I'm Sorry

[185]

The village of Meols, Wirral got it's name from the stupidity of railway 'professionals' turning up in the 19th century with.... wrongly spelt station signs.

It stuck, and is still spelt wrongly 120 years later - there's more important things in life to be worried about than spelling and grammar.

('Did you check your Speling and Grammer?' - - Virgin Trains Recruitment)

 

[passmore]

You have now come to the attention of the "paragraph police" !

Not guilty, guv'nor.

 

[deltic1989]

Don't worry about spelling and grammer, the English language is a minefeild of such traps ready to catch out people who don't understand it. As you and our fellow members may know my spelling isn't the best but as long as people can understand your point it makes no difference if the commas in the right place. No apology nescesary (see i can't spell) just think of yourself as having a unique veiw of the English Language. All the Best.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

any prizes for Spotting the mistake? :grin:

Which one of the two qualifies for the prize...The lower case "a" to start the sentence or the upper case "S" in the middle of the sentence..
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

In fact there is a spelling and grammar thread somewhere in this forum.

This was quite a good discussion thread on this particular forum which had 262 postings,the last of which was made on 29th June. This thread is still shown as being open at the present time, but I imagine it will soon reach the "locked" stage.

 

[richw]

I always find it harder to type when this topic comes up (spelling and grammar). Not suprised I made a slight typo

see what you mean

 

[ChrisCooper]

I think spelling and grammar is getting worse everywhere these days. The number of times I've seen mistakes in newspaper articles, online news (including for major providers like the BBC), official documents etc. I think a lot is an over reliance on spell checkers which can't pick up a lot of mistakes. It's where words are substituted for the wrong ones, or where a sentance reads correctly, but not in the context given (the "Eats Shoots and Leaves" problem). It's the sort of things where a proof reader would (or should) pick it up, even just the person writing going back over it, but a spell checker wouldn't. I think computers don't help either, as they allow people to type faster than their brains work, so luiness toy are paying attention and chekc rtha you havee types it's heay to make mistakes (that latter part was me typing without correction). I don't mind the odd spelling mistake though. We all do it and usually it's clear what it meant, unless it's something official where it's expected to be right. The only problem is when mispellings can cause confusion between different words. Technical words are bad for that, I can think of quite a few where one simple mistake can either make it mean the total opposite, or can make it impossible to tell which of two different words has been spelled wrong.

 

[passmore]

Yes I would agree with that, Chris, but as someone said above, is spelling getting worse because more people are lazy and are getting ever more reliant on a spell checker, or do they have a genuine learning difficulty?
The rise of text speak, as I've said elsewhere, hasn't helped either..

 

[AlterEgo]

I think spelling and grammar is getting worse everywhere these days. The number of times I've seen mistakes in newspaper articles, online news (including for major providers like the BBC), official documents etc. I think a lot is an over reliance on spell checkers which can't pick up a lot of mistakes. It's where words are substituted for the wrong ones, or where a sentance sentence reads correctly, but not in the context given (the "Eats Shoots and Leaves" problem). It's the sort of things where a proof reader would (or should) pick it up, even just the person writing going back over it, but a spell checker wouldn't. I think computers don't help either, as they allow people to type faster than their brains work, so luiness toy are paying attention and chekc rtha you havee types it's heay to make mistakes (that latter part was me typing without correction). I don't mind the odd spelling mistake though. We all do it and usually it's clear what it meant, unless it's something official where it's expected to be right. The only problem is when misspellings can cause confusion between different words. Technical words are bad for that, I can think of quite a few where one simple mistake can either make it mean the total opposite, or can make it impossible to tell which of two different words has been spelled wrongly.

 

[ChrisCooper]

Deliberate mistakes to make sure everyone was paying attention!

 

[AlterEgo]

Deliberate mistakes to make sure everyone was paying attention!

Naturally!

Seriously, a few typos are to be expected on this forum. I contribute regularly by iPhone app and Autocorrect has, on more than one occasion, made a post of mine make no sense whatsoever!

 

[Minilad]

Naturally!

Seriously, a few typos are to be expected on this forum. I contribute regularly by iPhone app and Autocorrect has, on more than one occasion, made a post of mine make no sense whatsoever!

I will use that excuse regularly from now on !

 

[tony_mac]

I think the moderators keep things pretty readable. This also means that we don't generally have lots of 'grammar wars' between posters.


