How "literate"/eloquent should one be as a mere poster here?

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Dark Sim

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I was wondering whether one can truly be themselves here on the forum. As a group of writers, do we always have to write in the most eloquent of ways when when we post messages, and should our grammar be perfect? Or can we drop that and let our hair down for a while?

I've been tending to write in a more business voice since posting, wearing my professional hat. However, I haven't been attempting to construct beautiful sentences either, through sheer laziness and lack of time.

Should we continue to "practise" our craft even here, or can we let it slip just a little bit?

On other forums, I might write a little less formally, and even not always bother to spell check/ capitalise where I should, etc, not because I would revert to that way naturally, but simply because, if I want to say something quickly, I might not bother everytime to find an eloquent or original way of saying something.

I might even write responses on other sites which are simply intended in humour rather than offering any insight.

How about here? Or should we, as writers, act differently?
 

cuteshoes

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(SORRY IN ADVANCE FOR THE CAPSLOCK - I NEED IT ON FOR WORK AT THE MOMENT)

AS A NEWBIE HERE, I HAVE FOUND MYSELF READING AND RE-READING MY POSTS TO MAKE SURE THEY ARE PERFECT. I FREQUENT MANY OTHER MESSAGE BOARDS WHERE I TYPE IN A LACKADASICAL STYLE, TYPOS AND ALL. I WAS ALWAYS OF THE BELIEF THAT MESSAGE BOARD POSTING AND FRIENDLY EMAILS ALLOWED LAID-BACK DISCUSSION, BUT HERE, I FEEL I SHOULD BE MORE PROFESSIONAL.
 

Julie Worth

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Hah...<looking at the post above>...I was going to say that I hate it when someone posts without using caps, as if they were too damn busy to use them. My opinion: there's an edit button for a reason.
 

MacAllister

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It's a writers' board. *shrug*

Typically the amount of effort you put into your posts will directly correspond to how seriously anyone take those posts. Certainly, a degree of informality on any bb is to be expected--but generally speaking, the peeps who use a lot of text-sp33k or other shortcuts ("u" instead of "you," or "2" instead of "to" ) don't last awfully long around here, because we tend to take a bit more care in our attitude towards words than that.
 
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Forbidden Snowflake

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y not? wut's wr0ng wiv dat!!!!1?
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I guess, more or less correct grammar would be nice. (Everyone makes mistakes) And being coherent would be a plus point too. But I found out that having fun is allowed
biggrin.gif
 

DamaNegra

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You don't have to be professional at all!! Sure, grammar and spelling are appreciated here, but hey, it's not like you write "the other day I go to visits me grandparants for lunching." Now that usually gets bad responses around her because hey, we're supposed to know basic grammar and spelling rules, right?

Also, keep in mind that many posters around are not English-speakers. Me, I am Mexican and speak in Spanish, so the ocassional slip is forgiven. Hell, I can remember some incoherent posts I wrote a while back in another thread because I was falling asleep but no one said anything to me.
 

Yeshanu

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Perfection isn't required, and stuffy business manners can be left in the entrance hallway, if you wish. However, I personally dislike it when a poster doesn't use capitals, which makes the post difficult to read, or uses text-speak, for which I need a translator.

That being said, there's at least one mod who doesn't always use capitals in his posts, but he's a poet...

As far as spelling is concerned, if you tend to misspell common words, some here might get a little annoyed, but if you're unsure of the spelling of a word, just put (sp?) down, and folks will understand.

Occasional grammar mistakes okay are, Yoda speak okay is not. :tongue
 

MacAllister

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Me, I am Mexican and speak in Spanish, so the ocassional slip is forgiven. Hell, I can remember some incoherent posts I wrote a while back in another thread because I was falling asleep but no one said anything to me.
Dama, the day I can communicate in Spanish anywhere near as articulately and fluently as you manage English, I'll be so gobsmacked and impressed with myself I'll never get my head through another doorway.

You're pretty darned impressive, kiddo.
 

