Stupid details and the brain farts who point them out.

The BBQ Pit
21

Ah, a perfect case in point. The post I just made was nearly incomprehensible, and therefore needs to be corrected, like so:

If he’s good enough at brain surgery to be a brain surgeon, then that sort of implies that he knows what he’s doing, yes? Besides, if you think that posting to this board is as important and dangerous as being a brain surgeon, then perhaps you’re taking this just a bit too seriously.

Oh, and VV, I haven’t done anything to deserve your condescending attitude. Take it somewhere else.

22

On the other hand, as both Cecil ( Here ) and William Saffire will point out, nobody gets it right all the time. Even in correcting a mistake, a person may make five more. I most likely have three in this post alone, if you want to get very nit-picky. Nobody can proofread their own writing perfectly. So where do you draw the line? For me, the line is drawn at the point where a mistake intereferes with comprehension. Then again, that’s just me.

23

Bravo Myrr! Well said. So well said that I can even forgive your quotation of Concrete…

24

Take it where? We’re in the PIT, moron. And I’m not being condescending, I’m just telling you you’re wrong. :wink:

25

A person waxing philosophical needs to have their errors brought to their attention. If you want to act intelligent, then speak and write as if you are.

26

Vogue, I could be totally off base here, but I don’t think that Freak means “good enough” in life. I believe he’s talking about “good enough” in casual conversation or posts to this message board.

I am an atrocious speller. If I’m writing a quick post for the SDMB, I might not always run it through spell check, and as long as it doesn’t really effect my meaning - who cares? OTOH, if I am writing a formal letter you can bet I’ll double check my double checking. There is a big difference between the email to my friends and the email to my boss. And, in the email to my friends “good enough” should be good enough (that, and usually I’m the one in the position to do the correcting - which I absolutely refrain from doing unless it’s a very close friend and we are alone).

Freak, I love this - can I steal it for my sig?

27

Call me one of the stupid farts who points this stuff out. I just posted a new thread to the Pit before I saw this thread. :0

All I can say is the term I’m bitching about is wrong. It implies the very opposite of what the poster is trying to say. Hey, call me anal, but I was in a rant mode!

Who the fuck cares? I guess I do.

28

voguevixn- Well, I was going to chew you out. But then you winked at me. Now I’ve forgotten what I was going to say. Damn you.

Archer-

But that’s just it, a lot of it is only an act. Many grammar rules are antiquated, and are mainly used so people can look down upon others. More on that later.

Minxmom- I would be honored.

29

Byz- Actually, as far as that particular phrase goes, I agree with you.

30

Hey! I asked to steal it first! I have dibs!
I’ll arm-wrestle you for it!

And oh yeah, just to touch back…

Freak, I get you. It’s like this: as long as the bulk of the post is okay, a few minor errors should be overlooked. That’s when someone correcting you only looks like an asshole. I did that a couple times, ValerieBlaise pointed out that I looked like a dumbfuck, and I realized the truth.

The only time anyone needs to say anything about errors of this nature are when it’s glaring, and consistent, or when you’re trying to help a friend with something you know they would want to excel at. If they tell you to shove it, then you should drop it.

Pet peeves are okay in my book, too. My pet peeve is one I share with manny(sic) others on the dope:
I HATE it when people confuse “your” and “you’re”. That is one mistake, no matter if it’s the only one in an otherwise great body of text, that makes you look like a dumbass. In my mind, it just shatters credibility.

And voguevixen, what’s up with this?

Okay, so let me get this straight… You can’t use the words properly, so you don’t even make an effort, you just give up? But then you should have some pride in the way you write and speak? How’s that again?

I am forever confusing “then” and “than” but I don’t have some flippant airhead attitude like “Oh well, I can’t spare the brain power, I just won’t use those words, hee hee!”
I make a conscious effort when I use the word, and make sure I am using the correct one.
Shit, have some pride in how you write and speak.

And damn, PLG, can I take you out for some ice cream? I think you need a sweet treat and to calm down a little bit.

Did you even read what freak has been saying? You seem to be agreeing on several points, and you’re going off on the guy like he’s defending ignorance.

~Santi

PS. vogue, don’t take it personally.

31

Okay, that sentence was ugly. I didn’t mean to end it with a preposition, it’s only that
“…when you’re trying to help a friend with something at which you know they would want to excel.”
sounds so, so, so snooty.
I think I could have put it better like this:
“The only time anyone should point out errors of this nature are when they are done consistently, and they are glaringly taking away from the readability of the piece. Another time would be when a friend has asked you to help them.”

I think that would have been much better. Just goes to show, it happens to all of us.

32

Okay, so we agree on that! (Thank Goddess! I was so worried that we would NEVER agree on anything but that I’m fabulous!) :wink:

Anyway, to the OP: In casual conversation, no, I’m not going to point out problems with grammar or syntax unless I’m unclear about what you are saying.

Out here? Yeah, I can get persnickety about a spelling error. I usually do it to someone I don’t like anyway or I’ll dig at someone I like and I’m just tweaking their tit.

BTW “insignificent” is spelled “insignificant”. TWEAK!

33

In the words of the great Winston Churchill:

34

Spell check? Here? Never.

I usually resist the urge to correct all the good folks here who constantly mis-spell “colour”,“behaviour”, and “humour”. Seems that a virus has infected my spell checker too as it often tries to change the correct spellings of these words by removing the u from ou.

35

A lot of it has to do with the way you correct someone, and the attitude you use when you do it. For instance, when Byz corrected me it was in a playful attitude, and therefore not insulting.

36

I realize the post in this thread was a lil, how you say, overboard. I’m not entirely sure why I went after it to viciously. Really, I’m not THAT insane, and usually errors in posts don’t bother me, unless they are glaring that change the whole meaning of the sentence (such as double negatives), but I’m not some kind of language Nazi or something.
Really.
:slight_smile:

37

I believe you, really, I do.
You, much like Byz, are two women who seem to have a lot of attitude.
And that’s cool, don’t get me wrong. I mean that as a compliment. I wouldn’t want Byz to do more to me with her hands, feet and body than someone could do with a knife.

I was just noticing that lately, a lot of your posts seem to be all pissed off, like you have some kind of chip on your shoulder about something.
Is anything wrong? Or have you always been this punchy, and I just didn’t notice?

38

You say insane like that’s a bad thing.

39

Lex, I’m starting to freak out over some things in my life. I’ve always been bitchy, but I try to keep control of myself. Lately though, I have been using my resevoirs of control elsewhere.
Nothing is SERIOUSLY wrong, there’s no life or death situations. Just a lot of minor things that have added up to create a couple major problems.
Thank you for your concern, and your compliments. I appreciate it. :slight_smile:

40

Um, am I the only person here who has worries in real life that take priority? I don’t like to stress out too much in my life, so I save my stress for issues that affect me personally. I’m stressed out about the fact that school starts in less than a month. I’m stressed out because I had to cancel a trip to see a friend this summer. I don’t have the time or energy to sit and spend hours at a time at my computer, nitpicking posts for spelling and grammar errors. Quite frankly, if you do, you should count your blessings.