# A request about posting



## GeoTerraTestudo (May 3, 2012)

I'd like to make a request, if I may. It seems like a lot of people compose their posts rather quickly, without taking the time to check punctuation, spelling, grammar, or style. I realize this is a forum, and that posts are often quick and informal. However, the more errors there are, the harder a post is to read. Frankly, some posts are so poorly written that I just give up on them. It would be a shame if someone really needed advice, but couldn't get any because his/her post was too difficult to understand. For the sake of your turtles and your readers, please try to make your posts clear. Thank you.


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## Yvonne G (May 3, 2012)

And PLEASE don't use netspeak, cyberspeak or chat speak. Things like LOL! or OMG! are ok, but long sentences full of abbreviations are terribly hard for the "older" (ahem) generation to read.


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## JoesMum (May 3, 2012)

We do, however, have to be mindful that many of our posters do not have English as their first language, so our English grammar does not come naturally to them. Some of them may well be using Google Translate or similar to translate their posts into English which also has its pitfalls.

Those of us in the UK have a different vocabulary and spelling to those of you in the USA... and some grammar rules are different too (Two countries divided by a common language? )

And finally, there are many people to whom spelling is a sore trial. Dyslexics for example. They can't help it; it is just the way they are.

If you are using a PC, Firefox and Chrome browsers have spell checks. Unfortunately, Internet Explorer doesn't. Of course those spell checkers only check that words you have types are real words, not that they make grammatical sense!


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## Nay (May 3, 2012)

Oh my, I love this!! I am ,too, of the 'older' crowd and this topic has come up quite frequently as of late.
My vet boss had a request from a young student asking her to do a 'questioner' on her life's work (veterinarian). It came over as an email and the first line was, ' hey, you don't know me.....and proceeded to get worse from there. You can imagine!! and not a capital letter in the whole email.
My boss gave her an earful,(email ful?) Like when you take an English class, let me know!!
We then got on the whole 'way of the world' as it is right now. Hard for some of us to take. 
I agree whole heartily with GeoTerra, it is a lot of work to make sense of some posts and quite frankly, to me, not worth the effort.
It really seems to be a different story when it is someone actually trying to 'speak ' in this language, as most will still try to stop and start sentences, rather than the whole texting shortcut language.
I realize I am showing my age and this may be how it is, but never for me!
Thanks for posting, love to add to it!!
Nay


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## N2TORTS (May 3, 2012)

years back ..... we talked about " Spell check" on this forum for us old timers...
Wonder what happened?
I know I need it!


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## Nay (May 3, 2012)

When I post, I get a red squiggly line when something is not spelled correctly!
I guess that doesn't happen to all?


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## wellington (May 3, 2012)

emysemys said:


> And PLEASE don't use netspeak, cyberspeak or chat speak. Things like LOL! or OMG! are ok, but long sentences full of abbreviations are terribly hard for the "older" (ahem) generation to read.



DITTO. Showing my age right along with ya. I always try to read my post after I post it to catch what may be wrong with it. I also work really hard to figure out what they are trying to say, but I too some times give up.


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## terryo (May 3, 2012)

Well, I have a learning disability, and I have to go over my posts very carefully because lots of words come out backwards and so many are misspelled. If I'm tired I really have to put a lot of effort into checking the spelling. I wish we had spell check on here.


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## pam (May 3, 2012)

I wish we had spell check on here


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## Tom (May 3, 2012)

JoesMum said:


> We do, however, have to be mindful that many of our posters do not have English as their first language, so our English grammar does not come naturally to them. Some of them may well be using Google Translate or similar to translate their posts into English which also has its pitfalls.
> 
> Those of us in the UK have a different vocabulary and spelling to those of you in the USA... and some grammar rules are different too (Two countries divided by a common language? )
> 
> ...




