Uneducated or Just Lazy??

I have to say I agree with you. I don't even read the posts that don't use punctuation or capitalization. It is too frustrating to get through them. A few errors here and there are NOT what I am talking about either.

I'm frustrated that some of my dear friends have died or are dying from cancer. I have bigger things to worry about than somebody's spelling. And I'm an editor.

I am so sorry you are getting such a horrible backlash for an honest question. I think it's funny that those who condem you for judging are, in fact, judging you. I understand that people struggle with spelling/grammar and I understand that some are fluent in another language, but as an older college student (much older) I can tell you it is SHOCKING to see what American high school graduates consider decent writing. I don't think most responders of this post truly understand how serious this problem is becoming. You made an observation and that doesn't make you a bad person...I am getting so sick of women on this site jumping on people because they just assume everyone is intolerant or racist...I think most of us are more evolved than that.

Thank you!

I, too, find the blatant disregard for spelling & grammar to be distracting. I agree that some of it is due to normal human error, some because people are using a language that is not their first and some is because people are contributing via mobile devices (phones, iTouch, etc). Those reasons I totally understand. Like you, however, I can't understand people who just disregard & expect others to figure it out. If it's too much work to think things through & type it reasonably when it comes to getting advice from other concerned moms, then it's too much work for me to bother trying to figure out what you mean & offer some support.

Frequently, I think we forget that spelling & grammar rules are designed to enhance clarity of communication & understanding, not to be patrician or judgmental. Don't the posters want to be correctly understood? Isn't it in their best interests to at least try to get their message across clearly so they get helpful advice or supportive commentary? I just don't get it. It seems as if some people (this site & others) think that they should be able to write however they want & to the devil with whoever would dare to criticize THEM. I think the responsibility lies with each of us to make sure we present our case so that others can understand & we can be a helpful, caring community. I'd rather apply my brain to helping & providing support & advice, not to trying to figure out what the heck the original letter writer meant to begin with. So much misunderstanding occurs because of careless writing -- and careless reading, also (though that's another topic).

Thanks for bringing this up (though the self-centered, I'll-do-it-my-way-&-call-myself-strong-&-independent types won't get it, I don't think). Few of us would ever strive to be published authors (who has time?), but I'm so glad to know there are others who appreciate decent communication skills!

Woah there lady......who are you to judge others? If you're so superior to other moms who may mess up on their english and may be bad typists, then what are you doing caring about answering other people's advice? I wouldn't want advice from someone who's as superficial as you. If there's a post that I find difficult to understand, I just skip it. I don't spend time getting angry about how why people speak or type the way they do.....And to sit there and say that it's possibly because mothers today are lazy or uneducated????...........that is narcissistic and absolutely uncalled for. If I were you, I would totally remove this post, and I would remove myself from this site too, because your behavior is shameful and rude....I would also take a good look at yourself and find out if there are other areas in your life that you need to step back from and try to be more empathetic instead of judgmental

EDIT....let's just all clarify that her original posting was much more narcissistic and out of line than this new one liner she's put up here. She literally said she was ready to quit this site because of mothers either being lazy with their English or uneducated....nice one, Ree

You have to remember that spelling isn't an indication of intelligence, it's a skill...I have extremely educated friends who can't spell and this website has no spell check.

I also type holding a 6 month old, so I type quickly and when I re-read my posts there are always misspelled wods and run on sentences. As we speak, my son is grabbing at the keyboard and I've had to retype a number of words.

Two thoughts:

1. A lot of people are asking emotional questions and are just typing as they think....sort of stream of consciousness.

2. This sight is all about communication and you can certainly communicate with poor spelling and grammar.

I notice the mistakes, but they don't bother me. I don't think being critical of other moms who are asking for help is going to help them get what they need. It's always better to ask for help than be silent because you think someone will be critical of you.

Also, and if someone is uneducated, what of it? Does it make them less of a mom? Does it make them less worthy of garnering attention? Getting help? Having a support system? Gaining the answers they need?