GPatten

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I’m only an amateur, an aspiring writer. I’ve been known to talk in gibberish at times and even get my words backwards in my posts.
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But, if I’m composing a professional post on here, or when writing, I try to do my best.
OldSeaCaptain.jpg
 

rich

It's a writing board. I can see the posts having a conversational tone, but I prefer posts that show a little more effort than, say, a gardening board. Why wouldn't we, in many ways, be practicing our craft on a writing board?

On a slightly 'nother note, when it comes to commenting on a "Share Your-Work" thread, I ignore first drafts. To me, if you're going to put something up for comments, put up your best shot.
 

aka eraser

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If you want to write for a living, or at least aspire to have something published, then writing well should become second nature - even in an informal setting such as this.

But we get youngsters, dyslexics, folks like Dama whose mother tongue isn't English, and others in the very formative stages of their writing careers, so few people here will jump on spelling or grammatical errors.
 

Birol

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That's a good question right now.
What Frank said. I don't feel I'm at my professional best on this board. It's just a message board. I make silly gaffes (damn homophones), don't spellcheck or proof, but the use of capitals, punctuation, etc. is mostly second nature to me at this point, so when I'm typing, they just come out. I know people have grumbled, or they used to grumble, about me using caps in the chatroom, too, but really, my finger just slips to the shift key more or less when it's supposed to. I don't even know it's doing it.

I'll be among the first to defend you if people jump on you for silly mistakes, but, if you come here writing txtspeak or the like, well.... It is a writer's board. Out of respect for other members, a certain familiarity with language is to be expected.
 

ATP

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DS,

Like you, I tend to maintain a more formal tone on the boards. This is by turns part of my regular work, and the fact that generally, in everyday life, I think that it is important to communicate clearly. Words are our tool of trade and medium, after all. But, that's just me.

We all make spelling mistakes, and the grammar mightn't be 'precise', but as one other poster said, there is more than enough room for levity here. See the Office Party forum, for example.

ATP
 

Birol

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That's a good question right now.
Perks said:
Wait, are we not supposed to use caps in chat? This is a twist I did not know.

People kept telling me they were self-conscious about using caps because I did. This is what I know. I think they were silly. I wasn't even conscious of whether or not they were using caps.
 

Anya Smith

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Birol said:
What Frank said. I don't feel I'm at my professional best on this board. It's just a message board. I make silly gaffes (damn homophones), don't spellcheck or proof, but the use of capitals, punctuation, etc. is mostly second nature to me at this point, so when I'm typing, they just come out. I know people have grumbled, or they used to grumble, about me using caps in the chatroom, too, but really, my finger just slips to the shift key more or less when it's supposed to. I don't even know it's doing it.

I'll be among the first to defend you if people jump on you for silly mistakes, but, if you come here writing txtspeak or the like, well.... It is a writer's board. Out of respect for other members, a certain familiarity with language is to be expected.

Yeah, me too. My fingers just automatically hits the cap key. It would be an effort to type in all lower case.
 

janetbellinger

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I agree, Dawno. I just think people should put care into their writing and do as well as they can. If English is not your first language, then I don't notice the occasional grammatical error, but if English is a first language, the person's grammar should be pretty near perfect. I tend to make typos and usually reread my posts a bit later and end up editing out the typos. I th ink we have to accept the changes which are constantly occuring in the English language but also to take care.
 

DamaNegra

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Aw, come on, don't be so hard. Even though I'm a writer, I still need to get the hang of those damn accents in Spanish. I just put an accent on most words wether it belongs there or not and I need loads of revising to take care of all the accent problems. Plus, I've never learned to write the world decision (sp?) in either language
tongue.gif
 

rich

Wether? Wether?

You're lucky you're cute or I'd have a hellava lot more to say about that.
 

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rich said:
Wether? Wether?

You're lucky you're cute or I'd have a hellava lot more to say about that.

Don't be sheepish. I'm sure we've all herd it before.
 

rich

I freakin' knew it. Medielivist knew of the word "wether."--a male sheep or goat that has been castrated before becoming sexually mature.

I had to look it up.

A pox on your lance, Medielivist.
 
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