Correcting other members' grammar

[davidabcd]

Don't.

I was just reading a thread where the OP, obviously new, was asking about a style. Did the first responder just overlook any errors, like a normal person would, and answer the darn question? No, he or she felt the need to first correct the OP, quite rudely and pedantically, in my opinion, before moving on. OP was way cooler than I would have been about it.

What's the point of doing that, anyway? This isn't an English class.

If all of you corrected every post, including all of mine, we'd never get to the subject of beer.

By the way, first responder's post was not without grammatical errors. After I saw what a d***** b** he/she was being, I checked.

If you understand or can figure out what a poster is asking or stating, please let the errors go. In the rare instance that you can't by using common sense, ask a polite question for clarification.

It's rare that I see a post without errors and I usually see some pretty good ones. SO WHAT? Do I understand what the person is saying or what they mean? Yes, I do, almost always. I've only had to ask for clarification a couple of times but that's because the person was so new to the subject that they were calling something by the wrong name.

 

[OG-wan Kenobi]

I agree as long as you got the information who cares

 

[Inkleg]

Their are a-lot of people whose are like bat.

 

[z-bob]

 

[bracconiere]

lol i'd be a banned member!

 

[mongoose33]

I have mixed feelings about this. I was taught from an early age that how you present yourself is part of the message; that lesson stuck.

When I see a post with a lot of grammatical mistakes, I'm inclined to ignore it. If someone can't take time to make their commentary reasonably correct, then it tells me something about them--and my tendency is to not waste time on that.

I'm not talking about the odd typo here and there, but rather a willful disregard for coherence in textual communication.

I don't correct people, but it bugs me. I figure that if people can't take the minimal additional time to make it right, then I presume it sends the same message to everyone.

What's funny (at least to me) is that for the most part, posters here try to communicate well. It's especially important in text media where you cannot rely on body language cues to determine apparent comprehension--and in a subject area with sometimes significant technical complexity.

 

[divrack]

If all of you corrected every post, including all of mine, we'd never get to the subject of beer.
.

"If you all corrected each post, including all of mine, we'd never get to the subject of beer" is better, but still a bit off in terms of form. Frankly I think you need a page one rewrite if you want to be taken seriously as a stylist, but I suppose in terms of blank prose it is acceptable if ungraceful...

Only joking. After all, you yanks mangle oit pure tongue so frightfully, we'd never get anywhere. Heathens.

 

[Andrew Hodgson]

I was wishing OP had an error I could find and correct. Joke.

People grammar policing forums just tells you all you need to know about them as a person, although sometimes I suppose in brewing incorrect terms could confuse people and need to be clarified but punctuation syntax all that non-sense who cares.

 

[z-bob]

I will sometimes correct significant errors in terminology *if* I can also answer the intended question. ("it's called <whatever> ") That helps people learn the jargon. If I can't answer the question, I don't reply at all.

I don't correct grammar and spelling errors, like misuse of who and whom, its and it's, etc. Invariably, if I try to correct someone's grammar, I will make a grammatical or spelling error doing so.

If someone makes no attempt at punctuation or spelling or spacing and posts a "wall of text" that is hard to read, I don't make any effort to read it, I just skip it.

 

[divrack]

I have mixed feelings about this. I was taught from an early age that how you present yourself is part of the message; that lesson stuck.

When I see a post with a lot of grammatical mistakes, I'm inclined to ignore it. If someone can't take time to make their commentary reasonably correct, then it tells me something about them--and my tendency is to not waste time on that.

I'm not talking about the odd typo here and there, but rather a willful disregard for coherence in textual communication.

I don't correct people, but it bugs me. I figure that if people can't take the minimal additional time to make it right, then I presume it sends the same message to everyone.

What's funny (at least to me) is that for the most part, posters here try to communicate well. It's especially important in text media where you cannot rely on body language cues to determine apparent comprehension--and in a subject area with sometimes significant technical complexity.

I killed a man for splitting an infinitive and ending on a proposition. I went to absolute bloody Town on the swine, his head i split.

 

[davidabcd]

I was wishing OP had an error I could find and correct. Joke.

