Grammar Nazi's: How do you feel about them?

whirlpool

The second poll option above should say "are" not "and."

Do you think that grammar nazi's on the internet are, in fact, a good thing?

Do you think that but would never admit it?

Or are they just entirely useless?

Surely pointing out poor grammar and correcting it is something that contributes to the general improvement of grammar online.

Or... grammar nazi's are pr*cks who should continue to STFU.

Which side are you on?

4zn76tysfajdxp

I think they're grossly sad.

DarkJager

whirlpool wrote: »

Do you think that grammar nazi's on the internet are, in fact, a good thing?

Do you think that but would never admit it?

Or are they just entirely useless?

Surely pointing out poor grammar and correcting it is something that contributes to the general improvement of grammar online.

Or... grammar nazi's are pr*cks who should continue to STFU.

Which side are you on?

Sad bastards who try to display their intellect by pointing out spelling or grammar mistakes. Patethic *****.

Dr. Kenneth Noisewater

Actually, it should be Nazis not Nazi's

ananas

I feel strongly about them.

Jen Pigs Fly

Marcel Unkempt Stoicism wrote: »

I think they're grossly sad.

I agree 100%

whirlpool

deccurley wrote: »

Actually, it should be Nazis not Nazi's

It can actually be either.

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar

you all say that but there's still a sitewide ban on txtspk i'd imagine you're all keen to see in place

Mr Benevolent

Grammar Nazi's? Whatre they?

in before "you only need the first and last letter of each word..."

A Primal Nut

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar wrote: »

you all say that but there's still a sitewide ban on txtspk i'd imagine you're all keen to see in place

This is a difference between intentionally using textspeak and making typos, something nearly everyone makes now and again, but grammar nazis insist on pointing them out anyway.

The funny thing is, grammar nazis don't seem to exist in real life. People accept slang, local phrases and grammar all the time - I don't know anyone who speaks in perfect grammar all the time. Then they come online and point out every little thing because they think they are clever.

DarkJager

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar wrote: »

you all say that but there's still a sitewide ban on txtspk i'd imagine you're all keen to see in place

Txtspk is indefenceable, however correcting minor spelling or grammar mistakes in normal conversation is just ****ing sad beyond belief.

Dudess

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar wrote: »

you all say that but there's still a sitewide ban on txtspk i'd imagine you're all keen to see in place

Textspeak isn't the same as incorrect grammar/spelling/punctuation.

Washington Irving

DarkJager wrote: »

Sad bastards who try to display their intellect by pointing out spelling or grammar mistakes. Patethic *****.

*Pathetic

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar wrote: »

you all say that but there's still a sitewide ban on txtspk i'd imagine you're all keen to see in place

*You

Confab wrote: »

Grammar Nazi's? Whatre they?

*What are

bluewolf wrote: »

in before "you only need the first and last letter of each word..."

*In

DarkJager wrote: »

Txtspk is indefenceable, however correcting minor spelling or grammar mistakes in normal conversation is just ****ing sad beyond belief.

*Indefensible

fricatus

Pulling people up on grammar and spelling mistakes on a discussion forum is pretty bad form - who cares about a bit of a misspelling?

However those who go through life thinking they can just ignore spelling and grammar rules because they're somehow "expressing their individuality" or because "it doesn't matter" need to cop on to themselves for their own sake.

Where I work, I've seen CVs handed in that haven't even been spell-checked, and I've seen proposals for work that contain all sorts of basic punctuation and grammar errors. If you can't get such details right, then what does it say about your attention to other important details that we're paying you for? Typically we just bin those, because the impression is one of laziness and carelessness.

The King of Moo

Using grammar well and being dismayed by basic mistakes: good.

Using grammar well and being dismayed by basic mistakes, and then pointing out those mistakes to the people making them, when their meaning is clear: d*ckishness.

Pointing out to someone communicating directly with you whose post is illegible, almost illegible, overly ambiguous, or contrary to the person's intended meaning: something that shouldn't be necessary with adults without learning difficulties writing in their native language, but is unfortunately necessary at times.

Colmo52

Marcel Unkempt Stoicism wrote: »

I think they're grossly sad.

I think your grossly sad.

Saul-Goode9

Saul-Goode9 wrote: »

*In

i'm an ee cummings fan

KeithM89_old

deccurley wrote: »

Actually, it should be Nazis not Nazi's

Yeah youre still getting infracted if youre gonna be a grammar nazi here.

whirlpool

How I feel now after starting this thread: http://cdn.fd.uproxx.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/Oprahs-Bees.gif

4zn76tysfajdxp

Colmo52 wrote: »

I think your grossly sad.

