# Tips for users



## Hope Springs Eternal (Oct 6, 2012)

When you want to present "you are" as a contraction, it's "you're." Not "your."

When you want to tell us that someone is extremely rude, it's "too" rude. Not "to" rude.

when you are tempted to type without punctuation or paragraphs please resist this temptation as it makes your story very hard to read and it is very annoying when all the text is run together

Thanks for your attention to this!


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## humanbecoming (Mar 14, 2012)

Lol....

And WOMAN is one (1) of the female gender, WOMEN are multiples of the female gender.....


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## Maneo (Dec 4, 2012)

LOL, thanks for the reminders. 
When I see gross grammatical and spelling mistakes in the header of a thread, I tend to just avoid even delving into that discussion. Some people really torture use of tense, possessives and singular or plural.
Thank you the Strunk and White of this forum ;-)
More please.


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## Maricha75 (May 8, 2012)

YES!!! YES!!! YES!!! Thank you, boys! 

(FTR, no, that was NOT an orgasmic experience. )


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## Maricha75 (May 8, 2012)

Ohhhh Maneo, you asked for it....


Their = possession
They're = they are
there = location


Where = location, while were = a VERB people!


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## SimplyAmorous (Nov 25, 2009)

Hope Springs Eternal said:


> When you want to present "you are" as a contraction, it's "you're." Not "your."
> 
> When you want to tell us that someone is extremely rude, it's "too" rude. Not "to" rude.


I have likely made some of these mistakes mentioned on this thread.... I am not perfect, I spelled "of coarse" wrong for a very long time - till a member here kindly mentioned it to me but he didn't tell me I was annoying...(I guess he could have been though). 

I have likely used the term " orgasmic" too ...I am also sure I have used *Your* & *You're* not always correct also.. Even the *To* and *too *--- Damn I'm messed up !! Better go back to high school. 

I guess everyone has their pet peeves in life.. I aced English in school, but it was a long long time ago and I still might get it wrong now & then when I'm heavy in thought. 

I can't say these things bother me at all though, even if I catch them. 

Just saying. I guess I should apologize on this thread if I have annoyed anyone.


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## Maricha75 (May 8, 2012)

LOL! SA, don't take it too personally. 
I corrected my mom for YEARS when she misspelled "vacuum"... it go to where she abbreviated it "vac." for the longest time. 
Hey, I also used to correct her when she would say "I seen it with my own eyes" instead of "I saw it with my own eyes."... could be worse, dear.


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## SimplyAmorous (Nov 25, 2009)

Maricha75 said:


> LOL! SA, don't take it too personally.
> I corrected my mom for YEARS when she misspelled "vacuum"... it go to where she abbreviated it "vac." for the longest time.
> Hey, I also used to correct her when she would say "I seen it with my own eyes" instead of "I saw it with my own eyes."... could be worse, dear.


I am not taking it personal-- not really...I am sure *what I say* far more annoys than my proper spelling of words - on certain hot topic threads... you've been there yourself. 

I am just pointing out that - what may irritate another ....is not something that irritates me personally. If I was an English Teacher, sure.. Or to correct my kids -since I wouldn't want anyone else correcting them, making them feel like a fool. 

I'm also one of these people who can't remember, even if I spent the entire day with a friend, I might not remember what she was wearing, or the color..... but I would remember the VIBE, their MOOD, what was expressed very clearly... In this way, I think I am narrow mindedly focused on one thing... understanding their post ...& this proper spelling- just flys over me.

I often look up the spelling of difficult words before I post though - so I don't come off too stupid...I do try.  

It does make one want to go back with a fine tooth comb - now seeing how it bothers some though.


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## Viseral (Feb 25, 2011)

The worst is when people refuse to any punctuation, capitalization, or grammar at all. To me, this says:

"I'm either too stupid to learn grammar, or I don't feel it's necessary to respect any rules whatsoever, and I also don't give a damn about how hard it is for the reader to read it, and I don't care if I represent myself as an imbecile in front of the whole world".