People grammar policing forums just tells you all you need to know about them as a person, although sometimes I suppose in brewing incorrect terms could confuse people and need to be clarified but punctuation syntax all that non-sense who cares.

Yeah, if it's a matter of mixing the terms "ferment" and "condition," as an example, then totally set the new person straight (politely). That's helpful.

 

[davidabcd]

lol i'd be a banned member!

I'm sure you're being too hard on yourself. I always can get what you're saying.

 

[davidabcd]

If someone can't take time to make their commentary reasonably correct, then it tells me something about them--and my tendency is to not waste time on that.

That's a good point. I was assuming that posts like that were being written by individuals giving it their best shot. I could be wrong. That has me thinking now, as a possibility, that the posters in those instances could be extremely drunk.

 

[LittleRiver]

...If someone can't take time to make their commentary reasonably correct, then it tells me something about them--and my tendency is to not waste time on that.

I'm not talking about the odd typo here and there, but rather a willful disregard for coherence in textual communication....

In a forum like this it's hard to tell the cause of such writing. Sometimes it is just sloppiness or drunkenness. Other possible causes: English is a second language, an incomplete education, mental or emotional conditions, cultural differences, differences in dialect, or a combination of these. I think it behooves us all to extend as much grace as we can.

I hope that didn't come off as me sitting on a high horse criticizing you, because that's certainly not where I'm coming from. I'm as guilty as anyone else for getting frustrated at times.

I see you and most other people on HBT being very helpful, even when it's difficult to do so. HBT is by far the most helpful and gracious online forum I've ever participated in.

 

[divrack]

HBT is by far the most helpful and gracious online forum I've ever participated in.

Except when it comes to lodo brewing or neipa sometimes...
HERESY!

 

[passedpawn]

Except when it comes to lodo brewing or neipa sometimes...
HERESY!

The debate threads make lodo conversations seem like a knitting circle at the elderly home.

 

[passedpawn]

I find I make grammatical mistakes all the time because of speed-typing and not proofreading. I'm appalled when I look at week-old post and see I misused an apostrophe or similar.

The only time I correct grammar here is when it affects the meaning, and that isn't very often.

We've had a few members who used voice-to-text to compose messages. That is a mess.

 

[davidabcd]

debate threads

Those are only open to people who do what? Seriously, I don't know. I guessed it was paying for the privilege?

 

[passedpawn]

Those are only open to people who do what? Seriously, I don't know. I guessed it was paying for the privilege?

Yep, you have to be a paying member. I think it's fun in there, but it's a little edgy too.

 

[mongoose33]

In a forum like this it's hard to tell the cause of such writing. Sometimes it is just sloppiness or drunkenness. Other possible causes: English is a second language, an incomplete education, mental or emotional conditions, cultural differences, differences in dialect, or a combination of these. I think it behooves us all to extend as much grace as we can.

I hope that didn't come off as me sitting on a high horse criticizing you, because that's certainly not where I'm coming from. I'm as guilty as anyone else for getting frustrated at times.

I see you and most other people on HBT being very helpful, even when it's difficult to do so. HBT is by far the most helpful and gracious online forum I've ever participated in.

For the most part, I agree. Drunken writing? I'm willing to overlook that. Someone from a place where English is their second language? Same thing.

I agree that offering a bit of grace is a good thing. But also, it's hard to take seriously those who clearly have English as a first language but are so interested in their own situation they can't take the time to get it right.

This is all probably as fruitful as criticizing our government. I think I'll have a beer.

 

[AZCoolerBrewer]

I know a guy who is very intelligent can do IT security like nobody’s business, makes 7 figures. I read something he wrote and it was like a third grader wrote it. I can only assume that he compensates for his deficiency somehow. I think those of us that can cobble together something intelligible take it for granted that it is something easy that everyone with a half a brain should also be able to do. Each of us have our own challenges. Correcting someone on an internet forum for grammar does not show that one is helpful. It shows one is deficient in diplomacy. Unless of course you are trolling in which case its expected.

 

[z-bob]

The debate threads make lodo conversations seem like a knitting circle at the elderly home.

