So guys (spelling and grammar)

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Evan S

Evan S

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How come others get really angry at other posters for incorrect grammar?
Places such as this site, IMDB, or any other forum site in general. I mean, yes, I have bad grammar 9 times out of 10 I'm wrong. However, I just don't get why it's such a big freaking deal to some?

I posted on another forum, and was ripped to shreds by some random guy for basically no reason. (I wasn't disagreeing with him, or talking directly to him.)

I just don't understand why people act this way, okay so it's a pet peeve to some. But really? We have to go as far as to get so angry that we have to argue with someone else over something so dumb? (over the internet no less?)

The argument is always that - "im not typing up some english paper or something bug off"

Which is true to an extent. Does proper grammar matter in the day in age of the TXT? Will someday spelling change into an mixture of numbers and letters into a short-hand English language? Will a saying like, "i wnt 2 da store 4 sum appels" be correct english?

lol. Also, any grammar errors in this post can be scrutinized to maximum effect. To prove my point further. You've got to be some kind of loser to point out these mistakes to people.
 
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When I use to use my voice-activated software, I'd have grammar mistakes
because I wasn't enunciating properly, but I didn't lose any sleep over it. People
who point out "the bad in things will surely find in" - Abe Lincoln
 
I think you're taking it too seriously. If it's just some random guy, who cares?

I mean, I get annoyed at spelling/grammatical mistakes when I read through this forum (and others), but I don't go posting about it (okay, maybe sometimes I do... http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showpost.php?p=1824821&postcount=4 :)). I also realize that everbody makes mistakes and sometimes those mistakes are just from typing too fast, or on an iPhone, etc. On this forum especially, I usually find the content interesting enough to overlook the simple yet oft-repeated errors.
 
I hate bad grammar. On one hand, I do see people go too far in calling others out for poor grammar and syntax on Internet forums. On the other hand, some people are so absolutely sloppy that it's just downright disrespectful to everyone else. If I have to stop and re-read a post three or four times before I can decipher it, I'm prone to move on and not give that post any further consideration.

For example:

there was a poster on one forum that would type stream of consciousness he would not use punctuation he wouldn't use captial letters i had to really pour through to find sentence breaks and make sense of it honestly it was a real pain in the a** to read these posts

Personally, I feel that the expectation that other people are going to read a post warrants a little more attention to the composition. Now, there are plenty of smaller errors around here that are peeves but not worth calling out. One of those is the difference between there, they're, and their. When a post is just incomprehensible, though, it's a different story.

Language is how we communicate. Is it our responsibility to make it as clear as possible? Yes. Is it worth arguing over? Most of the time, no. I will say, however, that if DVXUser posts started showing up regularly in TXT lingo, I'd be out of here in a heartbeat.

Evan S said:
Does proper grammar matter in the day in age of the TXT?
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It absolutely does. TXT is killing grammar, and that is something to worry about. I know high school students who cannot write a proper essay to save their lives, but they can text at lightning speeds.

Evan S said:
Will someday spelling change into an mixture of numbers and letters into a short-hand English language? Will a saying like, "i wnt 2 da store 4 sum appels" be correct english?
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I pray that it will not. I think that comes with the Third Horseman.
 
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Evan S said:
How come others get really angry at other posters for incorrect grammar?
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I believe you mean, "Why do others..." and not "How come others..."

Seriously though, it's something that bothers me, and I notice it, but I don't have a bashing parade for the person, nor bring it up. Most of time, I screw things up here and there, too. However there are main simple concepts that bother me more than others. For example, there vs. their vs. they're and the likes. It bothers me, but not enough to mention it unless it's a discussion about that.
 
I know a good handful of people that are in this business and are very intelligent. However, they do have a learning disability when it comes to writing. We don't know who we are talking to when we post on the internet. So when it comes to beating someone down on their grammar, we don't know their circumstance.
I do agree with C2V though. If it's just flat our sloppy why bother posting.
 
I try not to bash people for bad spelling or poor use of grammar. Remember, for some people on the internet English is not their native tongue. This is a global system. So many people forget that.

I do weep for some of the youth of today with 'text messaging' becoming so prominent. Some of them can't spell to save their lives.

Of course there are others that can teach me a thing or two. :)

I make quite a few posts with the use of my iPhone and that does add a new wrinkle when posting. I'm far more sloppy with it.

MAH
 
Evan S said:
We have to go as far as to get so angry that we have to argue with someone else over something so dumb? (over the internet no less?)
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Dingos8mybaby said:
I think you're taking it too seriously. If it's just some random guy, who cares?
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Exactly.
Not like there is much to argue anyhow - if someone points out something that is clearly wrong (ie. grammar or spelling), and it winds up in an argument... I hate to say it, but that's because you chose to argue.

Next time just let it go.
Or...you know... at least don't argue
:)
 
People will point out spelling and grammar mistakes when they have nothing better to add to a thread, and possibly dislike your point of view, but rather then debate normally, they'll just egg you on with grammar and spelling errors.

Unless it's a part of the forum rules (Queens English), you should ignore them.

Yes simple netiquette will prevail that using what is now nomered as "Text Message Speak" or "TYPING ALL IN CAPS" will annoy people for a good reason.

Some people will react as they simply cannot understand what you're asking, so thereby need to "re-interpret" what is being said. - that is also rare.. but you should accept that, since they are actually paying attention to what you've said.
 
I can see both sides. Cyberspace is full of people who hide behind their keyboard just to snipe people who don't live up to an arbitrary set of rules. That is sad, petty, and far more annoying than bad grammar or spelling. Also, I have a son with a disability, and I completely understand that for some people, just getting a sentence down is a victory, no matter the mistakes. I would hate to lose the insight and experience of these individuals just because they don't fit into the normal box.

