grammar vs. opinions

[Emma Nordmeyer]

when i made a few comments on the thread here about drugs, some of my comments had grammatical and spelling errors (mostly typos), which had unintentionally started a thread on which matters more in forums(or even communication in general?): spelling and grammar or opinion?
personally, i believe spelling and grammar is necessary for a person to be understood, but when you get down to it, isn't your opinion that counts? the point of responding to such threads is to voice your opinion in a way that convinces others, so that you come across as a smart individual who is capable of forming a well-thought out opinion, right? to be honest, i'm a bit confused myself on which matters more.

[Sara NoH]

I am able to decipher this supposedly cryptic language that sabelmouse speaks, why can't you? Further, why can't you just say something like "Reading that, it seems like maybe you're saying ________. Is that what you meant, or am I wrong?"

[Rachel Spiegelman]

Of course you can. However, that requires far more time and effort as opposed to everyone just proofreading before they hit edit. Having to decipher poor grammar and spelling every time you get on a forum becomes incredibly frustrating.

[Sara NoH]

Maybe that's just my secret talent.... It's not all that hard for me.

[sabelmouse]

i don't find it that hard reading slightly muddled and misspelled and not properly capitalised comments, and i am not a native english speaker.

i myself often loose all ability to type if i am emotionally involved, that's on top of all the normal difficulties i have with typing.

maybe as english is not my first language and having assisted my trilingual [ at the time ] children to learn to read, including one dyslexic child, i have more sympathy for people who are not perfect spellers, are not that comfortable with the english language, have a different way of thinking, as i do, i think in pictures, have a physical handicap, as i do ectr ectr.

empathy is a nice thing.

[Michelle]

Sorry if I ever came across as harsh in my other posts. Obviously, I sympathize with people who know English as a second language, or people who have disabilities such as dyslexia. I think all us Grammar Nazis are trying to say is that it's easier to understand and appreciate an opinion if abundant grammar and spelling errors aren't in the way.

[sabelmouse]

i don't think you came across as harsh.

i get what you are saying about easier to understand. i myself appreciate good english, german or any other language.

i do also appreciate dialects, slang and playing around with language.

i know keeping to one kind and one set of rules makes it easier to comunicate, i just don't like it when peple act as if those rules are laws of nature when they are wo/man made and usually, at least to some degree forced on us by either a ruling class or academia.

i have due to my own experience and my children's an appriciation of how those rules can be used to bully, hurt and depriciate people with different talents and approaches to language.

[Marmaduke The Belittler]

yeah, understanding sabelmouse is really freakin easy.

[Madi]

Sometimes, especially when sabelmouse first logged on here (she's a lot better about it now, or I'm better at understanding it), her posts were almost impossible for me to figure out. I was never very good at those word jumbles that they make you do in school and I am god-awful at word searches. When it was almost winter break, and my teacher decided to play the game "find all the words you can in the word CHRISTMAS", I'd write CHRIST, then MAST, and then be done for the day. So, I'm not good at all at figuring out what's supposed to be there from what is. It's safe to assume that you're a lot better at it then me.

Then, sabelmouse would use the "if you're smart, you'd be able to figure out" excuse (which is basically the argument you're using right now, Sara NOH), which is just insulting because, as I said, sometimes I just CAN'T figure out, even though a genuinely try.

[Rachel Spiegelman]

The whole "you could figure it out if you were smart" thing bothers me a great deal. Don't put others down simply because you can't be bothered to proofread. If you don't want to at least attempt proper grammar and present yourself intelligently, don't insult those who do use proper grammar and can't understand you.

[sabelmouse]

if you are very good at english then your ability to decipher should be enhanced.

[Sara NoH]

Sorry, I didn't realize I came across as elitist. That wasn't the intention.

People say things so they're heard (read). It's insulting to dismiss all of what was said over a misspelled word or an awkward sentence. Most of the time, the writer/speaker isn't aware there's a communication problem. I'm just asking you to point it out to them in a respectful manner. If you put in the effort to ask for clarification, then they can put in the effort to make it clearer.

[sabelmouse]

madi
so what you are saying is that people ought to take your disability into account, but you don't want to have to take their's into account.

i used the " if you're smart" argument because you came across as agressive and downputting and i found many of your comments at the time muddled and hard to read.

maybe you get worse if you get emotional too.

i am getting better because i am getting more used to typing, even though it is still painfull, and my son has left home, so there is more quiet and peace for me to concentrate which i have a very hard time with.

i am perfectly happy to accept people as not perfect.

let's have a truce and stop fighting.