For the most part, I stay out of the debate forums here because I don't want to lose respect for other members. I wander into the debate forum on another site where I'm a member (where I have no respect for most of them anyway) just to throw a dissenting opinion into the echo-chamber But if I spend too much time there it raises my blood pressure. They like fantasizing about "punching Nazis", where their definition of a Nazi is anyone who disagrees with them on social or political issues (and especially where the two intersect)

 

[madscientist451]

Who cares about grammar? Its what's in the glass that counts!

 

[davidabcd]

a little edgy too.

Some regular forum activity is too edgy for me.

 

[Gameface]

Who cares about grammar? Its what's in the glass that counts!

View attachment 597692

Sometimes you have to go further than that, and consider what is behind the glass.

 

[Brew2Be]

How about people suffering from dyslexia?

 

[grampamark]

How about people suffering from dyslexia?

For the love of dog, please leave those folks alone!

 

[gunhaus]

I ain't got no ichoos with poor grammification!

 

[divrack]

Who cares about grammar? Its what's in the glass that counts!

View attachment 597692

My first thought looking at that picture was "poor head, no lacing".

 

[davidabcd]

poor head, no lacing

That goes, for sure, in "You know you're a home brewer...."

 

[Sailingeric]

I can let a lot of things slide grammar wise but the mixing up Then and Than bugs the hell out of me!

 

[z-bob]

Well, alrighty than!

 

[SEndorf]

I've corrected posts (on other forums) where the message was confusing or misleading as written.
Simply correcting to show your brilliance with the English language is just being a piss-ant.

 

[OG-wan Kenobi]

I've corrected posts (on other forums) where the message was confusing or misleading as written.
Simply correcting to show your brilliance with the English language is just being a piss-ant.

That's my feelings

 

[bracconiere]

Other possible causes: English is a second language, an incomplete education, mental or emotional conditions, cultural differences, differences in dialect, or a combination of these. I think it behooves us all to extend as much grace as we can.

I hope that didn't come off as me sitting on a high horse criticizing you, because that's certainly not where I'm coming from. I'm as guilty as anyone else for getting frustrated at times..

in my case it's a lack of education. when i left school after the 4th grade, last thing i learned was a comma is a half second pause, and a period is a full second pause....which is why i love them so much! kinda like watching a youtube video where they say, this is going to take x amount of time.....here we are! lol, and as always

and no, that didn't come off as you sitting on a high horse...I'm a homebrewer i got droves of self-confidence!

Who cares about grammar? Its what's in the glass that counts!

View attachment 597692

Are you trying to sell me electrical diagrams?

 

[SEndorf]

That's my feelings

"That's my feelings" implies multiple emotions at work, thus two or more feelings at play. As such, the correct response would be "Those are my feelings". When the emotion is singular, as in this case, the correct response is "That is my feeling."

Ohh..gawd... I tried and tried but just couldn't resist being a smart a$$. Cyber kick me now!

 

[bracconiere]

"That's my feelings" implies multiple emotions at work, thus two or more feelings at play. As such, the correct response would be "Those are my feelings". When the emotion is singular, as in this case, the correct response is "That is my feeling."

Ohh..gawd... I tried and tried but just couldn't resist being a smart a$$. Cyber kick me now!

i thought the whole ' thingy was was for shortening stuff so it'd be "That's the way I feel."...and yes, i had to correct my lower case i....or correct me if i'm wrong...

 

[balrog]

There, there now; they're their own worst enemy sometimes, not to belabor too much of any one or two points.

I personally cannot fathom how anyone communicates on speak-to-text or those demonically inspired virtual keyboards. I hate those things.

 

[Velnerj]

As an English teacher living in a foreign country I can pretty much tell the difference between a native speaker error and an error made by someone with english as a second language.

Most errors generally don't bother me but there are a few that set me off... Could of/should of/would of top my list and though I probably won't correct you on this forum I most certainly won't engage in a conversation with you if I see it. I realize this is short sighted and biased.

For the record it's could have or could've

Cheers

 

[soccerdad]

I drove English teachers crazy. Or tried to. I never once spelled public right. Even through college. I simply wanted to see if they would catch it - or how they would deal with it. And I always used heighth in place of the real word just to see if they were paying attention. Irregardless, the heighth and breadth of grammar issues should not be discussed in pubic