Punctuation and Grammar

***Nate*** · #1 02-08-2005, 02:08 PM

I'm a bit worried that I'm turning into an old fogey because I've posted so many times lately telling people off for making no sense.

I understand that we've had an influx of new members, as well as the return of one notoriously incomprehensible individual (mentioning no names). I've always believed in giving people a chance but I think they need a good strong warning early on, just so they know that nonsensical or badly written posts are not highly regarded here on the OWF and they should proofread carefully.

I don't know what the solution is. The mods seem to be run off their feet lately as it is. But we need to do something.

Oddish · #2 02-08-2005, 02:11 PM

I'm sure they will learn at school. Sure the're grammer and punctuation isn't perfect, but we still can understand them.

Alpha · #3 02-08-2005, 02:13 PM

as long as you know what they mean why complain I'm sure were not all scholor's here.

smerles · #4 02-08-2005, 02:19 PM

:

I think they need a good strong warning early on, just so they know that nonsensical or badly written posts are not highly regarded here on the OWF and they should proofread carefully.

When this warning gets to good strong, you might annoy or scare 'em and they might stop posting in here. A nice little comment with tips could work also well when someone makes too many mistakes...

Alpha · #5 02-08-2005, 02:21 PM

but comment's annoy people more.

The Shadowman · #6 02-08-2005, 02:29 PM

you know we should find some way to have a spell check on the OWF. I am sure that would take this problem off its feet but thats up to the Alcar and Abe Babe. If spelling mistakes are made first time I would let go with no warning second time a major screw up is made a light reminder. I would agree with smerles, often what I see happening is a newbie (one to 10 post new too) posts a topic that has some version of breaking the rules and the first thing that happens is some OWF veteran blows them away with verbal insults and others join in until its the kind of brawl you see at games where 17 guys attack one person. All the meantime there are members telling them to chill, but still the newbie gets the idea that we all are freaks who will smite you down with one little mistake.

Alpha · #7 02-08-2005, 02:34 PM

in other word's lay off them a bit.

odd chick · #8 02-08-2005, 04:16 PM

:

you know we should find some way to have a spell check on the OWF. I am sure that would take this problem off its feet but thats up to the Alcar and Abe Babe. If spelling mistakes are made first time I would let go with no warning second time a major screw up is made a light reminder. I would agree with smerles, often what I see happening is a newbie (one to 10 post new too) posts a topic that has some version of breaking the rules and the first thing that happens is some OWF veteran blows them away with verbal insults and others join in until its the kind of brawl you see at games where 17 guys attack one person. All the meantime there are members telling them to chill, but still the newbie gets the idea that we all are freaks who will smite you down with one little mistake.

I think that's a good idea, Shadowman. I know that there are a few people on here with grammar and spelling errors, but complaining and telling them off for it is not going to do them any good, really. Some people just can't spell at all no matter how hard they try. But a spell check could be good for this.

***Nate*** · #9 02-08-2005, 04:50 PM

I'm not so upset at the odd spelling error. However, bad punctuation is just difficult and frustrating to read and it reduces my enjoyment of the forums.

I try to be nice when pointing out to people but I don't have the authority behind my suggestions so I tend to get ignored.

Leto · #10 02-08-2005, 05:01 PM

NDW, I REALLY agree with you this time. People who do not use correct grammar/ punctuation really just piss me off. And people who don't use captial letters. I may just be the over-reacting guy here, but it just bugs me majorly.

Kill 'em, kill them all.

Kimon · #11 02-08-2005, 05:09 PM

Bad spelling I can deal with, but lack of proper grammar and punctuation just drives me nuts. There's a member on this forum who ends every statement with a question mark and it drives me up a friggin' wall.

Cyber-Slig · #12 02-08-2005, 05:13 PM

Yeah it's like. ''Hi guyz howz u doin 2day coz I am gr8!'' - ''Hi guys how are you doing today. I'm fine''. That's an example. No punctuation and grammar is for online games where you don't have time for that bullshit cos some orc is trying to rip your head off. And Alpha, you diss no grammar and punctuation in this thread, yet not only do you not use it but you make it incorrectly. ''in other word's lay off them a bit.'' For a start I is a capital and ''word's'' has no comma. Had you been less lazy you would have written ''In other words, lay off them a bit.''. And NDW is talking about you don't you think? Just apearring out of nowhere and spamming the place up wit short, incorrect messages.