You're.

mackg

I get that poor grammar annoys some people but pointing out mistakes on thread is just as annoying. What's even worse is when someone attempts to use the presence of a typo to completely undermine an argument.

Colmo52

Marcel Unkempt Stoicism wrote: »

You're.

That was my point.

Princess Consuela Bananahammock

Depends on how readable the post is. To me, expecting people to take your point seriously when you can't write basic English is like expecting me to takle you seriosuly in public when you haven't bother to change out of your pyjamas before you left the house.

Not to be confused with the occasional misplaced coma, spelling error or typo.

southcentralts

Would proper grammar and correct spelling somehow make the point being made somehow more or less correct? No.

Pointing out a grammatical or spelling error without speaking to the concept's expressed in the post is just a way of illustrating your inferiority, not superiority.

Mispealiong.

GLaDOS

This thread is like one of those insect zapping yokes, but for pedantic people.

Chuck Stone

Their idiots them grammer natzi's.

mcmoustache

Spelling mistakes and typos are inevitable and don't bother me. Bad grammar, on the other hand can change the meaning of a sentence and poor punctuation can cause pandas to go on shooting sprees.

Whenever I see posts with there/they're/their or lose/loose consistently misused, I end up thinking that this person is a bit of an idiot or that they had 14 years of a bad teacher. Whatever the reasons people have for getting these things wrong, they're remarkably easy to get right.

As for whether or not being a nazi about it can be helpful, I'm not so sure. Some people reach a point in their lives where they just don't want to learn anymore so correcting them is pointless. Personally, if I was consistently getting some grammar construct mixed up, I'd like to be informed so that I don't end up looking like a fool when writing something important like a cv.

Snowie

They annoy me!

Why because there so stuck in there ooooooo I know the english lingo back to front and sh1t.... It's so impressive... Yet

They generally lack any degree of foresight, to even ponder oooo this person could have a spelling problems and feel its perfectly ok to put some one down over something so silly....

In my opinion being intellectual doesn't mean your intelligent because if they we're intelligent they'd have for sight to realize that were not all perfect at spelling...

But in away they do serve there use to society... Spell checking stuff for me which is kinda cool :cool:

Dr. Kenneth Noisewater

KeithM89 wrote: »

Yeah youre still getting infracted if youre gonna be a grammar nazi here.

MUST.........RESIST.......URGE.......

Itwasntme.

In defense of Grammar Nazis: I feel very strongly about proper spelling and grammar, so I understand how some people may feel compelled to correct everyone. Typos are alright but when it's a result of carelessness, it drives me crazy. While I refrain from calling people out on their mistakes (most of the time), I doubt I could ever find a man who doesn't punctuate properly or edit, attractive (unless of course one genuinely doesn't know the proper spelling/punctuation or is dyslexic and cannot help it).

The King of Moo

southcentralts wrote: »

Would proper grammar and correct spelling somehow make the point being made somehow more or less correct? No.

Pointing out a grammatical or spelling error without speaking to the concept's expressed in the post is just a way of illustrating your inferiority, not superiority.

Mispealiong.

I'd agree generally with that, but there are a small number of occasions when a person's spelling and grammar mistakes make their point unclear, or even make it look like they have a completely contradictory point to their intended one.

I think on such occasions - which are in a minority, but still worryingly common - it's necessary to correct the person writing, or else suggest they rewrite the post to make it easier to understand.

Ghandee

Grammar Nazis.



You gotta give it to them,

They know their shít...........


Or is that, they know they're shít

whirlpool

The pro-grammar nazi option is currently winning.

Yet almost all of the comments are from the anti-grammar nazi people.

St.Spodo

The practice of grammar nazism gets a disproportionate amount of attention. It's not as commonplace as some people would have you believe.

whirlpool

St.Spodo wrote: »

The practice of grammar nazism gets a disproportionate amount of attention. It's not as commonplace as some people would have you believe.

Well, considering it's banned........

St.Spodo

whirlpool wrote: »

Well, considering it's banned........

I mean on the 'net in general.

languagenerd

I only correct someone's grammar/spelling online if the mistake completely changed the meaning of their sentence. (Though I usually leave "I'm asking you to bare with me" - when they mean "bear" - alone, because it amuses me greatly :pac:).