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## humanbecoming (Mar 14, 2012)

SimplyAmorous said:


> I have likely made some of these mistakes mentioned on this thread.... I am not perfect, I spelled "of coarse" wrong for a very long time - till a member here kindly mentioned it to me but he didn't tell me I was annoying...(I guess he could have been though).
> 
> I have likely used the term " orgasmic" too ...I am also sure I have used *Your* & *You're* not always correct also.. Even the *To* and *too *--- Damn I'm messed up !! Better go back to high school.
> 
> ...


Sand paper is coarse, of course.


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## Emerald (Aug 2, 2012)

Grammar police in the house!


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## Mattlovescats (Dec 28, 2012)

Some of us are on IPAD's and it can be harder to get a better post out without a proper PC and keyboard. Autocorrect on the IPAD can be shocking at times. Just sayin'.


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## Emerald (Aug 2, 2012)

Also some people post here in crisis mode & spell check is not a priority.

Forum has many ESL members.


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## SimplyAmorous (Nov 25, 2009)

Emerald said:


> Also some people post here in crisis mode & spell check is not a priority.
> 
> Forum has many *ESL* members.


I am not a Texting person at all ..so I am out of touch with many of the abbreviations I see on here......what does ESL mean?

I also agree, the majority who come here are in crisis mode, it's just not something they are thinking about in the moment. Some are even from other countries & struggle with the English language. 

I also think there is a *kind* way to tell a new member that, although they used a mile long block in writing out their story... that...they've come to a good place, we are here to listen & help.. but mention it is easier to read if it's broken down in sections.


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## RandomDude (Dec 18, 2010)

I can understand any grammatical mistakes

It's just the lack of paragraphing that makes it hard to read for some posts, otherwise I'm pretty used to the "ur" "2" and abbreviations - us Aussies use slang/abbreviate all the time with our language too.


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## Thoreau (Nov 12, 2012)

It's Happy New YEAR, not Years. 2013 is only one YEAR.


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## Emerald (Aug 2, 2012)

SimplyAmorous said:


> I am not a Texting person at all ..so I am out of touch with many of the abbreviations I see on here......what does ESL mean?
> 
> I also agree, the majority who come here are in crisis mode, it's just not something they are thinking about in the moment. Some are even from other countries & struggle with the English language.
> 
> I also think there is a *kind* way to tell a new member that, although they used a mile long block in writing out their story... that...they've come to a good place, we are here to listen & help.. but mention it is easier to read if it's broken down in sections.


English as a Second Language


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## Maricha75 (May 8, 2012)

SA: ESL = English Second Language

Yes, I get that some have the language barrier. And I muddle through and get the gist of the post, for the most part. I guess my problem stems from when I was gaming and people were abbreviating (text speak) EVERYTHING. It got to where I was having to decipher every single thing people said, before I was able to respond. And then kids with texting... 

Anyway, I was fine with it at first. But when it became the norm for everything, it started to grate.

As for ipads not being conducive to posting/correcting errors.... perhaps those with ipads should switch to androids. I don't have that problem with my android.


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## SimplyAmorous (Nov 25, 2009)

RandomDude said:


> I can understand any grammatical mistakes
> 
> It's just the lack of paragraphing that makes it hard to read for some posts, otherwise I'm pretty used to the "ur" "2" and abbreviations - us Aussies use slang/abbreviate all the time with our language too.


I've used "R" instead of "are" just so I could fit what I wanted in the thread title... I use "ain't" once in a while (full well knowing it is slang & not proper)... I guess that makes me a Hill Billy (self admitted).... Nothing about using all these dots is proper either........ I also like using dashes - and = instead of spelling out "equal". 

Does this really bother a lot of people? Seriously... like annoy you?

I've used "alot" a zillion times ....what is correct is "a lot". Had that wrong for probably 1,000+ posts, and still miss it. 

I'm with you RandomDude ... the huge block of text is difficult to get through at times. 



