# Mandatory Reading for Anyone Who Ever Posts To A Newsgroup or Message Board! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 17, 2001, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mandatory-reading-for-anyone-who-ever-posts-to-a-newsgroup-or-message-board/62343 "2001-04-17T23:50:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![edbenson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e79b87/32.png) [@edbenson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/edbenson)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2001, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mandatory-reading-for-anyone-who-ever-posts-to-a-newsgroup-or-message-board/62343/1 "2001-04-17T23:50:33Z")
Mandatory Reading for Anyone Who Ever Posts To A Newsgroup or Message Board! THERE, THEIR, AND THEY’RE EXPLAINED THERE (adv) designates a place, as in “They’re over THERE by their car, y’all.” THEIR (adj) designates possesion, as in, “Well it ain’t THEIR car anymore, we bought it over there, and they’re SOL!” THEY’RE (contr) contraction for “they are”, as in, “You better get away from there, THEY’RE pretty PO’ed, I guess they still think it’s theirs!” I just thought I’d post this, since there seems to be some confusion about this. Oh and by the way, “of” is NOT a contraction for have, meaning it’s " I could’ve been a contender", not “I could of been a contender.” ---
**Author:** ![Mercutio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/51bf81/32.png) [@Mercutio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mercutio)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2001, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mandatory-reading-for-anyone-who-ever-posts-to-a-newsgroup-or-message-board/62343/2 "2001-04-17T23:58:11Z")
Well, they’re you go. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2001, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mandatory-reading-for-anyone-who-ever-posts-to-a-newsgroup-or-message-board/62343/3 "2001-04-18T00:16:36Z")
Their, their. It’ll be OK. ---
**Author:** ![upperdeckfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/65b543/32.png) [@upperdeckfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/upperdeckfan)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2001, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mandatory-reading-for-anyone-who-ever-posts-to-a-newsgroup-or-message-board/62343/4 "2001-04-18T00:27:59Z")
…designates a place, as in "They’re over THERE… While we’re at it, a quotation should always be followed by a comma. So their. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![upperdeckfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/65b543/32.png) [@upperdeckfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/upperdeckfan)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2001, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mandatory-reading-for-anyone-who-ever-posts-to-a-newsgroup-or-message-board/62343/5 "2001-04-18T00:40:45Z")
While we’re at it, a quotation should always be (followed) by a comma. So their. (preceeded)…So much for my witticism. Maybe I can add this to the Most Embarrassing Moments thread. ---
**Author:** ![edbenson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e79b87/32.png) [@edbenson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/edbenson)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2001, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mandatory-reading-for-anyone-who-ever-posts-to-a-newsgroup-or-message-board/62343/6 "2001-04-18T00:45:31Z")
upperdeckfan I assume you meant “preceded by” and not “followed by”. I wasn’t sure, that’s why I did it both ways. 😉 At any rate, I’m not sure that’s ALWAYS true. Nice to see everyone taking this in the spirit in which it was intended. ---
**Author:** ![passerby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a88e57/32.png) [@passerby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/passerby)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2001, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mandatory-reading-for-anyone-who-ever-posts-to-a-newsgroup-or-message-board/62343/7 "2001-04-18T00:46:22Z")
You know what’s weird. I learned my English from textbooks in High School. And being a nerd and a bookworm, I really mean I learned from textbooks. So I know very well the difference between there, their and they’re, and its and it’s, and to, two and too. Now, when I was still a novice at English, I would _always_ write the proper form of these words. That was 10-15 years ago. Nowadays I communicate in English all the time and rather fluently, but as time goes on, I confuse the above forms more and more. Not just when posting to message boards, but also when writing documents. Sometimes I don’t even write complete sentences… This amazes me, the better i get at English, the worse my spelling gets. Won dai I wont bee able too spel at all! ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2001, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mandatory-reading-for-anyone-who-ever-posts-to-a-newsgroup-or-message-board/62343/8 "2001-04-18T00:51:17Z")
Thanks for that. It makes me crazy to see those sorts of errors. Spellcheck and AOL chat rooms are going to kill the English language. There’s also the your/you’re thing and the its/it’s thing. A few years ago I corrected someone who used “your” as a replacement for “you are.” She told me, “Get a life. Everyone makes that mistake.” ::boggle:: Hajario ---
**Author:** ![edbenson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e79b87/32.png) [@edbenson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/edbenson)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2001, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mandatory-reading-for-anyone-who-ever-posts-to-a-newsgroup-or-message-board/62343/9 "2001-04-18T00:54:00Z")
**passerby** My personal theory is that that’s the result of seeing it done wrong all over the Internet, over and over again. I learned what I know about grammar (and I’m certainly not an expert) from prolific reading. I got used to seeing it done right most of the time, so I notce when it’s done wrong. That was back in the olden days when nearly everything I read had been proofread. These days I have to conciously remind myself what’s correct some times, since I see it done wrong so often on the Net. I’m sure I’ve typed “should of” myself on occasion. ---
**Author:** ![edbenson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e79b87/32.png) [@edbenson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/edbenson)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2001, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mandatory-reading-for-anyone-who-ever-posts-to-a-newsgroup-or-message-board/62343/10 "2001-04-18T01:01:46Z")
…rushing to get this in before anyone beats me to it: notice consciously ---
**Author:** ![soulmurk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b782af/32.png) [@soulmurk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/soulmurk)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2001, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mandatory-reading-for-anyone-who-ever-posts-to-a-newsgroup-or-message-board/62343/11 "2001-04-18T01:13:27Z")
Don’t nobody never prevue there work nomore? I could of picked out so many errs if I were less gooder a people. Its a shame all you’re badder grammer. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2001, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mandatory-reading-for-anyone-who-ever-posts-to-a-newsgroup-or-message-board/62343/12 "2001-04-18T03:51:12Z")
