I frequently troll creative writing boards to correct people on their math. It amazes me how many English majors can't do basic arithmetic. That's a fundamental skill if you want to communicate effectively with a tech guy like me.

There's a time and place for everything. This is neither the right time nor right place for an English lesson, IMVHO.

I dislike poor grammar and incorrect spelling, even when it's my own mistakes. I really abhor "leet-speak," "sms-speak," and the other abbreviated forms of typing.

You're not the only one. The thing that has confused me no end is that Linux is generally CLI heavy. Typing a long, complex command requires that EVERY character be correctly entered (e.g.; ' is not the same thing as `). How can people who, one would think, are subject to such an unforgiving processing environment be so careless in their other forms of type written communication? Makes me wonder.

[QUOTE=dickgregory]
Some of my favorite things to hate:
[LIST]
[[*]to instead of too

I also find sloppy language use annoying, especially when I find it in something I have written! You may want to edit your first post and add an 'o' to the 'to' in your last sentence.

Heh, I'm amused by the number of people that can't spell "definitely" correctly.

definetely
definatly
definately
....

I think it's only been in the past 200 years or so that there's been a standardised spelling for English. Puraps weer revurtin tu thu times wen evriwun speld evrithin ow thay wantid, eh?

You know what I hate?
I hate when I'm speaking to someone in person, and they correct my language as if they feel like they are better than me for being more disciplined in their speech... as if they can't understand me unless I am perfect with my annunciation.
I tend to have a lot of trouble explaining exactly what I'm thinking, but most of the time you can easily understand what I'm trying to say.

Snobs, like the ones I described above, make me want to slap them in the face on the spot when they correct me.

I've never been criticized for my english on a forum before, but I suspect I'd have the same reaction. It's just rude, and more uncivilized than a misspelled word.

[QUOTE=cybergal]Yup, you caught me. I won't try to make excuses. I'd not be surprised if someone found even more mistakes. I'll edit that post but won't try to do a cover-up.

[QUOTE=dickgregory]I did try to send you an email but that is blocked in your profile and there doesn't seem to be an IM feature here at LQ.

But now...'Yup' YUP???? Ha, ha!

It's almost embarrassing to say that I've been speaking (and learning) English for more than 25 years. It started in middle school when I was 12. I moved to the U.S. when I was 22 and have been surrounded by English ever since. I'm still not good at all. I learn new things every day...

I'm with you on this one.

It can be really annoying, especially those who CAN spell well. People who use "cause" in texts are a good example. It won't be long before you see "lol" or "lmao" or whatever slang people are using.

I have to agree with you on this, but only partially.

Pre-1996 or so, I would get annoyed. I've been on-line since 1994, however, so I just needed a couple of years to get a thicker grammatical skin. I still notice errors the same as I used to, but if I let it bother me I would either go crazy or get rid of my computer.

That's not advice or a snide comment, mind you - it's just easier to live with it.

I'm guilty of intentionally mangling words or sentence structure for the sake of humor (I used "thunk" in the past day or so), but otherwise am also annoyed at those for whom spelling and grammar seem to have been skipped in school.

Sadly, I have met many people with advanced degrees who couldn't spell well enough to even qualify for a sixth grade spelling bee.

The ones who amuse the most are those who misspell something while correcting someone else's spelling mistakes.

My -

The written word is powerful - no doubt about that. However, for many reasons, how the words are written make the whole either more or less powerful. The spoken word is often no less powerful, but then again there are things that bug me here. Peruse this short list:

1. "Like" = "I think you should, like, do this."
2. "Know what I mean?" = Spoken in every other breath. No, I don't know what you mean. I'm not a mind reader.
3. "Me and him went to the mall." Oh, boy. Grammar takes a big hit.

There are others, of course. I write the same way I think and speak. In fact, due to certain medical issues, I write a lot better than I speak. I make a conscious effort to monitor how I speak: my vocabulary, my grammar, my tone of voice and pitch.

However, a lot of people don't. This one is serious: I witnessed a teenager, just graduated from high school, write out a letter to his grandmother using all kinds of hiphop slang and curses. I shouldn't be surprised - I saw much the same in my years in juvenile corrections.

People judge you on how you present yourself - physically, emotionally, verbally, and through actions. I wish that a lot of people would take pride these simple things.

Yes, there is a place for everything - slang included. However, don't take slang or some such into a school or courtroom or business. Anyone who does that just makes themselves look small and stupid, and makes it hard to communicate.

As native Dutch (a langiage that I nowadays speak about once a week), I'm battling with the bold one in the following sentence (which one is correct?):
I'm to busy on LQ to do other things or I'm too busy on LQ to do other things