# You are not freaking E.E. Cummings. English usage exists for a REASON, damn it! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 16, 2008, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-are-not-freaking-e-e-cummings-english-usage-exists-for-a-reason-damn-it/463899 "2008-09-16T21:17:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![djf750](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ea666f/32.png) [@djf750](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/djf750)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2008, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-are-not-freaking-e-e-cummings-english-usage-exists-for-a-reason-damn-it/463899/141 "2008-09-20T20:13:03Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > Your persecution complex is immense and multifaceted. I’m honored to have pride of place in it. Who knew that an offhand comment about someone’s formatting skills would have such a profound deformative effect on their psyche? hey, just because i have a persecution complex doesn’t mean people aren’t out to git (i love that word) me rimshot miller, if i knew how, i would go back and cut and paste all your “offhand” remarks, bad spelling and all, and post them here you led your little mob of dolts against me and not one of you could make one post without a grammatical or spelling error in it ---
**Author:** ![djf750](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ea666f/32.png) [@djf750](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/djf750)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2008, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-are-not-freaking-e-e-cummings-english-usage-exists-for-a-reason-damn-it/463899/142 "2008-09-20T20:15:51Z")
> [@Q.E.D](#): > > Oh, bullshit. You deliberately posted to start a shitstorm, you lying sack of crap. wow, can’t get anything by you, sherlock holmes ---
**Author:** ![poker\_in\_the\_rear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/dc4da7/32.png) [@poker\_in\_the\_rear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/poker_in_the_rear)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2008, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-are-not-freaking-e-e-cummings-english-usage-exists-for-a-reason-damn-it/463899/143 "2008-09-20T20:19:51Z")
> [@djf750](#): > > you believe my it? > > what the fuck? ha, i laughed out loud ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2008, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-are-not-freaking-e-e-cummings-english-usage-exists-for-a-reason-damn-it/463899/144 "2008-09-20T20:22:27Z")
> [@djf750](#): > > wow, can’t get anything by you, sherlock holmes I think this is a good time for you to calm down and do something else for a while. It’s clear that your only purpose in this thread is to get people worked up (that’s called trolling), and you’ve already been warned about it once - this makes two. Stop it. ---
**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:** [September 20, 2008, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-are-not-freaking-e-e-cummings-english-usage-exists-for-a-reason-damn-it/463899/145 "2008-09-20T20:46:47Z")
> [@djf750](#): > > hey, just because i have a persecution complex doesn’t mean people aren’t out to git (i love that word) me > > rimshot > > miller, if i knew how, i would go back and cut and paste all your “offhand” remarks, bad spelling and all, and post them here You mean [this thread?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=184591) You really want _more_ people to read that thread? You really have no sense of self-preservation at all, do you? Yeah, go ahead and quote your little heart out from that thread. Here, I’ll get you started: > [@me](#): > > Pretty sure we’ve been over this territory before, djf750, but like I’ve always said, there is a huge difference between not being able to spell or speak correctly, and deliberately flouting the conventions of English. Yes, I probably made a few typos in my post. Probably will make a few more in this one. I can say with a fair degree of certainty that I have never, not once in my entire time on the boards, given anyone a hard time over making typos. Accidents happen, and this is a casual medium that shouldn’t require pains-taking proofreading. > [@me](#): > > That said, once again, I don’t think that either owlofcreamcheese or yourself are stupid or uneducated because of the way you type. I’ve said repeatedly that I think you both are doing yourselves a disservice by not putting the best possible face on your posts. You’ve said a few times that what you’re interested in are people’s ideas. I’m the same way, but when you type the way you do, it makes it measurably more difficult to understand the ideas you are trying to communicate. It’s not impossible, but it takes a lot more effort on my end to follow what you’re trying to say. > [@me](#): > > I’m genuinely sorry to hear that. I have a good deal of respect for you, djf750, if only becase you pointed out to me that I’d been spelling the word “business” wrong for my entire adult life. This may sound cheesy, but everytime I type it now, I think of you. I mean that with absolute sincerity. Thanks to you, I’m just the slightest bit smarter than I used to be. > [@me](#): > > Again, I’m not judging your intelligence, I’m commenting on how you present yourself on the boards. I genuinely try not to judge poster’s intelligence based on their English skills. Other people are not so charitable. Yeah, clearly I was the asshole in that thread. > [@djf750](#): > > you led your little mob of dolts against me and not one of you could make one post without a grammatical or spelling error in it Hey, dumbfuck: neither that thread, nor this one, was about you. And you _still_ haven’t figured out what a typo is. My God, you’re pathetic. ---
