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! 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.

[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! 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! I don't think anyone is referring to you.

That's a relief!!!

[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???? Drives me nutty.

[Jessika]

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

Those people should be banned from the internet. SeRiOuSlY.