Incoherent posts

[kitten645]

Is it just me or is it getting harder and harder to read allot of posts? I find myself reading some two or three times to figure out what they are trying to get across! :mad: Getting to the point where I won't read posts unless I'm familiar with the poster. Whenever I look at the profiles for these incoherent posts it is inevitably from a rather young poster. Not all young posters are incoherent mind you but some are just down right baffling!
Run on sentences. No punctuation. No capitalization. Everything capitalized. I'm not saying every post should be perfect grammar, spelling or punctuation but more and more posts could be written in Greek and I'd have an easier time deceifering them! Makes me worry for the future of the english language. :( Also deters me from checking PT for fear of spending way too much time reading and re-reading posts to figure them out.

[Karen]

This is why we have a stickied thread down in General, telling people to be polite and consider others when typing and wording their posts. I often PM people to remind them as well.

[Miss Z]

It doesn't usually bother me, but I do agree that it is only good manners to write your thoughts in the best way you can. I admit, I used to not capitalise my 'I's, simply because I couldn't be bothered and it allowed me to type faster and post more regularly. I don't do that now as I've got to know PT quite a lot better since then and I type as if I'm writing a letter to good friends, not sending a text message.

However, I think a couple of people on here have some kind of English or learning problems such as Dyslexia (please correct me if I'm wrong on this, I just seem to remember a thread about it somewhere) so I generally believe some people try their best to be as accurate as possible.

[sasvermont]

I have been complaining about the lack of command of the English language for some time now. Of course, if it is your (their) second or third language then there is a built-in reason, but for the majority of the offenders this is not the case.

I think communications need to be clear, easy to read and to the point. :rolleyes:

[moosmom]

I hope I don't offend anyone when I capitalize some of my words. I do it to put emphasis on a point I'm trying to make. Like, "THAT is the reason I do it". If it does bug anyone, please let me know and I will stop.

[Miss Z]

...when I capitalize some of my words...

This is nothing at all to do with you Donna (;)), but that word just reminded me of something else. For members from the USA, please do not take British spelling variations to be mistakes. I would spell that 'capitalise' but that doesn't make it wrong. Just thought I'd raise the issue :)

[dogzr#1]

This has been a pet peeve of mine for some time now. Some misspellings here and there are ok, as are typos but when somebody posts a thread or something and you have to read it a couple times to understand what it says, well THAT ( ;) ) is what I'm annoyed about. Also, run-on sentences. Those annoy me the most. I'm not that annoyed with capitalization, or lack thereof, since you are still able to read the post.

But as said before, some have some sort of medical condition where they have trouble typing properly. I understand that, but when you don't have one and you have english as your primary/first language, then that's when it bugs me. I can think of a few people like this, but I won't mention names.

[Randi]

Some misspellings here and there are ok, as are typos but when somebody posts a thread or something and you have to read it a couple times to understand what it says, well THAT ( ;) ) is what I'm annoyed about. Also, run-on sentences.
I agree with you too, Kitten645. We've had this discussion several times over the years and some have learned from it, but as the member list grows, it's getting more and more difficult to figure out which threads are well written, so I must admit, I tend to skip the ones where you can tell the poster hasn't made an effort.

I DO understand some people have a hard time spelling right and we all make typos, but please, make an effort.... and if you forgot to say something in your original post, go back and edit.

As Sasvermont says, communication need to be clear, easy to read and to the point.

[momoffuzzyfaces]

It would be nice if PT could add a spell checker. As I'm getting older, I notice I have more trouble spelling, even familiar words sometimes seem weird to me. Since Alzheimer's runs in my family, it does concern me. :)

[Randi]

MOFF, you're doing great! :D I don't think anyone is referring to you.

[Jessika]

I hope I don't offend anyone when I capitalize some of my words. I do it to put emphasis on a point I'm trying to make. Like, "THAT is the reason I do it". If it does bug anyone, please let me know and I will stop.
I do the EXACT same thing, I use capitals instead of italics. If I say:

I REALLY wish I could have helped
or
I really wish I could have helped

I am saying it in the same context. It's just easier to capitalize than have to go back and tag everything hehe (or remembering to tag as I go along... I'm usually very forgetful).

