# Mild Pitting of Beck
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mild-pitting-of-beck/1008691
**Category:** The BBQ Pit
**Created:** [October 12, 2024, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mild-pitting-of-beck/1008691 "2024-10-12T05:25:48Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 64
### Author:  [@ilansho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ilansho)
#### Post date: [June 28, 2026, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mild-pitting-of-beck/1008691/1261 "2026-06-28T21:53:32Z")
Thanks again. Any idea why ?"only to me "? doesn’t make sense ..I wrote one simple line..
Also **THANKS AGAIN KING DAVID**.
I wasn’t offended and anyone that I replied asking WTH, I got 2 apologizes and the "why? do you want to upload translation /[???] didn’t answer
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### Author:  [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)
#### Post date: [June 28, 2026, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mild-pitting-of-beck/1008691/1262 "2026-06-28T21:56:59Z")
My concern, and the concern shared by others, I believe, is that being immediately critical to new posters – particularly on issues of _style_ rather than of _substance_ will push good and interesting people away.
And why?
In this case, it’s because you apparently don’t have the same written English proficiency that William Shakespeare had 😉
I think it’s a very high cost response to new posters with virtually no substantive benefit.
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### Author:  [@ilansho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ilansho)
#### Post date: [June 28, 2026, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mild-pitting-of-beck/1008691/1263 "2026-06-28T22:07:13Z")
> [@CairoCarol](#):
>
> ESL. Believe me, if you make your living by digesti
Hi, Thanks to you I just learned that i am ESL . I had to google to check its not something deadly
I’m new here. I only posted once, just one line asking about reply/comment , upload button that is useless, If you check check the comments I got…Its insane..and because it seems you all PC Americans [but with horrible replies on my one line..] I will not express myself freely - no more free speech here..
2- Most Plastic artists -from any nation- aren’t good with writing
-3- I’m more content oriented no matter if someone makes small mistakes,
4-I speak 4 languages but i’m well aware that I’m bad in writing French or German
Lighten up people ..I even love funny mistakes .😀
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### Author:  [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)
#### Post date: [June 28, 2026, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mild-pitting-of-beck/1008691/1264 "2026-06-28T22:08:45Z")
> [@DavidNRockies](#):
>
> Let me rephrase, in order to be sure I’m correctly understanding your point. _Arguendo…_ I’m opposed to the idea that anyone in general be cut some slack on matters that have nothing to do with Cerebral Palsy just because they walk with a limp.
That’s such a gross distortion of what I said and meant that I have to assume we’re talking past each other. The distinction I’m making in that analogy is between involuntary behaviours beyond the person’s control (the limp) and entirely voluntary ones (cleaning up after your lunch). Generally when posting, it’s the distinction between possibly limited language skills and the care taken or not taken with things like formatting and spelling and other conventions intended to improve readability.
Of course there are exceptions where the latter may also be affected by medical conditions like dyslexia. In that case, yes, criticism would be the lowest form of assholery.
> [@DavidNRockies](#):
>
> ETA: **I** walk with a limp. My cardiac output is about 40% of normal, and surely a much lower percentage than my pre-morbid state, since I’ve been athletic my whole life.
>
> I **can** correct that limp with attention, exertion, and effort. **Must I** in order to satisfy something broken in you?
I’m truly sorry to hear of your condition. FWIW, I have a limp, too, due to some problem with one leg. Had it for a few years and have been avoiding the first step of getting an X-ray to start the diagnostic process. Aging is no fun.
But I’m a little resentful of the tone of your post that paints me as someone lacking empathy. Nothing could be further from the truth. But I do have some hot buttons about language and since that’s the entirety of what we’re discussing here, I can see how you might reach that conclusion. But it’s really quite wrong, and, again, I was discussing general principles and not any particular individual. And, also FWIW, when I criticize someone’s grammar here it’s almost always in fun, playing off the generally pedantic nature of the board itself.
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### Author:  [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)
#### Post date: [June 28, 2026, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mild-pitting-of-beck/1008691/1265 "2026-06-28T22:09:37Z")
Welcome to the board, @ilansho. I hope you stick around and have a good time here! 🙂
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### Author:  [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)
#### Post date: [June 28, 2026, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mild-pitting-of-beck/1008691/1266 "2026-06-28T22:14:35Z")
> [@wolfpup](#):
>
> But I do have some hot buttons about language and since that’s the entirety of what we’re discussing here {…}
Right. You’re a good and kind and decent and compassionate and thoughtful soul (I mean that sincerely) with a horrid blind spot on which you are immutably non-negotiable and amazingly cognitively rigid.
It is a subject where, for you, principled consistency matters more than social cohesion and likely onboarding effects.
All MY interpretation, but … I think it’s fair.