I hate when someone's only contribution to a thread is to correct a poster's grammar, especially with a ":rolleyes:" face. In that case, I would happily correct any grammar error in their post :P

I don't like txtspk though, and I really hate bad typos in newspapers - you're being paid to write, do it properly!

frozenfrozen

I hate people who correct me for spelling things correctly. On facebook I sometimes come across a person who will say something to the effect of "man why u talk with full words all de time" and I have no choice but to either kill them or block them. My English teacher in school gets mad when anyone points out a grammatical error to him, and he always insists it's because he's trying to write quickly. There's a definite line between trying to help people spell things correctly and being a pr*ck about it but really, either way, just start caring more about what you write, and if it's a typo, then it's just a typo, no big deal.

Scruffles

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar wrote: »

you all say that but there's still a sitewide ban on txtspk i'd imagine you're all keen to see in place

grammar nazis tend to point out spelling/language/grammar mistakes as opposed to txt speak,as someone who has a lot of difficulties in this area that a spelling checker cannott help with it is pathetic when people take it upon themselves like authority to belittle people publicaly for their writing.
they have not the faintest idea why the person writes like they do-and it is better to look with an open mind than it is to all out pre judge others who coud be disabled,post brain injury effects,on a lot of heavy medication, epileptic,non native english speakers,dehydrated etc.
-am not a fan of them at all as they show no basic decency to those they publicaly highlight the faults of.

as for grammar nazis who have a natural mentality to correct language mistakes,have got no problem with them as long as they only do it in their head or privately if they know the person wants to be corrected,as this shows basic respect for others,and not just caring about what they think.

RaRaRasputin

Unfortunately there is great need for grammar nazis because so many people just don't care how they spell basic words. I just don't get this attitude at all, I'd be so embarrassed! And I'm not even a native speaker....so if I can write properly, so should at least native speakers.

mcmoustache

southcentralts wrote: »

Would proper grammar and correct spelling somehow make the point being made somehow more or less correct? No.

Proper grammar won't make something more correct but improper grammar might make something less correct. For example, leaving out the word "not" can give your sentence the opposite meaning to that which was intended. For example, "I'm an idiot" versus "I'm not an idiot".

Dr. Kenneth Noisewater

languagenerd wrote: »

I hate when someone's only contribution to a thread is to correct a posters grammar, especially with a ":rolleyes:" face.

That smiley should be done away with, there's something about it that stirs a deep seated rage within me, which makes me want to headbutt that person through the internets.

The King of Moo

whirlpool wrote: »

The pro-grammar nazi option is currently winning.

Yet almost all of the comments are from the anti-grammar nazi people.

I haven't voted because the options are too polarising for me.

If there were an intermediate option, such as "Grammar Nazism is generally bad, but sometimes you have to correct someone," I'd vote for that, and I'd imagine it'd be somewhat popular.

Abi

DarkJager wrote: »

Txtspk is indefenceable, however correcting minor spelling or grammar mistakes in normal conversation is just ****ing sad beyond belief.

It depends on how it's being done. If used when someone has no other defence other than to pick up on someone else's spelling or grammar, then it's distasteful. I've a habit of correcting the mistake when quoting someone, but don't mention it in my reply to their post.

mackg wrote: »

What's even worse is when someone attempts to use the presence of a typo to completely undermine an argument.

Exactly.

Irishgoatman

There are times when I find it hard to believe just how badly a post has been written.
Then I ask myself If I understood it.

If the answer is no then I will, politely, ask for a better explanation.

If the answer is yes then I will shake my head in amazement, shrug my shoulders and move on.

humbert

Who cares if it's your or you're, if it's 'should of' or 'should have'. What's important is that we don't make people who are too lazy or too stupid to learn the difference feel uncomfortable.

My English is far from perfect and I appreciate it when people point out my mistakes before they become habit.

hondasam

It's rude and ignorant to correct someone on line over spelling. This is not school and it's good it's finally being stopped.
It's supposed to be relaxed here and that means not having to go over everything before you post for grammar and spelling mistakes.

Ficheall

A Primal Nut wrote: »

This is a difference between intentionally using textspeak and making typos, something nearly everyone makes now and again, but grammar nazis insist on pointing them out anyway.

Typographical errors are really not what "Grammar Nazis" are generally irritated by.

I try not to correct people whose posts/writings are riddled with grammatical errors, but such errors can make it more difficult to take someone seriously.

hondasam

humbert wrote: »

Who cares if it's your or you're, if it's 'should of' or 'should have'. What's important is that we don't make people who are too lazy or too stupid to learn the difference feel uncomfortable.

It's not about being lazy or stupid for some people, posting on phones can be a pain sometimes and mistakes happen and at the end of the day who are we to judge anyone.

pickarooney

There are only two legitimate reasons for donning the GN uniform and those are when the poster in question is him/herself having a go at someone's spelling/grammar and when it's genuinely hilarious to do so.