Of course I don't expect everyone on here to be english majors and type every post like they are writing a college essay, but at least proof read your posts first. If you would take a breath, add a comma. If you stop, add a period. That's what bothers me most... lack of punctuation. Oh, and breaking things into paragraphs makes long(er) posts SO much easier to read, imo :)

[momoffuzzyfaces]

MOFF, you're doing great! :D I don't think anyone is referring to you.
That's a relief!!! :D

[lady_zana]

I understand what you are saying. Simple mistakes don't bother me; everyone makes mistakes with things like "it's" and "its" and other words of that type. Also, I understand when people are typing fast and leave out a word or a letter. (In fact, I just did it myself - I said I understand when people are tying fast and had to go back and change it.)

The posts that bother me and bother most people, I think, are the ones like this:

my cat is calico she is very fat i love her her name is eepie

I've seen a lot of posts that don't even try to correct their spelling or grammer. On a different message board, someone brought up this same pet peeve and got a reply from someone saying, "I spend all day at school. When I'm at home on the internet, I don't want to worry about grammer and puncuation." (Only it wasn't written like that; I corrected the grammer so you all could read it! ;) )

To me, writing correctly comes naturally but I have to admit, I spend at least four hours a day writing and writing correctly or nearly correctly the first time save me a lot of trouble. Plus, since what I write in my posts are most people's only view of me here, I want to sound as intelligent as possible, putting my best face forward, so to speak.

[jenluckenbach]

HoW aBoUt PeOple Who wRitE LIkE tHis???? :o :o Drives me nutty. :rolleyes:

[Jessika]

HoW aBoUt PeOple Who wRitE LIkE tHis???? :o :o Drives me nutty. :rolleyes:
Those people should be banned from the internet. SeRiOuSlY.

[sasvermont]

"I spend all day at school. When I'm at home on the internet, I don't want to worry about grammer and puncuation." (Only it wasn't written like that; I corrected the grammer so you all could read it! )

That is like saying it is ok to eat food like a pig when you are not out in public! Manners, manners, manners. Do you WANT everyone to think you are stupid? I don't. How you appear in writing is saying who you are......and what you know.....and that you do or don't care about what everyone else thinks of you. Not to mention that there is a huge burden put on the reader, when the writing/typing is so horrible.

:rolleyes:

By the way, what the heck is PHP code? I thought I was quoting a previous posting! Hehehehehehe. Talk about looking STUPID!

[wolfsoul]

My biggest pet peeves are run-on sentences and writing an entire post in capital letters. I don't mind capital letters used for emphasis, but when someone puts their whole post in capitals, it is so hard for me to read. Run-on sentences are very difficult for me to understand -- my brain just can't wrap itself around a run-on sentence; Takes me forever to decipher it. Spelling mistakes aren't a huge thing. I'm a bit of a spelling and grammar freak, myself, but I CAN spell and use proper grammar -- some people just can't, so I try not to judge spelling mistakes. Just like I'm not good at math, not everyone will be good at spelling. I know people with dyslexia that have a very difficult time spelling, and people who have or had hearing problems that spell the word like they used to hear it.

Did anyone else notice that they made twice as many spelling mistakes in this thread as they usually would? :p

[slick]

i don't spend as much time on pet talk because of the threads that go on and on with no puncuation i agree with all of you that it's really not nice don't you think so i do and i have a hard time trying to find out what the thread is all about because they use 2 instead of to and u instead of you and it drives me batty don't you think and i spoke to my friend who has a friend and he said that she said that we should all use good manners but then she had another friend who said that i spend too much time on the internet i don't know what she is talking about 'cause she doesn't live where i do and she doesn't see me all the time what do you think

:p

Seriously people, the minimum age is 13 and at that age you all should be able to use proper punctuation, spelling and know how to write a sentence, and yes, that's why I don't spend as much time here as I'd like to. It's too frustrating to try and decipher the meaning of some of the threads. ...and for those who are bad at spelling.......www.dictionary.com. Use it.

