Grammar Hall of Shame

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I was encouraged by a certain moderator to post this. It seems we've had some rather interesting interpretations of the English language lately. So here're some pointers:


http://www.sorcerers.net/ubb/Forum1/HTML/000471.html

Snat26:

Ok, kids. Let's work on capitalizing "I" when using it as the first-person pronoun. Not a difficult thing. See that key right under your "Enter" key? Use it.


http://www.sorcerers.net/ubb/Forum1/HTML/000542.html

Sir Dargorn:

It's also not a bad idea to avoid using "obvious" and its derivitives twice in the same sentence. What a moron. (Shralp loves you, Poodle.)


http://www.sorcerers.net/ubb/Forum2/HTML/004166.html

Xaelifer:

I really don't have a better comment on overusing caps than what Wittynewt said:

http://www.sorcerers.net/ubb/Forum2/HTML/004254.html

Naer Dhal:

Leethal:

Have you two lost your apostrophe key too? They're pretty standard when constructing a contraction.


http://www.sorcerers.net/ubb/Forum2/HTML/004250.html

Leethal:

Hey, I'm even good with using the word "ain't," but at least use that apostrophe. Oh, look. It's Leethal again.


www.sorcerers.net/ubb/Forum1/HTML/000503.html

Garathorn:

http://www.sorcerers.net/ubb/Forum1/HTML/000472.html

AK_Rooster:

Garathorn (again):

Yes, and in English we write in word groups called "sentences." After each one we use punctuation. These are pretty small little dots for the most part, so try to add one here or there. You are not, in fact, saving Taluntain any electricity by omitting them.


http://www.sorcerers.net/ubb/Forum2/HTML/000079.html

Mordeth:

http://www.sorcerers.net/ubb/Forum2/HTML/000570.html

TelexStar:

Ok, kids, let us review. "You're" is a contraction of "you are." "Your" is a possessive pronoun. Unless there's a creature called a "So Brave" that belongs to Memnoch, TelexStar (you named yourself after a phone company?) should have written "you're".

In case you're not tired of Leethal (I'm sure he'll get better.):

http://www.sorcerers.net/ubb/Forum2/HTML/004268.html

Leethal:

Palpatine-:

Wow. No caps where there should be. No apostrophes. Used "u" instead of "you." Misspelled "interested." I think these two lads almost hit all the major errors.

http://www.sorcerers.net/ubb/Forum2/HTML/004082.html

Aurum:

Wow. Now, this looks more like someone who doesn't know the language very well yet. But he will, and I don't want anyone to think I'm ripping on him. His English is probably better than my Spanish. I post this because his post, in my eyes, is perfectly acceptable. He's trying to write good English. The other examples posted about are just people too lazy to put in proper punctuation, capitalization, etc.

Stop it.

[This message has been edited by Shralp (edited November 20, 2001).]

 

Very well said, Shralp. [In other words it means thanks for not putting any of my post comments]

 

yOUrE iDeA wAS a gOOD 1 sHRALP* iM lUcKY NONE O MY POStS aRE ON that* sOME Of THAT IS kinda sORTA FUNNy aint it* iTs reminden ME oF What a liTTle Kids wRighT Likes*

Sorry, I just had to do that.


[This message has been edited by Archer14 (edited November 20, 2001).]

 

"I before E except after C."

I have to repeat that one to myself a few times. That one always seems to get me.

You won't get me for under punctuating. Maybe over punctuating though. I am the comma king. I put them everywhere.

 

Except, of course, in that entire previous post.

[whine]
Seriously, though, thanks for saying something I have felt (for quite some time) needed to be said. While I understand that many regulars here are from different corners of the globe and English is often not their first language, a majority of the errors seem more due to apathy than anything else. Punctuation rules are pretty standard among the three languages I speak and thus I would expect to see question marks at the end of questions, periods at the end of sentences and so on. To and too; there, their and they're, were and where... Don't get me started. Maybe I am simply being picky (as I have been known to do) but I am far more inclined to help someone whose question or comment I can understand without having to read it three times over.
[/whine]

[This message has been edited by JohnnyRTFM (edited November 20, 2001).]

