Poll: Does bad spelling on the internet bother you?

[KingsGambit_v1legacy]

Simple spelling errors, no. But terrible punctuation and grammar or annoying language, yes. However, not enough that I would correct someone (usually). I made the mistake once (IRL) of correcting someone's spelling then learned later they were dyslexic. Not my proudest moment so for fear of embarrassing someone with a genuine reason for their spelling I usually leave well enough alone. It doesn't help the person in any way in my eyes however; apostrophe's in wrong place's when they "should of" known better...make me grind my teeth.

Also, it doesn't stop me laughing when anyone types 'rouge' instead of 'rogue'.

 

[havass]

Yes. Not to a large extent, mind. I try not to be a jerk and point out grammatical errors in posts. Unless they're being a troll or just being a plain asshole. Then it's usually okay for my conscience. Other than that, I try to give the benefit of doubt to the writers.
With that said, it does constantly bug me when I see things like 'your' being mixed up with 'you're' and I will be itching to correct that obnoxious word.

 

[Jodah]

One or two misspelled words, not so much. If their statement(s) are riddled with basic grammatical and/or spelling errors I tend to think less of them and their opinions. Its not that I can't read it, its that I don't care about them if they won't put the minimal effort into making a post look nice.

 

[Gamer_152]

I know that as long as you can read what the person's saying it doesn't really matter and that it's even the way language evolves but yeah, it really annoys me.

 

[Folio]

i hav no problum wit theyr speling!!!

Nah, just kidding. I do have a problem with it. If someone is angry and is screaming text-based, better do it right so you won't look like a rabid monkey.

And god help you if you start the 'Ub3r7331Hax0rz' shit. I don't care if he knows the way to cure cancer. If he talks like that, all his arguments are invalid at that point, there's no way I can see that person as an intelligent, educated being.

Typos are fine. I bet I've made some myself right now. I'm from The Netherlands, the rules on capital letters and punctuation are a bit different here. But come on! They're, their, there. There is a difference! (pun not intended)

I do get mad when I see... well 'i'. The one in lower case. It either means: 'I am foreign so I don't give a shit!' or: 'The Shift key is too far away from my pinky!'

Edit: I actually edited some sentences, even the one with the bad grammar because I wanted it to look worse. -_-

 

[TheTurtleMan]

Strangely, things like typos and poor grammer annoy me much more than intentionally mispelled things. If someone is using 1337 speak, I may be a bit annoyed but in a way, it is kind of the internet language. Although while I may not be annoyed by internet talk or poor grammer talented, I usually end up looking down on the user of it whereas I don't look down at people making harmless typos.

 

[Spy_Guy]

It doesn't bother me as long as I don't have to actually read their offensive drivel.

 

[ACman]

So, there you go. This poll was brought forwards out of a discussion I was having a while back on a poll about pronounciation and since poor spelling online is often a hot topic in the literary world, I was wondering what the Escapist community's thoughts were on the subject. Personally, although I feel good spelling makes your post look more proffesional, I like the way that chat shorthand has developed in way that shows the dynamic nature of language in order to make it more efficient and thereby shaping it into new forms (i.e. lol, sup, irl).

I find it quite hilarious that you start off this poll with 2 misspellings.

You mean:

I find it quite hilarious that you'd begin this poll with 2 misspellings.

Just thought I'd correct that for you.

 

[ACman]

No it doesn't bother me, I quite like seeing other people spell words incorrectly because I then know that my spelling is superior.

Twat senses tingling.

Does that mean your vagina is itching?

 

[Belbe]

I'll admit, it bothers me. I can't take them seriously unless it's clear it's Engrish from a non-native speaker or a young kid. Because when you see adults do it, it makes them sound like they're an idiot. Either way, really bad grammar/spelling just hurts my eyes.

 

[Owlly]

it bothers me a little in that i don't really like to see a persons chosen language lazily thrown across a page, it shows that they haven't considered what they are about to say and just felt like they wanted to just type, and in this way it bothers me, as you should really be using correct spelling if its your first and only language (which is the case for many people). In other cases though its not such a big issue, like a small typo here or there - fine, or if its not your native language, no big deal, but if you can't make the effort to word your statements correctly, why should people care in the first place?

 

[i7omahawki]

I wouldn't say it bothers me, it's just that if I'm reading someone's post and it has consistently bad spelling I will usually skip it rather than read it through. That said, if what they're saying is interesting enough I will probably still venture through the horrible mistakes, though fortunately that occurrence is rare.

 

[kinapuffar]

Yes.
Bad spelling means you're stupid. I don't find any benefit in talking to idiots, so I want the people who occupy the same little corner of the internet as myself, to be proficient in expressing themselves effeciently and correctly.

It's not life or death. But I expect correct use of they're/their, its/it's, and a complete lack of 1337-5p33k or shorthand unless used ironically.

 

[Robert Ewing]

I try to use good spelling and punctuation, but typos are inevitable. And for people whom English is their second language, I understand if they don't spell words correctly or use punctuation in the right way. At least they've tried.

However I do hate people that misspell words on purpose with a completely straight face. Let me give you a perfect example from one of my facebook 'friends'

"weekend is gowna be so amazing buzzin aready fur it yassss Love danny boy ♥ ♥"

"‎2 weeks since me and daniel gemmell has been gown out fur canny believe its 2 weeks already one thing tht matters tht i love him wai all my heart and i hope i neva lose him♥"

"my poor wee conore ma wee bro is not getten any betta a tall man the poor wee soil i hope he gets betta soon love u conor xoxoxox♥"

THAT PISSES ME OFF!

 

[newdarkcloud]

The odd typo or two doesn't bother me won bit.

It's wen u txt like tis tat we hav a problem.

 

[TheLastSamurai14]

It kind of bothers me since most browsers have spell-check right? I mean, Chrome and Firefox do...

and Safari, too.

Bad grammar isn't much of a problem for me but bad spelling really does annoy me a lot. I mean basic words that people should have learnt in grade 2...

Nonetheless, I chose the first option. Because we all know everything sounds better in the Queen's English.

Oh god. That's brilliant. Do you know if they've done other Meet the Team videos in the Queen's English?

 

[nuba km]

I am dyslexic so I am bias on this topic, but I want to mention something related to this topic that drives me nuts. When I tell people that I am dyslexic and they say 'well you just have to try', and my reaction to this is normally 'don't you think that I do'. I look over my post and try and get rid of all the red squiggly lines but because of my dyslexia I don't really notice that some of the bigger words that I use are misspelled and are actually a different word entirely. On another side note I have a grammar nazi friend who also goes on this sight.