his posts regardless of how they are written.

Perhaps, but at work and in other professional settings, I rarely see sloppy reports and papers that have atrocious grammar. I see more sloppiness on the internet, which is no surprise considering the lower stakes. So I see it as a sign that people know how to pick their battles and allocate their time efficiently. A person that needs to be perfect on the internet really has too much time to hang out on the internet.


I can appreciate this. I tried to explain it to mori (where is he?) once when he was haranguing me over some typo or another.

Sometimes I just hammer stuff out……….dang - I might even have someone waiting for me…….bam – SEND – done. Weird sentence structure, typo, off on a word or two. I can also relate to the “lightness” of this type of text communication. I know the human eye/mind misses stuff. (I will commonly type only “this” when I mean to write “this is”.) We all do it.

But this is not really what I’m talking about here. I’m talking wordsmithing a couple notches below this – caveman writing. Yeah bruce is very quick when you speak to him on the phone, but a writer, he ain’t! Luckily his posts are short and to the point.

 

[Spitty]

As one of the Offenders mentioned in the opening post, I feel (for some strange reason) I should jump in and offer an excuse.
I am Dyslexic! Of course, when I went to school in the U.K. (I did not say it was England) 40 + years ago, Dyslexia was not recognised, I guess my teachers did not consider my poor English skills to be caused by stupidity, so my poor spelling/ grammar was put down to laziness. At one time I was even beaten with a cane in front of the class after my repeated spelling errors were considered to be 'Biligerantce' (I hope spell check corrects that mess of a word )
At school (in English class) I quickly learned that the less I wrote, the less I got in trouble for, pretty soon I was left alone to 'Zone out' at the back of the class. My one saving grace was, my parents were told that if I was to read more, my English skills would improve! Of course they did not, but my knowledge of just about everything else did (I often pride myself in thinking that I can hold my own in conversation with almost anybody, and has allowed me to attain positions that would normally be beyond my accdemic reach.
What is dyslexia (for me)? I cannot 'picture' a word in my head, I have learned (to a degree) to learn the sound, or song, of a word if I 'sound out' the letters, in my head. This does not always work, like sometimes you will forget the lyrics to a favorite song, I forget the 'song' of a word. in some cases I will then be so lost, even spell check can't help. I have to find a substitute word.
I found, after I left school, I could recognise 'whole words' if they were in type face (the letters and word shape was consistent) With the advent of the PC I found (once I learned to type) I could even spell (almost) normally, being able to backspace if the word did not look right.
But after ALL this, my punctuation and written Grammar ARE lacking.
But, for me, when it comes to the written word, "When you are in a swamp, up to your a$$ in Crocodiles, do you care about the mosquitoes?"

 

[benjamming]

I agree as well.

Coherent communication should not require any extra effort or time. It should be natural.

Anyone can lower their standards, but how many raise their standards?

 

[Drew99GT]

Hey Pablo:

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=1041767&gonew=1#UNREAD

 

[Pablo]

Originally Posted By: 97tbird
I hope my non-native English/American English is good enough to understand...


Trust me - your writing is fine by my book.

Spitty - I don't think I had your name in mind when I posted.(?)

 

[Pablo]

Originally Posted By: Drew99GT
Hey Pablo:

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=1041767&gonew=1#UNREAD


That's not English. But I'm trying hard to not throw rocks. I get the point of the post. So it must be good enough.

No one wants "good enough" from USA manufacturers, but "good enough" is OK in other aspects of life. Can we operate this way? Maybe I AM an idiot for taking 50 years of life to figure this out....

 

[Kestas]

For a person who can't communicate with proper spelling, you have to wonder what else thay can't do. I take these people less seriously. I'll dismiss typos though.

 

[Spitty]

If someone has a speech impediment, is it worth listening to what they have to say?
If someone has a problem with spelling/grammar, is it worth reading what they write?
If someone has a closed or narrow mind are you interested in their Ideas?

I have no problem with the first two.

 

[Dr_No]

"mobile one"

Sorry, didn't you buy that oil? Have you seen the label?!?!