> *Viseral said*: The worst is when people refuse to any punctuation, capitalization, or grammar at all. To me, this says:
> 
> "I'm either too stupid to learn grammar, or I don't feel it's necessary to respect any rules whatsoever, and I also don't give a damn about how hard it is for the reader to read it, and I don't care if I represent myself as an imbecile in front of the whole world".


Of course we all notice the posts that screams they have the education of a 3rd grader too. But I still might read it and reply... just depends....I just don't get annoyed.... I think I look more for







over education. 

My husband was standing over me reading this...told me "Boy you are insulting, no wonder no one likes you on there"... when he read my line about the 3rd grader.. I had to explain to him - this is not something that disturbs me so much.. but many others... he looked at me & says.... "Well I sure don't want to go on there, they will tear me up". (or maybe that is "tare" me up...can someone correct me ?)

He hated English in high school...but ya know, he's a hell of a good guy.


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## arbitrator (Feb 13, 2012)

Having an English minor in college, I try to write in such a way that my now-deceased English professor who advised me, would not come up out of the ground and "get me" if he ever perceived that I was, in any way, becoming lax in what he and the other English profs taught me.

If I get overly wordy or give the impression that I write in such a way that the vast majority of you think that I'm looking down my nose at you, then please feel free to call me out on it. It definitely is not my intent!

That being said, if I'm ever trying to convey anything about my Southern/Texan roots by using the contraction "ain't," it is purely my sharing a commonality to the folks that live down here, and to whom I have the utmost love and respect for~ and hopefully it will somehow convey the tenants of our hallowed lifestyle to those of you who "ain't" from here!

Truth be told though, I absolutely love you all no matter where you hail from!


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## Hope Springs Eternal (Oct 6, 2012)

"Ain't" and "Y'all" (or "all y'alls") are cool - they are regional vernacular!


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## arbitrator (Feb 13, 2012)

Hope Springs Eternal said:


> "Ain't" and "Y'all" (or "all y'alls") are cool - they are regional vernacular!


My dear departed friend and English advisor/mentor, Dr. Copeland, would heartily agree with you!


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## Maneo (Dec 4, 2012)

Thoreau said:


> It's Happy New YEAR, not Years. 2013 is only one YEAR.


Amen to that and it goes for any other year. Sometimes it feels like being stuck in a place or situation for years. You begin to wonder, "will this ever end?" Going through divorce comes to mind. 

But to the point of this discussion thread, I think most of us can understand and tolerate typos and errors in syntax. I sometimes use an iPad or iPhone and go back to edit what I've written to correct what I call "Apple-speak."

I agree that the vast majority of us are here for the content over the form of what people write. Yet the body of material is so great, more and more I simply skip entire threads if the subject line is truly tortured grammar and spelling. Unless the content is intensely compelling I skim over those blocks of stream-of-consciousness text that run everything together. I figure the greater need was already met in venting and getting it all out.

Yet attention to detail is important and many of us could benefit from a little proof reading before hitting the send button. For instance, there is significant difference between these two phrases with a single letter. "The women he cheated with..." vs. "The woman he cheated with..."

Finally I detest the fondness for acronym speak. I intentionally try to spell out what I write as often as I can. 

Composed on an iPad.


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## Hope Springs Eternal (Oct 6, 2012)

Maneo said:


> Amen to that and it goes for any other year. Sometimes it feels like being stuck in a place or situation for years. You begin to wonder, "will this ever end?" Going through divorce comes to mind.
> 
> But to the point of this discussion thread, I think most of us can understand and tolerate typos and errors in syntax. I sometimes use an iPad or iPhone and go back to edit what I've written to correct what I call "Apple-speak."
> 
> ...


Maneo, I live in Minnesota. It's 6 degrees below zero right now. I'm thinking that you could invite me out to your place, where we could have lengthy discussions about grammar and punctuation on your lanai. 

How does that sound?


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## Maneo (Dec 4, 2012)

The Mai Tai pitcher is full. Come on over ;-)


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## woman (Aug 19, 2011)

Paragraphs are essential.


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