If it bothers you so much perhaps you should find another website that doesn't bother you so much because the common thread I notice here is a group of moms (and sometimes dads) that want a community to help them work through an issue....not a circle of judges. Oooh, run on sentence, I hope I haven't lost you.

At first your message didn't bother me, but now it has me a bit steamed. I really want to say...who do you think you are? Wow? Do you really need to make someone feel bad by posting this?

Yes, you are being uppity. Yes, find another group who can write properly. This one is for a community of moms and they don't deserve your unsoliticited criticism of their grammar and spelling.

BY THE WAY, I NOTICE THAT YOU EDITED YOUR QUESTION....SO OBVIOUSLY EVEN YOU FELT THE NEED TO REWRITE YOUR QUESTION AFTER YOU POSTED IT....YOU MUST HAVE FELT IT WAS BEING MISINTERPRETED. SO EVEN WITH CORRECT SPELLING AND GRAMMAR YOU WEREN'T ABLE TO GET YOUR POINT ACROSS. THE COMPUTER IS A TOUGH FORUM....AIN'T IT?

There but for the grace of god go I. Good thing to remember.

Wow, I wish I could have read the original question that got everyone so angry.

I am a language snob, I know I am. In this forum, I get over it. I also hate text talk outside of a phone, but not everyone agrees. It seems lazy to me, but then, I often don't capitalize in emails and I'm sure that seems lazy to others. That is how email started out though. The only time it really got to me was in a posting about educating, I found it pretty alarming. But I chose not to answer.

I agree that occasionally it is so bad that I can't understand the question, or I misinterpret the poster's answer. There is nothing I can do about that. If someone is just being lazy and doesn't get their point across accurately, oh well, that is thier own fault. If they don't have the ability to get their point across, that is sad for them.

I had to kind of laugh when I read your question, because personally I would never choose a user name like you did. It is slang if I ever saw it.

ADDED*
I find it funny that you are praising the people who wrote you privately to not join in the chaos, when creating choas was pretty much the only thing that could be accomplished with this post. And I wonder how many of them read your original question as it was phrased to begin with, since apparently lots of people found it really offensive and judgemental, and you toned it down. I don't disagree that the language usage is frustrating at times, I just thnk that making fun of people on a "help" forum is kinda defeating the purpose of being welcoming and open to all. If the state of education today bothers you, help lobby for improvements to the educational system. Where are the uneducated or dyslexic or just plain lazy moms supposed to go for advice and support?

I don't cringe when I see a post full of bad grammer. I do, however, cringe when I see the person who posted getting absolutely CREAMED by people cutting them down for their poor writing and/or spelling skills.

Why did you change your original post?

WOW, did you ever start something. I love it. I personally wish mamapedia had a spell check and grammar check. Most of my problem is being fat fingered. I'm shocked when I go back to re-read some of my answers and find I spelled "you" as yuou.

One of my heroes in english is Bill Cosby. When Jesse Jackson was trying to pass ebonics off as a new language Bill Cosby labeled it correctly as bad grammar.

Thanks for your question. I think its the product of teachers passing kids just because they spent the school year in that class and schools not being able to use punishment, corporal and other wise when kids misbehave. If there are no consequences for actions kids tend to behave as they wish. And they wish they were else where. I worked for a while as a substitute teacher when I was inbetween jobs. I was amazed at the lower quality of the disipline and education in the classroom.

I could go on to my personal reason for the dumbing down of our schools, education, and the work place, but that is for another time and place.

Wow! The responses have been so interesting to read through, and your post definitely struck a cord in many different ways. It's similar to the post yesterday about the tone with which people respond to messages (and the resulting responses).

I notice it, sometimes I choose to skip answering the questions, sometimes I overlook it. Sometimes my responses have accidental misspellings in them. Sometimes the editor on this site tells me words are spelled correctly (which drives me crazy) such as "Dietician" - always get a red wavy line for that one.