[Jessika]

i don't spend as much time on pet talk because of the threads that go on and on with no puncuation i agree with all of you that it's really not nice don't you think so i do and i have a hard time trying to find out what the thread is all about because they use 2 instead of to and u instead of you and it drives me batty don't you think and i spoke to my friend who has a friend and he said that she said that we should all use good manners but then she had another friend who said that i spend too much time on the internet i don't know what she is talking about 'cause she doesn't live where i do and she doesn't see me all the time what do you think

:p
Man... for a second there... lol

[Giselle]

Simple solution: Ignore them.

That's why you'll notice I have a meager number of posts compared to my time spent on this board ;)

[RedHedd]

Is it just me or is it getting harder and harder to read allot of posts? I find myself reading some two or three times to figure out what they are trying to get across! :mad: Getting to the point where I won't read posts unless I'm familiar with the poster. Whenever I look at the profiles for these incoherent posts it is inevitably from a rather young poster. Not all young posters are incoherent mind you but some are just down right baffling!
Run on sentences. No punctuation. No capitalization. Everything capitalized. I'm not saying every post should be perfect grammar, spelling or punctuation but more and more posts could be written in Greek and I'd have an easier time deceifering them! Makes me worry for the future of the english language. :( Also deters me from checking PT for fear of spending way too much time reading and re-reading posts to figure them out.I'm with you. I was about to post something along this line. I was wondering if many people had all of a sudden bought the same faulty keyboard with no punctuation mark keys. I do check the profile and am sometimes quite surprised to see it's an adult. I just don't respond to those posts and/or ignore them as I can't figure out what they're trying to say.

[RedHedd]

i don't spend as much time on pet talk because of the threads that go on and on with no puncuation i agree with all of you that it's really not nice don't you think so i do and i have a hard time trying to find out what the thread is all about because they use 2 instead of to and u instead of you and it drives me batty don't you think and i spoke to my friend who has a friend and he said that she said that we should all use good manners but then she had another friend who said that i spend too much time on the internet i don't know what she is talking about 'cause she doesn't live where i do and she doesn't see me all the time what do you think

:p

Seriously people, the minimum age is 13 and at that age you all should be able to use proper punctuation, spelling and know how to write a sentence, and yes, that's why I don't spend as much time here as I'd like to. It's too frustrating to try and decipher the meaning of some of the threads. ...and for those who are bad at spelling.......www.dictionary.com. Use it.

Well done, Slick! :D Another great spelling tool is a free add-on for Internet Explorer called ieSpell. It installs a spell checker button on your toolbar that you just have to click to spell-check a post before hitting the Submit button. I use it often. For a free little app it's quite amazing!

[RedHedd]

... and if you forgot to say something in your original post, go back and edit. Yes, PLEASE! It really isn't THAT hard, is it? :p

[iamgobsmacked]

ie Is a free spellcheck download that allows you to spell check from internet explorer. It adds an abc wich check mark right on your tools bar. Takes only a second to download and can be used for discussion boards.

http://www.iespell.com/download.php

[BOBS DAD]

ie Is a free spellcheck download that allows you to spell check from internet explorer. It adds an abc wich check mark right on your tools bar. Takes only a second to download and can be used for discussion boards.

http://www.iespell.com/download.php

"It adds an abc 'wich' check mark right on"

????

[Jessika]

"It adds an abc 'wich' check mark right on"

????
I think they meant "with"?

Buut remember everyone, spellcheck doesn't check for grammar. But that would be so hard to do :(

[RedHedd]

"It adds an abc 'wich' check mark right on"

????
:D That was the app I was talking about. ieSpell would have caught that little "wich" ;)

[Pawsitive Thinking]

I find "young people speak" very hard to follow at times

[Randi]

Slick... LOL! :D

And while we're at the subject, here's an American-British dictionary.

http://www.travelfurther.net/dictionaries/american-british.htm

This one is handy as well, and acually a releif for me to see. ;) I sometimes spell the american way and sometimes the english - and sometimes totally bollocks, but I'm sure you forgive me. :D http://www.scit.wlv.ac.uk/~jphb/american.html

[Argranade]

I sometimes make spelling mistakes but not on purpose, if I do notice I made one I just edit the post and fix it, although some people may have a msn habit of typing so it could take some time before they learn to get better at it, ya know lol *ahem*. :o

[kitten645]

????? :rolleyes: Exhibit A. What is a msn habbit? :eek:

[Argranade]

????? :rolleyes: Exhibit A. What is a msn habbit? :eek:

Oh bang bang, I did make some spelling mistakes :o and with Karens help I fixed them. :o

An msn habit is when you type in a slang way like sry,pls,ur,tmrow,w/e ect..

