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On the subject of art and expression I've always found that real genius is to know the rules first, then break them.
Speaking as a writer of fiction as well as innumerable forum posts (and reams of correspondence before that) -- yes, exactly.
How you choose to communicate colours how what you say will be interpreted. Consider how fictional characters speak: one is exacting and over-prissy; another is meticulously correct but not adverse to the occasional cuss word; a third is casual all around; a fourth is backwoodsy; a fifth is downright uneducated. This is conveyed to the reader not by describing how they speak, but rather by the reader "listening" to how they speak. And more than anything else, it builds the character in the reader's mind.
But to achieve a desired level of "incorrectness", you first need to know how "correct" works. And "incorrect" varies by dialect and culture. Hence "I ain't got any money" may be wrong, while "I ain't got no money" can be correct, in a given dialect. This is the sort of thing a good writer will use to show that a character is not really of the social class they claim to be, since they don't know how that class speaks.
It's no different when we read one another's words in these forums -- our impressions of one another, lacking other data, are derived solely from how we write, thus how well we communicate what we intended to say.
A person has every right to write poorly. I also have every right to stop reading. I personally can't stand posts that are riddled with spelling and grammar errors. A little misstep here and there isn't so bad, but when I see, "Your not rite, i am" I cringe a little inside.
A person has every right to write poorly. I also have every right to stop reading. I personally can't stand posts that are riddled with spelling and grammar errors. A little misstep here and there isn't so bad, but when I see, "Your not rite, i am" I cringe a little inside.
Especially because soon you get something like: "Your a moran."
A person has every right to write poorly. I also have every right to stop reading. I personally can't stand posts that are riddled with spelling and grammar errors. A little misstep here and there isn't so bad, but when I see, "Your not rite, i am" I cringe a little inside.
Some folks are just doing the best they know how. I'm okay with that, even if the results aren't so great. Not everyone has the benefit of a good education, and some folks have trouble absorbing or using it for one reason or another (like my good friend is who so dyslexic that his best effort would shame a 2nd grader), or maybe English wasn't their first language.
What aren't worth my time are the ones who are just sloppy or lazy, or are being irritating on purpose. As you say, I have the right to stop reading, too.
It's usually fairly clear which sort an error-raddled post is, if you've been doing this forum post thing for very long.
Last edited by Reziac; 11-08-2009 at 11:16 PM..
Reason: a pox on it ;)
"I'm afraid the test results are appositive. From what I've read, the brains and heart are in a hopeless epanalepsis. Their brains, my heart.
a bad case."
Oh, but like I said, in casual communication it can be totally forgivable. Except when someone's trying to make a point to be taken seriously. Then it's time 4 the writer 2 B using the grown-up voice. There are internet forums that actually ban text message-style writing. I really appreciate them. It's for courtesy, to ensure participants care about what's written, and read.
"I'm afraid the test results are appositive. From what I've read, the brains and heart are in a hopeless epanalepsis. Their brains, my heart.
a bad case."
I think we're going to need a new hospital; this one is full of words and the patients are falling out the windows.
Learned somethin' there... didn't realise each and every possible figure of speech had a name and definition!! (And if it doesn't someone will shortly make one up.)
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bunjee
Oh, but like I said, in casual communication it can be totally forgivable. Except when someone's trying to make a point to be taken seriously. Then it's time 4 the writer 2 B using the grown-up voice. There are internet forums that actually ban text message-style writing. I really appreciate them. It's for courtesy, to ensure participants care about what's written, and read.
That's an interesting point -- that the quality of writing should reflect the nature and character of the forum (used in the broadest sense). Is it a serious discussion, a flippant exchange, a casual wave of the hand, a shout across the distance??
It can indicate more than the writer's own skills, as is also reflects attitude and general mental posture -- frex, I've noticed that in a discussion over yonder regarding the Bill of Rights, those who seriously respect those rights write as professionally as possible, while those who think it's outdated claptrap respond haphazardly to say the least.
That's an interesting point -- that the quality of writing should reflect the nature and character of the forum (used in the broadest sense). Is it a serious discussion, a flippant exchange, a casual wave of the hand, a shout across the distance??
It should. If I had my own forum I'd simply ban on the spot anyone who used text-speak. No explanation, no nothing, just not wasting any time on them. When I was at a college football forum, a notorious hotbed for hotheadedness combined with semiliteracy, we got a constant flow of that sort of retardation. I eventually decided that the quality of the writing reflected the obnoxious, speak-first-think-some-other-day, my-team-rules-your-team-sux braying of the young male demographic that did most of the posting. And eventually I got tired of changing their diapers and left.
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