Poll: Spelling and Grammar on the Internet

[AcacianLeaves]

First of let's get this out of the way: Yes I am a proud spelling and grammar Nazi.

I don't necessarily correct people when they make mistakes, but when I see someone make an obvious spelling mistake, sacrifice grammar in favor of expedience, or rape the English language by use of text shorthand in a non text setting I automatically think much less of them and their intelligence.

I'm not talking about things like using a colon instead of a semi-colon, starting a sentence with a preposition, or other things you only really care about when writing an essay. I'm talking about wanton disregard for writing in an intelligible way.

You all know exactly what I'm talking about.

Anyway enough of my rant, what do YOU think? Does it bother you when you see someone on a forum, comments section, blog, or website use 'internet shorthand'? When you see it, do you judge them as being less intelligent or automatically assume they're probably still in Jr. High? Do you not care and think people like me should jump off a cliff into a fire and die?

 

[Shockolate]

In all my 12 years of being on the internet, from the escapist to the reviled 4chan (it's not that bad) to online games, I don't think I've ever seen a sentence I've not been able to get the jist of. It seems to me that people don't even bother to try when they see things like "4" replacing "For" and brush anything like it off as another language. The word "Elitist" comes to mind.

People really need to relax and lighten up. I hear people say it doesn't take much effort to put full sentences and proper grammar and blah blah blah, when it doesn't take much effort itself to actually read anything, whether it be 1337speak or perfect english.

 

[Quaxar]

It infuriates me to no end, but I've learned to cope with it. I won't point it out unless it's too poorly written (everything without enter or punctuation).
I just get a bit of internal annoyance when I read "their in good shape" or something similar.

 

[Queen Michael]

Sometimes I say "It's called punctuation; all the celebrities use it."

 

[crudus]

It bothers people only when I can't understand what people are saying. It usually involves poor punctuation. The funny thing is when I point it out and ask what they meant (this is usually during an argument) they go off about me being a grammar Nazi. I can hardly be considered a grammar Nazi when I can't understand what you are saying. This isn't to say I ignore laws of grammar online. I lead by example and hope other people catch on. I am only a grammar Nazi when people say things like "I am the master of grammar where I come from[footnote]you aren't supposed to end a sentence with a preposition if you didn't catch it[/footnote]". So I am a grammar Nazi when I am being a smartass.

 

[Sgt Doom]

It's lazy and annoying, but not akin to teabagging the Queen.

 

[Spinozaad]

It bothers me, but not that much. Basically because English is not my first language. People fucking up Dutch beyond the realm of simple mistakes annoy me even more, though.

 

[Liberaliter]

I'm not bothered, I have other things to worry about than someone's spelling and grammar on the internet.

 

[Exia91]

It doesn't bother my at all.

And besides, I believe you should only judge people on their grammar if your grammar is 'perfect' to a sense. So you won't see my judging people or playing the grammar nazi, because my grammar and spelling is far from good, even.

 

[ayuri]

ya seez i do not care if dem peple shortin their words; and missspellin or unpropr spellin usually don"it matter mutch to me

 

[Oh That Dude]

I don't mind it but I do judge people based on how well they type. I find it's usually fairly accurate, most people who type properly seem more intelligent than those who don't.

 

[Red Bomb]

I dont let it bother me that much. Im not that petty.
So long as it's fairly accurate, you can tell they dont mean to make mistakes.

 

[Lawyer105]

If something is poorly written, with non-existent grammar, punctuation, spelling etc. then I (usually) don't even bother to read it. It's obviously written by an idiot...

If it's clear that the dude's making an effort, and that English is not his first language, then it's OK. Because you can still see the intent behind the errors.

But when it's just some retard that couldn't be bothered, then there's no point even reading it.

 

[Broken Boy]

I don't mind it but I do judge people based on how well they type. I find it's usually fairly accurate, most people who type properly seem more intelligent than those who don't.

i dont type very fast even after 20 yrs on the net so i try to spell good enough to at least get my point across if i need to in a hurry if not il take my time and try to do it right so it dosnt bother me unless i rly cant get what they are trying to say. owell now that dudes going to think im stupid ; P j/k i know what u mean somtimes thats the way it works but not all the time. ; )

 

[Jonluw]

Sometimes I say "It's called punctuation; all the celebrities use it."

Except for Yahtzee, mind you.

OT: It doesn't bother me all that much, but I get lightly annoyed when people mix up 'their' and 'they're' and other similar words. Oh, and when people use 'and' instead of 'to'.

 

[Ickorus]

A lot of it I don't mind, for instance the shortening of words but stuff like 'then' and 'than' being mixed up makes me rage hard.

 

[Camembert]

I use correct spelling, punctuation and grammar at all times, but what infuriates me to no end are the boring, elitist (and yes, I am aware that the term 'elitist' is bandied about far too frequently these days) pedants on the Escapist who can think of nothing better to worry about than other people's spelling. I also dislike the fact that in your poll your options for what amounts to 'Don't care' are spelled poorly, when in fact I spell correctly and don't care.

Edit: I will admit, however, that overuse of text-speak and use of the word 'da' instead of 'the', in particular, do make me think that the person using them must be a little unintelligent.

Except for Yahtzee, mind you.

OT: It doesn't bother me all that much, but I get lightly annoyed when people mix up 'their' and 'they're' and other similar words. Oh, and when people use 'and' instead of 'to'.

And instead of to? Could you give me an example?

 

[EightGaugeHippo]

"I don't really care either way"

As long as I can read it, it is not a problem.