Gransnet forums

Pedants' corner

Does no-one care?

(69 Posts)
GabriellaG54 Tue 08-Oct-19 19:06:54

The level of spelling and punctuation in many GN posts, is abysmal.

sodapop Wed 09-Oct-19 15:18:09

Totally agree lemomgrove I must admit to giving up at times when faced with one of those long paragraph free posts.

Yes MissA that's another thing which puts me off reading when I see a plethora of abbreviations in one post.

Cherrytree59 Wed 09-Oct-19 15:08:39

Yes Lemon I agree it is the right place.

However as the OP was referring (on the first page of her thread) to my post.
I feel I had the right to reply.

I also agree with another poster 'The tone of this OP is judgemental, and is set up to confrontational'.

I have no past history with the OP and have no axe to grind.

I have set out my reasoning and stand by it.

A new poster could quite easily be put off from contributing to GN threads if they feel that a level of English language, punctuation and/or grammar is required.

I have been on GN long enough not to be embarrassed or upset when told by another poster that I must remember how to spell a certain word.
But how would a new poster feel?

Sussexborn Wed 09-Oct-19 15:07:52

Same old, same old! Just ignore GG54. She was at the back of the queue when kindness and compassion were handed out.

Sad to have such a dull life that nitpicking over strangers grammar or spelling becomes a real thing.

Greenfinch Wed 09-Oct-19 15:03:06

Agreed especially the D bit. Do we ever refer to our husband etc. as "Dear" when speaking to friends ?Or perhaps we dogrin

MissAdventure Wed 09-Oct-19 14:57:48

Well, while (or whilst?) we're having a moan, I don't like the
"My DSGD1 told DD2 that my DD1's DH had told DS3's DIL..."

GillT57 Wed 09-Oct-19 14:51:35

This is Pedants' corner so the correct place to have a grumble or comment about spelling and punctuation, even if is a 'goady' thread. Small spelling mistakes don't bother me, I assume they are typos,(s?), but persistent misuse such as bought instead of brought, 'should of' and such do grate a bit on my nerves, but I try to ignore them and read the thread, however, I really, really cannot be bothered with long rambling, unpunctuated threads with no commas, paragraphs, full stops. Sorry!

Cherrytree59 Wed 09-Oct-19 14:20:47

Carrying on from the points
made by Grapefruitpip...

Illness or family issues may have caused limited attendance at school.

Some children were often overlooked when unable to comprehend or understand the teacher and/or lesson.
Autism, Dyslexia, eyesight hearing problems were not even on the radar.

English may not be a GN poster's first language.

I hold up my hand.
Not only have I not reached the required standard of spelling and punctuation to post on GN,
I am also (as of this morning) rubbish at cleaning windows!! such is lifesad

lemongrove Wed 09-Oct-19 13:32:43

To be fair.....this is pedants corner where this sort of comment from Gabriella belongs and I have seen similar comments over the years where nobody takes umbrage at the OP for doing so.
Posters should have a quiet word with themselves as to why they are coming down hard on Gabriella IMHO.
I notice wrong spellings and poor grammar a lot on GN, but
Tbh it doesn’t bother me.My pet peeves are long rambling posts and endless quotes and links.

mcem Wed 09-Oct-19 13:23:20

Mustn't argue with GG. Many a time she has boasted about her qualifications and experience in proof reading (and many a time has made the mistakes which she criticises in others).

grapefruitpip Wed 09-Oct-19 13:08:04

Please where are the ramblers sans commas? I must check up on these reprobrates.

Perhaps it was the bereaved, the person isolated and beside themselves, the person who is going through life threatening illness....perhaps just perhaps, they didn't feel able to write accurately.

Bathsheba Wed 09-Oct-19 12:40:37

GabbyG I don't know where you learnt English grammar, but the apostrophe in your OP is definitely not needed.

Perhaps you weren't paying attention at school as well as you think you were.