However, our chosen craft is all about COMMUNICATION. And while there are a number of ways to communicate, to be most effective it is wise to be able to put forth your ideas in the most accessible and accepted form. That often means correct spelling and grammar. To choose to do otherwise puts you at a disadvantage.

Make your choices out of intent, not out of laziness or ignorance, and I think you are okay.
 
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Jim Brennan said:
However, our chosen craft is all about COMMUNICATION. And while there are a number of ways to communicate, to be most effective it is wise to be able to put forth your ideas in the most accessible and accepted form. That often means correct spelling and grammar. To choose to do otherwise puts you at a disadvantage.
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Amen.

Without knowing most of you, what you type and how you express yourself is how I make a mental picture of you. It's an impression-thing. This is not Facebook or Myspace, where anyone and their children have a page. This is a site of professional and knowledgeable film-makers, or those that may aspire to be. Bad grammar or netiquette is a choice in many situations, and if your choice is to just post lazily, people like me form a mental picture of how you are outside of just the post. I do understand that there are people out there with disabilities, but in general, that is not the case.

I look at it like this, every person seeing what I post (and how I post) is a potential employer, especially on a site that has some very influential film-makers on it. Showing them I cannot spell correctly, too lazy to proofread my post, or be able to properly formulate an idea into words speaks volumes to them about me. I am not perfect either, but constantly striving for it is the the only way to improve.

I am not going to flame someone about grammar and such, but keep it in mind, everyone that reads your posts forms an opinion and mental image of you based on those posts. It is all they have. Wouldn't you want your best foot forward?
 
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Great post and take on this subject Doc, I agree. What makes sites like this one a challenge is that it is a mixture of professionals who are in production as a career, often interacting with hobbyists and amateurs who just dabble in production. Nothing wrong with either group, but misunderstandings and miscommunication do arise occasionally because of this issue. Language is how we communicate and how we make a first impression on others. Just like your appearance is how you make a first impression in person. People who abuse the language when posting come across as lazy or uneducated, sometimes even when they are not lazy or are highly educated.

I am a writer, my wife is, you guessed it, an English teacher, so I have to bite my tongue a lot when I read the content of certain posts. Grammar police are annoying to most people so I don't do it, even though I sometimes have to smack my hand away from the keyboard because I want to correct someone. We all make mistakes when we post, but it does become unreadable at times and you end up wondering what the poster was even trying to communicate.

I always look at names and signatures of posters and if someone is not a native English speaker, I tend to just bite my tongue in admiration because they are taking it upon themselves to use English when 98% of us native English speakers couldn't even order French Fries in their language. The more I travel, the more I realize that Americans are too provincial in their thinking, it is a novelty when we or someone we know can speak more than one language whereas almost everywhere I travel, people can speak at least some English as well as their native language and often in Europe, they can speak four or five languages. I admire that deeply and would never mention incorrect spelling/grammar.

If you are a native English speaker though, you should make at least a small effort to not misspell or misuse the language. As far as TXT speak, it is true that language is amorphous, it is changing, and in this case, devolving. Not much we can do about that. In the U.S., stupidity is "in", intelligence is "out". I've heard of a teacher who staples employment applications to Burger King on tests that he grades that receive an F or a D. When I mentioned this to my wife, she replied that she could never do that because with her middle school students, working at a fast food joint is considered cool. Oy.

I think it is a losing battle (not a loosing battle) to try to police people's spelling and grammar, people will express themselves on-line however they want to and it does come across as priggish to try to give them an unsolicited English lesson on-line, but it is nice when people make an effort to communicate clearly. Thanks to all of the eloquent posters on this site, we have a really intelligent crowd here overall. I learn something new every single day from DVX User, that's what keeps me coming back.

Dan
 
Folks who are cavalier with the conventions of the written word are likely to be careless with other forms of communication...like film making.
 
I hardly connect my sentence making abilities to my film-making ones. Communication is important, yes. I try as hard as I can sometimes. I can admit I don't have the best grammar in the world. However, sometimes when I'm typing up something online, I will often use quick line breaks to separate thoughts and a constant overuse of some things, like "...", dashes, and commas.

The way people type on the internet is sometimes a lot different than how we type up a screenplay, or perhaps even a novel, because we are constantly spell-checking re-reading and other things like that. I think it's OK to not always have correct grammar (or even spelling to an extent) on the internet. As long as you know what to do to fix the mistakes when it comes to an important writing assignment or otherwise, I'm fine with that. I may even need to look something up sometimes - comma usage, or what have you. For a while I had trouble with to, and too. (and probably still do sometimes).

I have actually learned somewhat better grammar from arguing on the internet with others. Although I don't hold so high when reading what others have to say. Unless like others have said I cannot understand them. Anyhow, I wasn't arguing with the guy. I wasn't upset about him "sniping" me like someone said. I just though it was interesting, and it got my brain ticking. What if one day, our 1337 speek and TXT speek, is the norm? (yes speek was purposefully misspelt)
 
The least one can do is look at those red squiggles in their proofreading software before hitting Send button. You don't see the squiggles? Either your language is perfect or your browser has no built-in spell checker. Switch to Firefox then.
 
I don't usually flame or anything, I just try to correct them. For example, I HATE when people say "should of, would of, etc." It's one of my biggest pet peeves. When someone writes it, I simply like to help them out by telling them it's wrong. Believe it or not, most of the time they fix it ;)

And I agree fully with Doc Bernard.
 
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