Misspelling, syntax, punctuation, etc. on MP.com

This post violated Rule #1. It has been removed by Mountain Project.

And another thread dragged down to the level of Turds and BS!

On a somewhat related note, this was in the news today:

[Start quote]

English Profanity Earns Place in Standard German Dictionary

BERLIN — The English profanity "shitstorm" is so widely used by Germans, including Chancellor Angela Merkel, that the country's most prestigious dictionary has included it in its latest edition.

"Over the last few years, 'shitstorm' has entered everyday usage so that's why it now appears in the new printed edition of the dictionary," said Nicole Weiffen, head of communications at Duden, which publishes Germany's standard dictionary.

See nytimes.com/reuters/2013/07…

[End quote]

This is a nice illustration of how language is continually evolving, and why I don't think it makes sense to get worked up about unconventional usage in a internet forum.

It's also surprising to see how many people equate good writing with spelling and punctuation. Attention to spelling and punctuation doesn't hurt (why place mental hurdles in front of your reader?), but far more important is having something cogent and coherent to say, and expressing yourself clearly and concisely. That's not as easy as it might sound, and it requires a lot more work than just turning on a spell-checker.

Ben Hicks wrote:And another thread dragged down to the level of Turds and BS!

I know! Its a shame Turd has to get worked up and cant just learn to ignore my posts :)

writing is self-expression and rigid grammar is restrictive

Just remember the lesson of Nuwanda:

"If the poem's score for perfection is plotted along the horizontal of a graph, and its importance is plotted on the vertical, then calculating the total area of the poem yields the measure of its greatness."

If spelling things correctly makes you feel so good and better than thou, just think how being able to climb and spell would make you feel.

Vigorous writing is concise. A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the same reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts. - William Strunk, Jr.

A helpful quote I've lived by in my writings. It can be applied to grammar, as well.

Brevity.

Personally, when I write on forums, I don't pay close attention to grammar. I make sure the ability to understand my opinion is not muddled by too many careless grammar mistakes, and then I reply. I'm not sure "laziness" defines my writing on forums; perhaps, "casual" is a better choice. Sometimes, even those who understand the basic elements of style do not use them while writing in forums. This is not because it is too difficult for the author to articulate style in his fluent writing, or that it is simply unnatural, but more the author just doesn't feel obligated to do so. Pure negligence of spelling and grammar, however, can be quite an annoyance; especially, when a post is near illegible.
I guess well (oops) all have to accept the fact that (ruh-roh) everyone is different. And (damn it!) while we all would like to understand why some people write so fucking poorly, we will just never know.
Lets go climb, yea?

...and if your phone sucks!

I received this from my friend Brent Bingham this morning. I think it loosely applies without drifting too far from the subject.
From Dan Simmons 1989 sci/fi classic Hyperion set 800 years in the future. Six tales (Priest/Soldier/Poet/Scholar/Detective/Consul) within a larger one. This is from the Poet's tale:

"The twentieth century's most honored writer, William Gass, once said in an interview: "Words are the supreme objects. They are minded things."

And so they are. As pure and transcendent as any Idea which ever cast a shadow into Plato's dark cave of our perceptions. But they are also pitfalls of deceit and misperception. Words bend out thinking to infinite paths of self-delusion, and the fact that we spend most of our mental lives in brain mansions built of words means that we lack for objectivity necessary to see the terrible distortion of reality which language brings. Example: the Chinese pictogram for "honesty" is a two part symbol of a man literally standing next to his word. So far, so good. But what does the Late English word "integrity" mean? Or "Motherland"? Or "progress"? Or "democracy"? Or "beauty"? But even in our self-deception, we become gods.

A philosopher/mathematician named Betrand Russell who lived and died in the same century as Gass once wrote: "Language serves not only to express thought but to make possible thoughts which could not exist without it." Here is the essence of mankind's creative genius: not the edifices of civilization nor the bang-flash weapons which can end it, but the words which fertilize new concepts like spermatozoa attacking an ovum. It might be argued that the Siamese-twin infants of word/idea are the only contribution the human species can, will, or should make to the raveling cosmos. (Yes, our DNA is unique but so is a salamander's. Yes we construct artifacts but so have species ranging from beavers to the architect ants whose crenellated towers are visible right now off the port bow. Yes we weave real-fabric things from the dreamstuff of mathematics, but the universe is hardwired with arithmetic. Scratch a circle and pi peeps out. Enter a new solar system and Tycho Brahe's formulae lie waiting under the black velvet cloak of space/time. But where has the universe hidden a word under its outer layer of biology, geometry, or insensate rock?)

ChaseLeoncini wrote:Vigorous writing is concise. A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the same reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts. - William Strunk, Jr. A helpful quote I've lived by in my writings. It can be applied to grammar, as well. Brevity.

Be careful with Strunk and White. While their little screed on grammar does have some good advice (particularly the brevity bit), it's also full of bullshit, from the point of view of a linguist. Look for one of the many linguistic take downs of that book, if you don't believe me.

For me, the most important thing to remember is that there is a person on the other end of the writing. No matter how bad it is, you're putting down a human being if you aren't careful with any potential criticism.

Yes, some posts are hard to understand. But being a decent human being requires that you be circumspect about putting the writer down.

asterisks...* ** what's up with them,,,what do they stand for? How do you use or misuse them here?

@Timothy
Right there with you.

s.price wrote: Your phone is not the problem.

yes it is.

s.price wrote: Your phone is not the problem.

craghead wrote: yes it is.

To paraphrase boissal (**supercomma?**) somebody's teeth are going to make a fine necklace!

ye all these women here ...I feel like I am the farmers market, getting their panties up in a bunch over the latest price of meat!

craghead wrote:ye all these women here ...I feel like I am the farmers market, getting their panties up in a bunch over the latest price of meat!

Yeah you are definitely not a piece of meat. The one picture you posted of yourself on here you looked like the actual definition of a troll. Hideous.

Back to the village with ye!

...If we were minions, we'd be purple. Blaughhghhhh Ppptttttt!!!!

In all seriousnessnessness, you really should think about (and re-read) what you write @craghead.

Strunk and White is useful for sure. Personally, I also like Karen Elizabeth Gorden's equally brilliant gems when it comes to good English usage. Those, plus a good dictionary, should do the job.

Richard M. Wright wrote:Strunk and White is useful for sure. Personally, I also like Karen Elizabeth Gorden's equally brilliant gems when it comes to good English usage. Those, plus a good dictionary, should do the job.

Or maybe not, since your original post contains two grammatical errors and an error in usage. In addition, your title doesn't make much sense; I get that you don't like misspellings but I don't know why you are peeved about posts containing syntax and punctuation. It also contains a punctuation error (etc. is an abbreviation and requires a period).