I have 2 retired teachers as in-laws who speak several languages and they constantly correct other people's grammar. I think it is extremely rude when someone is not in a classroom & correcting grammar. For example, while we were at a restaurant my In-laws corrected our waiter on his pronunciation of a french meal. My husband does it often too when he hears "it don't matter" instead of "doesn't" (or seen instead of saw)

I think everyone has their own accents & ways of speaking or using expressions that makes us all different. I find correcting someone who isn't asking for your 2 cents only makes them feel awkward & self-conscious or even more likely annoyed. :angry

I ditto that. I mean, I've done it before, but I generally only do it when I sincerely can't understand what the person is attempting to say. I did it just the other day, when the person posting just posted a random combination of subjects (or at least, it seemed that way to me) and apparently expected us all to read her mind to discover the meaning. I was literally thinking, "What the hell does that mean?" Seriously, I was literally scratching my head. I even PMed some of the other people in the thread, to ask if they understood. They didn't, either. I was nice about it, too, when I eventually brought it up to the poster. I just asked for a little clarification and for her to put the words in a sentence, so that I knew what she was trying to say. I got jumped on. Some people are a little TOO sensitive about this stuff.

I mean, I don't ask for a lot when I debate. I don't care if someone mispells something or if their grammar is bad. I do want to be able to figure out what they are attempting to say, though. And I don't think I should be jumped on by that person, when I've politely asked for clarification.

PMing them wouldn't work in some cases. There are people here that don't check their PM box more than once a week. You aren't guaranteed to get a response. And when they are pressing you for a response to their post, it's a lot nicer to ask them for clarification than it is to tell them, "I'm going to ignore your post because no one can understand what you are trying to say."

Yes it's very rude!

To ask others for justification of your rudeness is even worse!

Honestly it wasn't that hard to figure out.

I think some people get off on correcting others to feel better about themselves.

I don't deal with people like that.

I'm sorry should I rephrase this?

Is this standard english enough for you?

I am a writer/poet.

I speak three different languages including slang.

If you don't identify too bad.

Yes it's very rude!

To ask others for justification of your rudeness is even worse!

Honestly it wasn't that hard to figure out.

I think some people get off on correcting others to feel better about themselves.

I don't deal with people like that.

I'm sorry should I rephrase this?

Is this standard english enough for you?

I am a writer/poet.

I speak three different languages including slang.

If you don't identify too bad.

Nobody asked for justification.

Nobody was rude.

It was difficult to figure out.

Nobody gets off on correcting others.

Nobody feels better about correcting others.

Nobody wants to deal with people like that.

No, we understand this post.

Standard English? As in paragraphs, etc?

Good for you, I'm glad you are a writer/poet.

Good for you, you speak slang. Perhaps that is why we didn't understand.

Oh oh... if you don't identify too bad? Dare I ask for clarification? I think not.

I think it is very rude....

For example, while we were at a restaurant my In-laws corrected our waiter on his pronunciation of a french meal.

Never correct a waiter! What's French for, "I spat in your bouillabaisse?"

In general I tend to avoid correcting others' mistakes unless the individual has made a point of asking me for editing and instruction. If I find myself unable to decypher what someone has said or written I will begin to probe for further information but will attempt to avoid critiquing their work unless, as I have already said, this has been asked of me.

To tell you the truth, I believe that when we all enter into an open forum, one such as LBT, we are ideally engaging in what might be the most arguably populist experience imagined by mankind. We are all anonymous, we are all colours, all ages, all levels of education, both sexes and all sexual orientations, all levels of experience, all political stripes, all nationalities, and thanks to this technology we all have a voice. I believe that it is possible to run people off this or other sites by critiquing their level of competency in English and this is nothing more than bullying.

I will also say that I make a practice of not correcting people in my real life although I am presented with many opportunities. (You see, my French is pretty damn good and I was gifted at German as well.)

I don't like to correct people because I believe that this is elitist and also because I think that this certainly chokes off the flow of communication, and that is always a loss for all of us, don't you think?

By the way, I have my own weird little blog and I have a friend who routinely calls me up on my own spelling mistakes. This doesn't bother me. I expect to be corrected by him.

Never correct a waiter! What's French for, "I spat in your bouillabaisse?"

LMFAO and peeing my pants!!!! hahahaha

Yes it's very rude!

To ask others for justification of your rudeness is even worse!

Honestly it wasn't that hard to figure out.

I think some people get off on correcting others to feel better about themselves.

I don't deal with people like that.

I'm sorry should I rephrase this?

Is this standard english enough for you?

I am a writer/poet.

I speak three different languages including slang.

If you don't identify too bad.

This is what you posted in response to my question asking why you believed that religion and science were one and the same:

Astrology. .

Holidays espcially easter and the resurrection of christ ,jesus walking on Water,etc.

Can anyone else see where I was coming from when I asked for clarification and for her to put those subjects in a full sentence?

Nobody asked for justification.

Nobody was rude.

It was difficult to figure out.

Nobody gets off on correcting others.

Nobody feels better about correcting others.

Nobody wants to deal with people like that.

No, we understand this post.

Standard English? As in paragraphs, etc?

Good for you, I'm glad you are a writer/poet.

Good for you, you speak slang. Perhaps that is why we didn't understand.