I have never had any trouble reading and fully understanding any post from our UK members or any of our ESL (English as a second language) folks. I think GTT is refferringg to those post that are all lower case no puntation no setinse difenation and the yjust sort of runnn onnn n onnn likke jthissss


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## ascott (May 3, 2012)

I do not know what you mean I can totally understand all this is written whenever I open a thread and if not then I just read it a million times putting in punctuation and hope that I get it right I have been known to run one word into the other because I totally figure you all know what I mean hahahlol


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## GeoTerraTestudo (May 3, 2012)

Tom said:


> I have never had any trouble reading and fully understanding any post from our UK members or any of our ESL (English as a second language) folks. I think GTT is refferringg to those post that are all lower case no puntation no setinse difenation and the yjust sort of runnn onnn n onnn likke jthissss



Yep, you got it, Tom! 
I can tell if English is not someone's first language, and that's not a big deal. It's also not a big deal if someone misspells a word every now and then. What bothers me is something like this:

"Hi im joe i jus bot a russian tortoise an i noticed he hasnt bin eatin can u tell me how to fed him i kep him on cyprus mulc and i give him lettice cabbige an cat food is that ok pls let me no b/c i want him to be healthy thx k bye"

When I start to read something like that, I have two thoughts:

1) Oh my God, this person is going to kill this poor tortoise.
2) I wish I could help, but it's just too difficult to try and figure out what this person is saying.

Tragic isn't it? Let's not let turtles die because of bad punctuation and spelling. Okay, thanks! Bye!


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## dmmj (May 3, 2012)

O I C R U H8ing on other people?

Geo's example is the school district teaching phonetically spelling instead of real spelling.


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## Madkins007 (May 3, 2012)

I am solidly in the 'older generation' and I don't think we are trying to be grammar Nazis or anything- we just want to be able to figure out what the post is all about without having to run it through a decoder or anything.

I gotta admit- the longer it takes me to 'unravel' a post, the less interested I am in reading it. I learned this a long time ago and it is a major reason most of my posts are done in a short paragraph style or as lists. The easier it is to read, the easier it is to comprehend.


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## ALDABRAMAN (May 3, 2012)

N2TORTS said:


> years back ..... we talked about " Spell check" on this forum for us old timers...
> Wonder what happened?
> I know I need it!



*I need it also! Great idea!*


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## JoesMum (May 4, 2012)

If you install the Chrome browser or Firefox, they have spell checker add ons.


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## GeoTerraTestudo (May 4, 2012)

Seems like a lot of folks are apologizing for being too old or uncool to understand internet slang. But that's not what this is really about. Other than some quaint little acronyms like "LOL" or "BTW" or "ROFLMAO," people should be composing posts in a standard language (in this case English), using basically correct spelling and punctuation, so that people can understand what is being said. Otherwise, many people (including me) are going to give up on trying to decipher the message, and the post will not get as much attention as it otherwise might.


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## JoesMum (May 4, 2012)

My husband today has been going through a pile of job applications from students about to graduate from university. The ones that had "text speak" instead of standard English ended up in the 'no' pile automatically.


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## GeoTerraTestudo (May 4, 2012)

JoesMum said:


> My husband today has been going through a pile of job applications from students about to graduate from university. The ones that had "text speak" instead of standard English ended up in the 'no' pile automatically.



There you go. I teach college students, and some of my students actually submit reports to me that have text speak in them instead of standard English. Instead of "because," they write "b/c," and so on. Hard to believe anyone would submit such work as a formal report, but some of them do, and they definitely get points off for that.


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## Zamric (May 4, 2012)

I read MOST ok. but I would love to a spell check on here! My big, fat fingers hit all kinds of keys, I tend to over puncuate and over capitalize but that is easier to over look than a paragraph of chat speak!


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## HLogic (May 4, 2012)

For Internet Explorer 9, try http://www.howtogeek.com/76223/add-spell-checking-to-internet-explorer-9/


If you don't have IE9, upgrade or switch to FireFox, Chrome or another browser - you'll be glad you did!


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## Neltharion (May 4, 2012)

Sometimes, I'm out really late with the guys. I have one too many Jim Beam and Cokes, then I come online and drunk post. It could come across as total drivel to those of you that are sober. 

My recommendation would be to get drunk, and then re-read the post. It will probably make total sense then. But then, you might not remember what you read later.


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## Kerryann (May 4, 2012)

I would say based on what I see on Facebook that our language is evolving. In a few years, we will be the ones who aren't the norm, left out to roam the wilderness like the dinosaurs we are.. 

Also on that note, I am not that old but I think texting is where this trouble began.


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## GeoTerraTestudo (May 4, 2012)

Kerryann said:


> I would say based on what I see on Facebook that our language is evolving. In a few years, we will be the ones who aren't the norm, left out to roam the wilderness like the dinosaurs we are..