[Laura's Babies]

I thought that I was just easier confused lately. I sometimes can't make sense out of some post at all. I read them and read them and sit here scratching my head trying to figure out what in the world they were even trying to say..and most of them were in full written words. The ones in that instant message garb, I just don't even bother with.

I suggest you take time to read and re-read what you are posting and ask yourself some questions like;

1- Will this make sense to other people?

2- Was I clear on making my point?

3- How hard will this be for others to understand?

[cyber-sibes]

:) I am simply delighted to find this thread! I'm happy to see that I'm not the only one here who gets incredibly peeved at

peoplewhotypelikethis and don't use caps or even just a simple period for pete sakes and i even pmed one of them and asked her to use punctuation but of course she ignored me so now i don't read her posts do you think that was mean of me or did i do the right thing well we all have our own way so don't bug me

on and on and on! :mad:
Phew! Thanks for letting me get that off my chest! Yes, I think proper English is doomed, it's just a matter of time before all the rules get thrown out. :rolleyes: Hmmm, do they still teach Grammer in school? Maybe the English programs got cut...

[kitten645]

I think the hardest thing is the punctuation and capitalization. You have no idea where one thought ends and the other begins. One can generally sound out a misspelling but when the entire post hasn't any punctuation or capitalization, that really throws me for a loop! :eek: Even when comma's are or aren't used appropriately, it takes several reads to figure it out and frankly who has that kind of time? :rolleyes:

[Randi]

Cyber-sibes, I believe that when certain member's posts have been ignored so many times, they might make an effort eventually - or simply leave this board out of lack of responces. ;)

[dogzr#1]

I've replied before, but I just wanted to say that I completely agree with Cyber-Sibes. The misspellings I can handle, well to a certain extent, but the run-on sentences are what confuse me most. I find it quite sad how some people talk online. I mean, it's one of their first impressions on their intelligence. People who don't know you and then they see you 'tipe lyk dis', well they won't think very highly of you. I'm not saying that you get negative impressions when you type without proper grammar, I'm just saying that people have more respect for you when you type properly.

Ok, the things that bug me the most (EXAMPLES):

1) "lyk OMG guys did u c dat? it wuz totlly crzy!!!!!!!!!!"
2) "hey my dog is sick what can i do to help him should i take him to the vet or what i'm soooo worried"
3) "HEY!!!! I'M NEW HERE! I HAVE A DOG NAMED FLUFFY! HE IS SOOO CUTE! OMG I'M SURE YOU WOULD TOTALLY LOVE HIM!"


Those are the things that annoy me the most. A few other things annoy me, but I can't think of how to put them into the examples. :p

[kuhio98]

Hmmm, do they still teach Grammer in school? Maybe the English programs got cut...I have a friend who teaches 3rd grade English. She was instructed not to correct the student's spelling, punctuation, grammar, etc. when the students have a creative writing assignment. Seems all that marking up and red ink would "damage their fragile self esteem" and "impede the creative process". :rolleyes: So, now we have a generation of kids who can't write, can't spell, can't form a complete sentence but who think they are just perfect and wonderful. :rolleyes: They have no idea what the rules are and could care less. Just another example of the dumbing down of the system. Classes are now geared for the slowest/common denominator. We have 3 family members who are teachers (grammar, middle and college). All of them are very frustrated and feel like their main job is to babysit. Not teach.

[Prairie Purrs]

So, now we have a generation of kids who can't write, can't spell, can't form a complete sentence but who think they are just perfect and wonderful. :rolleyes: They have no idea what the rules are and could care less. Just another example of the dumbing down of the system.

So true! For several years, I taught legal research and writing to first-year law students. I was shocked to discover how many people managed to get through grade school, high school, and college without ever learning how to use a comma! I tried to persuade them that many judges do, in fact, understand spelling and grammar and are likely to find a legal brief that's full of errors in basic English to be less than convincing. But I met with mixed success.

