it’s = contraction of “it is,” as in “it is simple.”
its = possessive, as in “its wing was broken.”
You wouldn’t say, “It is wing was broken,” now would you?
My work here is done.
Just use its’ every time.
AaAAHHHrrrrggg!!!
I knew that I had fixed it.
Thank you for continuing the fight against apostrophe ignorance, Large Marge. With a name like that, maybe you can get people to listen.
Really, though, I don’t understand the extra apostrophe people at all. The ones who write something like “zoo’s are a lot of fun”. Why would you put something extra in there? Just slap an ‘s’ on the end of the word and be done with it!!
Sometimes, I type away and forget the possessive usage. I do know the difference perfectly well, but the error creeps in.
Life’s too short to go getting in a tizzy over other people’s spelling, though, IMHO.
Yes. Also, I’m stalking this poster. 
(not really)
As often as this rant comes up, I nominate the subject to become a sticky. That way, we can just post in the provided thread instead of new ones getting started every 6 weeks. As an added plus, making it a sticky would keep it before our eyes all the time, thus (hopefully) limitting the number of times its egregious use is noticed.
I agree. It’s an idea with much merit.
Is there a reason this is in the Pit and more importantly, why make two threads?
C’mon…have you ever read English language usage threads here on the Dope? If anything belongs in the pit, its this.
Yep. I took it that Large Marge was fucked off about its/it’s confusion. Without sayin’ as much, of course.
I learned it this way:
its’= it is
its= possessive
YMMV
Bolding mine.
Is this a whoosh or do I honestly not understand the rule for it’s and its?
Whoosh. 
sweet.
Good thing this is the Pit then.
Really?
[nitpick]
it’s is also a contraction of “it has,” e.g. “it’s been a lovely day.”
[/nitpick]
Right, but the bottom line is that “it’s” is not a possessive. It drives me nuts, too. I get all kinds of memos at work like that and it makes me want to crack some skulls. It’s as if nobody taught them the difference, and it makes then look like illiterates.
Of course, in this case it’s much ado about nothing, since I’m perhaps the only person on the entire base that notices the difference. I once had a 15-minute argument with someone on why this was so, and I would probably have been better off talking to myself. It was in one ear and out the other.
And of course I include a typo in my post. :rolleyes:
It’s just a stupid convention. It could just as easily be the same for both usages. In fact, it should be the same, and that would get rid of the confusion. I can’t think of a situation where the context wouldn’t make it clear what the meaning was.