Astahost's Professional Stance Is A Falling Dream Spelling and grammar is a dismal

[pyost 0]

I haven't really read alot of the posts in this thread but you have to remember there are people of all ages here so not everyone can use perfect spelling and grammar.

But you can't expect a kid who is only 10 to write good content on a various range of topics. This is a technology forum and therefore demands good posts, which includes grammatically correct sentences, a good vocabulary etc. It is hard for the ones that don't speak English, but small errors (such as commas and spelling complicated words) can and are tolerated. However, using leet speak and similar ways of expressing yourself is not appropriate.

I know that I make mistakes every now and then, but I do try to correct them, unlike some other people. Hey, I'm fifteen and English is not my mother tongue. Still I am able to write understandable sentences. It's all about being willing to try. Without that, the whole web would be just another failure.

[ruben1405241511 0]

@ pyost: Some kids are ahead of their time, I mean you're only fifteen, I started making (bad) websites with twelve, but there are some even faster kiddies out there. We shouldn't try to hard to be elitist round here, but still everyone should make his best effort, if he isn't able to make himself understood that way, then this forum obviously can't help him. Still Leet-speak and so on, don't really show the "best effort".

[pyost 0]

Yes, but I think everyone understands that for a beginner's web site you don't need anything special. I started with a free forum host, then moved on the a free host with bunch of ads, and slowly increased my knowledge. And now I'm looking for the best.Nothing is free, there is always something you have to do in return. Here, you must make good posts. At other places, you have to keep ads on your web site

[Jeigh1405241495 0]

I would have to agree with pyost. I don't see it as being elitist to simply expect our user base to be limited to those willing and able to make coherent meaningful posts. To call that elitist for not allowing young children onto the board would be the same as saying we should let a 5 year old on the board as long as they do their best. In most cases, the best attempts of a 5 year old wouldn't exactly be up to par. If you want to keep a forum professional and of a high quality you need to make choices and those choices do not need to, and will not always, be the choice which allows everyone to participate.Not all environments are appropriate for all people, this one is not appropriate for those who cannot make decent posts, no matter which factor is limiting their ability to do so.

[ruben1405241511 0]

Yeah, now you are just senselessly ripping my post apart, I don't think I was that unclear. As long as they can make themselves understandable. Of course they have to be able to contribute something, but why should I mention that, it's in the rules already. I think we all know what's ok and what not, so we could just slowly step back from the topic, put our credit-greed on the ground and our hands on our heads.

[Chesso 0]

Ruben your'e post wasn't exactly unclear but it wasn't easy to understand from a first read if anyone knows what I mean? i'm not sure what name they put on it, grammer or some such.Hell I never really learnt all about commas and things in writing it always confused me, i'm 20 years old and only in the past couple of years (on my own) have I begun to learn where I should and shouldn't use ' for example.When I was at school though most people learnt all that grammar and crap through story writing which is something I despise, I really just don't have the mind or patience for that sort of stuff.Either way iv'e finally learnt a fair bit of it so all is well

[mpinsky 0]

Yes, you are right, Twitch. Spelling matter very much. If you don't spell correctly, nobody will take you seriously, I know I won't, and grammar matters just as much, if not more. I remember when I became a beta-reader for stories, I was stunned that many of the native English-speaking authors' stories I received were spelled and used grammatically horrible I couldn't stand it. I've gotten non-English speakers' stories as well, and their English is a hell of a lot better. The sad thing is is that this kind of diregard to the English language is the average...to native English-speakers! Please use your spelling and grammar correctly folks.

Edited June 28, 2006 by mpinsky (see edit history)

[cyborgxxi 0]

You know, I really can't believe this topic is being talked about after it has been posted almost 7 months ago. My dear.. I mean, well, no... you guys can talk about it but something should be done about it.I am quite sure the admins/mods have taken action about improving their grammar and spelling but since... well, I don't know if they take that seriously, they should've done something. I don't know what, but maybe like ... no.. i don't think so.Anyway, I'm quite content but I don't think this as a quite professional-looking service. No offense there... just from my humble opinion / view

[eurotrash 0]

Just thought I'd point out that the original (twitch's) post has grammatical errors aplenty. Just saying...

[Chesso 0]

Ahh well no need to nitpick, Iv'e seen articles and such written in newspapers and other forms of media with tons of spelling and grammatical errors. Either that or it just doesn't make any sense. Anyway, If I can understand then everybody else should be able to aswell unless they have problems in which case, well as they say it is their problem.

[mpinsky 0]

You know, I really can't believe this topic is being talked about after it has been posted almost 7 months ago. My dear.. I mean, well, no... you guys can talk about it but something should be done about it.