 

Well I've been known for my interesting spelling in the past, so I won't dare pick on anyone for such mistakes. Hey, we all don't recheck every post for gramatical accuaracy. But I think alot of the mistakes Sharlp pointed out so well are from the wonderful breed of online kids we have today. No matter what part of the globe they seem to be from, for whatever reason, they feel they should leave all their basic grammar skills at the door the minute they log on. Is it so hard to reach for the shift key before you type "I"? Are three letter just too much to type for you to type you? It doesn't look *cool*, it looks piss poor and lazy. Nothing personal, but I take pride in the quality of posts here. Even if you make the greatest points in the world in your posts, if you choose to make them run on for half a page and fill them with o's and u's and i's, they won't be taken half as seriously as they might have. I don't see any point in trying to descipher such mess. I've tediously gone through posts where I could hardly make out what the author meant on the net just because of his little l33t spelling. What's the point. You're likely smarter than that. Surely you don't just capitalize letters at random when you fill out a job application do you? Would you ever start an essay with the lower case letter "i"? Then why insist on doing it when you're online. It just makes it that more challenging for the rest of use that use the English language properly to decipher what in the world you are trying to say. Next time just punctuate and capitalize. It'll save me a rant.

(Phew...that rant just kept going and going and going....)

[This message has been edited by Crawl (edited November 20, 2001).]

 

On the subject of going and going, I might mention that it also makes for easier reading if you break long posts into paragraphs separated by a blank line. Also, for those of you who do have trouble with spelling, Tal has kindly linked us to a spell checker along with all those other handy links at the top right of the Boards page.

I hope those of you whom Shralp has chosen for examples don't take his chiding too harshly. He's not picking on you out of meanness, I promise. He just cares about our poor misused English language. It should be a little embarrassing when our overseas friends have better grammar than we do; let's set a good example.

 

What?! I am not quoted! How can that be possible? I make more typos then my grandma when she is drunk and lost her glasses.

 

Thanks for making this post... I am one of those who hate bad grammar, when it's done because the writer doesn't care what he writes! The only time I use bad grammar is to make a point, you know what I mean. "Aerie. Pathetic. Need I say more?" goes for an example.

I just can't get it... people, who have English as their FIRST language write worse than a teenager whose first language is something as obscure as Finnish...

I agree on the point of that one post being well done, for as it hadn't been done intentionally...

Ara
(Uses really bad grammar in these little afterthoughts... too bad.)

 

I do mistakes too. Many of them.
But Shralp, I really don't care.

The only thing I care for is "understandability".
You have number of posts gramatically paerfect, and I still can't say what was the point of a poster. Is it a comment, is it a question or something else.

You don't know what am I talking about now? Browse through PoR forum.

To finalize this I'll just say that bad grammar may be problem to you Shralp, but my problem is bad posting style.

 

I agree with Extremist. We can't demand perfect grammar from everyone here. As long as I understand what the poster is saying and the post is not ugly it's fine with me.

 

I am a lot more patient with poor grammar than I am with unkindness. Can we please leave criticism up to the moderators? I take my "editor" hat off when I come here, and it's not that painful. If you can't say something nice...

 

Extremist and Mollusken, in the last example posted above I specifically pointed out that it's not bad grammar that I have a problem with; a lot of people don't know the rules, and frankly a lot of the rules of grammar are silly. Who really cares if an infinitive is split?

My point was that people don't pay any attention to things like hitting the shift key to capitalize "I" or putting in end punctuation or writing out "you" instead of "u." That was obvious from my post, if you read it all. But that cute little Extremist just likes to argue with me.

 

Extremist, I believe the word you were looking for was, "legibility."

I thought I'd add in one of my own personal favorites to the hall, a classic, from the Role Play Corner forum, Campaign of Kilren:

"And I will start useing a spell cheaker cuz I know that I cant spell."

Hmmm. Evidently he has not started using a spell "cheaker" soon enough.

 

I, Sniper of the Sorcerers Veteren Popularity tribe (SVP), hereby announce that I am now known henceforth as an owner of the grammically correct contract of good and understandable English. I feel proud! I wish thee all, the best of luck.

 

As I told you in the chat yesterday, Shralp. This thread would take a lot of work to do. If you want to do it then at least do it with style. Find all the pearls of abusing the english language. Instead you take the first couple of lazy people you find in a forum and try and make it a big deal. I don't care about perfect punctuation and perfect distribution of commas and apostrophes. This a forum for roleplaying games not your personal highschool. You have way too much time on your hands. Or way to little to make a proper post about "Grammar Hall of shame". Hardly a hall of shame when you pick the first couple of examples you find.

[This message has been edited by ArchAngel (edited November 20, 2001).]

 

Did I hit a bit close to home, Nobleman?

I'll be happy to give you a real English grammar lesson if you like.

I took my examples from recent posts. Kind of makes sense when criticizing what's currently happening on the boards, don't you think? If you want to sift through years of SP posts just looking for English errors, then feel free. But there's no need to be a jackass.

 

It's simply a stupid thread, Shralp. We all see bad grammar here, but we seldom care. No need to make a kind of summary of it.

 

It didn't feel nice to be called lazy now did it, Shralp? Irony is sweet isn't it? If you do notice when it drops by. No hard feelings.