Quote by Anti-matter
Quote by shinsengumi
Quote by Shkira Futuregirlie has a point about all the non-native English speakers
here. It's ust something to bare with. People who overly abbreviate words piss me off. There's a few accepted
ones that are always used in the "online chat" language, but people go overboard with it. For the record,
I'm also against hip hop/rap music that makes rhymes by mispronouncing words.
There's an
important distinction to make between occasional spelling and grammar mistakes from non-native English speakers who
actually make an effort to write in English and native English speakers who simply are too lazy to form coherent
sentences or to write out words in comprehensible format. Besides, consider this. Forums exist in order to exchange
ideas, to discuss topics, and to debate issues. Writing using improper grammar, incorrect spelling, and appreviations
gives people an air of immaturity and carelessness, therefore indirectly making an argument presented in such format
much weaker when contrasted with a well-worded, syntactically correct post. Simply stated, the latter will always seem
just that much more intelligent and legitimate than the former.
However, it shouldn't be that
way. That is one of the strangest ideas to me, because it is completely illogical. I can understand getting frustrated
because someone's spelling is bad, (though that may or may not be their fault) but thinking the other argument is
better because of correct grammar and spelling is a bit dumb. I'd listen to someone who "spellz dis way"
and has a good, strong argument, rather than someone who can type properly, but whose argument is completely weak and
dumb. But that's just me.
It is most certainly not illogical. When presenting an argument,
content is actually not as important as presentation, and when the medium being used is the written word, spelling and
grammar are most certainly key to getting your point across effectively.
Take a look, for example, at this review that was recently submitted: http://reviews.minitokyo.net/544/inu-yasha/ . The overuse and
misuse of ellipses by the user gave this reader a terirble headache by the time he reached the end of the text, and
therefore rendered the review much less effective at pushing across its point than would a review pushing forward the
same views but worded in a grammatically and syntactically-correct format.
Let me put it another way. If I had read the hypothetical grammatically-correct review I would have been imparted with
a new perspective on a popular anime series. Having read the actual review, I did not leave with the same
enlightenment; rather, I ended up with a sense of utter revulsion for the review itself and a predisposition against any
future works submitted by that same reviewer.
Again, illogical or not, presentation is perhaps the most important means of persuasion. The merits of the content of
an argument are irrelevant if the presentation serves unintentionally to foment bias by an audience against either the
presenter or the presentation, and tossing out the rules of grammar and spelling are an excellent means of doing just
that.
Fin.
s h i n s e n g u m i
Minitokyo Policy, Forum, Review, and Category Maintenance Moderator Emeritus
Do not expect to be applauded when you do the right thing, and do not expect to be
forgiven when you err, but even your enemies will respect commitment, and a conscience at peace is worth a thousand
tainted victories.
