# A reminder to new members regarding spelling, grammar and punctuation **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [April 13, 2004, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-reminder-to-new-members-regarding-spelling-grammar-and-punctuation/239785 "2004-04-13T14:43:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![gluteus\_maximus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f17d59/32.png) [@gluteus\_maximus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gluteus_maximus)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2004, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-reminder-to-new-members-regarding-spelling-grammar-and-punctuation/239785/21 "2004-04-13T17:24:43Z")
Mason-Dixon Line ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2004, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-reminder-to-new-members-regarding-spelling-grammar-and-punctuation/239785/22 "2004-04-13T17:25:36Z")
Ha ha. ---
**Author:** ![gluteus\_maximus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f17d59/32.png) [@gluteus\_maximus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gluteus_maximus)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2004, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-reminder-to-new-members-regarding-spelling-grammar-and-punctuation/239785/23 "2004-04-13T17:32:22Z")
Heirs _rock!_ ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2004, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-reminder-to-new-members-regarding-spelling-grammar-and-punctuation/239785/24 "2004-04-13T17:40:40Z")
> [@gluteus maximus](#): > > Heirs _rock!_ That’s in Australia, right? ---
**Author:** ![gluteus\_maximus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f17d59/32.png) [@gluteus\_maximus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gluteus_maximus)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2004, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-reminder-to-new-members-regarding-spelling-grammar-and-punctuation/239785/25 "2004-04-13T17:43:50Z")
Ask **don’t ask**. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2004, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-reminder-to-new-members-regarding-spelling-grammar-and-punctuation/239785/26 "2004-04-13T17:47:36Z")
Near Arliss Springs. ---
**Author:** ![gluteus\_maximus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f17d59/32.png) [@gluteus\_maximus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gluteus_maximus)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2004, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-reminder-to-new-members-regarding-spelling-grammar-and-punctuation/239785/27 "2004-04-13T17:53:06Z")
Just a hop, skip, and a plop from Turd in the Hole. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2004, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-reminder-to-new-members-regarding-spelling-grammar-and-punctuation/239785/28 "2004-04-13T17:56:23Z")
If I could add to the list of suggestions for newbies: don’t be afraid to insert spaces in your posts - one solid, five-inch mass of typing is extremely difficult to read. The rule of thumb I use is to insert a couple of hard returns after about an inch of typing (give-or-take, depending on the sentences of course). ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2004, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-reminder-to-new-members-regarding-spelling-grammar-and-punctuation/239785/29 "2004-04-13T18:52:06Z")
> [@DeadlyAccurate](#): > > No one is asking for perfection, and no one cares about minor spelling/grammar/punctuation gaffes either. Ummm, there are some who ask for perfection and there are some who care about minor gaffes as well. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2004, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-reminder-to-new-members-regarding-spelling-grammar-and-punctuation/239785/30 "2004-04-13T18:57:12Z")
> [@Zebra](#): > > Ummm, there are some who ask for perfection and there are some who care about minor gaffes as well. This is a run-on sentence: you need a comma between “perfection” and “and.” Daniel ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2004, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-reminder-to-new-members-regarding-spelling-grammar-and-punctuation/239785/31 "2004-04-13T19:03:17Z")
Yes, yes, yes, this is all very nice…can we please get on with the non-sequiters & inside jokes. Puhleeeeeeeaaaze? 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2004, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-reminder-to-new-members-regarding-spelling-grammar-and-punctuation/239785/32 "2004-04-13T19:35:47Z")
> [@Left Hand of Dorkness](#): > > This is a run-on sentence: you need a comma between “perfection” and “and.” > > Daniel I do believe that the period should have been outside the Quotation marks. ---
**Author:** ![blowero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/41988e/32.png) [@blowero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blowero)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2004, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-reminder-to-new-members-regarding-spelling-grammar-and-punctuation/239785/33 "2004-04-13T19:44:43Z")
> [@DeadlyAccurate](#): > > Please remember that using “u” for “you” and “ur” for “you are” and “ne1” for “anyone” makes it far more difficult for the rest of us to make sense of your thoughts. And pull up your goddam pants and turn your hat around so the brim faces _forwards_, you little punks. And stop slouching… ---