Oh oh... if you don't identify too bad? Dare I ask for clarification? I think not.

I'm sorry was I quoting you?

You guys must be older.

I think laurend can speak for herself.

As I stated I could care less.

If you don't understand it don't reply to it.

It wasn't written in slang.

Sorry you feel this way!

Good day!

This is what you posted in response to my question asking why you believed that religion and science were one and the same:

Can anyone else see where I was coming from when I asked for clarification and for her to put those subjects in a full sentence?

I was throwing ideas out there.

I don't have to put them in sentences.

This is me expressing myself not you.

If it is hard for you to understand don't respond.

Some of you have major major pet peeve issues.

For you to bring my comment into another thread proves my point!

It is not that serious!

I have 87 pounds to lose and an 11yr old with leukemia.

Also a sick mother that I take care of.

You, I could care less about.

Your character is irritating.

Please find a hobby.

I hope you understood this!

I agree. It's very rude!

I was an English teacher prior to the birth of my first child...Now, I tutor students weekly... That being said, it is RUDE to correct another adult's grammar or pronounciation unless it is asked of you.

I used to have a hard time switching off my teacher mode when I would get home from work...but it's just not a nice thing to do and it hurts people (again, unless they have specifically asked you to help them).

As for the written word....in a forum like this, who cares how you write? I can't be bothered worrying about it. On the other hand, I sometimes want to kill myself when I am reading posts that are littered with grammatical and spelling issues. But, I am certainly not going to point it out to them.

Just my two cents...might not even be worth that!

Rain

(As for the written word....in a forum like this, who cares how you write?)

I agree. I find a little too much nitpicking is going on with some postings over how something was said or what was said. I also find in particular there are a group of about 4 posters who are sort of "patrolling the board" and when one of these people write something you can bet the 3 or 4 people will write something to back him/her up. It's seems somewhat of a highschool clique mentality.It's one thing to share an opinion but another to have a gang attack on someone. I realize you make anonymous friends on these boards but I think as adults if you don't agree on someones opinion about something, you don't need to add "and alot of other posters agree with me" To me that is childish & makes me think of high school where you are trying to ostricize that person. I also agree if you can't understand what someone has written then don't comment on it. I enjoy reading these forums & like to add my 2cents but I don't have nor will I take the time to make sure everything is perfect before I hit "submit reply"

As for the written word....in a forum like this, who cares how you write?

I agree, except for the exceptions I stated earlier (can't understand, education opportunity, etc.)

AS LONG AS I DONT HAVE TO MAKE MY WAY THROUGH A POST LIKE THIS

Or Make My Way Through A Post Like This

...it could be worse. Trying to read those litreally hurts my eyes. And my brain. Like this:

Try to say the word, not the color:

Orange

Blue

Yellow

Green

Black

Purple

Brown

Red

Pink

Wheetsin,

I cannot do that at all, even if I do it slowly...I am a mind teasing failure!

However...I don't know how people write their posts with capitol in front of each letter...It Would Drive Me Nuts!!! Too Much Thinking.

It Must Take Them Forever!

Rain

(As for the written word....in a forum like this, who cares how you write?)

I agree. I find a little too much nitpicking is going on with some postings over how something was said or what was said. I also find in particular there are a group of about 4 posters who are sort of "patrolling the board" and when one of these people write something you can bet the 3 or 4 people will write something to back him/her up. It's seems somewhat of a highschool clique mentality.It's one thing to share an opinion but another to have a gang attack on someone. I realize you make anonymous friends on these boards but I think as adults if you don't agree on someones opinion about something, you don't need to add "and alot of other posters agree with me" To me that is childish & makes me think of high school where you are trying to ostricize that person. I also agree if you can't understand what someone has written then don't comment on it. I enjoy reading these forums & like to add my 2cents but I don't have nor will I take the time to make sure everything is perfect before I hit "submit reply"

Hey, not fair at all. For the record, I did try to ignore her posts and not reply to them. Know what I got in return? "Why aren't you answering my question?"

I don't give a flying you-know-what if something is grammatically correct or not. How many posts have you seen me going after because of grammar and spelling? I do ask that someone's replies to me be actual replies, though. I don't give a damn whether it's written in haiku or if every word is misspelled, if I can tell what the intent of the reply is. I don't care if someone "takes the time to be perfect" because I sure don't take that time.

And again, for the record, I never said anything about "people agreeing with my ideas over hers." I said that I PMed several people to ask if they could understand what she was trying to say, since I didn't want to come right out and ask her on the board. Her ideas versus my ideas never came into it at all, since no one could figure out what her ideas were. That was the ONLY reason I asked her to clarify. If I could have figured out what she was saying, I would have. I only replied to her because I thought it would be rude to completely ignore a reply that was specifically aimed at me.

And my reply to her wasn't even rude, for Pete's sake. Here it is:

Astrology isn't a science. Astronomy is. Two very different fields.

And I'm still not sure what you are talking about with the statement " Holidays espcially easter and the resurrection of christ ,jesus walking on Water,etc." I need a sentence, here.

My POV is this: If someone takes part in an online debate, they better be prepared for people to ask them for clarification of their posts, if for no other reason than the inability of the written word to convey body language, voice tone, and intent.