Semi-literate people on the Internet

I try to spell correctly ,and most importantly I try to make sense about what I am posting. Even doing that I am sure I make mistakes.
 

I am not a typist. I am not in class. My keyboard is wonky. This is the internet. As long as I can make myself under stood I am happy. Funny thing, I am one off those who goes all off the wall when I am wound up. Usually I will catch the most grievous mistakes and edit them,but many is the time my mood has shown though.
 

Present company excluded,never mind spelling,some of the questions asked re Computers,I reckon half the population shouldn't even OWN one! :uncomfortableness:
 
debodun said:
On another message board I belong to, I am amazed at the bad spelling and atrocious grammar people use. Some posts don't make any sense (it's like trying to understand a Hippie spaced out on goofballs, sounding like a string of free association). One day I asked the members to post their favorite quotes having to do with cats. I got a lot of "Meows!" I wonder if they even know what a quote is.
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Debodun - I've been known to misspell or drop a word and not realize it until I've posted and then been quoted. At that point I can usually still fix my errors but the quotes stay as they were. Bummer. I agree that if folks are trying to put forth arguments for a particular position, their post lose persuasiveness if there are a lot of typos/grammar errors/etc. Also, if it's a long, long ramble, I skip it. But if I'm gently poking fun, then poor grammar, misspelled words, etc, are all just part of the game. And let's not get started on the "honour/honor' issues.

Mahalo.
 
I too belong to a couple of other boards, one is mostly older people, the other has a lot of young people. Sometimes the grammar and spelling are so poor I ask if English is their second language.
 
I can spell perfectly but I can't type, plus my laptop misses letters and moves things about. I try to correct them all but sometimes I just can't so many of my posts may seem to come from someone who is illiterate when actually I was a teacher for years before I changed my profession.
 
As a former teacher it would be easy for me to rail against bad spelling and grammar but although I can't help noticing it I let it pass.There are other forums I post on where we have people for whom English is a second language so allowances have to be made. And I know I've got sloppy at times since I stopped teaching. Such as starting sentences with 'and!'
 
re: poor writing online

debodun said:
I just wonder if it's people or the educational system which are dumbing down.
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Good morning to all- As a former teacher and now professional writer- professional in the sense of getting paid- sometimes and quite often very little- I am very particular about the mechanics of writing- for myself. I am not nearly as picky about others and their writing.
Please don't blame the schools for any individual's writing skills. No one ever learned to write from a classroom. Writing is a matter of sitting down and teaching oneself to write in the best way possible. Specific writing skills can be taught and learned, but writing comes from a good bit of sweat and concentration.
good day to all- Ed
 
Debodun, I agree 100%. While I don't mind seeing some of the new abbreviations and words I am sad at seeing the English language being butchered. I'm active on some boating forums where some very well off people post and it's amazing how many of them are semi-literate! I'm not the spelling police because anyone can misspell a word. But ...

your right i seen it before . :confused:
 
Ed Mashburn said:
Good morning to all- As a former teacher and now professional writer- professional in the sense of getting paid- sometimes and quite often very little- I am very particular about the mechanics of writing- for myself. I am not nearly as picky about others and their writing.
Please don't blame the schools for any individual's writing skills. No one ever learned to write from a classroom. Writing is a matter of sitting down and teaching oneself to write in the best way possible. Specific writing skills can be taught and learned, but writing comes from a good bit of sweat and concentration.
good day to all- Ed
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I concur. Even as a poet.
 
I's trys and I's trys ta rite weller. Jes comed back from spendin' tha weekend wid my daughter-in-law. She's been borned and razed in North Keroliner. Now, that thar girl ain't got no speakin' sim'lar to English!!!!!
 
Kids don't communicate with parents, today, except digitally. Likewise with parents to their kids. Couples are getting married having barely spoken, except digitally. Schools are doing away with cursive, since no one writes letters... or writes a check... or hand-writes a term paper. That digital environment is chock full of a new language that many of us are unfamiliar with. SHM, LOL, IMHO, OTOH, BFF, etc. Had our parents or grandparents tried to read a text, today, they would have suggested the writer had "no schoolin". Most all who do communicate digitally have significantly more education than those parents or grandparents. They just communicate differently.

Growing up and during our early adult life, communicating using proper English was important. We wanted to be assured the recipient plainly understood what we were attempting to communicate. As with the evolution of "Old English" to "American English", today our culture is evolving to "digital English". Keyboard errors are now excused. Misuse of words is excused. The world of communication is rapidly changing... and I DO NOT like it!!!!
 
Grumpy Ol' Man said:
Kids don't communicate with parents, today, except digitally. Likewise with parents to their kids. Couples are getting married having barely spoken, except digitally. Schools are doing away with cursive, since no one writes letters... or writes a check... or hand-writes a term paper. That digital environment is chock full of a new language that many of us are unfamiliar with. SHM, LOL, IMHO, OTOH, BFF, etc. Had our parents or grandparents tried to read a text, today, they would have suggested the writer had "no schoolin". Most all who do communicate digitally have significantly more education than those parents or grandparents. They just communicate differently.

Growing up and during our early adult life, communicating using proper English was important. We wanted to be assured the recipient plainly understood what we were attempting to communicate. As with the evolution of "Old English" to "American English", today our culture is evolving to "digital English". Keyboard errors are now excused. Misuse of words is excused. The world of communication is rapidly changing... and I DO NOT like it!!!!
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Why does anyone care about cursive writing?

Different doesn't imply bad.

You forgot to add, "you kids get off my lawn", Grumpy.
 
LOL...oh yeah girl, I remember you from the 'Haight'....banana in your hair and empty Kleen-X boxes for shoes! But, hell were you smart!!! You wouldn't give me a 'tumble' cuz of my wooden leg. :playful:
 
nvtribefan said:
Why does anyone care about cursive writing?

Different doesn't imply bad.

You forgot to add, "you kids get off my lawn", Grumpy.
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Well... Well, it is MY lawn!!! :>) The gist of my rant was that we ARE in a changing world and we need to adapt. If we don't we will be left behind. At 70, I'm still working full time. I MUST be computer literate and be able to handle digital communication or I might as well go home. That's not bad. That's where we are.

One of the greatest things we've seen in our lifetime is technology. Growing up, we couldn't make a long-distance phone call after 10 p.m. My Dad's letters to Mom from Europe in WWII took weeks or months to cross the ocean. As our son has been deployed overseas, we can visit via cell phone or e-mail. Doctors can direct surgeries from remote locations via internet. I walk with a titanium knee, go up and down ladders, play lots of golf, and have zero pain. We are truly blessed to have lived in such a great time!!

As to why I feel retaining of cursive is important? What happens when the power grid fails or the entire digital world goes down? Can't happen? Perhaps not. I would like our kids and grandkids to be able to communicate with pen and paper should that happen. What about the plethora of geriatrics who will be sharing our nursing homes with me sometime down the line. Many will have kept up with technology. Many will not have. To be able to write a note to Great Grandma... and have her able to read it. I just think we've had some etchings on stone or on paper for centuries. When it all goes digital, what is left when technology hits "Delete"?
 
"Different doesn't imply bad." Heck no....just because you're still taking orders from that other planet doesn't make you bad....:rolleyes:
 

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