As a big generality, I think our society has allowed people to become much more lax with grammar in the past 10-15 years. There are huge grammatical errors in most advertising/marketing campaigns (example: Mac's "Think Different" should have been "Think Differently") - society is generally much more accepting today than in generations past.

Occasionally, someone will vent on Facebook about "their, there, and they're" or "your vs. you're" which gets a long thread of replies from people venting their grievances, too.

I took your post in the same context - I do agree that there are people from all walks of life on Mamapedia. Sometimes there are comments that really make my skin crawl, but we all have to accept criticism as a part of putting ourselves on a public forum open to complete strangers.

If you can't read it or it frustrates you, just skip over it and don't finish reading it. Why frustrate yourself over something you do not have control over. It's amazing why you would think they are uneducated or lazy, maybe they are in a hurry or multitasking. Try to see the positive and humor in every situation. Hope this helps.
V.

I agree with you. I must be that snob too. I try really hard to make sure that I am using correct grammar & I actually blame it on my husband. He was raised & taught that how you speak does reflect who you are & does show your intelligence. Right or wrong-snob or not, that's how he was raised. I tend to agree with him. Some of our pet peeves are exspecially, "like", & supposebly. I do have more of an issue with the spoken word than the typed word. It is especially difficult for me to watch a more educated person use the word "like" several times in the same sentence. It like makes it like extremely difficult for me to like follow their train of thought. I also think it can depend on who you are talking to. Teenagers talk like that to each other all the time. I do find my self slipping into text mode every once in a while if I'm chatting on Facebook. I hate it, but find myself doing it.

It certainly frustrates me! I'm with you on this one. The posts are difficult to read and understand and the horrible English sometimes makes me ache. I know not all people are as proficient at language skills as others, but come on ladies! We have an example to set!

Actually, I don't let it bother me as "boards" such as this and other on-site places where people casually write, vent or even give advice , aren't places where I go to read a good novel.... IF something is way too convoluted to read, I skip over.

Yes, this drives me crazy along with text writing on this site as well. I really wish there was a spell check option. I am a horrible speller. But yes I totally agree with you. Has everyone forgotten what they learned in school?

YES!!!! YES!!!! YES!!!! Thank you for putting this out here! And by the way, English is my second language and I know proper grammer and spelling. If I'm unsure, I look it up.

It's one of my pet peeves too! I understand if English is not someone's first language, but when you know the person should know better...ugh!

I also don't like the misuse of "there," "their" & "they're". Drives me crazy!! lol

And it's not just this site, it's everywhere online!

My brother has dyslexia and an IQ of 130 yet he cannot spell. He is probably more intelligent than any of us on this site. He is successfull, Has fought against large companies that pollute our water and has lobbied in Washington and he has won many of these battles. He has also been the recipient of many awards. My daughter has dyslexia, she is in 3rd grade her IQ is in the 120s. Inspite of her disability, she helps the kids that do not have a disability in the class, her teachers are amazed by her. Most likely, my daughter will never be a good speller.

There are many learning disabilities that affect spelling and grammer. Dysgraphia is a learning disability that affects written language, Expressive language disorder is another disability that may affect writing. I have listed just three learning disabilities that affect grammer and spelling but there are many more.

For many reasons people are not identified as having a learning disability and they never receive intervention. This is unfortunate but it does not mean that they are not smart.

My point is, not everyone with poor spelling and bad grammer have a learning disability but you have no way of knowing who does and who does not so in my opinion, it is better to not judge. It is kinder to be tolerant of people who are differnt and may not have had the same opportunities that you have had, have special needs, have a language barrier, or just did not get an education for whatever reason.

By the way, forgive me if my punctuation and spelling is not perfect.

I would imagine it's a little bit of everything. Some people have another first language, some people haven't had enough education, vernacular speech, or in my case laziness. None of it bothers me as long as I understand what they are trying to say.