I don't think so. To some extent, yes of course, our language is evolving. Spellings and punctuation can change informally, and then sometimes formally, and that can be a good thing.

However, there's no way leaving out important parts of a sentence are ever going to become proper English. The whole point is to make the language easier to understand, not more obtuse.



> Also on that note, I am not that old but I think texting is where this trouble began.



Yes, instant messaging and texting have been tempting people to use shorthand for the past 10 years or so. But as usual, we can't completely lay the blame on technology, because it's still up to us to communicate clearly. The only reason it's okay to use choppy sentences while texting is that the keypad is small and hard to use, the person is pressed for time, etc. But this is not a text message, this is a forum.


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## Floof (May 4, 2012)

I agree wholeheartedly with this entire thread. It's not just the older generation that is completely put off by chat speak, bad grammar, etc; I'm only 19 and still can't stand it! It blows me away that there are people who don't even bother using real words when they post, when I'm one of those that is so obsessed with spell-checking and grammar-checking that, some days, it takes me an hour or more to post a new thread.

I've been guilty of completely skipping threads heavy in chatspeak, as well... It hurts my head just to look at it, much less decipher it. I, too, would greatly appreciate it if some of those posters who use chatspeak or poor grammar would at least make some effort to make their posts understandable.

Granted... I'm sure my posts aren't always terribly easy to decipher--I'm very good at talking in circles and turning one sentence into four trying to get my point across. Maybe that's why I'm obsessive about my grammar/spelling? Because I fail epically at not being long-winded? Lol!


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## terryo (May 4, 2012)

Neltharion said:


> Sometimes, I'm out really late with the guys. I have one too many Jim Beam and Cokes, then I come online and drunk post. It could come across as total drivel to those of you that are sober.
> 
> My recommendation would be to get drunk, and then re-read the post. It will probably make total sense then. But then, you might not remember what you read later.



LOL!!! (we all know what that means...right?)


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## dmmj (May 4, 2012)

So am I the only one who felt this thread was directed at them?


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## GeoTerraTestudo (May 4, 2012)

dmmj said:


> So am I the only one who felt this thread was directed at them?



Actually, Cap, this thread was not directed at you. Your posts are perfectly coherent and intelligible. There are a few folks, though, whose posts I simply cannot understand, and I have given up trying to do so. I was hoping to improve that situation with this thread. I was also curious as to whether I'm the only one who feels this way, and it seems I am not.


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## Neltharion (May 4, 2012)

terryo said:


> LOL!!! (we all know what that means...right?)



I think it means we all need to drink before we read posts on TFO. Everything makes sense to me when I've been drinking


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## StudentoftheReptile (May 4, 2012)

I generally agree. I'm fairly young (30), but this stuff annoys the heck out of me. As the moderator of another forum, I've gotten a little more lax about it and let things slide, but I used to be a relentless grammar Nazi. I don't mind the occasional "LOL" or "ROTF" as well as the odd misspelled word (no one is perfect). And in a chat room or in IM, I could care less. But on an internet message board, there is no reason to be speedy. It's not a race, folks. No one is timing you to see how fast you can write out your post and click "Submit."

I feel a lot of it is just plain laziness. When questioned, many individuals will state that they simply do not care, that it's "just the internet." I also feel a large part of it is that some people simply have poor grammar skills to begin with, with apparently is a result of: something wrong with their ability to learn, and/or something with the education system used. This is definitely true for the yonger generation. And often enough, it progresses into a combination of the two: the person is already not skilled in proper grammar, and develops an air of indifference for it, rationalizing that it is unimportant. It is not difficult to see the difference between a generally knowledgeable person who might have just been typing in a hurry and made a few typos...and someone who blatantly has an underdeveloped sense of proper grammar and spelling (even for seemingly common words). If it is the latter, it can be difficult to reprimand someone like that, but at the same time, what can you do to make people realize that proper grammar IS IMPORTANT?! lol

Nowadays, in the age of Smartphones and iPhones, etc., it seems many people use such devices to access their favorite forums and post. As a moderator, I still think this is no excuse. If you can't take the time to make yourself not sound like an idiot when you post from your phone, wait until you get in front of a computer.


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