Poorly Constructed Posts

Ok, You can say I am just a complainer or whatever but I thought in the TOC you must post thoughtful, well constructed post/threads?? It really bothers me when I see posts that are interesting but the spelling, grammar, capitalization and punctuation are poor.

I personally know I am horrible with all four listed above, but when I make a post/thread I always type it in a Word document or email message that I can spell check before I am finished. It doesn’t take more than two seconds to copy and paste what I just typed in to ATS.. I wouldn’t expect someone to read my posts if they weren’t well constructed, because frankly it gets difficult to follow. Im not trying to be a the “spelling, grammar, capitalization and punctuation police” I would just like to read more threads that are posted but cant because people don’t take the time to construct it well.

I guess my point is: If you want people to read your posts construct it well, pretend your handing this post into a professor or something. Take pride in what you post!!!!


- Brit (:

reply to post by Britx


I have noticed some posters in ATS do not use English as their first language, also, English is not uniform across English speaking countries. For example, as someone from the UK, I would spell colour this way, yet would appear incorrect to somone that's been taught to spell it as color. Even common usage of words can also be taken wrongly between English speaking countries. For example, in the UK having a fag has a completly different meaning in the US. Just my thoughts.

reply to post by Britx


[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/4d75a50e23af.jpg[/atsimg]

There are a lot of posters on this site for whom English is not their primary language. It enhances the ATS experiance being able to communicate with people from all over the world and they should not be criticized if they make a few spelling and grammar mistakes.

Nowhere in the T&Cs of ATS does it say that every post has to be written with proper English grammar. A person does not need to have a perfect grasp of the English language in order to impart some important piece of information or their opinion on a subject.

To me a poorly constructed post is one in which only a link to a story of video is presented and the poster doesn't take the time to explain why they think the story or vid is important or what they think about what they have posted.

Unfortunately, too many of those two line, drive by threads get tons of attention and go on forever while well written and researched threads get lost in the shuffle (probably because someone was offended because they misspelled a word ).

reply to post by Britx

I would just like to read more threads that are posted but cant because people don’t take the time to construct it well.

can't

cannot; is unable to; does not have the ability to

Your spellchecker is off.....

Peace

reply to post by Britx


I must admit I have never done what you do - copy and paste. Maybe I should look into it, but it's always live here!

CJ

Thing to remember is -

Everyone starts from a different place. True, not all are native English speakers, although it's my observational experience that some of the non-native speakers are among the most eloquent.

Not everyone is along the same educational level. We've got 12 year olds and up, and some of the "up" aren't the most polished. I've seen more than one person credit their participation here as contributing to their writing and conversational skills.

Yes, we get some minimalist threads that don't deserve participation. The best thing to do is, not participate in them. The staff tries to let the membership dictate what's worthwhile by allowing those threads to sink or swim on their own merits, or lack thereof. Sometimes that works, sometimes not.

reply to post by Britx


As a dyslexic I cannot help but find posts like this offensive, they common on most internet boards and it does get annoying. So long as you can read a thread then the spelling should not matter it is the content that matters. I always spell check my posts but that is not full proof, and you can probably find a mistake is all of my threads and posts.

Poor spelling and grammar is not a sign of a lack of intelligence, I have found the opposite is usually true, I know when I am winning a online argument when someone starts to go on about my spelling.

This should be a non-issue

Originally posted by Britx
Ok, You can say I am just a complainer or whatever but I thought in the TOC you must post thoughtful, well constructed post/threads?? It really bothers me when I see posts that are interesting but the spelling, grammar, capitalization and punctuation are poor.

I personally know I am horrible with all four listed above, but when I make a post/thread I always type it in a Word document or email message that I can spell check before I am finished. It doesn’t take more than two seconds to copy and paste what I just typed in to ATS.. I wouldn’t expect someone to read my posts if they weren’t well constructed, because frankly it gets difficult to follow. Im not trying to be a the “spelling, grammar, capitalization and punctuation police” I would just like to read more threads that are posted but cant because people don’t take the time to construct it well.