Maybe their typing skills aren't great. This country is a melting pot of different races, and maybe yes, their spelling, grammar, etc. isn't great, but so what? We are all concerned parents on this website and for you to be so angry is quite sad and annoying. I'm a court reporter and yes, I see spelling and grammar errors everywhere I go, but it's not my problem. Why are you letting it anger you? Nothing else in your life to be angry about? And look at your name, it's really stupid. I guess for argument's sake, the correct spelling is Reality.

I'VE NOTICED A COUPLE OF MOMMIES ARE USING THE INCORRECT WORDS ON HERE. I.E., ADVICE/ADVISE, SIGHT/SITE, CHORD/CORD...SO WHAT? AS LONG AS I UNDERSTAND IT, THAT'S ALL THAT MATTERS. MAYBE WE SHOULD ALL EXCHANGE PHONE NUMBERS INSTEAD.

UPDATE: FOR ALL THE MORE RECENT REPLIERS, HER ORIGINAL POST WAS SCATHING AND RUDE AND THEN SHE CHANGED IT TO A ONE-LINER.

I can not spell, I have never been able to spell. so for me spelling has always been a struggle.
Alot of the "spelling mistakes" I see are the text/ internet language. That stuff irritates me to death. How hard is it to type sucks, instead of sux. or are you instead of R U?

This is totally not site related but my daughter's Pre-K TEACHER , yes I said teacher, had written up on the wall of the classroom. " John have three marbles." Seriously??? John HAVE !!!! That still irritates me and that was 3 yrs ago.

I get your point, I'm just not sure why you are making it. Your post won't suddenly educate the uneducated but it will get everyone all hot and bothered. But maybe that was your intention to begin with.

While it is distracting, I am most bothered when someone has written a question and I cannot understand what they mean because the sentence structure is so poor, and it is obvious that they need help that has nothing to do with their poor command of written Englsih. It just goes to show everyone, that when our kids whine to us about "never needing to use this stupid skill of writing a book report well once they get a job" we now have the perfect example for them to share so that they stay in school and suffer the frustration of learning to write well.

There was only one time on this site when I thought it was appropriate to judge the writing prouse of a Mom, who had obvious and true issues with spelling, verb noun agreement, and many of the basic mechanics of written English, and that was one who was asking how to home school. Other than that, there are many people who lack this skill who can be really good Moms, and hopefully, they will encourage their kids to work harder and go further, which is what we all want when we come here, IMO, or we would not be here in the first place.

I don't judge you for your question, but I find it sad for those who did not get the education I did, for what ever reason, but it is frustrating to try and help them when it is hard to understand what they mean.

M.

I don't know what has caused the problem, but you're not the only one who has noticed.

The poor writing is frustrating but I try to cut the moms some slack. Maybe English isn't their first language. Maybe they're exhausted and over their heads.

I struggle a bit with writing, too, so I can sympathize.

Do you look at the glass half-empty or full?
I believe we get out of it what we put into it. I just posted a very refreshing question about my in-laws the other day and absolutey LOVED the responses, even the misspelled ones. I printed them out and gave them to my mother-in-law. It made her day too.
Itz thu peepl hoo r imprtnt. Not duh speling.

the posts with spelling errors and no punctuation are the posts I skip. It gives me a headache. Now, English is my 3rd language, so obviously my sentence structure is going to suck big time. Nothing I can do about it.
But, I agree, I hate the whole: "he/she don't understand.' God, the easiest thing is subject-verb agreement. I hope it is one of the first things that gets taught in American schools.
I also get annoyed with 'i wish you were hear" instead of 'here."
i got a very sweet email from my husband when we first started dating. Yes, he said 'hear' instead of 'here.' I held my tongue. didn't say a word. i thought he just made a mistake. Now, he didn't make a mistake. he thought that is how you write that word. now i correct him.
I also don't like:
i aksed you...instead of asked.
new yorkers have 'aksed' instead of 'asked'
they were taught that way in school.
my children said that word when we first moved here, and after we had started meeting people.
i didn't have a heart attack. i got close to it though.
i corrected them. and my kids' response was:
you don't know, you don't speak English
ya think girlfriend?
:)
so i agree with you. these posts you're talking about do not irritate me for the most part, because I have chosen to ignore them.
It is sad though. It's not like learning foreign languages are promoted in our (american) schools. so why can't they teach proper English at least?
Ah, yes, must be the Unions who allow unqualified teachers to be teaching when they clearly need English 101.