**Author:** ![djf750](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ea666f/32.png) [@djf750](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/djf750)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2008, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-are-not-freaking-e-e-cummings-english-usage-exists-for-a-reason-damn-it/463899/146 "2008-09-20T21:48:21Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > You mean [this thread?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=184591) You really want _more_ people to read that thread? You really have no sense of self-preservation at all, do you? Yeah, go ahead and quote your little heart out from that thread. Here, I’ll get you started: > > Yeah, clearly I was the asshole in that thread. > > Hey, dumbfuck: neither that thread, nor this one, was about you. And you _still_ haven’t figured out what a typo is. My God, you’re pathetic. damn miller, let it go…grow up ---
**Author:** ![djf750](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ea666f/32.png) [@djf750](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/djf750)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2008, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-are-not-freaking-e-e-cummings-english-usage-exists-for-a-reason-damn-it/463899/147 "2008-09-20T21:50:06Z")
> [@InvisibleWombat](#): > > I think this is a good time for you to calm down and do something else for a while. It’s clear that your only purpose in this thread is to get people worked up (that’s called trolling), and you’ve already been warned about it once - this makes two. > > Stop it. why dont you go after those who criticize other peoples writing? isnt that being a jerk, which is against the rules? ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2008, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-are-not-freaking-e-e-cummings-english-usage-exists-for-a-reason-damn-it/463899/148 "2008-09-20T21:51:56Z")
Swing and a miss. Constructive criticism is not jerkish at all. It’s when you’re being a dick about it like you are now, Mr. Hyper-Defensive, that it becomes a problem. ---
**Author:** ![LurkMeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3da27b/32.png) [@LurkMeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkMeister)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2008, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-are-not-freaking-e-e-cummings-english-usage-exists-for-a-reason-damn-it/463899/149 "2008-09-20T21:54:38Z")
> [@djf750](#): > > > [@LurkMeister](#): > > > > And we will continue to think of you as a whiny little git who should go back to your bridge and stay there. > > git is a very cool word > [@djf750](#): > > hey, just because i have a persecution complex doesn’t mean people aren’t out to git (i love that word) me FYI (I assume you know what that means) a [git](http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/git) is “a silly, incompetent, stupid, annoying or childish person”. It was not a typo on my part, but was carefully chosen because it so exactly describes you. > [@djf750](#): > > why dont you go after those who criticize other peoples writing? > > isnt that being a jerk, which is against the rules? And here you prove the correctness of my characterization. Criticizing other people’s writing is not being a jerk. Persisting in acting like an asshole after you’ve been told to knock it off is being a jerk. ---
**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:** [September 20, 2008, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-are-not-freaking-e-e-cummings-english-usage-exists-for-a-reason-damn-it/463899/150 "2008-09-20T22:04:32Z")
> [@djf750](#): > > why dont you go after those who criticize other peoples writing? > > isnt that being a jerk, which is against the rules? Nope. Not even close. But good attempt. You actually came within five light years of reality with that remark. Keep trying, and someday you might work your way up to merely batshit crazy, instead of… whatever it is you are now. ---
