Poll: What are your feelings on the proper usage of spelling and grammar on Escapist Forums?

[T-Bone24]

I can take a mistake here or there, perhaps a misspelling or not putting an apostrophe where it's needed (like there). If the post is incomprehensible, then something's gone horribly wrong. I prefer words to be spelt out fully, and not in text speak. I will point out a mistake if it's glaringly obvious, so long as they acknowledge it, it's good. I hate when people act with hostility when I try to correct them if they use text speak, maybe with, for example, "We're not in school get a lif ROFLMAOLOLETC". You may not be in school, but you probably spent a good few learning how to spell properly and use grammar, so I'll be damned if I see it go to waste.

I rarely tell people so, however. I just assume they have nothing important to say because if they can't even be bothered to write it properly I doubt they put much thought into it.

That's a good point, I'll think about that when I see "text speak".

 

[Fox242]

Minor misspellings are ok. After all there isn't a spell check feature here, so sometimes it can't be helped. But there shouldn't be such butchering of the English langauge such as "[insert game name here] is rly god and is teh bst game eva, ho cum none of u idiot can see dat!" allowed on this site. I understand that complicated words cannot be spelled correctly without spell check, but this isn't like Facebook or the rest of the internet! I'm not a Grammar Nazi, but this isn't Facebook or Myspace! I came here to escape that kind gross abuse of my native language.

 

[Sakurazaki1023]

Intelligence is a hard thing to come by on the internet, and since The Escapist seems to be a fairly intelligent forum, I see no issue with emphasizing correct grammar and spelling.

I'm rarely a Nazi about it though, the occasional mistake is just fine for me...

Besides, I'm an Engineer, I hate English...

 

[The Hairminator]

I use proper English to the best of my abilities, having English as my 2nd language. The rest is up to Google spelling corrector.

I can't help to look down on people who miss use English horribly, at least on a subconscious level. If said person had other redeeming qualities, however, I wouldn't care much about it.

 

[CloggedDonkey]

I'm okay with the occasional grammar and spelling error, but it's the people that "TAK LK THS AND NVAR US COMAS AND USE ANDS ALOT AND SPELL EVRYTHING RONG AND USE U INSTEAD OF YOU AND TEH CRAPS LOK CY IS STUK SO IT AL LOKS LIKE THIS LOLOLOLOLOL!!!111ONEONEONE"

 

[The Hairminator]

I'm okay with the occasional grammar and spelling error, but it's the people that "TAK LK THS AND NVAR US COMAS AND USE ANDS ALOT AND SPELL EVRYTHING RONG AND USE U INSTEAD OF YOU AND TEH CRAPS LOK CY IS STUK SO IT AL LOKS LIKE THIS LOLOLOLOLOL!!!111ONEONEONE"

Actually, I prefer that, for its comical value, before someone who is actually trying to type in English, but is failing miserably. (Unless someone actually really type like that, in which case it would be more sad than hilarious.)

 

[War Penguin]

I'm not so harsh about it. As long as I can read it, I'm fine with it.

I do understand the difficulties some people have when they see your instead of you're, or its instead of it's.

 

[joshthor]

Hello, welcome to my thread.
It appears that using proper spelling and grammar in a forum post or thread title, even here on The Escapist, is a frivolous endeavor. If The Escapist is a meeting ground for intelligent individuals, different from 4chan's /b/ thread, then why does correcting someone's improper English usage make you a Grammar Nazi?
Now, I wouldn't have the internet become like a victorian-era dinner party, but surely we can spell correctly and use proper word tenses when using english.
Escapists, what are your feelings on this matter? What, if anything, should be done about posters with weak understanding or usage of english? How would you justify correcting someone's English?
Those questions were assuming all posters on The Escapist speak English. If you wish to respond to those questions concerning a different language other than English, feel free to post that as well.

i wanna call you something but i would probably get banned. or at least suspended. its the internet, worse, its a internet forum, worse, its an internet gaming forum. we arent writing essays, we arent trying to publish our posts in the new england journal of medicine. we are having light conversation. people dont put a huge amount of effort in thier posts. if you wanna be a dick and walk around bothering people based on the proficiency of thier grammar become a english teacher (any grade works really) and stay away from the internet.

 

[flaming_squirrel]

i wanna call you something but i would probably get banned. or at least suspended. its the internet, worse, its a internet forum, worse, its an internet gaming forum. we arent writing essays, we arent trying to publish our posts in the new england journal of medicine. we are having light conversation. people dont put a huge amount of effort in thier posts. if you wanna be a dick and walk around bothering people based on the proficiency of thier grammar become a english teacher (any grade works really) and stay away from the internet.

You fight your corner so very well. There's nothing like hurling insults while trying to put across a potentially valid point.

However it does seem like you could do with a new English teacher..

Now, I wouldn't have the internet become like a victorian-era dinner party, but surely we can spell correctly and use proper word tenses when using english.
Escapists, what are your feelings on this matter? What, if anything, should be done about posters with weak understanding or usage of english?