The Shadowman · #13 02-08-2005, 06:20 PM

I for some reason can not leave a post as is if it has one word missing one letter, thats why you will see a good number of my posts with editing times at the bottom. But I can't for the love of God understand that quick talk Cyber Slig mentions the "sup" took me a day to figure out and then I got one guy who likes to use "IMHO" meaning in my humble opinion. I mean what kind of person comes up with that, I become completely lost when people start talking like that and force them to slow down and use actual English

TheLonelySteef · #14 02-08-2005, 06:38 PM

Most of the people who don't use proper grammar and good punctuation are probably young. Who in here had perfect posts when they were eight? I do think that suggestions and comments are great for helping them learn that good grammar is what we want, but flaming someone is not the answer.

[Edit]- Actually now that I think about it, when I was eleven someone gave me a terrible flame about my grammar and I stopped being lazy and started fixing mistakes. This kinda contradicts my above statement... oh well...

Leto · #15 02-08-2005, 11:56 PM

I was 9 when I was starting to get really annoyed with these grammarical errors and internet abbreviations. Then again, I have always enforced the english language. I was like the spell and grammar check at primary school, because I went to a school where everyone was really stupid.

But then again, every 8 year old child isn't as weird as me. I still hate children though (Under 10 people...), they just annoy me. Make an internet age, government! 'Must be 12 to access the internet.' C'mon, government!

Software Bug · #16 02-09-2005, 07:12 AM

and i can understand (bechause i have sometimes the same problem) that people from an difrent county where they dont spreak english it can be even more anoying ,
to see some sh*t that is ment to be english but is full with grammer errors etc.

Cyber-Slig · #17 02-09-2005, 09:58 AM

Atleast you have a reason Tim. But the only annoying thing I see about your posts are Captitals. Make capitals at the start of a sentence and a single ''i', k?

Alpha · #18 02-09-2005, 10:08 AM

you really enjoy takin the piss don't you?, ever since I've joined I've heard notin but complaining from you about grammer and how your'e perfect when it come's to every little thing in the world. I noticed that you just managed not to pull an E.T and go over the moon with rage when Tim.HC spelled some word's wrong in his last post. I said it once I'll say it again (AND JUST FOR YOU I'LL MAKE THE GRAMMER PERFECT!!!) "LAY OFF!!! BITCH!!". YOU DAMN PERFECTIONIST!!!

Cyber-Slig · #19 02-09-2005, 11:44 AM

That's because Tim is Dutch. English is'nt his first language. And I have not had to speak to Tim repeatedly I just told him here. Unlike you where I've tried to improve it repeatedly. And you're from Ireland. English is your first language. Oh and about the insult I have noticed three things wrong with that. I believe capitals are only used for nouns,I and at the start of a senetence. Also a bitch is a female dog. Had I been a female dog I would'nt be able to climb ladders, sit on a seat and type. Also you added speech marks when you were talking. Not commenting something. And you ended the speech marks before finishing the sentence. And the reason is what the fuck this thread is about. I got told about grammar with constant swearing until Ambi came out, and said the problem clearly. And now it's fixed. But you. Peole have told you repeatedly, without swearing, things wrong with your posts. If you want me to shut the fuck up, I suggest you pull your finger out your ass and use puncuation and grammar.

Esus · #20 02-09-2005, 11:55 AM

Couldn't resist pointing out the irony. I shouldn't, but someone has to.

Alpha · #21 02-09-2005, 12:08 PM

Then why doesn't he?

Under-Foot · #22 02-09-2005, 01:47 PM

:

That's because Tim is Dutch. English is'nt his first language. And I have not had to speak to Tim repeatedly I just told him here. Unlike you where I've tried to improve it repeatedly. And you're from Ireland. English is your first language. Oh and about the insult I have noticed three things wrong with that. I believe capitals are only used for nouns,I and at the start of a senetence. Also a bitch is a female dog. Had I been a female dog I would'nt be able to climb ladders, sit on a seat and type. Also you added speech marks when you were talking. Not commenting something. And you ended the speech marks before finishing the sentence. And the reason is what the fuck this thread is about. I got told about grammar with constant swearing until Ambi came out, and said the problem clearly. And now it's fixed. But you. Peole have told you repeatedly, without swearing, things wrong with your posts. If you want me to shut the fuck up, I suggest you pull your finger out your ass and use puncuation and grammar.