Blind spot. As I said.
YOU are uncomfortable comparing a limp with imperfect grammar, syntax, and proofreading skills. I equate both as things that maybe a person could change, but that _demanding_ that they do – particularly with newbies who are not fluent – is nothing but downside.
The other thing not to lose sight of is that **you didn’t do it.** The publisher of the Dispatch from Dogpatch (being dramatic for effect) did. All you’re doing is the whole white knighting thing.
Which, to me, makes even less sense. I can’t figure out where your defense of the principle stops and your white knighting starts.
Can you?
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### Author:  [@ilansho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ilansho)
#### Post date: [June 28, 2026, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mild-pitting-of-beck/1008691/1267 "2026-06-28T22:20:13Z")
"Thou speakest verity, my friend " 😎 So I think i’ll post second post in my worst English and enjoy .
And remember Patrick Timsit [a French comedian]said years ago “_ **Y’a de plus en plus de cons chaque année. Mais cette année, j’ai l’impression que les cons de l’année prochaine sont déjà là** _. » [= There are more and more idiots every year. But this year, I feel like next year’s idiots are already here.”…
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### Author:  [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)
#### Post date: [June 28, 2026, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mild-pitting-of-beck/1008691/1268 "2026-06-28T22:23:23Z")
LOL!
Incidentally, I can (or maybe “could”) speak enough French, and German to travel, and am conversational in Spanish.
But the range of responses with which I’ve been met because of my less-than-fluency is mind-boggling. Some people, cultures, and countries have been so gracious and helpful and patient and accepting. Others wanted to have me arrested for Crimes Against Language.
I know how each felt. I hope you’ll always feel welcome here 🙂
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### Author:  [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)
#### Post date: [June 28, 2026, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mild-pitting-of-beck/1008691/1269 "2026-06-28T22:24:53Z")
> [@ilansho](#):
>
> Hi, Thanks to you I just learned that i am ESL . I had to google to check its not something deadly
Welcome ilansho!
I’m glad you’re posting and I hope you know that I’m not among the people criticizing your writing. I think being able to express yourself in multiple languages is amazing. I am truly jealous, and I admire you for it.
On “ESL,” I think I’m showing my age by using that term. I think it is more trendy to call non-native English something else now - if I’m not mistaken, it’s EFL (English as a Foreign Language).
In any case, it’s not deadly at all. And, as someone who had a decent job for many years working with native speakers of Portuguese, Arabic, and Indonesian, with occasional other languages thrown in for good measure, I’m lucky that so many people like you bothered to learn English!
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### Author:  [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)
#### Post date: [June 28, 2026, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mild-pitting-of-beck/1008691/1270 "2026-06-28T22:30:19Z")
> [@CairoCarol](#):
>
> if I’m not mistaken, it’s EFL (English as a Foreign Language).
I have a friend who volunteers in English classes for immigrants. They call it EFL or ELL (English language learner), or more generically MLL (multi-language learner).
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### Author:  [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)
#### Post date: [June 28, 2026, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mild-pitting-of-beck/1008691/1271 "2026-06-28T22:30:20Z")
I’ve always looked for a reasonable context in which to tell you (@CairoCarol ): My brother and I spent five weeks in Indonesia in 1995. Although I understood/understand that written Bahasa Indonesia is more structured and formal (duh!) than their spoken language, I was also aware that “the spoken language is ‘no holds barred’” was a relatively ugly tourist stereotype.
But my brother and I tried our level best to become conversational when we were there, and we _did_ learn to communicate with people, and we _surely_ butchered the language, knowing we were doing so and begging forgiveness all the while.
But the grace with which our efforts were received by the Indonesians was touching enough to bring tears to my eyes … three decades later.
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### Author:  [@ilansho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ilansho)
#### Post date: [June 28, 2026, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mild-pitting-of-beck/1008691/1272 "2026-06-28T22:39:53Z")
> [@DavidNRockies](#):
>
> each felt. I hope you’ll always feel welcome here
As an old man who downloaded one jpg in 30 minutes when the internet appeared i dont mind not being welcome. **I d’ont care, I’m even enjoy hitting back**. And I found you already and two other them/they/ + etc. **whistle if u need 😎** 🥷
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### Author:  [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)
#### Post date: [June 28, 2026, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mild-pitting-of-beck/1008691/1273 "2026-06-28T22:40:12Z")
> [@DavidNRockies](#):
>
> The other thing not to lose sight of is that **you didn’t do it.** The publisher of the Dispatch from Dogpatch (being dramatic for effect) did. All you’re doing is the whole white knighting thing.
>
> Which, to me, makes even less sense. I can’t figure out where your defense of the principle stops and your white knighting starts.
>
> Can you?
