Why is points so inportant to ATS members?
With off topic posts and one line replies we can get ponts taken off(I think). So what does it matter how many points you have?
Does it mean members will not listen to your posts as much if you have fewer point. If so that must be wrong?
I ll need some one to enlighten me on this.
I hope not having many points myself will not put people off from posting here!
OH, and whats the big deal with spelling too. If you have a good point, then its a good point even if the grammer is wrong. If people are more into looking at my grammer(which i know is very bad) Then are they not missing the POINT.

If my spelling and grammer is wrong here, It is only done for affect!

They really don't mean anything to me. I don't use them to buy a fancier avatar or anything. And just because a person has a billion points doesn't make them any more of an expert or authority or anything. It just means they went to the trouble of doing certain things to get a lot of points.

Why is spelling a big deal?
When you're trying to get someone to believe an idea, who are you more prone to believe and understand, someone who can't spell, or someone who can? It's a form of showing how educated someone is, as opposed to someone else. Anyone can spell, there's really no reason to have bad grammer on the net. There are spell checks everywhere.

Think of posting like you're typing up a job resume. How credible and educated do you think an employer would think you are if you had problems with punctuation and spelling? Not very, huh? The same applies here when you're making extreme claims. Even then, some people may choose to disagree.

Originally posted by Shugo
Why is spelling a big deal?
When you're trying to get someone to believe an idea, who are you more prone to believe and understand, someone who can't spell, or someone who can? It's a form of showing how educated someone is, as opposed to someone else. Anyone can spell, there's really no reason to have bad grammer on the net. There are spell checks everywhere.

Think of posting like you're typing up a job resume. How credible and educated do you think an employer would think you are if you had problems with punctuation and spelling? Not very, huh? The same applies here when you're making extreme claims. Even then, some people may choose to disagree.

So someone who does not spell right in a post means they are less educated than someone who can?
I was educated very well in maths,art & sports but my spelling and grammer is very bad!
Thats my point, It makes no differents if you can not spell, So long as you have a good point and members can understand it.
I think we all get high and mighty about grammer and at the end of the day it means nothing.

What matters is a view which members can agree with or disagree with.

You didn't read my later statement. When you post, you should take into consideration who is reading, and treat it like a job resume. If you apply to a job with bad spelling and punctuation, they're not going to hire you, just like here, they aren't going to take you as seriously. I don't care how smart someone is, if they can't time, it's a reflection of their overall intelect, and they obviously don't want to try to explain one damn thing to me.

I don't think people actually pay as much attention to points as you would think. Obviously, they are partly a measure of how long you've been active at ATS, and partly a measure of how dedicated you are to the forum. By this I mean, when I see someone has a lot of points, I can be pretty confident that they won't post a thread and just disappear, which sometimes happens with newcomers.

I've spent points to buy upload space, and to change the colors in my "mini-profile". The upload space I consider important, the colors are just for fun.

As others have said, what matters is quality of posting, not points. If you don't start a lot of threads, building up points may be slow. But if you respond thoughtfully to a lot of threads, other people in the forums you frequent will start to recognize you and give you just as much "respect" as someone with lots of points.

By respect I mean things like making sure to read all your posts when they see them in "recent posts", or putting thought into a response whether they're agreeing or disagreeing with you.

As for spelling and grammar, I'll say two things. One is that I have seldom seen people make fun of or pick on a post with really good content but poor spelling and grammar. The exception is when someone disagrees but has nothing to back up their opinion. I think people on ATS are mostly aware that not everyone here speaks English as a first language, and that people have different levels of eloquence.

But, if a post is clearly written very quickly, with little thought put to content, argument structure, or grammar and spelling, people often call out the poster on the grammar. Maybe this isn't fair, but it is frustrating to try to have a civil, thoughtful, discussion about an issue only to be interrupted by long-winded, poorly written, illogical rants.

What it all comes down to is: post thoughtfully and you will build points in time. Post thoughtfully and most people will be forgiving of minor grammatical and spelling errors. If you find you urgently need points, write a good TinWiki article or sign up for Twitter. And if someone attacks a well-thought-out post you've written because of your spelling, be comforted that it probably is a sign that your argument is solid.