I guess my point is: If you want people to read your posts construct it well, pretend your handing this post into a professor or something. Take pride in what you post!!!!


- Brit (:

It's a shame you haven't learnt about paragraphs

reply to post by Death_Kron


Foggy went a 'courtin' and he did ride! Um hum! Um Hum! DK CHeck this mofo out:

Learned

CJ

Dont you just hate the granma police,

There is no secound line.

Originally posted by TVeducated
Dont you just hate the granma police,

There is no secound line.

Yeah, I only quoted it.

CJ

Seriously, I don't think you should be criticizing others when your main post is completely constructed wrong. If I had a red pencil your post would be the color of blood.

People in glass houses should not throw stones.

Originally posted by ColoradoJens
reply to post by Death_Kron

 

Foggy went a 'courtin' and he did ride! Um hum! Um Hum! DK CHeck this mofo out:

Learned

CJ

edit on 12-8-2011 by ColoradoJens because: (no reason given)

Try this

learnt past participle, past tense of learn (Verb) 1. Gain or acquire knowledge of or skill in (something) by study, experience, or being taught. 2. Commit to memory. More » Dictionary.com - Answers.com - Merriam-Webster - The Free Dictionary

You might find this LINK interesting...

Originally posted by Death_Kron

Originally posted by ColoradoJens
reply to post by Death_Kron

 

Foggy went a 'courtin' and he did ride! Um hum! Um Hum! DK CHeck this mofo out:

Learned

CJ

edit on 12-8-2011 by ColoradoJens because: (no reason given)

Try this

learnt past participle, past tense of learn (Verb) 1. Gain or acquire knowledge of or skill in (something) by study, experience, or being taught. 2. Commit to memory. More » Dictionary.com - Answers.com - Merriam-Webster - The Free Dictionary

Perhaps I may be eating frog paste tonight. I had no idea it was good to go...thanks on that and lol I can start throwing learnt around!!!

CJ

reply to post by Britx


i've noticed repeatedly the built-in spellcheck on ATS to be misleading. this may account for a few of the errors that we read from time to time.

on the big picture, spelling and grammar on the internet is often lacking. as many other posters have pointed out, english as a second or third language may often be the culprit.

i think what really matters is if the OP or responder is able to get the essence of their point across. communication is difficult IMHO; even more so when speaking to someone face to face.

reply to post by Britx


There's probably enough fear and anxiety posted here without the average Joe having to worry about their spelling and grammar content meeting everyone's satisfaction. The abilities and learning capacities of everyone are processes in constant evolution. I would think congratulations on their efforts would be more conducive to productive postings as that would encourage their progress rather than have it inhibited by bellyacheing minorities.

I'd rather be focussed on the person's idea behind the words than the delivery of the words for what you see as a distraction I see as a genuine and direct attempt of expression. I wouldn't be surprised if many people find your complaints offensive simply because this isn't a classroom. If you can't read it, then read past it or just pass by it. Simple !

reply to post by Britx


I admit that I enjoy reading well written posts. Having said that, it is not difficult to understand that many people who do post are not secretaries and perhaps do not type 110 wpm with 99.9 percent accuracy. Some folks simply do not spend that much time typing. A mechanic may have brilliant technological ideas and the ability to support those ideas with sound applied experience yet lack the ability to articulate precisely how these ideas may work to anyone not of that particular background.

Others are pressed for time and simply write a post off the cuff. There are also typos to consider and I have found as an avid reader there is no shortage of those even in print. Most of these have the advantage of editors. Rather than picking over posts that seem less than perfect perhaps we could use this as an opportunity to be more forgiving of little mistakes and more tolerant of posters who may struggle a bit more than others. I find they contribute nonetheless with interesting ideas, opinions and information.

Originally posted by ColoradoJens

Perhaps I may be eating frog paste tonight. I had no idea it was good to go...thanks on that and lol I can start throwing learnt around!!!

CJ

Badda bing, badda boom!

No problems dude