Anyway, here's a poem I was sent....


Eye have a sue per spell cheque,
It came with my Pea Sea.
It plane lee marks four my revue
Miss Steaks I can knot sea.

Eye strike the quays and type a whirred
And weight four it two say
Weather eye am write oar wrong
It tells me strait a weigh.

Eye ran this poem threw it,
Your shore real glad two no.
Its vary polished in its weigh.
My spell cheque tolled me sew.

 

[richw]

had to do a print screen whilst reading this thread, and post my screen print based on the highly appropriate advert at the top!!!!

 

[WestCoast]

had to do a print screen whilst reading this thread, and post my screen print based on the highly appropriate advert at the top!!!!

It's often the way, the adverts seem to regularly reflect the forum's discussions (at least on my browsing sessions). Is there detection software at work?

 

[junglejames]

Of course it's a sensible idea to provide guidance, but what gets to me is a minority of posters who pull someone up for their spelling and/or grammar for the most trivial of mistakes.

We shouldn't be too judgmental when it comes to how someone spells or deals with tenses etc on line.

Which includes putting people on moderation for spelling and grammer.
The number of people claiming they have been put on moderation for it is alarming. There could be any number of reasons for bad spelling and grammer, and you shouldnt put people on moderation for it. Helping is one thing, but moderation is a form of telling people off, and not even schools do that.
Anyway, this is an internet forum, not Eton. Banning text speak is one thing, and something I agree with, but this is different, and even with the worst spellers, you can still tell what they mean.

Now watch this post get deleted because I criticised the running of the forum!

 

[tony_mac]

moderation is a form of telling people off, and not even schools do that.

Maybe, if they did, more people would be able to spell!

The number of people claiming they have been put on moderation for it is alarming.

I counted 3 on this thread, out of a few thousand members.

I am prepared to trust the judgement of the moderators; this board is a lot easier to read and understand than many others. They don't seem to be picking on people for occasional mistakes when the meaning is clear.

 

[Crossover]

I think the moderators keep things pretty readable. This also means that we don't generally have lots of 'grammar wars' between posters.


Anyway, here's a poem I was sent....


Eye have a sue per spell cheque,
It came with my Pea Sea.
It plane lee marks four my revue
Miss Steaks I can knot sea.

Eye strike the quays and type a whirred
And weight four it two say
Weather eye am write oar wrong
It tells me strait a weigh.

Eye ran this poem threw it,
Your shore real glad two no.
Its vary polished in its weigh.
My spell cheque tolled me sew.

We had a similar example quoted in our tutorials about Final Year Report writing at university...essentially that a spell/grammar checker is not infallible

 

[junglejames]

Maybe, if they did, more people would be able to spell!

You dont tell people off for not being able to spell, as there are usually a number of reasons. You help them.

 

[tony_mac]

One of the reasons is quite possibly 'I can't be bothered to do it properly'.
It's not the only one, but it does happen.

Surely, moderation IS helping them?

 

[junglejames]

One of the reasons is quite possibly 'I can't be bothered to do it properly'.
It's not the only one, but it does happen.

Surely, moderation IS helping them?

Moderation is a form of telling people off. Not the best way of helping somebody.
Yes this could be one of the reasons, but on a forum you have no idea what the reason is. One reason why moderation should not be used.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

I counted 3 on this thread, out of a few thousand members.

I am prepared to trust the judgement of the moderators; this board is a lot easier to read and understand than many others. They don't seem to be picking on people for occasional mistakes when the meaning is clear.

3 on one thread alone. 3 is too many full stop.
This board is just as easy to read as others. Others that dont moderate you for having problems with your spelling.
Oh, and ive seen people being pulled up for occasional spelling mistakes.

 

[tony_mac]

3 is too many full stop.

I don't agree that nobody should ever be moderated.

The forum is easy to read because there is moderation. On some other places, with less moderation, people get into lots of arguments simply because they can't actually understand each other.
At least we can get into lots of arguments for better reasons!

I think that everyone who was moderated said that it helped. So, what's the problem?

Oh, and ive seen people being pulled up for occasional spelling mistakes.

But most of them seem to get through without moderation. If it is getting a bit close to unreadable then a friendly word is a good idea, isn't it?

 

[junglejames]

I don't agree that nobody should ever be moderated.