One law student actually told me that he didn't need to be able to write correctly because he'd have a secretary to take care of that! I asked him how he could expect the U.S. educational system to have taught his secretary how to write when it had failed to teach him how to do it.

[CathyBogart]

What bothers me the MOST is when people type up a long post and don't bother to break it into paragraphs, so the rest of us have to muddle through a HUGE block of text.

I don't see that here often, but on some other boards it's really frustrating.

[RedHedd]

So true! For several years, I taught legal research and writing to first-year law students. I was shocked to discover how many people managed to get through grade school, high school, and college without ever learning how to use a comma! I tried to persuade them that many judges do, in fact, understand spelling and grammar and are likely to find a legal brief that's full of errors in basic English to be less than convincing. But I met with mixed success.

One law student actually told me that he didn't need to be able to write correctly because he'd have a secretary to take care of that! I asked him how he could expect the U.S. educational system to have taught his secretary how to write when it had failed to teach him how to do it.

That's why my boss asked me to take a legal writing class many years ago. Now I'm a paralegal and that's exactly what I do. I'm the one who's supposed to catch the attorneys' poor grammar and spelling. English and spelling were always my strong areas anyway, so it's not a big deal. It just shocks me to see the quality, or lack thereof, of writing we receive from other law firms.

[GreyhoundGirl]

I agree in some ways. It is very hard to read poorly-written posts, especially if you are not very farmilliar with the language. I find it equally difficult to read posts where people include extremely complicated words that only Tesla would know. (I especially dislike this when those words are not in my English/French dictionary )

I usually re-read my posts, but I often cannot find my own mistakes. You also have to consider that not all posters are american, thus, English is not all of our first languages. I've only been studying English since septembre 2005, and I'm sure I must have bad grammar and/or spelling often. I think I've got the hang of commas, Right? :p

:p You know, it would be a lot easier if all you guys would just learn russian. :p

[Prairie Purrs]

That's why my boss asked me to take a legal writing class many years ago. Now I'm a paralegal and that's exactly what I do. I'm the one who's supposed to catch the attorneys' poor grammar and spelling. English and spelling were always my strong areas anyway, so it's not a big deal. It just shocks me to see the quality, or lack thereof, of writing we receive from other law firms.

I'm not really inclined to believe that an attorney who's too lazy or lacking in attention to detail to use proper English is going to do a great job in the legal research, analysis, and fact-checking departments either. Of course, too many lawyers think that those things are the paralegal's job as well--and that their work consists entirely of schmoozing clients on the golf course and showing up in the courtroom to wave at the judge. But that's a whole 'nother rant.

[RedHedd]

Of course, too many lawyers think that those things are the paralegal's job as well--and that their work consists entirely of schmoozing clients on the golf course and showing up in the courtroom to wave at the judge. But that's a whole 'nother rant.
I think I have the more interesting job and I get to go home at 5:00 :)

[lady_zana]

I have a friend who teaches 3rd grade English. She was instructed not to correct the student's spelling, punctuation, grammar, etc. when the students have a creative writing assignment. Seems all that marking up and red ink would "damage their fragile self esteem" and "impede the creative process".


Egads! My grammer school teachers never minded giving me back pages covered in red ink and it never stopped my creativity. (Nor taught me how to spell - that's not the teachers' fault; that's mine! :rolleyes: ) What it did teach me was the correct way to use grammer and put words together for which my editors were very grateful!

It's hard to get published and no matter how creative you are, editors aren't even going to LOOK at it if you haven't used correct grammer, punctation, etc.

*sigh* If we don't teach them to use words and language correctly in schools, how are we to expect them to do so on a message board?

[lady_zana]

I agree in some ways. It is very hard to read poorly-written posts, especially if you are not very farmilliar with the language. I find it equally difficult to read posts where people include extremely complicated words that only Tesla would know. (I especially dislike this when those words are not in my English/French dictionary )

I usually re-read my posts, but I often cannot find my own mistakes. You also have to consider that not all posters are american, thus, English is not all of our first languages. I've only been studying English since septembre 2005, and I'm sure I must have bad grammar and/or spelling often. I think I've got the hang of commas, Right? :p

:p You know, it would be a lot easier if all you guys would just learn russian. :p

The posts most people have the problems with are the ones that are supposed to speak English as a first language - but seem to choose not too!