**Author:** ![djf750](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ea666f/32.png) [@djf750](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/djf750)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2008, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-are-not-freaking-e-e-cummings-english-usage-exists-for-a-reason-damn-it/463899/151 "2008-09-20T22:14:38Z")
> [@LurkMeister](#): > > FYI (I assume you know what that means) a [git](http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/git) is “a silly, incompetent, stupid, annoying or childish person”. It was not a typo on my part, but was carefully chosen because it so exactly describes you. > And here you prove the correctness of my characterization. Criticizing other people’s writing is not being a jerk. Persisting in acting like an asshole after you’ve been told to knock it off is being a jerk. criticizing the way people write and then not adding a fucking thing to the thread, which is what really pissed me off originally,would seem to me to be acting like a jerk and i know what git means, and i was congratulating you on a great word now i take it all back git sucks ---
**Author:** ![Hakuna\_Matata](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a88e4f/32.png) [@Hakuna\_Matata](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hakuna_Matata)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2008, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-are-not-freaking-e-e-cummings-english-usage-exists-for-a-reason-damn-it/463899/152 "2008-09-20T22:21:35Z")
> [@ivan\_astikov](#): > > Pssst… **Hakuna** , it’s “grammar”. 😃 Damn–I should grape you, wait this is in the pit right? Fuck you, you grammar nazi! 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2008, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-are-not-freaking-e-e-cummings-english-usage-exists-for-a-reason-damn-it/463899/153 "2008-09-20T23:13:14Z")
> [@djf750](#): > > > [@InvisibleWombat](#): > > > > I think this is a good time for you to calm down and do something else for a while. It’s clear that your only purpose in this thread is to get people worked up (that’s called trolling), and you’ve already been warned about it once - this makes two. > > > > Stop it. > > why dont you go after those who criticize other peoples writing? > > isnt that being a jerk, which is against the rules? I’m going to give you the benefit of the doubt and assume this is an actual question instead of what I think it is. First, you’re in a message board that has a defined culture, which includes (nay-requires) clear communication. You are intentionally flouting the culture and convention, and using that defiance of the rules of English to try to start arguments. Again, that’s called trolling. Secondly, you’re in the Pit. Take a moment to think about what it is. If you do something annoying in the Pit, you _will_ be criticized for it. They’ll wonder about your inexplicable inability to find the “shift” key; they’ll comment on the sad state of your personal hygiene; they’ll note the marked lack of branching in your family tree; they’ll speculate on why the other trolls don’t let you join in any troll games; and they’ll most likely use highly offensive language when they do so. But if you continue to troll in _any_ SDMB forum after being warned twice to knock it off, you won’t be here to experience any of it. ---
**Author:** ![Sleeps\_With\_Butterflies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@Sleeps\_With\_Butterflies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sleeps_With_Butterflies)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2008, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-are-not-freaking-e-e-cummings-english-usage-exists-for-a-reason-damn-it/463899/154 "2008-09-20T23:37:40Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > \>snip\< > Far more sadly I admit that my wife has similar online posting habits. But at least the boards she frequents have a different culture than we. I’m glad to see you realize how silly your OP is considering that your wife typed the same way. Not just capitalization problems, but teenager speak. [Why](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=10110591&postcount=36) [didn’t](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=10110204&postcount=29) [you](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=10107034&postcount=16) [Pit](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=10109702&postcount=9) [her?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=10106980&postcount=1) Just curious. Kthxbye! ---
**Author:** ![djf750](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ea666f/32.png) [@djf750](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/djf750)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2008, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-are-not-freaking-e-e-cummings-english-usage-exists-for-a-reason-damn-it/463899/155 "2008-09-21T04:17:16Z")
> [@InvisibleWombat](#): > > I’m going to give you the benefit of the doubt and assume this is an actual question instead of what I think it is. > > First, you’re in a message board that has a defined culture, which includes (nay-requires) clear communication. You are intentionally flouting the culture and convention, and using that defiance of the rules of English to try to start arguments. Again, that’s called trolling. > > Secondly, you’re in the Pit. Take a moment to think about what it is. If you do something annoying in the Pit, you _will_ be criticized for it. They’ll wonder about your inexplicable inability to find the “shift” key; they’ll comment on the sad state of your personal hygiene; they’ll note the marked lack of branching in your family tree; they’ll speculate on why the other trolls don’t let you join in any troll games; and they’ll most likely use highly offensive language when they do so. > > But if you continue to troll in _any_ SDMB forum after being warned twice to knock it off, you won’t be here to experience any of it. yes or no? i must capitalize to post here? my posts aren’t clear enough if i don’t capitalize? ---