**Author:** ![chula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a4c791/32.png) [@chula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chula)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2004, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-reminder-to-new-members-regarding-spelling-grammar-and-punctuation/239785/34 "2004-04-13T20:02:24Z")
> [@Zebra](#): > > I do believe that the period should have been outside the Quotation marks. Around these parts, the period is supposed to be inside the quotation mark. Those some of us prefer it the other way. There was a thread on this once. Also, **Left Hand of Dorkness** , I believe that comma is optional. ---
**Author:** ![blowero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/41988e/32.png) [@blowero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blowero)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2004, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-reminder-to-new-members-regarding-spelling-grammar-and-punctuation/239785/35 "2004-04-13T20:28:54Z")
> [@chula](#): > > Around these parts, the period is supposed to be inside the quotation mark. Those some of us prefer it the other way. There was a thread on this once. Hmmm…isn’t that just when you’re quoting? - e.g. And then she said, “Oh no you dint just say dat.” ← [period inside quotation mark because it’s the end of the sentence being quoted] ---
**Author:** ![iampunha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/74df32/32.png) [@iampunha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iampunha)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2004, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-reminder-to-new-members-regarding-spelling-grammar-and-punctuation/239785/36 "2004-04-13T20:36:05Z")
> [@Left Hand of Dorkness](#): > > This is a run-on sentence: you need a comma between “perfection” and “and.” > > Daniel Perhaps technically, but IMO it flows more smoothly without one; alternately, one could merely omit the second “there are” and make it even smoother. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2004, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-reminder-to-new-members-regarding-spelling-grammar-and-punctuation/239785/37 "2004-04-13T20:41:09Z")
> [@DeadlyAccurate](#): > > Actually, feel free. I’d like to know what mistakes I make, so I can improve. I suspect I make the same ones consistently, and I always feel as if someone is cringing when they read my stuff. As would I, though I doubt any here have the time or inclination to list all of my failures in grammar and usage. But for those whose flesh crawls whenever they read my posts I feel I must include a gratuitous emoticon: 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Bad\_News\_Baboon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5fc32e/32.png) [@Bad\_News\_Baboon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bad_News_Baboon)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2004, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-reminder-to-new-members-regarding-spelling-grammar-and-punctuation/239785/38 "2004-04-13T20:41:58Z")
It’s not spelled e e cummings. It really is E.E. Cummings. [See here for more info.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:E._E._Cummings) ---
**Author:** ![iampunha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/74df32/32.png) [@iampunha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iampunha)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2004, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-reminder-to-new-members-regarding-spelling-grammar-and-punctuation/239785/39 "2004-04-13T21:05:21Z")
i was under the impression that cummings himself preferred the uncapitalized version and that he tried to legally change his name to e. e. cummings 9but was unsuccessful0. a google search showed use of both capitalized and uncapitalized versions, so i’m more inclined 9unless it’s for an academic setting, in which case i make sure what the prof wants0 to go with e. e. rather than E. E… ymmv. ---
**Author:** ![Bad\_News\_Baboon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5fc32e/32.png) [@Bad\_News\_Baboon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bad_News_Baboon)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2004, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-reminder-to-new-members-regarding-spelling-grammar-and-punctuation/239785/40 "2004-04-13T21:12:04Z")
I’m gonna go with what his widow says: “…according to Mrs. Cummings, he did not have his name legally put into lowercase, and that it is an error to say so.” Who’d know him better, your prof or the widow? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-reminder-to-new-members-regarding-spelling-grammar-and-punctuation/239785.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-reminder-to-new-members-regarding-spelling-grammar-and-punctuation/239785.md?page=3)