I often see internet conversations which have dissolve into grammar critiques, I don't think they are enlightening, they are usually in the trolling portion of a flame war. I am not turning in a paper for a grade when I post to Hubski and I keep my editing on the cursory setting with this in mind. I often admire when others post a tight well tuned essay but I don't feel that any exacting precision is needed to share and communicate ideas in the Hubski format. I think that your idea sounds like no fun at all.
I don't mind your post grammatically but if I wanted to feel a bit more confident about it this is how i might approach it.
"People have often commented on my poor grammar. I think that there should be a grammar tag to indicate that a post contains improper grammar. There should also be a way to highlight poor grammar in a text which when corrected would remove the highlight and flag."
Edited by cgod
1. I'm grateful to anyone who reads my posts. If they actually reply in some way positive or negative, I'm triply grateful.
2. And how many are very fond -- perhaps even addicted -- to the illusion of genuine human connection provided by our computers? So fond perhaps that we write late into the night, our contact lens so foggy that your, you're and yr all look the same to our burning eyes?
3. Having said that, good writing is easier to read than bad writing, easier on the tired eyes.
4. The more perfect the form, the more clear and precise the content. The two are linked. With the imperfect medium of the written word, it is easy to misunderstand one another.
5. Nonetheless, not everyone is concerned with or necessarily able to express a perfectly formed message. Bottom Line: newgreen's bottom line is a good one. I'd add this: If you are grateful for corrections thank the corrector. if you resent corrections, ignore the corrector. That person is likely not your target audience anyway. (note: b_b I assume you deliberately missed one of JakobVirgil's deliberate typos.)
Grammar is used to structure a text and make clear what the author means. Without grammar it gets really hard to make clear what you mean. For me, as a non-native speaker, proper grammar and spelling is even more important. This is because I don't have the instant associations which native speakers do have, even though I am quite proficient in English (even if I say so myself). That being said, commenting on someone's grammar or spelling over the internet is usually wasted effort, even with the best of intentions. It is often seen as a personal attack and takes all intelligent discussion out of the thread. As a result, I never comment on grammar or spelling. I do, however, think that most spelling errors can be prevented since we have all those spell checking programs build right into the browser. I do agree with you, you are not turning in a paper for a grade, but you are trying to communicate an idea. Grammar can greatly improve the clarity of any piece of writing and help you make clear what you mean. Anyway, just my 2 cents ;-)
As another non-native english speaker, I make snail's words my own. On the internet, where conversations take as much, if not more, from speech than from formal writing, "proper" grammar and spelling should be the least of our worries.For me, as a non-native speaker, proper grammar and spelling is even more important. This is because I don't have the instant associations which native speakers do have.
I was just reading Hemmingway today. His writing was good. It was not fancy. His sentences were short. I like the short sentences. But then his sentences could also be long and go on for a time without a comma until one came, and then there would be another, and then it would end. It was a strong way to write. It was a strong way to say something. In everyone's writing there is a voice. IMHO it's worth trying to use proper grammar, but writing is expression, and sometimes being too conscious of grammar quiets that voice, which is a bad thing. I appreciate Hemmingway because although he usually used proper grammar, it didn't get in his way. He just put periods and commas where they ought to be, and that was that. I dislike when an effort to use proper grammar gets me bogged down in an unweildy sentence. One thing I appreciate about online discussion is that it gives me an opportunity to exercise my writing. But I don't really care if people use proper grammar or not. Usually their ideas come through, and I can always ask for clarification.
I think we write because we want to communicate (and connect with others). We don't want our readers to be distracted by obvious spelling/grammar errors. We hope our readers will focus on the message, but sometimes they become fixated on an error and lose the message. Maybe they offer suggestions for corrections because they want our message to be more perfect. It's complicated. I would want to know if I made an error in an online posting because I feel errors would weaken my credibility as a writer. Would you want to know?
I think its different on a composed blog post and an informal comments section. If you want to be taken seriously as a writer, then sure, have your act together. On a comments section, I find that the rules are (and should be) a lot less formal--conversational, perhaps. The only people who seem to correct others in a comments section are trolls, and people who are devoid of quality arguments. Now if you're talking about errors of judgement or factual errors, then I'm with you 100%.
If some one comments on your grammar rather then you're reasoning it means you won.
These kinds of errors tend to completely throw me off. As a non-native speaker, then/than, your/you're and they're/there/their "sound" very different to me. Here's what happens if I get caught off-guard reading your sentence: If some one comments on your grammar rather then you're...
"Rather" looks odd there ... then you're reasoning it means you...
Missing period? ... then you're reasoning. It means you won.
Wait, what? If some one comments on your grammar, (rather?) then you're reasoning. It means you won.
That makes no sense! How is it that you are reasoning if someone comments on your grammar? And by the time I re-read the sentence the third time to finally get it, I usually lose track of what's being said, and either re-read the whole paragraph, or just skip reading the rest. (Or in the case of chronic terrible spellers/grammar-ers, skip their posts entirely.) So I'd like to take issue with your premise that you win if someone comments on your grammar. If you use terrible grammar, then for every person who comments on it, there are a few more (like me) who won't bother getting to the reasoning, and won't feel bad about it. That said, I'd like to request you to also put "some one" in bold ;)
Don't you mean "If some one comments on your grammar rather than you're reasoning it means you won"? Just kidding. I totally agree that in comments sections especially, misspellings and grammatical correctness are basically irrelevant. Many people are probably using phones anyway, which makes it a huge pain in the ass to be correct to begin with. As an aside, I've never seen that on Hubski? I hope not to in the future; its a sign your website is becoming degenerate.
My grammar is horrible but it is getting better. I often struggle with the improper use of their, there and they're amongst many other misuses of punctuation etc. I notice it when others use improper grammar, then and than but I would only ever point this out if somehow it changed the perception/meaning of the post. That said, people have pointed out some of my errors on Hubski and I've never been upset about it, I appreciate it but only when it is communicated out of positivity. I could see this "grammar highlighting" as a way for some people to be jerks. Bottom line: In a forum like Hubski, if you understand what the person is trying to communicate, who cares?
I often see internet conversations which have dissolve into grammar critiques, I don't think they are enlightening, they are usually in the trolling portion of a flame war. I am not turning in a paper for a grade when I post to Hubski and I keep my editing on the cursory setting with this in mind. I often admire when others post a tight well tuned essay but I don't feel that any exacting precision is needed to share and communicate ideas in the Hubski format. I think that your idea sounds like no fun at all. I don't mind your post grammatically but if I wanted to feel a bit more confident about it this is how i might approach it. "People have often commented on my poor grammar. I think that there should be a grammar tag to indicate that a post contains improper grammar. There should also be a way to highlight poor grammar in a text which when corrected would remove the highlight and flag." Both bits of writing say the same thing, good enough. I don't use "So" "ect" I avoid the necessary use of commas where you just don't use commas. This is probably the only time I'll ever comment on someones grammar here, it just doesn't seem to be a worthwhile way to use my brain power.