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2008, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-are-not-freaking-e-e-cummings-english-usage-exists-for-a-reason-damn-it/463899/156 "2008-09-21T17:28:45Z")
> [@Hakuna\_Matata](#): > > 😃 Damn–I should grape you, wait this is in the pit right? Fuck you, you grammar nazi! 🆒 Much better. Although you only get 9/10, because Nazi should have been capitalised for full effect. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![kidchameleon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/898d66/32.png) [@kidchameleon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kidchameleon)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2008, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-are-not-freaking-e-e-cummings-english-usage-exists-for-a-reason-damn-it/463899/157 "2008-09-21T17:51:21Z")
> [@djf750](#): > > yes or no? > i must capitalize to post here? my posts aren’t clear enough if i don’t capitalize? You’re pretty dense. So nice to see a banning in progress rather than in retrospect. ---
**Author:** ![djf750](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ea666f/32.png) [@djf750](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/djf750)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2008, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-are-not-freaking-e-e-cummings-english-usage-exists-for-a-reason-damn-it/463899/158 "2008-09-21T18:52:12Z")
> [@kidchameleon](#): > > You’re pretty dense. > > So nice to see a banning in progress rather than in retrospect. oky ill get banned responding to your stupid post, ASSHOLE OK FOLKS , HERE IS WHERE IT ALL BEGAN > **[how would you punish them?](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=82275)** > > im talking about those creatures in new york who lured that 15 year old massachusetts girl to new york via an aol chatroom and then raped her and then “lent” her to some other piece of trash who sexually assaulted her for days and kept her in a... here is where barneyfife-miller originally reared it’s ugly head to help me look intelligent and to be taken seriously YET IN HIS STRANGE LITTLE WORLD, IT WAS JUST “HELPFUL ADVICE” ON HOW TO BE UNDERSTOOD AND ACCEPTED this from a pseudo intellectual who doesnt know the difference between to, too, and two MILLER, THERE ARE SOME VERY INTELLIGENT PEOPLE POSTING HERE you are not one of them (to, too, two) GoOd ByE cRuEl wOrLd ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2008, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-are-not-freaking-e-e-cummings-english-usage-exists-for-a-reason-damn-it/463899/159 "2008-09-21T19:03:33Z")
> [@Sleeps\_With\_Butterflies](#): > > I’m glad to see you realize how silly your OP is considering that your wife typed the same way. Not just capitalization problems, but teenager speak. > > [Why](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=10110591&postcount=36) [didn’t](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=10110204&postcount=29) [you](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=10107034&postcount=16) [Pit](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=10109702&postcount=9) [her?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=10106980&postcount=1) > > Just curious. Kthxbye! Because I love her, obviously. Also, doing so would be a violation of board rules, i think, as it would be taking an real-world, off-board conflict onto the board. That is tacky. (Horribly, my wife is encouraged in this habit by my baby sister, who not only eschews capitalization in personal communication but also writes everything in purple. And she’s THIRTY-THREE!) ---
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2008, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-are-not-freaking-e-e-cummings-english-usage-exists-for-a-reason-damn-it/463899/160 "2008-09-21T19:15:05Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > Because I love her, obviously. Also, doing so would be a violation of board rules, i think, as it would be taking an real-world, off-board conflict onto the board. That is tacky. > > (Horribly, my wife is encouraged in this habit by my baby sister, who not only eschews capitalization in personal communication but also writes everything in purple. And she’s THIRTY-THREE!) Grapist!!! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-are-not-freaking-e-e-cummings-english-usage-exists-for-a-reason-damn-it/463899.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-are-not-freaking-e-e-cummings-english-usage-exists-for-a-reason-damn-it/463899.md?page=9)