NationStates Jolt Archive

I've been reading some threads and I wonder what the general consensus is on this issue. Do you feel that internet forums allow the rational and intelligent exchange of ideas, or do you feel that it eventually degenerates into a shouting match.

I'm not pointing the finger at anyone, but I find that a lot of posts on these threads, even if they have very valid points, are almost incomprehensible due to spelling and grammatical errors. This may just be a personal bias, but no matter how reasoned or intelligent your argument may be, if it's laden with misspellings and bad grammar, it immediately loses a lot of credibility with me.

I just want to reiterate that I do not intend this as an insult to anyone, nor do I mean to put anyone down. I just think that for a lot of people, the immediacy of an online forum can lead to carelessness in proofreading, which results in poor spelling and/or grammar. Anyone else's thoughts?

(Sorry if this covers old territory. Just putting it out there.)

P.S.: And I guess I fall victim as well, as I spotted a typo just after posting this!

Your intentions to not insult me have indeed insulted me, sir.

I demand satisfaction!

Your intentions to not insult me have indeed insulted me, sir.

I demand satisfaction!

And how may I make amends?

The Forums have certainly helped me spread lunacy and wackiness far and wide. :)

And how may I make amends?

Do jumping jacks












in the nude
















in the shower




























while in front of prison inmates

Sith Lords:

I'll pass, thanks.

I've been reading some threads and I wonder what the general consensus is on this issue. Do you feel that internet forums allow the rational and intelligent exchange of ideas, or do you feel that it eventually degenerates into a shouting match.

I'm not pointing the finger at anyone, but I find that a lot of posts on these threads, even if they have very valid points, are almost incomprehensible due to spelling and grammatical errors. This may just be a personal bias, but no matter how reasoned or intelligent your argument may be, if it's laden with misspellings and bad grammar, it immediately loses a lot of credibility with me.

I just want to reiterate that I do not intend this as an insult to anyone, nor do I mean to put anyone down. I just think that for a lot of people, the immediacy of an online forum can lead to carelessness in proofreading, which results in poor spelling and/or grammar. Anyone else's thoughts?

(Sorry if this covers old territory. Just putting it out there.)

P.S.: And I guess I fall victim as well, as I spotted a typo just after posting this!

I think usually it degenerates into a shouting match, since we all don't know each other and no one wants to back down. It's like in Reservoir Dogs when Joe is naming the team.

But, I think it serves a purpose up until that point. Regardless of what someone says here, a post or two here and there might actually make them stop and think, which is always a good thing. If there's one thing I love to do, it's challenge people intellectually. I can be dead wrong but so long as I make em think about it I'm happy.

I am a member of a few forums and have learned to dislike what I call "spelling and grammer cops" intensly ;):).

As I'm not an english major I do make a lot of spelling and grammer mistakes, hey no-one's perfect, and having my posts or intelligence decided because of that alone makes me mad. If it gets to the stage where I have to put every post through a spell check just to avoid being labled "an unintelligent noob" or something similar then I'd prob stop posting.

In my opinion forums are places for people to come together, exchange views and ideas and have a bit of a friendly arguement (at times) but most of all to have fun and meet new internet personas (I won't say people because very few are truly themselves on the net).

I've been reading some threads and I wonder what the general consensus is on this issue. Do you feel that internet forums allow the rational and intelligent exchange of ideas, or do you feel that it eventually degenerates into a shouting match.

I'm not pointing the finger at anyone, but I find that a lot of posts on these threads, even if they have very valid points, are almost incomprehensible due to spelling and grammatical errors. This may just be a personal bias, but no matter how reasoned or intelligent your argument may be, if it's laden with misspellings and bad grammar, it immediately loses a lot of credibility with me.

I just want to reiterate that I do not intend this as an insult to anyone, nor do I mean to put anyone down. I just think that for a lot of people, the immediacy of an online forum can lead to carelessness in proofreading, which results in poor spelling and/or grammar. Anyone else's thoughts?

(Sorry if this covers old territory. Just putting it out there.)

P.S.: And I guess I fall victim as well, as I spotted a typo just after posting this!
If a poster knows that they have trouble with grammar and/or spelling, it takes only a few seconds to paste the draft of their post into a word processing program, make the necessary corrections, and then paste it back into the "Reply to Thread" box. Simple, but not used nearly often enough, IMHO.

As to whether discussion groups like this help or not, I think perhaps both. When posters are mistaken as to statements of "fact" on topics which are not closely held beliefs, I would have to say it helps. But when beliefs are closely held, no amount of "debate" or "discussion" is going to change the poster's mind.

EDIT: The same thing applies to "bystanders," those who simply read the various posts.

I've been reading some threads and I wonder what the general consensus is on this issue. Do you feel that internet forums allow the rational and intelligent exchange of ideas, or do you feel that it eventually degenerates into a shouting match.

I'm not pointing the finger at anyone, but I find that a lot of posts on these threads, even if they have very valid points, are almost incomprehensible due to spelling and grammatical errors. This may just be a personal bias, but no matter how reasoned or intelligent your argument may be, if it's laden with misspellings and bad grammar, it immediately loses a lot of credibility with me.

