Help an OAP out!!

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NormanC

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Aug 4, 2009
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352
Location
Worcestershire
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I find myself in need of a little bit of help.

I'm interested in what everyone says in these forums, but I'm beginning to have more and more trouble understanding some posts.

I find difficulty in reading and understanding posts which have blocks of text without punctuation, without capital letters and with obscure abbreviations. Call me an old codger if you like, but that's the way it is!

What all of you say is important to me so please help me out and write your posts so that even I can understand them.

Thanks,
 
Hi Norman,we do have a part-time spelling policeman, P.C. Renault. Perhaps he should also police punctuation,i'll have a word. (Tongue firmly in cheek ) :D
 
1T0T4ll746REE, sorry! I agree and i'm relatively young (36). Personally i'm of the opinion that if people can't spell or use punctuation to a reasonable standard then they shouldn't be posting on internet forums. :ban:
 
I wholeheartedly agree with both of the above posts and only refrain from complaining about 'text speak' , poor spelling , punctuation and grammar a) because I have better things to do with my time ; and b) because I don't want to offend or chase away some newer members who have yet to 'learn the ropes' .
 
Just remember, some people find it hard to read and write. It is as hard for some to write and punchuate if they have never been taught to do so properly.
 
No matter how much I try. I misspell some words. Fact, my grammar and puntuation are rotten. I do however come on here to relax and get away from some of my short comings elsewhere!! (Yes I have more than several) So I thank the members who put up with my slackness, it is not intended. Perhaps I do suffer from some form of dyslexia. If so, not a lot I can do about that. I can only marvel at the more educated and gifted wordsmiths on the forum.
By the way none intended to anyone. Since I have put Norton on my computer I can no longer get the smiley/frowny faces to appear anywhere, so some of my posts may carry more gravitas than intended.
Now I'm off out to enjoy the sunshine.
 
Last edited:
BlackC55 said:
Just remember, some people find it hard to read and write. It is as hard for some to write and punchuate if they have never been taught to do so properly.
Click to expand...

I appreciate that, Olly, and I'm not expecting perfect grammar and spelling (I'd very quickly be hoist with my own petard on that score!) but just gently seeking a little help to understand some of the more obscure postings that appear from time to time.

Also, I'd never want to put anyone off from posting - as I said, everyone's views are important to me.
 
NormanC said:
I find myself in need of a little bit of help.

I'm interested in what everyone says in these forums, but I'm beginning to have more and more trouble understanding some posts.

I find difficulty in reading and understanding posts which have blocks of text without punctuation, without capital letters and with obscure abbreviations. Call me an old codger if you like, but that's the way it is!

What all of you say is important to me so please help me out and write your posts so that even I can understand them.

Thanks,
Click to expand...

Should be Thanks. :D
 
Have you any examples Norman? (I ask becuase I have always found this more of the problem on Pistonheads and never had proiblems on this site).
 
trapperjohn said:
No matter how much I try. I misspell some words. Fact, my grammar and puntuation are rotten. I do however come on here to relax and get away from some of my short comings elsewhere!! (Yes I have more than several) So I thank the members who put up with my slackness, it is not intended. Perhaps I do suffer from some form of dyslexia. If so, not a lot I can do about that. I can only marvel at the more educated and gifted wordsmiths on the forum.
By the way none intended to anyone. Since I have put Norton on my computer I can no longer get the smiley/frowny faces to appear anywhere, so some of my posts may carry more gravitas than intended.
Now I'm off out to enjoy the sunshine.
Click to expand...

But you are so easy to read and understand!! I'm so glad that you relax here which is just what I want to do, hence my little plea for help.

I don't want things blown out of proportion, and we don't need a grammar/spelling czar. It is simply that I sometimes feel that I'm losing out on people's valuable opinions and knowledge by not understanding the occasional post.

I don't want to upset anyone here, and apologise if I may have done so inadvertantly. I've made my little plea for help and been listened to most considerately so I'll just keep quiet about it now.

Thanks, everyone!
 
In spite of being a wordsmith by occupation, I'm not too bothered about spelling and grammar in forums. There is an easy solution with spelling: compose your message in a word processor, use the spell-check, then copy the message into the forum.

I do have difficulty with text-speak abbreviation. It's all very well in the environment where it originated, but I find it offputting in forum discussion, to the point where I simply ignore any posts containing it.

One thing I would suggest is that, in longer posts, paragraphs help considerably.

As ever, remember that you are writing for other people and not for yourself -- presumably, you want to be understood. The number of times I've had to say that to my academic authors . . .
 
I completely agree with Norman on this.

I find it hard to read blocks of unpunctuated, badly spelled text. I have been attacked before on the forum for complaining about this subject.

Can't really see the problem either. EVERYBODY is taught how to read & write in the UK; children are required to attend school for a minimum of twelve years here.

Dyslexia suffers aside, if they haven't figured out how to string together a few intelligible sentences in all that time you have to wonder what the hell they were doing with their time.
 
I'm glad I still remember how to use a dictionary. That primary school education must have stuck somewhere in my head.
 
Remember some forum members do not have English as their mother tongue and many also do not live in UK...
 
In my experience most educated foreigners speak & write better English than the average home grown Englishman.
 
Help an OAP out!!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I find myself in need of a little bit of help.

You need to cross the road AGAIN?
 
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