In my opinion, one of the most dissapointing things about Computer-Mediated-Communication outlets is that there are always those individuals who instead of addressing the content of a discussion attempt to discredit a poster ad hominem by highlighting poor spelling or grammar. Take this post for instance from some random forum at (i just learned that " 'learn to spell' + forum" is a fun search) : http://www.girlslearntoride.com/forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=869&whichpage=2
"how old are you? edit: I'M confused and misdirected? how about learning how to spell, then you can propose a worthwhile argument."
In the 'real world,' grammar and vocabulary are used as metrics for education; this is why verbal reasoning figures so highly on standardized test such as the SAT, GRE, MCAT, and LSAT. But the fact of the matter is when people communicate online, be it on a BBS style forum or live chat, people are often in too much of a hurry to get their ideas out on the table that they simply don't care neough to significantly review their posts before tossing them out. Folks who have clumsy typing ability end up getting the ass end of the stick.
Personally, I could care less. Whether someone abbreviates the word whatver as "wtv," (maybe 1337 speak isn't quite as pertinent to this discussion), or just types so fast that tehir wodrs come out all jmubled, the content of their posts ought to be the focus of attention. Perhaps we ought to treat spelling variations and irregularities like accents expressed through ones fingers. I have friends who drawl and slur words together, and I myself am a fan of words that don't really exist in the english language like "howdy" and "ain't," but these types of speeking patterns don't pose a problem in day-to-day communication. Anyone who has ever transcribed a verbal interview knows that people often speak with awful grammar and throw sentence fragments around like confetti on new years. The double standard must end!
Forums are typically not homes to polished essays, and I posit that we should not expect them to be. Poor grammar is not indicative of an immature poster, just sloppy typing. Keep the ideas and arguments central people, lay off the spelling and grammar.
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2 comments:
I'm inclined to agree with you, but at the same time, in some instances it's just impolite to go onto a message board and say 'hii howr u i got qustn?????' (etc). If the regular users all take the time to post with decent grammar and spelling, it's a bit unreasonable for some newbie to come on and expect the same amount of respect from the community when they're not putting in the same amount of effort. I think bad typing is often an indication of spamming and trolling, too, which is another reason poor typists may be flamed or ignored.
Plus, even if you're not a spelling/grammar nazi, sometimes it's also just really hard to understand poor typists. It seems to me that if you're really interested in communicating with others online, you owe it to yourself (not just the online community) to take the time to learn to express yourself with some amount of coherence.
But I mean, Have a little pity for folks who spend SERIOUS time online. For instance, as I type this post, I back track and correct myself, but mainly just looking back a few words. Once I'm done, I may or may not look over the whole thing depending on how long it is.
Imagine someone who posts tons of forum comments a day. Should we hold a few rearranged letters against them?
I appreciate how poor spelling/grammar could be perceived as failure to reciprocate a certain degree of effort, but I think the problem is that for some people that degree of effort is simply unreasonable, and in general simply unnecessary.
If I mispell or display any other grammatical weaknesses, please don't take them personally. I'm looking at the keyboard about a third as much as I look at the screen.
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