SouthArk's Suggestions For Effective Posting (Grammar/Spelling Counts)

spryor · 11-13-2013, 01:56 PM

SouthArk370Z,

Do NOT take this personal. Just charge it to my head, not my heart. I am just expressing my thoughts in a mild mattered way.

We all appreciate your suggestions, but this is not an on-line English 101 college course. We all have different educational backgrounds. It is not all that crucial, ease up and have some fun communicating your thoughts, ideas, and suggestions about automobiles.

I am getting off the subject a little bit here but needs to be mentioned. I found this article to be quite interesting. Although it was not peer-reviewed or originated from a scholarly academic journal, I found it to be a fairly easy to read, well-written article in reference to college-educated people that cannot find jobs in their fields. Getting a college degree (doctorate, graduate, bachelors, or associates) is not what it used to be. If anything, it will cost you a lot of money and possibly little return value on your investment. Of course, there are always rules to the exception. Do not get me wrong, I still believe that people in this country and elsewhere should still get the basics of an education in order to be able to maneuver and survive in this capitalist society. If an individual can get a college degree and not have to take pay it back through a student loan, then they are well ahead of the job market game!

In summary, back to the introductory topic, SouthArk370Z, ease up on individuals that are not as well-versed as you are when it comes down to expressing or conveying their thoughts on electronic paper.

Regards,

spryor

P.S. Based on your username, I am not sure if you are from southern Arkansas. If you are, I found the following educational attainment statistics forecasting the percentage of jobs requiring a college degree through 2018 to be quite interesting for your state, compiled by Georgetown University.

Quote:

Originally Posted by SouthArk370Z

These are just my suggestions and are not endorsed by this site or anybody else.

When writing anything, you need to "write to your audience." If your writings are meant for young children, you need to use simple concepts/vocabulary and thoroughly explain any new concepts/words. If you're writing your [professional paper, thesis, or]doctoral dissertation, you want to use as many "big words" as possible and you can assume the reader is familiar with advanced concepts and words [discourse community]. Forum posts fall somewhere in-between.

The main thing you want to do is write so that the forums members will understand what you mean. This is the foundation of everything that follows. If people can't understand what you are typing, you are wasting your time and Internet resources.

In order for all parties to understand each other, they must use a common language. On this site, that's English. I don't think "foreign" language posts are forbidden on this site but you severely limit your audience if you don't use English.

No one here expects perfection but at least try to use something close to proper English. Many members, who could be very helpful, just don't have the time and/or inclination to decipher poor English. They will ignore your post and move on to something that is not so much work to understand. As long as your comments are easy to understand, few will complain (too much) but grammar and spelling do count if you want others to understand you.

Text-speak is frowned on by many members on this site - heavily frowned on in the tech sections - use it at your own risk.

If you start a topic, make the title meaningful. "I Need Help" is NOT a good title. "Need Help Reinstalling Throttle Bodies" works much better. Eschew abbreviations in the title*. Eg, don't use TBs for Throttle Bodies in the previous example. If you are asking a question, put a question mark somewhere in the title. I'm not sure how many characters you can use in the title but you have lots of room - make use of it.

Post new threads in the appropriate section of the site. Are-you-going-to-some-event posts do not belong in the tech forums and VVEL discussions shouldn't be in the social forums. Sometimes it's difficult to decide which is the most appropriate forum to post in - try to get close. Put a post about fuel injection in one of the Engine & Drivetrain sections (depending on the subject, it could go in FI or tuning, pick the one you think fits best; Exhaust is probably not applicable), not Wheels & Tires.

If you are asking for help, be as complete and as precise as you can. Explain the symptoms and give step-by-step details on what you have already tried and the results. If you are having problems understanding something you have read somewhere, include a link(s) to the source.

I'll add more as I think of it or if other members make suggestions I like.

* (Abbreviations are OK in comments. You may want to spell out the term the first time you use it and add the abbreviation in parentheses after. Eg, ... Throttle Body (TB) ...)

SouthArk370Z · 11-13-2013, 02:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by spryor

SouthArk370Z,

Do NOT take this personal. Just charge it to my head, not my heart. I am just expressing my thoughts in a mild mattered way.

We all appreciate your suggestions, but this is not an on-line English 101 college course. We all have different educational backgrounds. It is not all that crucial, ease up and have some fun communicating your thoughts, ideas, and suggestions about automobiles. ...

No offense taken. Not sure why you thought I might take it personal.

No one is asking for perfection; only that it be understandable. I assault the King's English on a regular basis so I don't think I can expect better from others. But I at least make an effort to write so that Joe Average can read what I type and make some sense of it. I may not always succeed, but I try.

They are just my suggestions. Feel free to reject them, in part or in whole, if you don't agree with them. Or tell me what you think should be said and, if I agree, I'll make some edits to the OP.

fzgood · 11-13-2013, 02:43 PM

As a 20-something product of public schools I appreciate this thread. I hate viewing anything written like a reminder scribbled on a wrinkled napkin.

JARblue · 11-13-2013, 02:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by spryor

I am just expressing my thoughts in a mild mannered way.