I think it is more frustrating how some on this sight attack others. I am happy when someone takes the time to reply. I am not here to judge if someone is uneducated or lazy. We all make mistakes. I have many important things to be frustrated over and this is not one of them.

I have also noticed the (many) spelling errors. This is a pet peeve of mine, so I really notice! BUT, I still read (if I can get through it, sometimes I feel bad because I simply CAN'T read anymore, it makes my head hurt!) I read and respond, if I have any suggestions, because it makes me happy that even though I feel these moms are probably embarrassed (I know I would be) to write the way they do, they love their children enough to move past their personal issues and reach out for any kind of help/support they can get for themselves and their children. To me, doing it for their kids makes it more okay somehow.

I just wanted to add, I didn't get the impression at ALL that you were angry, just that this was something that bothered you, and it CAN be quite frustrating when you want to offer advice but can't because you do not understand exactly what the problem is from the post. It saddens me to see the English language butchered [on here and many, many other places :( ] but there's not a whole lot I can do about it.

PS--one of the reasons I like texting is because it gives me license to break just about every rule in the book, but for some reason, outside of texting, text talk seriously irks me :)

I agree with what everyone has said so far about different backgrounds, etc. but I do understand what you are saying too. On this site I overlook it and don't usually think twice about it. I do clearly remember one post long ago from a mother who was frustrated with her son's school. She went on and on about how unfair the administration and teachers were and that her son was going to drop out because they were not doing their jobs. Meanwhile her post was full of grammatical errors and spelling errors. It was obvious that she wouldn't have been of any help to him with school work at all and I it made it very clear to me where the difference in our schools lies. It's not so much the quality of what's going on in the schools as it is what's going on at home. I think about how much parental involvement there is at my kid's school through financial support, volunteering in the school as well as parent's time at home. I know that in the schools that are failing in our country this is not the case. Not as a result of lack of interest or desire on the part of the family but simply a lack of resources. I feel so sorry for these kids and their families. They want so much for their children to succeed but when they themselves don't have the education to "pass down" and don't have the financial resources to hire someone to do it, what are they suppose to do? It's just a vicious cycle.

So to answer your question, yes it frustrates me but it's not frustration with the individual writing but with our educational system and how many young people we are failing.

It makes me crazy, too. I think it is a combination of both laziness and our "texting culture". I can't help it. I judge people with bad grammar. I know that I misspell words here and there, mostly because I'm in a rush. However, I shudder with shame when I read some people's posts. The run on sentences, the lack of capitalization, the "ur" and substituting numbers for words. I suspect that some people are actually using their mobile phones to post on this site. It's not a good excuse, though.

Added: The poster wasn't questioning the love these people have for their families or suggesting that they are "less deserving" of advice. She was expressing an honest opinion. Why in the world would you ladies to get upset at her and call her "uppity"? It's a legitimate gripe! Yes, people are looking for advice. Yes, we should answer them nicely. But that doesn't mean that it isn't sad and frustrating to read such poorly written posts.

Wow! I wish that was my biggest concern of the day!
I think the title of your question should have read, "Judgemental or just plain mean??"
There are a lot of people who make errors, but who cares?? As one person said, "It's not an essay contest."
Should that make a mom less deserving of good advice or make their answer not worthy? When I signed up for this site I never read the fine print stating that you had to have a college education or receive a certain score on your SAT's. All this question is doing is making moms who have less than average grammar skills feel as though they can't ask or respond to a question anymore.

