[:deadhorse:] of the day: English Nazism 101Follow

Recently, I've been seeing an increase in people making posts that are difficult to decipher, impossible to interpret, and just plain painful to peruse.

Caveat: I understand that we have numerous "English as a Second Language" posters who frequent the forums. This does not apply to them, as I recognise the difficulties and complexities of the English language. This is for people born, raised & (presumably) educated in an English-speaking country.

I am an English ****. I don't try to correct every misspelled word, every typographical error, every grammatical gaffe. I don't generally rate people down for poorly-typed posts, except in exceptional instances. However, sometimes I see posts that literally make me cringe. It's worse when someone tries to correct the poster, and makes their own errors as well. If you're correcting someone's poor English and/or grammar, make sure your post is flawless.

I wanted to share with you my lovely dead horse- some things that set me off when people post.

Leetspeak and txtspeak: Yes, we know that people use it. It's annoying, and perhaps it's easier for you to type "Hey u wnt to run me thru sm plz kthxbye" or "i r teh r0xx0rz". It's annoying, and I'll think you have the mental capacity of a baked potato (without the sour cream). It means that, no matter how good the content of your post, I'll judge it by the manner in which I read it. I agree that it's shallow, but it's one way I judge the merit of your post. If it's illegible without needing to interpret, I can't be bothered. When you don't care enough to put in some effort to make your point clear, I don't care enough to try to interpret it.

Pet words: Learn the difference between "they're", "there" and "their". Also learn the difference between 'its" and "it's". Don't use big words if you don't really know what they mean- often I'll see a word that doesn't mean anything in the context that it's used in a sentence. It's "regardless", not "irregardless". It's "definitely", not "definately". There are more, but like I said, these are my pet peeves. I don't rate anyone down just for a misspelled word or misused word, but it raises the hairs on the back of my neck when I see certain mistakes.

Paragraphs are your friend: If it's a block of words, I won't read it. I won't even bother to reply with tl;dr. Walls of text put people off of reading whatever you just wrote. You could have a wonderful, enlightening point in that wall, that could lead to a gaming epiphany. It's a shame, because a lot of people will skim over the wall and move to a more well-constructed post.

Defensive arguments: Nothing annoys me more (in terms of grammatical Nazism) than people that complain when they're called to task for poor English on a website devoted to discussion about a game, that are typed in the English language. Yes, I realise this is the internet, and that you're not at work, not at school, and that Allakhazam is not an English class. However, I was raised to take pride in my writing, my typing, and basically in everything I do. When you put your best effort into something, it's reflected in the end result. When you type well, and try your best, even if you make an error or two, people will see and appreciate the effort you put into your post. When you sacrifice quality for speed, people will also see that, and judge you accordingly. It may seem unfair to you, but we judge people based on appearances. When you go to a job interview, you wear a good suit. You don't go in last week's teeshirt and stained shorts. You do the same when trying to impress a girl (or guy). When you go to a family dinner, you don't go without brushing your teeth or putting on some deodorant- unless that's the kind of family you have. If I were to do that, I'd hear about it for weeks. When you go to a cocktail party, you don't go with your pants unzipped and a wifebeater vest on. Why then do people insist that they should be allowed to become sloppy and slovenly because it's an internet forum, and then complain when the community tells them that their post is unacceptable?

Yes, we need to cut some slack to people that try, but have a hard time. There are people who I see whose posts are generally very good, with occasional typos or grammatical errors. I don't mind those so much. The people whose posts always look like they were beaten with an ugly stick are the people that I place solidly in the "not worth reading" category. It's a shame, because I'm sure that some of their posts may have been pure gold, but I'm not wading in the pig trough of the post in order to find the shiny nugget within.

I hear ya! And I must say, a lot of the linguistic farces you mention, annoy me to no end as well. And I'm not a native english speaker myself. The one mistake you mention, I tend to make, it definitely the word "definately". No idea why that is, but now that you posted about it, I will be more alert to its use.

So is written and so (we hope) it shall be.

My views exactly.

It is alarming that, in the news nowadays, you hear of teachers complaining that this 'text message language' is working it's way into essays and homework. You knew it was going to happen, to a degree, but still.....

This is why I wonder what will become of me in a few years when I'm finally an English professor (I work IT right now for a company that I'm about to quit).

At the first sign I saw of any text message grammar or spelling I'd grab my big red Sharpie and write a big fat F on their paper, not even bothering to read the rest.

Because you can have great ideas, but none of them will ever matter unless you can convey them properly.

Edited, Sep 3rd 2008 5:36am by Theophany

Irregardless is a perfectly cromulent word.

Usually of the string variety, in the fishnet stockings vein. Optional extras include a beer gut with the belly button showing, egg/curry/baked bean stains and fleas.

Or is that just in Yorkshire?

Change it fast before anyone notices. This way, they think Wondrous is off his rocker.

Theo, my wife teaches High School Chemistry in the NYC school system. I can tell you, from the stories she tells me, that she is that teacher we all had at one time or another whose class we ran to get switched from on the first day of school. In fact, she tells me that the main office has let her know she is number one on the request to change list.

She will throw kids out of class for talking, fail students who don't show up to class (I know - a real shock huh? She's had more trouble for this from the administration because it skews "the numbers," but under union rules they cannot switch her grade), and even fail students who do not complete all of the labs. She has had to sit many times with administration and an angry parent who demands answers, and tells me that by the end of the meeting she has not switched the grade and the parent is smacking the kid in the back of the head.

However, she offers many opportunities to make up assignments to those who miss class or do not complete labs, and lots of extra credit for kids who get that occasional "F" for blowing one of her "procedural rules" but are concerned about getting into a good college. She is also in school two hours before her first class and stays for an hour after her last, so she can be available to her students.

The end result is that the kids see her as tough but fair, and they get the message that she cares about them learning and not just getting pushed forward to the next grade. The respect she has by the end of the year is phenomenal. Hers is the only car that is no-go for abuse, she has kids fighting to help carry her things to her car at the end of the day, and she has one or another former student visiting her on a near-weekly basis. A couple of years ago something was taken from her desk (her watch, I think). Two days later it was back on top of her desk and she asked the class who "found" it. One of the kids said "Don't ask any questions, Miss."

So my point is, go ahead and insist on perfection. If you become a teacher it will be your job to teach, not coddle. You will be respected and your students will learn a great lesson about life and responsibility. But I get the sense that you understand this already.




Oh, this doesn't apply if you wind up teaching third grade English, Theo. Give those poor kids a break for crying out loud!

Coincidentally this story has appeared on the BBC News website today. Grammar ***** of the world, unite!

Is tl;dl (Too long ; Didn't read.) a proper use of semicolon?

I thought this was going to be a post about Max Mosley, the FIA president. Instead, I find out the Wondroustremor is a fascist from the UK. Or, did I misread something?