I've studied foreign languages before but I don't have a talent for them so I admire anyone who can learn a second (or third, or fourth,....) language.

You write English wonderfully; I can't believe you've only been studying it for about a year!

Well, I just wanted to post my admiration for you! :p

[RedHedd]

Case in point is the "Pay attention to ME" thread in general. I refuse to post in a thread that is so poorly written and vitriolic; but judging from the number of views many of us, myself included, check it just to see what the latest bit of incoherent drivel is being written now. It's like watching a train wreck! :rolleyes:

[Alysser]

Run on sentences is a HUGE pet peeve of mine. What is so hard about typing a .? Uhh, nothing. A few typos is nothing, nobody is perfect and everyone makes them. But come on, what do you go to English for? "omg like my dog is so cute his name is fluffy he is so fluffy i love him." :rolleyes:

[GreyhoundGirl]

Aww :o thanks, Lady Zana :)

[bluebird]

Whew! I really want to respond to this topic, but my wireless keyboard is misbehaving and I can't get over to get a new one till Monday. Some letters have to be hit at least 10 times before it appears on the screen. :eek:

The newest trend seems to be toward typing as if they were text messaging. There's no capitalization, loaded with abbreviations and not a smidgeon of punctuation.

But text messaging, spelling or punctuation aren't my biggest pet peeve. My biggest pet peeve is that it often seems that providing the all important; who, what, why, when where and how hasn't even entered the posters mind! The initial post of that type usually says something like; "My dog is limping, what do you think is wrong with him, my dog has the runs, what should I do, my dog is constantly shaking his head, what's wrong with him"? Well gee! Their own vet couldn't even help if that was all the information he/she had.

Stepping down from soapbox now! :D

[sasvermont]

:D

Did you ever get to see this thread? I think you will enjoy it if you haven't already seen it.

Fluffy (http://petoftheday.com/talk/showthread.php?t=105202&highlight=fluffy)

I think we covered this earlier....and of course, we have covered the lack of many folks here, to give a hoot how and what they type.

Half of the posts in the latest group of drivel by our in house drama queens are pathetic at best.

I suspect we will have to either put these folks on our ignore list or just move on and wait for them to mature.

Oh well.

[RedHedd]

Half of the posts in the latest group of drivel by our in-house drama queens are pathetic at best.

I suspect we will have to either put these folks on our ignore list or just move on and wait for them to mature.

I couldn't have said it better :)

[kitten645]

Indeed. Interesting that those that berate others for errors on where things are posted, cannot find the key that has the > symbol on it :p
Also coming from a long line of drama queens (skipped my generation but my mom and baby sister :rolleyes: ) I avoid those scenes as well.
Who has that kind of time and energy? ;)

[bluebird]

:D

Did you ever get to see this thread? I think you will enjoy it if you haven't already seen it.

Fluffy (http://petoftheday.com/talk/showthread.php?t=105202&highlight=fluffy)

I think we covered this earlier....and of course, we have covered the lack of many folks here, to give a hoot how and what they type.

Half of the posts in the latest group of drivel by our in house drama queens are pathetic at best.

I suspect we will have to either put these folks on our ignore list or just move on and wait for them to mature.

Oh well.

:D I'd missed that one but glad I had a chance to read it! Thanks! :)

[RICHARD]

????? :rolleyes: Exhibit A. What is a msn habbit? :eek:


It's the outfit a nun from Microsoft wears?

[Twisterdog]

Ah, a thread after my heart, this is.

I have a mental list of posters that write like a six year old, and I never open their posts. Sadly, the list grows constantly.

I am continually fascinated by the fact that these people presumably either have graduated or will graduate from high school. We now get diplomas when we cannot spell a five letter word, do not know the meaning of punctuation and think "u r prolly gunna b :( " is a perfectly proper, valid English sentence? Wow. I'm truly frightened.