Please keep in mind ladies, when reading such posts with gramatical errors and misspellings that not every Mom on this board was born and raised in this country. Many moms, like myself, had to learn this language and to be honest to even after 7 years of English classed in school and 17 years living here in this counrty I come across words and phrases that I do not understand. To be honest I do not judge anyone here by their misspellings and grammar.

I cringe, more for the speaker/writer than for myself as the listener/reader. I know that they will face quick judgement from other people and sometimes simply be written off as unworthy, uneducated,or just plain stupid for their grammar or spelling deficits. I'm sure that some people are simply lacking in intelligence, but they certainly didn't choose the brain they were born with.

I used to read/correct papers for a high school Language Arts department. It quickly became evident that language habits are picked up early and are very hard to overcome. If your parents said "This is what I done" from the time you were born, that is what sounds correct to you. That's what comes out in your writing and speech. It takes lots of intention and attention to break language habits, and some people never can do it – even if they take classes for it.

Spelling is really tough for some people, too. Their brains are not wired for it. My husband is a writer/educator by profession, and he depends on me and his spell checker to get a paragraph down without one or two misspellings. He's also quite capable of throwing in the occasional grammar no-no – phrases learned from his parents. He cringes when I point those out.

As a former English teacher, it really bothers me. I can never tell, though, if I'm being too picky. I've become a lot more relaxed, over the years, by choice. If I became frustrated everytime I read something, on-line, that was grammatically incorrect, I'd lose my mind.

Updated

As a former English teacher, it really bothers me. I can never tell, though, if I'm being too picky. I've become a lot more relaxed, over the years, by choice. If I became frustrated everytime I read something, on-line, that was grammatically incorrect, I'd lose my mind.

To me it's not a big deal becasue
1) I have my kids around me while I am online so I don't always get things out the best way I could if I didn't have the distractions.

2) I figure everyone else is as busy as I am.

There are bigger and better things to get frustrated over trust me with 2 special needs kids grammatical errors are not a big deal!

Does it really matter why some posts contain a lack of punctuation, incorrect spelling, run-on sentences? If you don't want to sort through the post to figure it out, then you can simply choose not to read and answer that post, opting to answer the ones that are easy to read. There are plenty of both kinds of posts. Either way, educted or not, lazy or not, there are moms who are seeking answers to their questions. I, personally, would not leave this forum because some of the posts are frusratating to read. I would leave if the forum didn't suit my needs.

i agree with you. when it comes to capitalization and punctuation, i don't always do it (case in point). however when somebody's grammar/spelling/etc. is so bad that i can't make out what they're actually trying to say, THAT'S frustrating...especially when the post seems urgent like "i need help now!" but then i don't really understand what they're asking. i want to answer due to the urgency but i don't understand!!

I think there are many women from many different backgrounds using this sight. I think diversity is a beautiful thing. I think a post from a mom with a dramatically different life style from my own is especially interesting. Motherhood is a unique demographic which spans race, education, income level etc. I also understand a posting may be written 'in the moment' with passion, and disregard for spelling and grammar which suggests the writer is in great 'need' of help, and isn't that why we're here? To offer each other help?

i am definitely lazy, i hate to press shift to make my capitals, sometimes i dont go back and check my spelling, and most of the time i dont use apostrophies.

i am not uneducated

i sometimes laugh at the spellings on here, like the continued use of the word pregnate, for pregnant

Well, it helps me judge their response to my question...

Not to be mean, but I've gotta (I'm being conversational using "gotta") agree with the post about the slang of your user name...

Probably both. Sometimes I'm too lazy to go back and add an apostrophe or capitalize my I's or I create a huge run on sentence when babbling about something. I think if they are honest mistakes, then whatever, who cares. If they are uneducated and don't know how to spell I will still help them if I can figure out what they are saying. However I would like to add that if you think this is bad, you should see the way the younger generation uses slang now not just on the internet or texting, but actually speaking it. Sometimes I can't even understand the people i work with. Now that is sad.

