Author Topic: Is punctuation REALLY that difficult?  (Read 10595 times)

Offline daved

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 2093
    • http://
Is punctuation REALLY that difficult?
« on: December 07, 2009, 07:41:59 AM »
I have to apologize in advance, here, because I'm sure that what I'm about to say is going to PO some people. But I just can't stand it anymore. It seems the older I get, the worse the language is getting butchered. I'm no English major, but I think that the stuff I write is clear, concise, and easy to read, and at least part of the reason for that is punctuation! Too often I see posts that run on forever, no commas or periods, no capitalization, and no paragraph breaks. Throw in caps lock and lousy spelling, and I just can't be bothered to even try to read it. Which is probably too bad, because I'm probably missing some stuff that might be worth reading. Has the education system in this country really deteriorated that much, or are people just too, what, rude, careless, busy? Not to be picking on anyone in particular, but it seems to be much worse among the younger members of the various forums. And a lot of that seems to be texting shorthand. I'm pretty sure there's a special place in hell for the idiot that came up with THAT bright idea! People, the whole purpose of language is to be able to communicate. A long, never ending string of words is not communication, it's diarrhea of the brain. Stepping off my soap box now, but only to reduce my target profile. Later. Dave

Offline bodiej

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 337
    • http://
Re: Is punctuation REALLY that difficult?
« Reply #1 on: December 07, 2009, 07:58:16 AM »
amen brother! ,,  :;

Offline North Pack

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1228
    • http://
Re: Is punctuation REALLY that difficult?
« Reply #2 on: December 07, 2009, 08:13:33 AM »
Not PO'd at all, ... an excellent post as a matter of fact. I'm a mod on another (sports) board, you wouldn't believe what gets posted. If correct English and grammar were required for posting, about 70% would be deleted.

Offline dk1677

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1436
    • http://
Re: Is punctuation REALLY that difficult?
« Reply #3 on: December 07, 2009, 09:31:18 AM »
I know my sentience structure is awful, but I do use spell check  ; )       ( two finger typing is difficult and slow LOL )
Hammerli 850, Beeman RS3 ,Gamo viper express,Crosman 180

Offline ShadowShot

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1475
    • http://www.wordoftruthassembly.com
Re: Is punctuation REALLY that difficult?
« Reply #4 on: December 07, 2009, 09:51:54 AM »
I do agree that everything should be somewhat grammatically correct. If we were filling out a form or report it would be expected.

We must keep in mind that not all members of our forum have the ability to read and  write proficiently. Please don't get me wrong here,
we should try to  articulate our thoughts in a coherent and legible manner. We just don't want making a post here an unnerving experience
for our members. We come here to relax, unwind, and share our knowledge and experiences with each other.

My posts may not be up to par for others, however, other peoples posts are not up to par to what I would except.
If I can understand what someone is trying to convey, thats all that really matters to me.  

 
2010 Kills

12 Tree Rats
36 Grackles
47 Cow Birds
4 Starlings
2 Crows
1 Ground Hog
9

Offline only1harry

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 3155
    • http://
Re: Is punctuation REALLY that difficult?
« Reply #5 on: December 07, 2009, 10:33:12 AM »
I don't know about this thread, but I have not noticed too much "butchering" at a couple of other GTA forums I hang out at.

To tell you the truth, most of the people I work with have College degrees, but they still can't spell or even compose grammatically correct sentences.  My boss is one of them and actually many are management who I have noticed lack some skills in spelling and grammar.  They live with MS Word Spell & Grammar checker.  They cannot do without it.  I rarely use it but probably should because I am no English major either, and I tend to write sentences that drag on sometimes.  Especially late at night when I am tired.  My wife with a high school education cannot write too well either and her spelling is equivelant to 5th or 6th grade at best, if I had to rate it.  So I don't think College has anything to do with it.  I did not learn how to read & write in College.  I took mostly math and science classes, phych, economics, German, and all those required "humanities" (and/or Arts) courses..  Surprisingly an English or Writing class was not a requirement(!) if you were an engineering major.  Most of us pick up writing skills mainly in Grammar school and high school.  That's where/when you pick up the basics and a good foundation for most things academic.  So I don't think a higher education is a contributing factor to proper spelling & grammar skills in most cases.  

Everyone functions at their own level.  Truth be told, my dad could write much better than me, and my brother who is a little older also writes better.  So I believe that the public school education or curicculum has diminished somewhat, but I would also have to say it is the individual and how much attention they paid in school while growing up.  We all day dreamed in class, some more, some less (I would dream of going home and shooting my 760 Crosman back in the late 70's, early 80's, no BS!) and dreaded doing homework, but if I didn't bring home a B or better, I 'd be grounded.  Actually unless it was a B+ my dad wasn't too happy.  So I was sort of forced to be an above average student, study, pay attention in class, and try harder.  In conclusion, "how" you were brought up also has a lot to do with it in my opinion.  By that I don't mean just how your parents reacted to your grades, but who you hung out with, how much supervision you received after school, etc. as a child, all contributed to the academic or grammar/spelling level one is at today.  Of course that's just my opinion and what I have learned and observed meeting different people in the last 43yrs.
Springers:
Diana 36 .177
Diana 350 .22 (donated by Timmy!)
Diana 350 .177
PCP\'s:
Air Force Condor .22 (Airhog)
Air Force Condor .25 (Talon Tunes)
Air Force Condor .25 (Lemak)  
CO2/Pump:
RWS Hammerli 850 .22
Crosman 2240 Custom .22
A few Crosman pumpers .177

Offline dw33

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 757
    • http://
Re: Is punctuation REALLY that difficult?
« Reply #6 on: December 07, 2009, 10:56:02 AM »
i no jus how u feel cuz it boothers me to u jus got to over look there poor gramer skillz

(The internet/phone texting  is going to be the death of the English language, u no wat i mean?)