I'm another in agreement with WhiteWave.
Sod off

Cherrytree59 Wed 09-Oct-19 10:53:37

Gabrielle my extreme apologies. Your blackboard rubber hit me fairly and squarely on the back of the head!!!!

I was the poster that inadvertently used the word leant instead of lent!!!
I have reread my post on the thread.
I would be very grateful if you would point out on my very long post where I failed to use the correct punctuation.

Whilst you are at it, would you please correct all my previous posts as I am obviously one of the posters as in your words "The same typos appear time and time again from the same people."

I may be wrong, but did you not point out to another poster that you were yourself dyslexic????

WhiteWave I couldn't agree more
Sod off

trisher Wed 09-Oct-19 10:05:14

GabrielaG54 I take it by GN posts you actually mean people posting on GN. GN posts implies that the actual mistakes are made by GN. (If you can pick holes I can pick bigger ones!) grin

Fiachna50 Wed 09-Oct-19 09:59:14

Ha ha it maybe has , apologies for the apostrophe. Im not quite with it today. smile

MawB Wed 09-Oct-19 09:38:51

grinwinkgrin

SirChenjin Wed 09-Oct-19 09:37:28

Fiachna50 - you forgot the apostrophe in don't

MawB Wed 09-Oct-19 09:35:21

Oh dear Fiachna this seems to have gone over your head.
It is called Pedants’ Corner - the clue is in the forum title hmm

Bathsheba Wed 09-Oct-19 09:35:13

Oh GabriellaG bore off for heaven's sake [yawn emoji]

Fiachna50 Wed 09-Oct-19 09:31:47

Some folk on this forum need to get a life. Either that they really dont have much to worry about.

grapefruitpip Wed 09-Oct-19 09:15:59

I suppose this is a thread about a post ?

Police...where are you?

MawB Wed 09-Oct-19 07:54:38

Oh BradfordLass gringringrin You are naughty!
There are going to be people out there who believe now that rhetorical questions are named after Rhett Butler!!
For the benefit of anybody who does , here are some boring examples to put them straight
(PS I don’t think OP used one)
Rhetorical Questions
“A rhetorical question is a question for which no answer is expected. A rhetorical question is typically asked to make a point or to introduce a subject.”

A rhetorical question can be used to make a positive point:
What's not to like?
(It's like saying "I like it", which is a statement.)
Who doesn't love pizza?
("I love pizza.")
Wow, who knew?
("This is surprisingly good.")
A rhetorical question can be used to make a negative point:
Does it look like I'm bothered?
("I'm not bothered.")
What is the matter with kids today?
("Kids today have issues")
What have the Romans ever done for us? (from Monty Python's Life of Brian)
("The Romans have done nothing for us.")
Why should you take by force that from us which you can have by love? (from the 1607 speech to white settlers by Chief Powhatan, father of Pocahontas)
("We'd have provided for you if you'd asked nicely.)
And so ad nauseam

Witzend Wed 09-Oct-19 05:29:07

Many of us do care, GG, but what we are supposed to do about it, when we are certainly not sufficiently ill-mannered to point out other people's mistakes, I really don't know.

I still cringe at the memory of a very 'superior' (in her own estimation) person pointing out on an open writers' forum that someone else had used a Latin phrase incorrectly. I dare say the person would have preferred to know, but why on earth Ms Superior couldn't have sent her a private message I don't know. Except that I do, I suppose - she wanted to make a point about her own superiority.

Callistemon Wed 09-Oct-19 01:23:34

Gabriella no, there should not be a comma in the OP unless, of course, the rules have changed.
smile

Callistemon Wed 09-Oct-19 01:21:10

And, of course, as someone has pointed out, dyslexia could be a reason.
There is no spell checker on GN.

Callistemon Wed 09-Oct-19 01:18:54

Grannsooz I do know people who speak like that, saying brought instead of bought, 'I borrowed him my pen', 'I lent a pen from him', 'hospickal', 'lickal' not little.

Annoying but perhaps people write online as they speak.

Of course, using a spell checker doesn't pick up wrong words in a document as long as they are spelt correctly!