As I was reading your post I was getting upset at you, but actually I feel very sad for you. If people's lack of correct spelling and good grammar bother you so much, I can only imagine other areas of your life. You need to realize that no one is perfect, not even in their spelling and grammar, and not even you. You don't know what the circumstances are, and either one of the two have nothing to do with one's intelligence! I'm surprised you don't know that.
Secondly, this website is for those that need a little help or advice on an issue that they find themselves having trouble with, but the least of those issues is spelling. Yes I've seen a lot of them, but their issue and post have always been more important. I am here with the purpose to help somebody, to ease their problems by giving them a little input as per my own experiences, to give support and even pray for those that really are in a hard and troublesome circumstance. I'm not here to criticize their spelling and grammar. If you really don't think this website can help you or you can help others with some good advice, then yes, maybe you should get out of it.
My purpose on being here is with the hopes that I can help people and ease their burdens and problems. Every time I reply to a post, my prayer is that it helps the person that posts it. I'm not necessarily concerned about their spelling or grammar.
Life is much more important than spelling and grammar, so please try to educate yourself a little more about humility and compassion; it will take you a long way.

:)

I was just reading a few posts that I also found frustrating. Before children, I taught middle school. The school I taught at was primarily Hispanic and poor. I get the impression that many of the posts filled with grammar mistakes, misspellings and run on sentences are people for whom English is a second language. They are very similar to emails and notes I would receive from parents when I was in the classroom. So while it can be frustrating, I do applaud the attempt at learning and using English. English, especially writing in English, is a very difficult skill to master. While some of it may be a result of the texting craze, I imagine for many of the people making these posts, it's a daunting and somewhat scary task.

'Uneducated or just lazy?' There's some of both. Some of the people who learn English as a second language express themselves much more clearly than some people who write exactly as they speak out loud. Some of the spelling is texting shorthand (ROTFLMAO = rolling on the floor laughing my (ahem, 'behind') off for instance) or phonetic. If the accent is thick enough, you'd hardly know it was English you were listening to. I worked with a British company for many years and one of my favorite customers was a guy who worked in a warehouse in Scotland. The sentence structure is very different and I had to keep asking him to repeat himself till I could get the hang of his phrasing and better understand his pronunciation (house mouse sounded like 'hoose moose'). Language drifts and evolves. As far as the questions on this site go, if I can't understand it, I don't answer it. A great site for looking up acronyms:
http://www.acronymfinder.com

sometimes i get frustrated when reading others responses and answers but then i look back at some of my responses or questions and say"Wow", i know better than that! sometimes i just get excited and don't realize that i made some errors or in my mind I just know I typed it right. but i don't really let it bother me unless it's just so bad that I can't even understand the person's question, then ijust move on to the next one.

I prefer to spell correctly and try to formulate my thought process before pushing "send". Sometimes people are just rushed. Gosh you should see my own mothers emails. My goodness the spelling errors but she is actually a very speller just sends the emails out too quickly before she checks.

Yes our educational system has failed many in this area. However, society on the internet has allowed a shorthand that does look like the writers do not know, nor take the time, to correct. That being said, mothers come to this site looking for help with a problem, not to be tested on their spelling. While many may have advanced educations, many have limited education. The one thing they have in common is that they are trying to be good moms. If you feel superior and focus on the spelling of words rather than the message, I question why you come to this site and if you would listen to advice given. I have always taught my children to use proper spelling and grammar but times have changed and people accept a lot of shortcuts.

UPDATE:
Oh No! It looks like I have been duped! Apparently the original post was a bit more...more...Biting, sarcastic, judgemental...? Than the tightly edited version above? I call shenanigans on that! That is definitely something to gripe about -- A poster who changes their question after a slew of responses come in.
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We all have the "1,001 Things We Gripe About"...And that's certainly OK. Though of course, I also think cutting online communication a little slack is a must.