Why are points so important to ATS members?

I guess my first response would be, why do you think they are? Just yesterday someone commented on the fact that I have over 20k points and used the fact to imply that if I spent less time on ATS I might have time to "improve my life." Until they said it, I hadn't really paid too much attention. Nor do I routinely look at how many points a member has unless it's someone I haven't seen a post from before, then I might glance at their points and registration date to see if they're new.

As far as spelling and grammar are concerned, they are simply distracting to many people when they are wrong. For example, the first thing I noticed when I read the title of your post was that it should say "Why ARE points..." and it took me a few seconds to get past that and actually consider the question.

It's like looking at a picture in which the grass is purple. It's hard to stop noticing that the grass is the wrong color long enough to admire the composition or or react to the subject of the picture. What's even worse than poor spelling and grammar is the "how r u 2day" stuff, but fortunately there isn't much of that on ATS because it's discouraged.

Also, consider this. If you're trying to give your opinion on whether or not bears toilet in the woods, your education and level of knowledge are probably not relevant to anyone or important. But if you're trying to present an opinion about a technical, scientific, unusual, or controversial topic, poor spelling and grammar may cause the person reading your post to think that you don't have sufficient knowledge or education to know what you're talking about. Perhaps that's not fair, but it does happen.

I think the majority of posters here willingly overlook minor mistakes in spelling and grammar, as long as we can understand what we are reading. Can't speak for anyone else, but if there are so many misspelled words and messed up grammar that I have to read the post out-loud several times to understand what they are trying to say I just skip the post and move on. For all I know I am missing something vital by doing that, but if I can't understand what is being said I find it hard to continue trying to decipher it. I have a very short attention span I think.

As for points, like everyone has said they aren't that big a deal. I only pay attention to my own when I am considering changing my profile background. And I only pay attention to someone else's points if they call attention to it, such as a post I replied to today, or maybe it was yesterday, where they asked why theirs were going down. Other than that I don't pay much attention to points and most others here don't either.

Edit for spelling.

[edit on 17-10-2008 by Jenna]

Originally posted by Heike if I spent less time on ATS I might have time to "improve my life."

That's a really good POINT... and I could get my housework done

Didn't we do this thread just a while ago though? Or did I do another time line shift?

My two cents...

On the points thing, I joke about my point total now. When I started posting, the lack of points (as well as of an avatar) seemed to identify me as someone new. I spent my points happily until I got my avatar and background up, but after that... they're meaningless to me. I get more pleasure out of a good thorough debate, someone U2Uing me to say they liked something I said, or the occasional applause from the mods. That's why I am here, to debate. I am not here to accumulate points.

They do serve an initial purpose though, and that is to keep people from flying in, using a ton of resources, and then leaving as quickly as they came. ATS is striving to build a community, and the point system means you have to want to be a part of it to become a part of it.

Now, as to the grammar: I'm really sorry to have top let you in on this, but you live on a planet with a whole bunch of other people who consider first impressions very important. I'm sure you are educated and adept in your field(s). But you should also realize that your post is all someone sees of you here. They don't hear your voice or see your face. They only see your words. Would you walk into work with your shirt unbuttoned or your pants on backward? No, because it would give an incorrect impression of yourself. Likewise, if you want to impress others on a message board, a quick spell-check and proofread before you hit the post button will work wonders.

That said, I personally make a lot of typos. In the posts I try to catch most of them, but ask anyone who frequents the chat just how bad my typing skills can get. So I tend to overlook minor typos and misspellings by others in the fervent hope they will overlook mine. and I do try to keep i mind that not everyone here speaks English as a primary language. But when the grammatical and spelling errors get too extreme, the message that was attempting to be conveyed gets lost. When that happens, the poster is ignored or misunderstood and accomplishes nothing. A quick spell-check and proofread isn't that large a price to pay for the chance to state your opinion clearly, is it?

TheRedneck

I dont care about points.

they dont matter to me so they must not matter all that much to allot of people.

You know, everybody wants to act all cool about this including myself.
So I'll be the first one to say out loud.
I am proud of how many points I have.
Shallow and insecure you say.
Fine.
I am still proud.
There, I said it.