Might as well turn this into a grammar/spelling nazi thread

onzedge · 11-13-2013, 02:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JARblue

Might as well turn this thread in a grammar/spelling nazi thread

Keep going -- I count 7 errors in Mr. Spryor's post and that was based on a quick scan. It cracks me up when people try to elucidate the finer points of English usage and grammar for us poor simpletons and then slaughter the very language in the attempt.

JARblue · 11-13-2013, 02:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by onzedge

Keep going -- I count 7 errors in Mr. Spryor's post and that was based on a quick scan. It cracks me up when people try to elucidate the finer points of English usage and grammar for us poor simpletons and then slaughter the very language in the attempt.

I stopped counting... In the first few sentences, I found an incorrect idiom, incorrect usage of a hyphen, missing punctuation, and a run-on sentence

SouthArk370Z · 11-13-2013, 03:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JARblue

Might as well turn this into a grammar/spelling nazi thread

While that was meant to be (and taken as) a joke, let me emphasize that this thread was not meant to demand perfect spelling/grammar. Wasn't meant to demand anything at all, hence the "Suggestions" in the title. In this particular case, it was pretty easy to figure out what was meant and the rest of the comment was readable, so I chalked it up to a typo and went on. But, yeah, spelling/grammar errors in a thread complaining about spelling/grammar errors are rather humorous.

I was only trying to point out that people will be better able to communicate if they try to use proper English (or whatever language their audience is using). I hope my suggestions for avoiding the most common errors I've noticed will help someone. Yeah, I realize that those that need it the most are the least likely to read it (or act on it if they do read it) but it made me feel better to type it out.

My intent was certainly not to muster a Grammar Nazi Posse to correct minor errors. We all make errors, whether through carelessness or ignorance. All I'm asking is that people try to write something that others can understand. I'm not trying to force anyone to use proper English - I can always put the worst offenders on my ignore list if I feel like it - I'm just trying to help them get the car help they want by effectively describing the problem and/or asking questions that make sense.

Whew! I figured this thread would get a few comments but nothing like this.

JARblue · 11-13-2013, 05:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SouthArk370Z

Whew! I figured this thread would get a few comments but nothing like this.

Eloquently put, sir

Your original post (OP) made perfect sense to me and seems to have appealed to the sensibilities of many active and helpful members. Many of them also have a sense of humor, which is refreshing.

Slynky · 11-15-2013, 04:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SouthArk370Z

While that was meant to be (and taken as) a joke, let me emphasize that this thread was not meant to demand perfect spelling/grammar. Wasn't meant to demand anything at all, hence the "Suggestions" in the title. In this particular case, it was pretty easy to figure out what was meant and the rest of the comment was readable, so I chalked it up to a typo and went on. But, yeah, spelling/grammar errors in a thread complaining about spelling/grammar errors are rather humorous.

I was only trying to point out that people will be better able to communicate if they try to use proper English (or whatever language their audience is using). I hope my suggestions for avoiding the most common errors I've noticed will help someone. Yeah, I realize that those that need it the most are the least likely to read it (or act on it if they do read it) but it made me feel better to type it out.

My intent was certainly not to muster a Grammar Nazi Posse to correct minor errors. We all make errors, whether through carelessness or ignorance. All I'm asking is that people try to write something that others can understand. I'm not trying to force anyone to use proper English - I can always put the worst offenders on my ignore list if I feel like it - I'm just trying to help them get the car help they want by effectively describing the problem and/or asking questions that make sense.

Whew! I figured this thread would get a few comments but nothing like this.

I think there might be a rule to understand here: "The more illiterate or lazy a poster is, the more likely an objection to the use of proper grammar will be made."

I hear (read) over and over the excuse (for ignorance and laziness) that their posts are fine as long as people can understand the meaning. I think it's rude and inconsiderate to hurry through your posts so you can get done as quickly as possible without any regard to the multiple number of people who will then have to expend MORE of their time deciphering it.

I think the OP understands quite well that typos will occur and that any reader can accept those kinds of errors without complainng (like I just did on purpose to the left). The OP isn't appealing to that group of people to improve their post readability. His complaint, I believe, is directed more at those people who refuse to capitalize any words, misspell words routinely, or use any punctuation (or, dear Lord, the combination of all).

Now, for a little fun, I have preserved the WORST post I've ever tried to read for your enjoyment. It comes from the Hot Wheels site:

Quote:

for Wall Mart to get cases they must order them talked to 3 people in toy dept 0ne person was their not been in toys for 3 years she can not do orders must be in that dept manger same thing will not order woman works their order a case show on the price gun nothing in back stock this is going on in a lot of walmarts from moving people in to other dept

And now...

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11-13-2013, 02:43 PM	#3 (permalink)
fzgood Base Member Join Date: Dec 2012 Location: Orange County, CA Posts: 136 Drives: '13 370z 6MT TS PW Rep Power: 26	As a 20-something product of public schools I appreciate this thread. I hate viewing anything written like a reminder scribbled on a wrinkled napkin.