But yes, clearly written, engaging, and concise posts (because I might be a smidgen more peeved about loooong posts) are important to me as well. I don't get frustrated but I do immediately stop reading such posts. To me, there seems little sense in investing the time to read and respond thoughtfully to someone who has not invested the same amount of time and care in their post.

More than anything it makes me sad. I first assume they are in a hurry, then I think, poor dears, they were not well educated.

If it is so bad I cannot make heads or tails, I skip it.. Life is too short to for me to worry about it..

I am a terrible speller. Thank goodness, my computer spell checks anything I send, but I still go back and cringe at some of my posts and see terrible mistakes.

While it may be annoying to read, I think for the most part it is people who have English as a second language so I understand. You can tell by sentence structure and the way they spell things out. \ And I'm sure there are people who don't have much education but these people have kids and need help too, and bad spelling doesn't make them bad parents. This isn't an essay contest, I think you need to get over it or get off this site.

For those who blame bad spelling and grammer on texting, I think you need to get with the times. I text all day with my husband and still remember how to spell. Most kids in my generation text with each other but we're still intelligent, we just enjoy this speedy and easy way to communicate. Older generations hate change and things they don't understand.

And honestly, do you really have trouble deciphering the phrase "This is what I done." ?? Gee that's a tough one to figure out. If you do then maybe you need some more education yourself.

I just don't read posts that I have to decipher. I don't know why the English is bad. Sometimes it probably is laziness or simply spending way too much time IMing and texting and using way too many shortcuts. But I'm sure in some cases it is just a language issue. Those things are fixed over time if the person actually spends the time learning how to spell/write.
As for lack of education, that may make up a small small percentage but I think in 99% of cases it's either a language barrier or too much texting.
I do think we need to leave the texting/IMing shortcuts for texting and IMing when we're posting like this. It's only fair to the people that have to read and understand the posts, never mind try to answer the answer question, but beyond that we have to be accepting of the fact that not everybody here will be completely fluent in English and therefore some posts may be difficult to read.
Stay with us!

Albert Einstein said...

"If you want to live a happy life, tie it to a goal, not to people or things".

How will you CHOOSE to live your life?

I wish you happiness and hope you make the choices toward that!

Good luck.

I completely agree! Whatever happened, at the minumum, to spell check? As a side note: it's not necessarily horrible English, rather poor grammer.

I agree with you , and I don't think you sound arrogant or bigoted. To me you sound like someone who is concerned about the way so many in our country have grown up writing and talking as though they have nothing more than a 2nd grade education. As someone who holds a B.A. in English Literature, I can assure you that you are not alone in your thinking. It is not a judgment, but rather an observance of the decline of proper grammar and sentence structure in our culture. Everyone has errors in spelling, but the poor use of the English language drives me batty too!

No, it is not just you.I totally agree. What are they teaching in the schools these days?

i have to agree with you. everyone has their little "things", for instance, i don't capitalize in casual notes. just don't. my job is typing all day, official documents, etc, and the system does it for me. so i guess that's laziness. but i pride myself on (almost always) using correct grammar and spelling. there are some responses on here that i just can't finish reading. i do assume, though, that it is an education thing. i would prefer to believe that, than to know that they know the difference. it's in real life that i get the most frustrated, seeing people that i know perfectly well are intelligent and educated, "act" ignorant because it's cool, when they are around similar-acting friends. THAT is what drives me nuts.

and i don't think you posted this to compare bad grammar "frustrations" to cancer. i should have known not to start reading the other responses until i finished responding...lol. i really don't think you meant anything earth-shattering by this...not sure why people are getting so up-in-arms about it. you say you are frustrated. not that it eats away at you day and night and you think people who use bad grammar should be tarred and feathered...sheesh.

i do have to say, though, that bad grammar bothers me less than people freaking out about a simple observation. THAT does happen all the time on here and that is a lot more hurtful imo. there wasn't a bit of judgement in your comment. so try not to feel bad.