Is Spelling Important?

[Minibit]

My cousin loves to post things on her facebook like omg!!!! this happened today it was so exciting lol person i had a good time :) :) :)

She commented in such a manner that she had done well on a midterm today, and I commented that I couldn't wait for her grammar midterm (no worries, she knew I was joking, we jab at eachother a lot), but she argued that, on facebook, she doesn't need to worry about her English.

Confession: I think less highly of people who write online in like this!!!! because it shows they didn't really think too hard and like maybe they dont use punctuation cause they dont know how??? Whereas I don't immediately admire, but I'm less likely to cringe at people who write online in a manner that shows they can use the English Language capably, and are conscious about how their words are read. Correct spelling and grammar is also just good to make into a habit, and that's done by using it daily (i.e.; on facebook, through texts...), and besides, with dictionaries and spell checkers available EVERYWHERE, there's really no excuse if you ask me.

SO!

IS it ok to ignore spelling and grammar outside of formal writing? Does anyone else subconsciously judge those they see abusing the language? Should we?

 

[Zen]

i hat8 ppl who typ lik dis on facebook becos it makes mah head hurt 2 read it


I actually have a pet peeve when it comes to people not using correct English on Facebook, and I'm not just talking about forgetting to capitalize something or not putting a comma. That stuff I can forgive. I mean typing like what I put up there. And it gets rather infuriating for me when they post several times a day/week.

-_____-"

 

[Jho]

I sometimes judge, but if I care for the person, I immediately look over it.

 

[Diana]

I DO subconsciously judge people who type like that on purpose. Be it because they think it's cool, or most especially because they are LAZY and don't think it's important.

Language is how we communicate and learn. The words you use and how you use them is a statement of the kind of person you are. Be it the vocabulary, tone, or sentence structure. Use of slang versus use of big words. Shorthand speak or complete sentences. And everything in between.

Just like when you dress sloppy, people will assume you're lazy, don't take care of yourself, or don't respect the people/situation you showed up to.

Type like an idiot, people are going to think you are an idiot. >:[

 

[Hecatoncheires]

Outside of actually talking to someone, words are one of the most common ways people communicate. The ability to convey ideas and opinions via the written word is an extremely useful skill, not just for formal literature but for all manner of things in life.

And being able to spell worth a damn is part and parcel of writing well.

It doesn't matter how good your idea is, how insightful your views are. If you're writing things like "lol but serosly guiz this improtnat", no-one is going to pay attention, because you come across as someone with the mental capacity of a monkey that got repeatedly dropped on its head as a child.

tl;dr? SPELLING IS GODDAMN IMPORTANT, SO DO IT RIGHT YOU FUCKS. >:[

 

[VerbalAbuse]

I believe we should type like we speak in all areas. I'm not a stickler for "Complete sentences" and the like, but good English is a must, I believe.

To me, the only alternative is to speak as an Elcor from the Mass Effect series would.

 

[Fluffy]

Spelling and grammar are very important. For me, it reflects a person's intelligence. If you don't want people to think of you as an idiot, then you'll type with more care. It's matters with cell phone texting where I'm willing to excuse it, unless they deliberately use excessive punctuation and smilies. e__e If you're in a hurry and can't text me a pretty message, it's all good. Admittedly, I do the same when I have to.

I love seeing status updates on Facebook with errors and 'th1ngz dat l00k lyk dis....!!!' because that's more for me to troll. *shrug* The only people I don't poke fun at are the foreign friends I have who aren't that good at English. I will say though, some of them have better English skills than the people I took actual English classes with. .__. I just have to wonder where their brains were during all those lessons.

Oh, this pisses me off too: When People Capitalize Every Word In Their Sentence. WHY THE FUCK WOULD YOU DO THAT RETARD?

 

[Laggy Lagiacrus]

Eye do knot sea watt everyone's getting all worked up about.

But seriously, you can likely install a spell checker into your browser, if it doesn't come with it. I do not see any reason why people would type like this:

 

[Gibs]

Spelling is very impotent.

 

[Tegan]

Unless you've broken the rules of language in an insightful or even mildly humorous way, you just appear uneducated. :(

Basically, what everyone else said about how those with a poor grasp of language are perceived.

