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Post by Koalabear on Sept 8, 2017 14:16:47 GMT -5
Common courtesy and forgiveness of little mistakes - and even bigger ones are courtesies the reader gives to the writer for his/her contributions to the forum, whether in the form of questions or answers. To paraphrase a famous book: "let he who is without errors and is perfect in punctuation cast the first virtual stone".
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Post by Anon O. Mous on Sept 8, 2017 14:31:14 GMT -5
I used to think of myself as anal retentive when I proofread my emails and forum posts time and time again before posting them. I even read them after posting them, critiquing and correcting them until I'm satisfiend. Thanks, amidf . Now I know I'm not the only one. However, no matter how distasteful or difficult I find it to read someone else's spelling, grammar or their use of textese, I never found it necessary to humiliate them for their shortcomings, especially if English was their second language. Naturally, I would hope that people would have the courtesy to do their utmost to type clear and concise messages. For a lot of people, that clearly isn't a priority. Even though it rankles, it's to be expected, and accepted. Those who can be clear and concise should try to set an example for those who don't, with the way we structure our posts, not by publicly belittling them. I try my best to be clear and concise, but I'm not perfect, nor do I profess to be. And I don't expect others to be, especially if English is not their native language. Occasionally, in my haste, I'll mistype something, or miss something when I proofread it. Things happen. Please don't ridicule someone because they missed a punctuation mark here or there. Not all of us watched Schoolhouse Rock when we were kids. Again, my apologies to the moderators for going off topic or if I caused offense. I don't usually sound off like this, but felt it necessary to do so. I won't do it again.
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Post by amidf on Sept 8, 2017 16:44:57 GMT -5
I agree with much of what has been written about being forgiving of errors made by others. Yes, my OP was made as a parody of another poster's punctuation-free content. And, yes, this thread did gain a lot more attention when I linked to it as a critique of the same author for another post which had no sentence ending marks nor capital letters. Remember, I already made a half bum-bum apology for that.
But don't be confused. The OP at the start of this thread contains a very positive message. It asks posters to pledge to make their posts readable. This is a call for those who would set an example. It does not say people cannot make typos, spell words incorrectly, or confuse "who" and "whom." That's why I would question someone who attacks the notions presented in the first post - are you sure you don't want to make your posts readable to others?
I work in a field where there are plenty of brilliant people who do not speak English as their first language. I am very tolerant of that as my second language skills are atrocious. When they use the wrong word or misspell a word, I get it. I understand. The pledge does not require anyone to be perfect. But it does ask folks to make an effort.
I have joked in responses that I am a "grammar Nazi." That's actually true to the extent that I am drawn to errors and will reread sentences if something seems out of kilter. Sometimes it is because I misread a word, so I want to correct my own understanding first. I post from a phone, and the format makes it difficult to proofread posts before I have submitted them. I always reread my posts and I usually correct at least one typo or rephrase something in the first edit. Sometimes it takes more than one edit. Sometimes I will just let a mistake go. Sometimes I don't recognize I made a mistake.
This thread is about none of that. I am not going to harp on one typo or error. I may make light of a misspelling or wrong word choice (e.g. "worse"), but that is strictly for comedic effect. I am a grammar Nazi toward my own posts, but I am forgiving of mistakes made by others.
The second language learner who inspired this thread has since gone on to make more punctuation-free posts. I've already tried with that person. I am not sure what the deficit is, but it is apparent I am not going to change it. So let's move forward trying to make things clear and readable. And only a little imperfect.
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Post by Anon O. Mous on Sept 8, 2017 16:55:43 GMT -5
I agree with much of what has been written about being forgiving of errors made by others. Yes, my OP was made as a parody of another poster's punctuation-free content. And, yes, this thread did gain a lot more attention when I linked to it as a critique of the same author for another post which had no sentence ending marks nor capital letters. Remember, I already made a half bum-bum apology for that. But don't be confused. The OP at the start of this thread contains a very positive message. It asks posters to pledge to make their posts readable. This is a call for those who would set an example. It does not say people cannot make typos, spell words incorrectly, or confuse "who" and "whom." That's why I would question someone who attacks the notions presented in the first post - are you sure you don't want to make your posts readable to others? I work in a field where there are plenty of brilliant people who do not speak English as their first language. I am very tolerant of that as my second language skills are atrocious. When they use the wrong word or misspell a word, I get it. I understand. The pledge does not require anyone to be perfect. But it does ask folks to make an effort. I have joked in responses that I am a "grammar Nazi." That's actually true to the extent that I am drawn to errors and will reread sentences if something seems out of kilter. Sometimes it is because I misread a word, so I want to correct my own understanding first. I post from a phone, and the format makes it difficult to proofread posts before I have submitted them. I always reread my posts and I usually correct at least one typo or rephrase something in the first edit. Sometimes it takes more than one edit. Sometimes I will just let a mistake go. Sometimes I don't recognize I made a mistake. This thread is about none of that. I am not going to harp on one typo or error. I may make light of a misspelling or wrong word choice (e.g. "worse"), but that is strictly for comedic effect. I am a grammar Nazi toward my own posts, but I am forgiving of mistakes made by others. The second language learner who inspired this thread has since gone on to make more punctuation-free posts. I've already tried with that person. I am not sure what the deficit is, but it is apparent I am not going to change it. So let's move forward trying to make things clear and readable. And only a little imperfect. I, too, wish to apologize. I overreacted, and didn't recognize the OP as parody. I misinterpreted it, and thought of it as compounding the original infraction. For this, I offer humble apologies to the members of the Forum and to the OP.