No “white knighting” here. I don’t even own a horse! My defense of **Beck** is this whole empathy thing that you earlier seemed to imply I didn’t have. She has significant health issues, but more importantly, significant verbal communication issues. This board is an important outlet for her, and while none of those things justifies overlooking serious faults, it distresses me to see her unfairly dumped on, as I believe happened in this case. Others apparently see it differently, but what can I say beyond what I’ve already said. _Vive la différence!_
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### Author:  [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)
#### Post date: [June 28, 2026, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mild-pitting-of-beck/1008691/1274 "2026-06-28T22:54:21Z")
So … the double-standard is clear and unambiguous.
Gotcha.
“Soft bigotry of low expectations.”
Newbies? Let them introduce themselves and feel welcome first. Let them find their way around. Let them be here _long enough to find out about them what you find so worthy of (IMHO, inappropriately) defending about **Beck** _ before you dump the linguistic baggage on them.
Maybe they’re worthy of your defense and grace, too.
Maybe more so.
And thinking you have a raging blindspot on this issue is NOT saying you lack empathy. It’s saying … you have a raging blindspot (as my beloved brother would say, “a hard-on for”) on this very specific issue.
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### Author:  [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)
#### Post date: [June 28, 2026, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mild-pitting-of-beck/1008691/1275 "2026-06-28T23:04:41Z")
> [@DavidNRockies](#):
>
> But the grace with which our efforts were received by the Indonesians was touching enough to bring tears to my eyes … three decades later.
So true! Indonesians are just lovely to foreigners who make an effort to speak their language. Since so few do, it is extremely appreciated.
Of course, I have been on the humorous side of that as well - which is to say, Indonesians have said things to each other in front of me assuming I couldn’t understand, because that is a safe bet nearly all the time.
A couple of instances I recall - My husband has steatopygia (in the vernacular, a fat butt!) and had a wallet in his back pocket, which kind of stuck out because of his … uh … condition. We were walking at the port, and one of the dock workers said to the other, “Waah, dompet besar!” meaning, “wow, big wallet!”
I turned around and answered, in Indonesian, “no, not a big wallet, just a fat ass.” They cracked up!
Another time, it was my body being observed. I am pretty flat-chested, and was wearing large, loose pants. The old lady I was buying something from said, sort of to herself [in Indonesian of course], “hmm, why such small breasts with such large hips?”
The only retort I could think of was to say, “hmm, why such a big mouth with such small manners?” but I didn’t, because she was an old lady and I didn’t want to upset her. So she never knew I understood her.
As you can imagine, I have other stories like that!
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### Author:  [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)
#### Post date: [June 28, 2026, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mild-pitting-of-beck/1008691/1276 "2026-06-28T23:06:19Z")
> [@DavidNRockies](#):
>
> Let them be here _long enough to find out about them what you find so worthy of (IMHO, inappropriately) defending about **Beck** _ before you dump the linguistic baggage on them.
I would just like to point out that I haven’t dumped **anything** on this new poster. Several of us were just having a discussion in this one thread about the issue of **Beck** ’s little comment.
Do I have a hot button about language standards and readable posts? Absolutely I do. But please stop making me out to be some sort of caped villain, the antithesis of Truth and Justice! I’m only a humble (but cute) Bernese Mountain Dog.
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### Author:  [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)
#### Post date: [June 28, 2026, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mild-pitting-of-beck/1008691/1277 "2026-06-28T23:11:16Z")
> [@wolfpup](#):
>
> it distresses me to see her unfairly dumped on, as I believe happened in this case.
Most of the recent posts have had nothing to do with Beck. If anyone is being pitted here now, it’s chela. And we’re also just discussing language, or at least language-adjacent issues.
I don’t see any need to further chastise Beck for her “worning” comment, but then again, I don’t think that’s what we’re talking about.
ETA: to be fair, it could be said I recently dumped on her by starting the ATMB thread about (in my view) overdoing the blogging response. I’ll own that.
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### Author:  [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)
#### Post date: [June 28, 2026, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mild-pitting-of-beck/1008691/1278 "2026-06-28T23:21:46Z")
Thank you @CairoCarol.
I appreciate that.
I also see your sensible posts.
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### Author:  [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)
#### Post date: [June 28, 2026, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mild-pitting-of-beck/1008691/1279 "2026-06-28T23:32:55Z")
… and to think there are folks who believe nothing nice ever happens in the Pit!😀
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### Author:  [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)
#### Post date: [June 28, 2026, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mild-pitting-of-beck/1008691/1280 "2026-06-28T23:45:39Z")
On the scale between you Idle Thoughts and chela, you are definitely on the top - evidenced by your listening to the critique that enough was enough with the blogging. Idle Thoughts’ contribution give chela some contribution … but chela still is in a class of their own.
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