And here’s another tip: Posts like this one belong in MPSIMS. Buh Bye. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![iampunha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/74df32/32.png) [@iampunha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iampunha)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2001, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mandatory-reading-for-anyone-who-ever-posts-to-a-newsgroup-or-message-board/62343/13 "2001-04-18T04:12:13Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by soulmurk \* > \*\*Don’t nobody never prevue there work nomore? I could of picked out so many errs if I were less gooder a people. Its a shame all you’re badder grammer. \*\* I think this might be the first post by someone other than bj0rn or BBH that I haven’t been able to figure out. To the best of my ability: Doesn’t anyone ever preview their work anymore? I couldn’t have picked out so many errors if I were worse than people. It’s a shame, all your worse grammar. The “a people” bit is what’s got me. Next: an explanation of than vs. then, and why you don’t use commas after a singular subject (and why you don’t begin a sentence with a conjuction and then follow it with a comma). ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2001, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mandatory-reading-for-anyone-who-ever-posts-to-a-newsgroup-or-message-board/62343/14 "2001-04-18T12:29:28Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by iampunha \* > Next: an explanation of than vs. then, and why you don’t use commas after a singular subject (and why you don’t begin a sentence with a conju **n** ction and then follow it with a comma). \*\* Ooh! Ooh! Can we do **which** vs. **that** after that? Pretty please? Or maybe **who** and **whom**? 😛 ---
**Author:** ![TroubleAgain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e480ec/32.png) [@TroubleAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroubleAgain)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2001, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mandatory-reading-for-anyone-who-ever-posts-to-a-newsgroup-or-message-board/62343/15 "2001-04-18T13:09:13Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by jr8 \* > \*\*Ooh! Ooh! Can we do **which** vs. **that** after that? Pretty please? Or maybe **who** and **whom**? 😛 > \*\* Maybe we could also do whose vs. who’s? ---
**Author:** ![UncleBeer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/977dab/32.png) [@UncleBeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleBeer)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2001, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mandatory-reading-for-anyone-who-ever-posts-to-a-newsgroup-or-message-board/62343/16 "2001-04-18T17:36:29Z")
> [@](#): > > These days I have to con(s)ciously remind myself … Does this not imply an ability to “unconsciously” remind one’s self? That’s a trick I’d like to see. Also, when quoting, the proper place for the comma is at the end of the quoted fragment, or sentence, but _inside_ the closing quotation mark. You should also note the comma is only substituted for a period. If the quoted fragment, or sentence, ends in an exclamation point, or a question mark, proper usage dictates retention of these characters. **They’re** also properly placed inside the closing quotation mark. At least dat’s da way I wuz learnt it at mommy’s knee. ---
**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2001, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mandatory-reading-for-anyone-who-ever-posts-to-a-newsgroup-or-message-board/62343/17 "2001-04-19T00:29:34Z")
[This guy](http://www.baracuda.demon.co.uk/idiots.htm) has obviously had enough of dodgy spelling on the internet. A funny page, although if you are American, you may find yourself wanting to leave a rude comment or two in his guestbook. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![iampunha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/74df32/32.png) [@iampunha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iampunha)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2001, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mandatory-reading-for-anyone-who-ever-posts-to-a-newsgroup-or-message-board/62343/18 "2001-04-19T04:47:26Z")
Okay . . . than vs. then. Than is used in comparisons and differentiations . . . for example, I have more posts than, say, Palmyra. Coldfire, on the other hand, has more posts than I do. And rather than find other examples of post counts, I’m going to stop there. Then is used for time. For example, first I write my post. Then, I check for spelling mistakes and the like. Some examples of when you use than/then: Rather than (comparison/differentiation) going to class today, I opted to sleep in until around 6 PM, and then went to eat. I had fewer posts than ssskuggiii, but then I went and became a posting whore. Which vs. that: Which is used when you don’t know what you’re talking about. That is used when you do. For example: Which key do I hit to send this post through? You use that key: the one that says “submit”. IOW, “which” is asking a question, and “that” is answering it. Except when there are other cases. Whose vs. Who’s. Whose=possessive. Who’s=Who is. If you have a problem, replace it with your pronoun of choice (his/he’s, her/she’s). Becomes much more simple. Who vs. Whom. “Who” is the subject. Whom is the object or in a prepositional phrase (in which case it’s the object of the phrase). Who let the (groan) dogs out? vs. To whom would you credit the release of the (groan) dogs? ---
**Author:** ![shell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/46a35a/32.png) [@shell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shell)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2001, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mandatory-reading-for-anyone-who-ever-posts-to-a-newsgroup-or-message-board/62343/19 "2001-04-19T05:33:46Z")
I’m hardly a grammar goddess but this one drives me up the wall when used incorrectly…borrow and lend. Good: Will you lend me the book? May I borrow the book? Bad: Borrow me that book, will ya? Really bad: I lended him the book. Would someone do lay, lie, lain and laid? Browine points for double entendre! ---
**Author:** ![iampunha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/74df32/32.png) [@iampunha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iampunha)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2001, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mandatory-reading-for-anyone-who-ever-posts-to-a-newsgroup-or-message-board/62343/20 "2001-04-19T05:47:13Z")
lay: to horizontally recline, as on a bed; or, to place an object on some other stationary object, as to lay a book on a table. Lie: to tell an untruth. WTF is “lain”? One borrows from; one is lent to. IOW, I borrowed it from him. He lent it to me. I think. It’s getting late; I reserve the right to be wrong here. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mandatory-reading-for-anyone-who-ever-posts-to-a-newsgroup-or-message-board/62343.md?page=2)