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peregrine
Recruit
Posts: 7
Karma: 0
Pilot name: Peregrine
Platform: Facebook
Clan: Guardians of War
League: Silver
Server Region: North America
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Post by peregrine on Sept 8, 2017 16:56:22 GMT -5
When a game comes down to proper punctuation, and spelling it tends to cause me to wonder. If I do not write like an English Major what is being said of my game play? Maybe I should not spend on the game, and just quit.
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Post by Anon O. Mous on Sept 8, 2017 17:02:49 GMT -5
When a game comes down to proper punctuation, and spelling it tends to cause me to wonder. If I do not write like an English Major what is being said of my game play? Maybe I should not spend on the game, and just quit. I hope you're not serious. This was just a [pee-pee]ing contest between two headstrong people. Don't be offended. Nobody should be, and I hope nobody was.
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Post by amidf on Sept 8, 2017 17:16:11 GMT -5
When a game comes down to proper punctuation, and spelling it tends to cause me to wonder. If I do not write like an English Major what is being said of my game play? Maybe I should not spend on the game, and just quit. I hope you're not serious. This was just a [pee-pee]ing contest between two headstrong people. Don't be offended. Nobody should be, and I hope nobody was. I don't know, Anon O. Mous. It's hard to judge without seeing a sample of peregrine's in-game chat messages. BTW, I wasn't an English major. Why do people keep bringing up English majors? Ending sentences with periods is taught in early primary school.
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Post by Anon O. Mous on Sept 8, 2017 17:29:25 GMT -5
BTW, I wasn't an English major. Why do people keep bringing up English majors? Ending sentences with periods is taught in early primary school. Because it's statutory if you attack English Minors? I suppose I could adopt my right proper British accent, and say something like, "You can't strike an English officer, old man. Not cricket, what? I'm afraid it just won't do." Let it go, Amid.
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Post by ΜØØSE on Sept 8, 2017 17:39:47 GMT -5
I resolved to joined this group and punctual correctly.
I will do you one better - I hear by also commit to typing with a British accent, so I sound all the more smarter.
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f1amereaver
Destrier
Posts: 91
Karma: 36
League: Expert
Server Region: Europe
Favorite robot: Kumiho
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Post by f1amereaver on Sept 8, 2017 17:46:48 GMT -5
I hope you're not serious. This was just a [pee-pee]ing contest between two headstrong people. Don't be offended. Nobody should be, and I hope nobody was. I don't know, Anon O. Mous. It's hard to judge without seeing a sample of peregrine's in-game chat messages. BTW, I wasn't an English major. Why do people keep bringing up English majors? Ending sentences with periods is taught in early primary school. Is a flipping Full stop!!!!! A period is something completely different....I'll give you a clue. Its involves females?
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Post by Anon O. Mous on Sept 8, 2017 17:52:22 GMT -5
That is so wrong, and in so many ways.
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Post by Demosthenes on Sept 8, 2017 17:53:14 GMT -5
I am not sure what the English "minors" and "majors" refers to. I assume it is an American thing. My secondary education was in Physics. I am English. Please don't assume we share all the same cultural references, that is sloppy and lazy use of language; e.g. I have no idea what an SAT is.
I must take issue with the comment on British accents. Great Britain consists of three countries: England, Scotland, and Wales. The Scots, Welsh and English speak very different variants of "English". Within each country there are many different accents; all valid and glorious. The accent to which you refer is an antiquated variant of the English accent used by the upper middle-classes in the 1950s, often referred to us "received pronunciation".
Don't even get me started on the United Kingdom. That is not the same thing as Britain. The United Kingdom consists of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland; yep, a fourth country with, you guessed it, another variant of "English".
P.S. this was meant to be ironic.
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Post by Anon O. Mous on Sept 8, 2017 17:53:57 GMT -5
Guys, we need to get back on the topic of War Robots, or the moderators are going to shut us all down.
