How important is spelling and punctuation to you?

[fishheadbob]

Old English major here. Spelling errors don't bother me since English spelling is not bound by logic. Too many words are spelled differently for no good reason. Too, to, and two; how about ph and f having the same sound; or words that are spelled identically like mine (possessive) and mine (hole in the ground, not to be confused with whole in the ground.) And on and on...
Most posters can adequately get their ideas across - or is it there ideas- despite some errors. I've often mumbled that I wouldn't want to be someone learning English as a second language with all of its' (it's ?) idiosyncrasies and idioms. Took me 3 tries to spell idiosyncrasies, btw. There are however some posts that just leave me saying "huh" trying to figure out what it is they're trying to get across. Some guys are just plain incoherent on a good day. Colour me confuzed.
12 years of French and I might starve to death in Quebec.

 

[HEC]

It amazes me how some people try and make themselves look so much better because of a trait they are good at . My uncle was a great doctor but he had no idea how to put a battery in his boat , I suppose some would down him for that .

 

[riptides]

It amazes me how some people try and make themselves look so much better because of a trait they are good at . My uncle was a great doctor but he had no idea how to put a battery in his boat , I suppose some would down him for that .

Well rounded people are a hard find. But that's what makes us all special. We are so inherently flawed in some way, and gifted in others.

 

[kevin37b]

I think I would like to meet some of the offenders as far as spelling . They probably know more about tractors than most of us ?

 

[Dr_Zinj]

Whatever you post on the Internet lives forever. I can find posts I made 20 years ago; and they'll probably still be there in another 100 years. Which means that you shouldn't make fast posts, off-the-cuff without spell checking, grammar checking, proof reading, and waiting at least an hour to cool off or think about it before clicking on SEND or POST.

Unfortunately for themselves, people rarely do what they should. And the "best" thing to do today is actually a tradeoff between timeliness, and getting the message you want to send across to the person or people you want to read it. But today's "best" thing may not be the best thing to do in the long run. Remember, what you type as "good enough" today, may be read by prospective voters, or people interviewing you for a job next year.

On the third hand (I'm a fan of Jerry Pournelle's, "A Mote in God's Eye" novel), sometimes bad spelling and grammar is intentional, especially if you're writing for a particular audience. You accept the consequences of what you wrote; and you have the bonus of being able to point to your detractors as being intellectually dishonest in taking those comments out of context.

 

[roadhunter]

I am terrible at spelling and even worse at typing. I do my best to manage and let the computer help but I don't get too worried about it.

 

[Walkin Horse]

Here's a good question for you grammartarians. What is the longest word that can be spelled on the first line of a keyboard?

 

[xzcVAbc5]

To the original post: Spelling is important to me. I generally read my forum posts and emails at least twice before I send them.

If more people would reread what they type before sending, I think that would clear up some of the communication problems. Look at what you type from your audience's perspective.

If you agree with someone's post and reply to them with "Your right." would you catch that and replace "Your" with "You're" or "You are"? If Jack has a baseball in each hand does he have "two" baseballs "too" baseballs, or "to" baseballs?

I don't think anyone is elitist by spelling and writing well. To do your best job do you try to copy the best example or try not to copy the worst example?

 

[T_e_r_r_y]

Typewriter! from Miss Livengoods class.
What do I win? hahahahahahahahaha.
The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. Uses all the letters in the alphabet.
T.J.

 

[GolfAddict]

Typewriter! from Miss Livengoods class.
What do I win? hahahahahahahahaha.
The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. Uses all the letters in the alphabet.
T.J.

Well, I've actually learned something from this thread! :thumbsup: