Informal Rules of The Sinner Message Boards

[Prophet Tenebrae]

You spelt later wrong. Oh, the irony. The problem with the rule is - as this thread has demonstrated that there are so many people that obvious get some sort of sexual thrill from correcting spelling, grammar, syntax etc. that it would be an unenforcable rule.

[RichZ]

obviously


Sorry - couldn't resist!

[the weight of echoes]

We don't spell when we talk and all punctuation is impronouncable. Apart from when people turn every sentence they say into a question, even when it's a statement? Don't be so insecure! We're listening! That's why apostrophes d'o'n't matter and that's exactly why the connection with litter is fundamental. Punctuation is verbal litter - you can put it anywhere you want in speech and it has no effect at all because you don't pronounce it anyway. Therefore, there's no such thing as a written art form: therefore message boards exist entirely for purposes of confusion, the only beautiful thing.

[kensson]

Naturally, I have to weigh in with a sentence whose meaning changes according to apostrophic punctuation:

we'll go on its back

means something completely different to:

well go on! It's back!

The fact that I had to think quite hard to construct such a thing probably argues against my (spelling-fascist) point fo view.

[hr]My policy towards the USA remains one of regime change

[Prophet Tenebrae]

How about this - so long as what someone says is clearly understandable - even if it is mispelt - those that moan about grammar are beaten by a full Oxford English dictionary.

[LeopardSkinQueen]

And commas are pronounced, in that they indicate a pause. Same goes for colons and semi-colons.

Personally, I always check as I type if I have made any spelling mistakes, and if I miss any I have to edit it. I'm a bit obsessive about it. If someone else makes a mistake, I wince a bit, but would never pull anyone up for it. At the end of the day, a post on an internet message board isn't such a big deal. A typo doesn't matter.

And not everyone is as sad and obsessive about it as I am. I'm just being weird.

[hr]"Do not meddle in the affairs of slashers, for they are subtle and quick to anger."

[The Kaiser]

[s]the weight of echoes wrote on 14:13, 10th Dec 2002:
We don't spell when we talk and all punctuation is impronouncable. [...] Punctuation is verbal litter - you can put it anywhere you want in speech and it has no effect at all because you don't pronounce it anyway.

I have a mental picture of a word in me head when I say it, and, if I can possibly avoid it, never speak a word I don't know how to spell - it just makes me uncomfortable.

The presence of (as other people have pointed out) commas and colons makes a difference to pronunciation, but I also pronounce something differently if it has inverted commas around it.

These things probably mark me out as a freak or something, but they still disprove your assertions.

[Glasgow Gal]

Omigod Kaiser!

I do that as well and when I tell people they think it's really random!

xxx

[Al]

Whoa, did we just skip back in time?

[hr]"Life is a horizontal fall"

[loveridge]

http://www.toostupidtobepresident.com/s ... e_bush.htm

[hr]IMAGE:www.boomspeed.com/loveridge/loveridge.gif

[NicC]

While correcting other people's spelling and grammar is clearly a touch on the anal side, I can see the argument for taking a bit of care when you post. You may not be the world's greatest speller, and everyone makes typos, but surely it's basic courtesy to have a stab at coherence. After all, message boards are aimed at communication (well, mostly), and communication generally works best when people can work out what you're saying.


Nic

[Thackary]

I think NicC's message was the most sensible post on this thread.

There seems to me to be very little point in spelling words incorrectly if you are capable of literate writing.

[Zen]

i figure that as long as you can understand the general idea of what word the person was going for mispelling things is ok, i mean we're all prone to typos and sometimes i just plain foget how to spell a word, it can range from huge complicated ones to things like "pear", although it depends on how tired i am and the fact that i have to share a brain with 4 other people (it's the only way we can explain how all 4 of us somehow ended up here)so erm yeah.

[the weight of echoes]

But there's no such things as words! I can't read or write, no-one can. Everyone spells.

[Stranger]

Life is too short to be so anal.

[snowflake]

totally agree Stranger. carpe diem etc. *cough*not that i'm wasting my time by commenting on this but*cough*

anyway i know my spelling is bad, but i find it's always best to blame the inanimate object. it's the keyboard's fault, it's not that i can't spell!