 

I am quite sure the admins/mods have taken action about improving their grammar and spelling but since... well, I don't know if they take that seriously, they should've done something. I don't know what, but maybe like ... no.. i don't think so.

 

Anyway, I'm quite content but I don't think this as a quite professional-looking service. No offense there... just from my humble opinion / view

 

I think it would be rather hard for the admins and mods to take action on improving the grammar of Xisto's users, Cyborgxxi, as enforcing this on a good amount of posts received each day, plus correcting it would take even more time. Imagine trying to sift through about fifty or more posts a day and correcting each persons' improper grammar or deleting them; it would just take too much time. Plus, what about some people who are using English to the best of their ability? It would be unfair for their posts to be deleted when they have done really nothing wrong. It's hard for the admins and mods to tell which people seriously don't know how to correctly use English, and those that are just being lazy. All in all, I think it is up to the individuals who know English very well but take the easy way out to get off their lazy butts and take the time to actually type and use the English language correctly and respectfully.

 

And as for those newspapers and magazines you've seen with incorrect grammar and spelling, Chesso, while the authors and reporters of the articles should take the time to check their spelling and grammar before submitting to the publisher, that is also a sign of an incompetent editor at work. Of all the people in the staff of those newspapers and magazines, it should be the editor that has the most experience with grammar and spelling.

Edited July 2, 2006 by mpinsky (see edit history)

[Arbitrary 0]

@mpinsky, agreed. It's impossible for mods and admin to force users to change. Users have to be willing to change, and if they aren't willing and are asked to leave, that still doesn't mean they've changed. Often times it is possible to tell if someone isn't a native speaker of English. For instance, I'm sure everyone (English speaker or not) knows about the use of periods and commas. Sure, their usage may not be perfect, but as long as its understandable, that's fine. On the other hand, if that person was using chatspeak, they can't give the excuse that they're nonnative. Get rid of the 1337 first.

 

The basic point would be just to try your best. And if that doesn't work, then move on. Try to improve your English, or go to a similar forum that might be offered in your native language. The newspapers have no excuses though for spelling and grammar mistakes. People, are, after all, buying their service. If I pay for something, I should expect to get some high quality stuff out of it, not some random, thrown-together-at-the-last-minute crap. Forums I can't nitpick as much, as I don't pay to read the posts. And, the editors at the newspapers and magazines are getting paid to look over the articles. That's their job. If they can't do it correctly, the newspapers ought to hire someone else.

 

Spelling matters a lot, IMO. Earlier someone posted that it's possible to read a paragraph without correct spelling, but that only goes for native English speakers. Now if that was a French paragraph written in the same manner, I'd be going, "Huh?" Punctuation usage matters too. After all.I.can't.just.randomly.go;laround.,.;putting...periods,,and,,commas,,everywhere..can I? No. That sentence is incomprehensible, doesn't matter what country you come from. Besides, I always thought most countries used similar punctuation, with the slight difference here and there.

Edited July 10, 2006 by Arbitrary (see edit history)

[mpinsky 0]

Most countries do use the same punctuation rules and regulations when it comes to different languages; they're universal. However, I have noticed some differences, such as in Japanese, instead of quotation marks, they use kind of this bracket shape instead, however, I do think this only applies when writing Japanese horizontal, but I'm not exactly sure. But that's besides the point.

 

The point is, different languages or not, most non-native English speaker countries usually teach English as a main subject in school because it is typically a buisness language. Also, all people involved in air transportation, whether it is an English-speaking country or not, use English to communicate, so if there is an emergency, all the pilots and ground control officers can understand each other.

 

And I agree, Arbitrary. 1337 really does need to be gotten rid of. I mean, what purpose does it serve in the first place? All in all though, there really is no point typing that way in the first place. It just gets people frustrated and ticked-off, not to mention it lowers the status and credibility of a site or forum down an incredible amount.

[blackfox 0]

I fully agree that some posts, in general not just this site, are full of bad grammer and so on.What really matters is that people take the time to write a good message, although your English is poor or you have dislectic (don't know if this is the right Englisch word, but I do hope you'll understand) you can still make a good message.For example the using of capitals or comma's, even if you're not a really good writer of English (or at all) that is something you can do, it's a pity lesser and less people take the time to think of such things.I myself don't speak English as first language, so there may be some huge grammer or spelling faults in here, but I do take the time to place capitals, dots and comma's in the (hopefully) right places. So although my English is not perfect, I do try to make a good constructed post, just by using dots and so fort.

[superJazz 0]

I do not agree with the original idea of grammar, as the modern age of computing is not about who can type the best grammatically, but it is to save time and communicate easier, and get jobs done. Also, it would be very hard to implement a system of banning posts (and members) if they are not spelt correctly.