I think that your post was probably a joke Cyberslig, making grammar mistakes in almost every sentence, but just incase it wasn't a joke, I'll show you what you did wrong.

"That's because Tim is Dutch." ***This is not a sentence***

"English is'nt his first language." ***You spell "isn't" like this***

"And I have not had to speak to Tim repeatedly I just told him here." ***You should have either added a comma before and lowercased the "A", or you should have deleted the "And" altogether. Also, there should be a comma after "repeatedly".***

"And you're from Ireland." ***This is not a sentence either.***

"Oh and about the insult I have noticed three things wrong with that." ***There should be a comma after "insult".***

"I believe capitals are only used for nouns,I and at the start of a senetence."
***There should be a space after the comma, and you spell "sentence" like this.***

"Also a bitch is a female dog." ***There should be a comma after "Also".***

"Had I been a female dog I would'nt be able to climb ladders, sit on a seat and type." ***You spell "wouldn't" like this, and there should be a comma after "seat"***

"Also you added speech marks when you were talking." ***There should be a comma after "Also".***

I'm not going to finish, even though there are many more errors, but you get the idea.

***Nate*** · #23 02-09-2005, 01:51 PM

Alpha, I did not start this thread to attack you personally. I believe that many people join this forum without understanding the high standards we keep here. Most of them only need a gentle prodding in the right direction and they quickly shape up. CS is the prime example. His first few posts were totally nonsensical but after a few warnings he came into line and is now a model forumite. You, on the other hand, have never been able to take criticism, whether it's given politely or rudely.

You just have to realise that you are never going to be made entirely welcome here until you start making a lot more sense.

EDIT: Under-Foot, that post does not help things. Just because CS made a few minor mistakes does not make him wrong. In any case, it is not actually difficult to read his post, grammatical errors or no. There really is no problem with short sentences or "And" at the beginning of a sentence if done with moderation.

Under-Foot · #24 02-09-2005, 01:58 PM

I understand that it's alright if he does it in "moderation", but he made a mistake in every single sentence!

[Edit] I didn't say he was wrong either. I just don't think it's right for him to flame someone else's posts when he makes that many mistakes. Am I wrong?

Rich · #25 02-09-2005, 02:13 PM

Shut up. All of you.

Bad spelling and poor grammar are the common colds of forums.
In other words, there is nothing we can do to cure it, we just have to grit our teeth and struggle through it.

Cyber-Slig · #26 02-09-2005, 02:18 PM

:

Alpha, I did not start this thread to attack you personally. I believe that many people join this forum without understanding the high standards we keep here. Most of them only need a gentle prodding in the right direction and they quickly shape up. CS is the prime example. His first few posts were totally nonsensical but after a few warnings he came into line and is now a model forumite. You, on the other hand, have never been able to take criticism, whether it's given politely or rudely.

You just have to realise that you are never going to be made entirely welcome here until you start making a lot more sense.

EDIT: Under-Foot, that post does not help things. Just because CS made a few minor mistakes does not make him wrong. In any case, it is not actually difficult to read his post, grammatical errors or no. There really is no problem with short sentences or "And" at the beginning of a sentence if done with moderation.

Thank you, NDW. I never said I was a perfectionist anyway at posting. But I use Capitals, grammar and punctuation. And if noone is moaning at me about it, I must be doing fine with it.

***Nate*** · #27 02-09-2005, 03:58 PM

:

Shut up. All of you.

Bad spelling and poor grammar are the common colds of forums.
In other words, there is nothing we can do to cure it, we just have to grit our teeth and struggle through it.

But if you take echinacea early enough it reduces the length and severity of the symptoms.

Abeguy · #28 02-09-2005, 04:23 PM

I learn enough about grammer at school the last place I wan't to hear about it is here.

Leto · #29 02-09-2005, 04:42 PM

Ahem, as previously stated, internet age please goverment. Get over it under 12's. And Rich- We dont mean the occasional spelling or grammarical error, but when an entire post is "i iz best the?.", I must say, I get rather miffed.

Abe's son · #30 02-09-2005, 05:18 PM

...how should I explain this without... blowing your mind...

Lets not do this...

Lets try...

"Hello everyone. I'm a new person at the forums, I enjoy Oddworld and would like to be a part of this growing community.."

Or is that to gay?

Also... Alpha...

Two images in one post, that's not like me...

Thank you internet archive!