Offline ShadowShot

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1475
    • http://www.wordoftruthassembly.com
Re: Is punctuation REALLY that difficult?
« Reply #7 on: December 07, 2009, 11:08:43 AM »


Quote
dw33 - 12/7/2009  6:56 PM  i no jus how u feel cuz it boothers me to u jus got to over look there poor gramer skillz  (The internet/phone texting  is going to be the death of the English language, u no wat i mean?)



Lol,
I knew that was coming.



L8r M8

2010 Kills

12 Tree Rats
36 Grackles
47 Cow Birds
4 Starlings
2 Crows
1 Ground Hog
9

Offline Big_Bill

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 5615
    • http://
Re: Is punctuation REALLY that difficult?
« Reply #8 on: December 07, 2009, 11:58:00 AM »


As it has been pointed out, well "educated" people have the worst handwriting, spelling and grammar than anyone. But putting them aside, I also know many of our members are from foreign countries, and they do surprisingly well writing in a second or third language. Try sending you post in Spanish and see how poorly you do ! Or any other language for that matter.



I believe that our membership do fairly well considering we are an international Air Gunforum.



Bill



Como se ha señalado, y "educada" la gente tiene la peor de escritura, ortografía y la gramática que nadie. Pero, dejando a un lado, yo también sé que muchos de nuestros miembros son de países extranjeros, y lo hacen sorprendentemente bien escrito, en una segunda o tercera lengua. Trate de enviar de publicar en español y ver cómo lo haces mal! O cualquier otro idioma para el caso.



Creo que nuestros miembros hacen bastante bien considerando que es una organización internacional Pistola de Aire foro.



Cuenta

Life Member of The United States of America
Life Member of the National Rifle Association
Member Air Guns Addicted Anonymous
SHOOT SAFE ! - SHOOT WELL ! - SHOOT OFTEN !
Always Use A Spring Compressor ! and Buy the GREAT GRT-III & CBR Triggers, cause they are GRRRREAT !

Offline pindog2000

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1225
    • http://
Re: Is punctuation REALLY that difficult?
« Reply #9 on: December 07, 2009, 12:16:44 PM »
My doctor been in practice for 40 yrs and he writes very bad and cant spell but i understand exactly what he writes 8)
keep your eyes on the prize & dont let it crawl away.

Offline shadow

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 11453
    • http://airguncamo@yahoo.com
Re: Is punctuation REALLY that difficult?
« Reply #10 on: December 07, 2009, 12:54:12 PM »
I may fall short in this category at times but I'll pick up the slack shooting those airguns. :) Ed
I airgun hunt therefore I am... };)  {SHADOWS Tunes & Camo}  airguncamo@yahoo.com

Offline gamo2hammerli

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 6261
    • http://
Re: Is punctuation REALLY that difficult?
« Reply #11 on: December 07, 2009, 12:58:02 PM »
Yep, that bothers me abit too.  I would probably fail an English composition test but I try to use punctuations, break my message into paragraphs and check my spelling before posting.  Hmmm...that sentence was abit long.  heh heh
Gamo: Expotec .177 + Big Cat .177 + Viper .177 + Whisper .177, Hammerli Titan .177, Diana model 24 .177, RWS-Diana P5 Magnum pistol .177, Crosman: G1 Extreme .177 + Storm XT .177 + Sierra Pro .177 + 1377 pistol .177, Air Arms S410SL .22, BSA Scorpion T10 .22, FX Cyclone .177, Remington Air Master 77 .177 + BB\'s,

Offline Bentong

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 837
    • http://
Re: Is punctuation REALLY that difficult?
« Reply #12 on: December 07, 2009, 01:35:39 PM »
COOL, AT LEAST NOBODY TYPED ALL CAPS!! :=)

Offline Gene_SC

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 11378
    • http://www.airguntoys.com
Re: Is punctuation REALLY that difficult?
« Reply #13 on: December 07, 2009, 01:58:31 PM »


I am totally guilty of that Dave..:( Will try and use spell checker all the time and keep my sentence in order.



Sometimes I can not even read or understand what I write it is so bad..:(

THE ONES I SLEEP WITH: BSA Lightning XL, AA TX-200, AA ProSport, BSA Ultra, HW-97K, Crosman NPSS .177, FX Cyclone, HW-30 Nicle Plated, AA-S200, Crosman Marauder, CZ-634, R-9 DG, Webley/Scott UK Tomahawk, Benji Kantana, Benji Marauder, Benji Discovery.....
....

Gene\'s Tunz n Toyz
Springer Tunin

Offline Big_Bill

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 5615
    • http://
Hey Daved !
« Reply #14 on: December 07, 2009, 02:28:52 PM »


Are you considering starting a class for English grammar, spelling and punctuation ?



Perhaps Gene can make a "NEW" Forum for Ya !



Keep us informed, I would like to attend your classes.



William

Life Member of The United States of America
Life Member of the National Rifle Association
Member Air Guns Addicted Anonymous
SHOOT SAFE ! - SHOOT WELL ! - SHOOT OFTEN !
Always Use A Spring Compressor ! and Buy the GREAT GRT-III & CBR Triggers, cause they are GRRRREAT !