The forum is easy to read because there is moderation. On some other places, with less moderation, people get into lots of arguments simply because they can't actually understand each other.
At least we can get into lots of arguments for better reasons!

I think that everyone who was moderated said that it helped. So, what's the problem?


But most of them seem to get through without moderation. If it is getting a bit close to unreadable then a friendly word is a good idea, isn't it?

They also admitted they didnt like it at first. They eventually realised it made little difference, but at first it wasnt liked.
Ive never seen much in the way of problems on other forums.
Anyway, I do not agree with using moderation for spelling, when you have no idea what the cause is. But hey ho. We shall agree to disagree.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

But most of them seem to get through without moderation. If it is getting a bit close to unreadable then a friendly word is a good idea, isn't it?

I have seen very little getting close to unreadable. I have however seen sentences that are perfectly readable being picked up on.
Most get through without moderation? Well yes. But as i said, why any at all for spelling? Unless its a constant blatant use of text speak, but that is different.

 

[tony_mac]

We shall agree to disagree.

I'm not agreeing to that!

 

[junglejames]

I'm not agreeing to that!

We shall have to take it outside then

 

[yorkie]

I have seen very little getting close to unreadable.

We delete any that are that bad (providing they are reported to us or we spot them - we do rely on reports as we do not see all posts)

I have however seen sentences that are perfectly readable being picked up on.

I think people may need a gentle, polite, constructive reminder occasionally, but there should not be any nastiness (which did happen and we dealt with that).

Most get through without moderation? Well yes. But as i said, why any at all for spelling? Unless its a constant blatant use of text speak, but that is different.

If it's hard to read then it needs dealing with. If it's one or two mistakes here and there because someone is using a mobile device (and therefore it's less easy to run a spell-check and harder to get punctuation right), then that's a different matter, and we'll let that go.

At the end of the day if someone wants to read, and contribute to, a forum that accepts gibberish, text speak, or huge paragraphs with no punctuation or any other posting styles that are hard to read, there are forums that cater for that and people have the choice of using them or not Many people choose this one because we have generally good standards.

 

[Grantham]

It's important to aim for high standards, especially with the written word.

After all, if someone can't accurately say what they mean, how can we be sure that they mean what they say?

Mick

 

[Seacook]

It's important to aim for high standards, especially with the written word.

After all, if someone can't accurately say what they mean, how can we be sure that they mean what they say?

Mick

I agree wholeheartedly. A typo or two in a forum post does not matter but in the wider world there is no excuse for failing to take spelling and grammar seriously. And if someone has real difficulty this can mean something like getting a colleague to proofread documents before publishing. I have done this many times for others and others have done the same for me - it is notoriously difficult to spot one's own mistakes.

Writing well is difficult, but writing badly and not caring about it is inexcusable. I have seen reports that are truly hard to read because they were plainly the first drafts and had never been revised; these were by people who created and wrote such things for a living. It was a constant source of amazement for me that the Communications Manager at my last employer's could not string together comprehensible sentences. But then the corporate culture was not very hot on internal communication, so writing understandable drivel was very low priority.


[I have read this twice and I think I have corrected the typos - five of them anyway]

 

[AlterEgo]

My two pence:

There are quite a few rail enthusiast and staff forums out there.

I post almost exclusively on here, because just about everything is understandable, trolls are dealt with quickly, and I think the moderation is fair.

I did make one post calling someone a 'fool' once, and I had the post deleted and was politely warned. It wouldn't happen on some other forums, but in the circumstances it was entirely fair. I don't want to be part of a forum where personal insults or just plain nonsense are tolerated.

 

[Greenback]

My two pence:

There are quite a few rail enthusiast and staff forums out there.

I post almost exclusively on here, because just about everything is understandable, trolls are dealt with quickly, and I think the moderation is fair.

I did make one post calling someone a 'fool' once, and I had the post deleted and was politely warned. It wouldn't happen on some other forums, but in the circumstances it was entirely fair. I don't want to be part of a forum where personal insults or just plain nonsense are tolerated.

Likewise. I have been on forums full of personal abuse and I don't liek them. They are usually also the forums that permit text speak and don't use moderation to try and help people to make their posts clear and easy to read.

Eventualyl, the vast majority of posters get tired of such sites, and the result is that just a hard core of members remain active. Now everyone is different and if people like forums like that, fine. I prefer this forum as the standards that are expected and enforced are quite high. And I;m not just talkign about spelling and grammar!