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Post by Anon O. Mous on Sept 8, 2017 18:03:33 GMT -5
I am not sure what the English "minors" and "majors" refers to. I assume it is an American thing. My secondary education was in Physics. I am English. Please don't assume we share all the same cultural references, that is sloppy and lazy use of language; e.g. I have no idea what an SAT is. I must take issue with the comment on British accents. Great Britain consists of three countries: England, Scotland, and Wales. The Scots, Welsh and English speak very different variants of "English". Within each country there are many different accents; all valid and glorious. The accent to which you refer is an antiquated variant of the English accent used by the upper middle-classes in the 1950s, often referred to us "received pronunciation". Don't even get me started on the United Kingdom. That is not the same thing as Britain. The United Kingdom consists of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland; yep, a fourth country with, you guessed it, another variant of "English". P.S. this was meant to be ironic. Good, because I was being as ironic as possible. Don't want to offend our allies across the pond, what? Just wouldn't do. Not at all, at all.
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Post by amidf on Sept 8, 2017 18:08:41 GMT -5
Is a flipping Full stop!!!!! A period is something completely different....I'll give you a clue. Its involves females? Oh, dear. I tried to avoid a war on Oxford commas, and I completely ignored the possibility of a full stop / period squabble. Can we all agree to store our boots and bonnets in the boot and not under the bonnet? At least Americans and the English can agree on what a decimal point looks like.
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Post by amidf on Sept 8, 2017 18:14:18 GMT -5
I resolved to joined this group and punctual correctly. I will do you one better - I hear by also commit to typing with a British accent, so I sound all the more smarter. Obviously, your first language (after møøse) is Norwegian. But are you the large møøse on the left hand side of the screen in the third scene from the end? If so, I understand that you were given a thorough grounding in Latin, French and "O" Level Geography. I would expect better of such a møøse.
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Post by Kanshou on Sept 8, 2017 18:26:29 GMT -5
I would like to see the post of the poster who inspired this post. (That was a mouthful) Was it that bad? This thread has more debating than actual pledging.
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Post by amidf on Sept 8, 2017 18:35:05 GMT -5
I would like to see the post of the poster who inspired this post. (That was a mouthful) Was it that bad? This thread has more debating than actual pledging. What do you expect when you try to unite pedants?
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Post by Kanshou on Sept 8, 2017 18:37:34 GMT -5
I would like to see the post of the poster who inspired this post. (That was a mouthful) Was it that bad? This thread has more debating than actual pledging. What do you expect when you try to unite pedants? I still want that link.
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Post by FlashAhAhh on Sept 8, 2017 20:46:01 GMT -5
Language evolves continually. That doesn't mean we shouldn't fight against lazy or sloppy usage that reduces the clarity and expressiveness of this beautiful language. For instance, I agonised over whether or not to use "continuously" or "continually" in this sentence. They mean different things, yet many people use the words interchangeably. If we allow this we would have a less expressive language. We don't want to end up speaking "Newspeak". If language evolves continually there is no NEED to "Fight" against it, it will become as clear and expressive as it needs to be, that's how evolution works. On a side note, I was once like you. The loss of the nuance of the word "irony", for example, used to really, really bother me. But then people also started using "literally" incorrectly, which is literally ironic, and now I'm cool with it all.
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Post by SATmaster728 on Sept 11, 2017 7:06:33 GMT -5
Language evolves continually. That doesn't mean we shouldn't fight against lazy or sloppy usage that reduces the clarity and expressiveness of this beautiful language. For instance, I agonised over whether or not to use "continuously" or "continually" in this sentence. They mean different things, yet many people use the words interchangeably. If we allow this we would have a less expressive language. We don't want to end up speaking "Newspeak". If language evolves continually there is no NEED to "Fight" against it, it will become as clear and expressive as it needs to be, that's how evolution works. On a side note, I was once like you. The loss of the nuance of the word "irony", for example, used to really, really bother me. But then people also started using "literally" incorrectly, which is literally ironic, and now I'm cool with it all. This is why the English language is so complicated. compare it to others, and see how hard it is.
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Post by piginapoke on Sept 11, 2017 7:13:29 GMT -5
How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?
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Post by SATmaster728 on Sept 11, 2017 7:17:48 GMT -5
How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood? That would depend on the quantum flux needed to transform a woodchuck, and the matter-antimatter properties of the wood, and the amount of Plutonium in the area, there are so many variables, especially the quantum singulatties needed to form for the transwarp jump to turn the wood chuck into the wood chucker...( no i do not know what i'm saying)
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zed252000
GI. Patton
fall seven times stand up eight
Posts: 128
Karma: 52
Favorite robot: Gareth & Carnage
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Post by zed252000 on Sept 11, 2017 8:04:47 GMT -5
May i vote for what font/s to be officially used? lolz...
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Post by llama4president on Sept 11, 2017 14:31:02 GMT -5
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