Re: thread titles (insurance, education, medical)

[Towanda]

Lovehound, I fixed my link.

[Towanda]

Originally Posted by Lovehound

You might have better luck simply editing in corrections yourself as a moderator.

Yes, I might have better luck, but I am not inclined to give myself all that much work when people can be responsible for themselves. We are all adults here .... at least I think we are.

I am not asking for everyone to make their posts absolutely correct, though it would be nice.

What I am asking is that members take care with thread titles to make the meaning understandable and for proper names to be capitalized.

[Sparkey]

May I echo the thoughts of ALL the posters before me.

Early on in the brave, new world of electronic communication I was LOL'd and to near distraction by younger coworkers and mass emailings from online 'friends.'

Two thoughts have helped me lighten-up considerably .

The first priority is the desire of the poster to communicate. The second is, oh shoot....hmmm....it's....ahhh, oh yeah, that everyone with a keyboard is not schooled in professional, technical, or literary writing. Sometimes the colliquialisms can be quite endearing.

My very best favorite for life dictionary is currently Merrian-Webster online. A neat feature is the red speaker icon that gives an audio pronunciation of words (I know, I know, what a word nerd.)

When I really want to make sure I understand a poster using non-standard English, this gentle method is employed:

EXAMPLE

POSTER: whazzup dawg datdam teecher was dissen myazz cuz i use colliquialisms str8t up tole da beotch i wuz drugfree

SPARKEY: Is colliquialisms the same as this colloquialism ?

I hope that introduction to the dictionary reached all the kids who flirted and passed notes during English class. I do have some reservations that those individuals will make it this far into this conversation.

Question to Lovehound~

I do agree there is just one internet. Should it be capitalized?

Hmmmm, on the Earth, there is just one water. The largest singular noun most will ever encounter. Should we call water....Water?

Should you need to, in any way, alter my spelling, punctuation, grammar, or syntax; I appreciate your diligence and consider it a favor.

[WasSoggyInSeattle]

I think a lot of people, (and I do too) see the I(i)nternet as an informal arena in which to talk to people. If I am in a more professional setting my writing improves greatly. Here, for me, it should be more relaxed, more free - people shouldn't have to worry about making sure they do not have comma splices and run on sentences.

I know, I know - it DOES make it easier to read, comprehend, etc. Someone mentioned speed - that's true too, I think. I know I get funmble fingered the faster I type.

I don't disagree with the posts above but do think there should be some slack cut as this should be more relaxed, welcoming atmosphere - not an English class.

As for the education level - just because they do not write or speak "proper" English does not mean they are uneducated. My Dad can't spell to save his life and I'm sure he isn't much better with punctuation but there is pretty much nothing he cannot build or a math problem he cannot figure out. Don't judge on writing skills alone. And I can't do math worth a darn either...

[Towanda]

Let me try to make this point one more time ....

The reason for this thread was not to berate and lecture posters and ask that posts be grammatically correct, spelling perfect, etc. I never once said or suggested that this forum should be treated like an English class. I certainly never said a person was not educated if they can't spell.

The reason I posted this thread was to ask members to take care in posting thread titles so that the topics make sense to someone scanning the list ... and that proper names be capitalized. I just don't know how much clearer to say it.

[Sparkey]

Towanda ~

I totally agree with you regarding the thread titles, they should be concise with capitalization of proper nouns.

I enjoy this forum, you are doing a great job as the oderator.

[Lovehound]

This whole thread wearies me.

"When I am out in public why can't I be lazy and relaxed and stupid?"

Do you realize how stupid that sounds? Suit yourselves. I'll continue to strive for near perfect English. I'll continue to blow off threads with stupid titles like "need help." I'll continue to blow off posts with no capitals or other egregious grammatical errors.

You lazy ungrammatical people can communicate amongst yourselves without my participation being necessary or desired. Stupid is as stupid does.

[WasSoggyInSeattle]

Ahhh, Lovehound, can't we all just get along? :-) No offense meant to anyone - just stating an opinion as was everyone else.

And I said I agreed with all of the above...mostly. I do think more precise thread titles would be best...

I'll try to do my part Towanda!!! :-)

[truckzter]

Originally Posted by Lovehound

I think it's either one of two things: either people are too lazy to use good English or they simply do not have the necessary skills and are writing the only way they know, writing poorly.

Lovehound,

I like what you write in this post, but I'm not entirely sure if I wholeheartedly agree. I have my BA and MA in English (and I'm going for my PhD in the Fall), but I don't think online forums = academic audience. Sure, people make assumptions based on strangers' writings ... it's about credibility/image/etc. I think, right? Because ethos has been beat into my head I do make sure my posts are *beautiful* ... but I also like writing casually and using dude for emphasis.

My other thought is that some people don't care or some people are typing so fast their hands can't keep up with their brains and errors happen.

I guess if online forums are equal to academic writing, then, yes, people should keep their laziness to a minimum.

Where do we draw the line? Do I need to make sure I don't misspell when I post on Facebook? Does that impede my credibility? Or is CD classier?

I haven't decided.

But as a caveat: It drives me crazy when people post and their grammatical errors impede the purpose of their posts. I'm more inclined to respond to a post that has been edited (to me, editing shows some thought for the audience).

[yukon]

I don't mind either way on a forum like CD, My Space, etc. (although I do wish people would learn that paragraphs and periods are their friends!). I'm guilty of being lazy myself at times when posting

However, lately I've been seeing job postings on craigslist with multiple grammar and spelling issues. These are postings BY the EMPLOYER, looking for an employee. I have to wonder when I see an ad like that - if they can't spell, how good will they be at calculating my paycheck?