 

[Ochalla]

The only people I don't poke fun at are the foreign friends I have who aren't that good at English. I will say though, some of them have better English skills than the people I took actual English classes with.

The best part of foreign friends who are not native English speakers, odd turns of phrases! Also you can correct them with out it being insulting. I myself wish I had as good a grasp on English spelling as some of them though.

 

[Spammy]

I judge people who write (as in, combination spelling/grammar/all that technical stuff) poorly. On Facebook, in text messages, and especially when it comes to trying to roleplay. I don't think it's worth saving some time to appear lazy and uneducated. And when it comes to roleplaying, if you're not putting enough effort into how you write to write correctly, I can't believe you're going to put much effort into the roleplay. If you're not taking this communication seriously, what are you taking seriously? Now granted, I don't always demand perfect proper writing. If you're making little slips here and there, but I can sense your grasp of the language and your energy(enthusiasm, creativity, good storytelling, what-have-you) I'm willing to forgive your slips because on the whole is worth it. But if all I see from you is errors and errors, and especially if there's noticeable errors in our first communications... I'm inclined to just ignore you on those grounds because I don't sense your seriousness.

So yeah. It's always important. Even on Facebook posts or texts I always try to write properly.

 

[October Knight]

Unless it's unreadable I am not bothered by it at all.

I know my grammar isn't great and my spelling is only decent thanks to spell check, so who am I to judge.

 

[Lonely Angel]

Spelling matters more to me than grammer, probably because I don't mind taking a lot of licence with grammer, and I see a lot of varience in reading my books. As long as the spelling is good, with caps and periods at least, it's cool with me. I do tend to think people don't care when they write sloppy, but I'd like to believe they could clean it up if they tried.

 

[VerbalAbuse]

Eye do knot sea watt everyone's getting all worked up about.

But seriously, you can likely install a spell checker into your browser, if it doesn't come with it. I do not see any reason why people would type like this:

Dude is that Orion

Whoever it is, they sound like a drunken Scott, and it's beautiful how they said "WTF"

 

[Opossum My Possum]

I know that I don't always spell words right, but thank God my browser has a spell check.
It does it automatically, so I don't need to worry too much.
And as for grammar, punctuation, and capitalization, it matters.
To me.

If I see someone typing like:

u know yr ganstr wen u typ liek dis?!?!

It makes me think "Oh God, you are an idiot."
And I dislike them pretty much right away.
I know it's horrible, but I can't help it- I know I use chat speak or act stupid,
but it's for laughs, not for real.

And when people use words that are missing like, one letter, why even bother leaving that letter out?
Oh God, I can't stand it.

And every time I see someone type like that, or misspell something, I have the urge to correct it...

Maybe I'm just horrible.

 

[VerbalAbuse]

You know, guys, when I first found this site a couple months ago, I was hesitant to join because I was worried most of the participants would have poor grammar and spelling. I'm not one for word counts, so I was happy to see that they weren't allowed, but the literacy part perturbed me. I'm glad I decided to join anyway, and I'm glad it was simply a misjudgment.

 

[Villamvihar]

For me, decent spelling and grammar is important. I do not require sentences to be perfect and a mistake here and there is fine, but if someone is typing with obviously horrible spelling or grammar, then I start getting irritated. It is even worse if they use ridiculous shorthands. Interestingly, there is also a level below which I just laugh how bad the spelling and grammar is, but that only happens rarely. So yes, while I do not expect everyone to type perfect English, I maintain a standard below which I am not willing to go.

 

[Juneberry]

I tend to try to write formally no matter where I am. IMs, Facebook, etc. Using some abbreviations and such is fine, but I still think it's best to try to write at least grammatically correct and such. Everyone makes errors, no matter what. But...I'll admit, I don't take posts seriously if it's all chat speak and has no real wording in it. Though I also just don't really get chat speak well half the time. But even I use some abbreviations/chat speak and smiley faces.

 

[Cosmic Orion]

I will cut someone slack in getting math problems wrong before I ever give an inch when it comes to spelling.