I take it that you mean 'English' rather then the incorrect lack of capitalisation which you have utilized?

 

[Angerwing]

Well since I personally attempt to make all my posts grammatically correct, I tend to expect other people to do so as well. I only really do it for my own benefit though. Since I can now type fast while being grammatically awesome, it helps when it comes to assignments and whatnot, since I can just type normally. Most of my mistakes are either Freudian or finger slips anyway.

If you're dyslexic, or English isn't your first language, fine. I don't really care if you misspell because:
A) It's not your fault.
B) You're trying to learn the language.

But if your spelling and grammar is atrocious, and you're a native English speaker, then I automatically assume you unintelligent.

I will admit, you should use at least decent grammer and spelling(no lolcatz tiepars pweeze, becuz a liek toarchiks bettar than mudkipz)
but im starting to get EXTREMELY sick of people calling me things like "cuntswaggler" and "fucking troll" on this forum because I forget a comma here and there.(who the hell says cuntswaggler? really? and troll, what are you, ten?)
and for those people who say things like "use word or spellcheck",
well did it ever occur to you that perhaps my computer isnt as fast as what the rest of you have?
seriously, this thing laggs and freezes if I type to fast.
and my keyboard is also fucked up(skips every 4th letter and a couple of keys dont work well) "get a new keboard" you say?
well what if i need the money and am tolerating this keyboard because its not my top priority.
FUCK YOU GRAMMER NAZI'S.

also, intelligence on the internet BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH.
thats funny, youre a very clever person ^_^

Protip: Get Google Chrome. It's lighter than other browsers and it comes with a spell-check. Problem solved.

 

[sora100100]

Proper spelling and grammar should be used, if you can. I understand if you genuinely can't spell the word, or don't know much grammar, then that's fine by me.

Talking "l33t" pisses me off to no end, if you're on a forum, you have time, so use it.

 

[UnkeptBiscuit]

Use proper spelling and grammar, to the extent that you know. My own mother, a Brazil native and immigrant, makes plenty of mistakes, and I wouldn't expect most people who don't have English as their first language to have great spelling and grammar. I wouldn't care, if it wasn't for the fact that oftentimes a post that's riddled with mechanics, usage, grammar, and/or spelling issues is nigh-impossible to read. Put effort into your posts seems to be the golden rule.

 

[Johnnyallstar]

I'm a bit of a grammar nazi. Punctuation isn't always the easiest, but if you run a decent browser, like firefox, it has this neat spellchecker added on.

 

[hardlymotivated]

Honestly, as long as the point of their post comes across in the text, it really doesn't matter to me. As much I might inwardly cringe at a post with copious spelling/grammar errors, it's the thought that counts. Not everybody studies English as their first language, and those that do aren't exactly required to strive for absolute literary perfection when they're posting in a topic about their favourite superhero, or something.

Besides, we all make mistakes. Oh, and if I judged people based simply on their English proficiency, I think I'd be the one with the problem.

 

[Tartarga]

To me it doesn't matter if the grammar and spelling are bad as long as they get their point across.

 

[joshthor]

i wanna call you something but i would probably get banned. or at least suspended. its the internet, worse, its a internet forum, worse, its an internet gaming forum. we arent writing essays, we arent trying to publish our posts in the new england journal of medicine. we are having light conversation. people dont put a huge amount of effort in thier posts. if you wanna be a dick and walk around bothering people based on the proficiency of thier grammar become a english teacher (any grade works really) and stay away from the internet.

You fight your corner so very well. There's nothing like hurling insults while trying to put across a potentially valid point.

However it does seem like you could do with a new English teacher..

meh. technically i didnt insult anyone, i said if they WANT to be a dick. not that they are . and im done with english plus, insults dont invalidate a point, it just makes people look stupid

 

[Nalgas D. Lemur]

(as an English Lit student, I run up against obscure grammar rules all the time which make very little sense, so I don't begrudge people who don't know them)

Split infinitives are fun. I love to constantly make jokes involving them.

I always think it would be hypocritical of me to criticise people for split infiinitives, since I didn't even learn about them until I got to university, and by then it was so much a part of my speech that I can never stop doing it. (My school didn't really teach grammar so much...)

I learnt about it whilst perusing a site like TVTropes I believe, but even though I enjoy making jokes involving them, I still think it's a pretty archaic, and annoying grammatical rule - no one enforces it in their vocabulary, or so I'd assume.

Well I learned about it on my journey to boldly go where no man has gone before.

I'm only half joking; Star Trek is what made the concept finally click for me. I still ignore the rule just as much as anyone else does, even though I'm otherwise relatively picky about things like that.

 

[willsham45]

I try but English is not one of my Specialties.
But I post and all I get is your spelling, your spelling.
It seams if you cannot spell you cannot have anything intelligent to say...well according to some users.