Rational and intelligent?!? This place!?! Not for long. Most threads degenerate to the extreme opinions yelling at each other, sooner or later.

And I totally agree about the spelling and grammar issue. Typo's are okay, when they're obvious, but too, many do my head in.

Open forums are as close to a real discussion one can have on the internet, because the post system provides a big enough time to organize your thoughts and arguments without being rushed like in AIM. I like them because they allow a higher level of discussion than other online methods.

ive been on the net long enough to not be bothered by typos, lack of punctuation, or even lack of capital letters (ohmygod). one of my best net friends is severely handicapped and incapable of typing correctly. i only have a problem when its so bad that i cant figure out what it says

i am prejudiced against people too lazy to type correctly. i understand why i get text messages on my phone that use U for you but on the computer its just laziness. if they can make their point in a reasonable space without too many U-isms (i just made that term up) then ill give them a chance to convince me of something.

not that its likely, im old and set in my ways

but i have found new ideas here and have looked things up because i was introduced to an issue here. so that has to count for something.

when a person has lots of spelling and grammar errors, i remind myself that this is an international forum and english may well not be their first language. after all, if this forum were in that persons native language, i couldnt begin to make up a post. it amazes me how excellent our non-english speakers are at posting in english and making perfect sense.

I see the lack of correction in grammar and spelling as someone who is selfish and does not wish to show courtesy.

Grammar and spelling are protocols to ensure that everyone speaking the same language is able to communicate properly. If you're trying to share thoughts in a forum and want to communicate, it's only proper to communicate in a way that your general audience can comprehend. It will be easier for them to understand youre point of view also.

Sure we can all take the time to re-read what people say, but it becomes irrational to have to do it for everyone (3 or 4 times in some cases) simply because they don't care to check their spelling. I make mistakes myself, but if I have doubts regarding spelling I'll check the dictionary. All you have to do is go to a dictionary's web page and paste the word you wish to view.

The more you write you'll understand that you're writing to entertain your audience, not the other way around.

Don't point that finger at me -- I never engage in shouting matches!

In fact, forums are eeevvviiilllll. I would never participate in a so-called "thread."

And I never make grammatical or spelling errors.






Or every statement in this post is a lie. :p

I see the lack of correction in grammar and spelling as someone who is selfish and does not wish to show courtesy.Thank you!

We all make some errors and I think everyone's okay with that, but posts that are just chock full of them, or the post that should be 12 paragraphs, but is actually only typed out to be 3 unbroken, non capitalized sentences I just won't bother to read.

It's not just that the post looks bad, it's often tough to decipher the person's point.

I see the lack of correction in grammar and spelling as someone who is selfish and does not wish to show courtesy.
Agreed. Also know as the "if you dont invest time in your post, why should i?" rule.
Though i have to admit that i cant be bothered with apostrophes, the overabundance of them in the english language is too taxing for me, even if i know when to use them if i really need to.

Thank you!

We all make some errors and I think everyone's okay with that, but posts that are just chock full of them, or the post that should be 12 paragraphs, but is actually only typed out to be 3 unbroken, non capitalized sentences I just won't bother to read.

It's not just that the post looks bad, it's often tough to decipher the person's point.

I know exactly what you're saying lol.

As soon as I read someone's post and see "I waz chillin and u waz going 2 call," I stop reading and move on to the next post.

Agreed. Also know as the "if you dont invest time in your post, why should i?" rule.
Though i have to admit that i cant be bothered with apostrophes, the overabundance of them in the english language is too taxing for me, even if i know when to use them if i really need to.

Technicalities such as apostrophes really don't get to me. What irks me is when someone doesn't bother to properly communicate and chooses to use words that have no coherence in their post.

They're, there, their
than, then
your, you're

Those are just three examples. Just thinking about it makes me want to bite someone :mad:

FYI, I found a perfect example of what I most abhor in a user-submitted posting, although it was on IMDb.com. A review for the movie Innocent Blood. As near as I can tell, the reviewer mashed together at least 6 or 7 complete sentences into a single run-on, without a single punctuation mark in evidence!

I personally believe that the Internet is a fantastic medium for communication. But communication requires not only that information be sent and received, but that it be understood by the receiver. It's hard to understand a message that becomes garbled by spelling and grammatical errors.

How could it possibly hurt the exchange of ideas when ideas are being exchanged? Yes, some people resort to ad hominem. They don't tend to last long here. Yes, the same issues come up again and again...but they are generally new for some of the participants, and you can't deny that ideas are being exchanged...so...?

I will admitt to being horrible when it comes to my grammar & spelling. I still have to say we all benefit from forums like these. How else would I get to share my opnions with someone half-way around the world. Or even in a different time zone for that matter. Yes, people resort to yelling & screaming at each other. Yes people misspell words or use words out of context. If everyone was a perfect when it came to spelling. There would be no need for editors. With that in mind, if the publishing industry stuck to that standard. There would be about 1/16 of the writers there are now.
Albert Einstein would probably have made error after error on a forum such as this. So be careful how you judge others.