Why can't people spell right on the internet?

[devHead]

The only one that annoys me a little, because of the fact that it's wrong 90% of the times I see it is 'Loose' instead of 'Lose'

Thank you! I thought I was the only one annoyed by this.

[Popcorned1]

All those words the OP mentioned are totally different. I can't for the life of me see how people can get confused by them.

Ps : I bet everyone is going to check their post before submitting to make sure it's grammatically correct ;)

[CoolerUK]

The thing that annoys me about people lack of understanding of the english language, not really on the internet, but in everyday usage, is the word Ignorant, Ignorance......

Everyone in my generation seems to use it when someone is ignoring them like if they call someone name and they dont hear them or choose too ignore them they go "Oh he is being so ignorant".......I bite my tounge so much when people misuse it :p

[Umbrello]

People are lazy. When they communicate on the internet they want to get the message across fast and quick, without any worries of punctuation, spelling, or grammatical errors. It does tend to annoy me at times, on my forums most of the time. However, if I'm in a game I'll use short condensed versions of words because I'm pressed for time.

[ScottKin]

In my humble opinion, I think a lot of the examples of poor usage and understanding of the English language stem from younger people just not giving a rat's backside about their poor use of grammar.

Some more examples:

Ask - not "Aks". You do not "Aks" someone a question.

A "Duel" is where two people fight, as in "Dueling" - "Dual" means two-together or in combination. Using the two words interchangeably is due to over-education by XBox, PlayStation & Nintendo.

Why is it ok for a certain ethnic group of people to use the N-word to describe others in their ethnic group when it's not ok for those outside of that ethnic group to use the N-word? Is this a double-standard? Shouldn't that ethnic group be more opposed to using the N-word by their own?

Proper words:

They're - "They Are"

Their - "Their house"

There - "We went there"

I'm - "I am"

Your - "we went to your house"

You're - "You are the one"

It's - "It is..."

"its" - "This is its proper place"

I - "I must remember that when I am writing about myself that I should always captialize "I" in any sentence.

What ever happened to using proper punctuation and sentence structure? You should always start a sentence with the first letter of the first word capitalized and end a sentence with a punctuation mark, using proper punctuation along the way to separate concepts, ideas and conclusions; doing anything less just pushes proper usage skills into the proverbial basement. Someone told me once that when they read what I write that they get an odd sence that I'm talking to them from the past but saying things that are real and relevant to present time; I simply corrected them and said "No - it's just that you haven't read or been exposed to properly-formatted English"

i've seen people that put posts on this site as if they are just throwing their words into a box with absolutely no structure or syntax or even as if their words are just dribbling out of their brain and through their hands on to the page and think that it is nicely done when they are just showing how utterly clueless they are as to the proper use of english with no proper sentence structure and i'm pretty sure that it just stems from a case of the person posting their message as not caring to do things right as long as it just gets done this one single thing just utterly torques me off to no end there are no punctuation marks no capitalization or proper sentence structure i'm pretty sure that this kind of miscarriage of the english language stems from spending too much time in chat rooms and not enough time reading any good literature or even a textbook

How can anyone make sense of the words in the previous sentence? How can people think that the previous sentence is a totall acceptable use of English? Have educators lost control and have just capitulated in deference to just getting their lackadaisical students out-the-door?

It's my opinion that everyone who sees such misuse of English and writing and correctly identifies it as such has a moral imperative to correct the person or persons who are obviously clueless as to the proper use of punctuation, sentence structure and the proper spelling of words and / or their proper use.

Some might say that my post here is just me trying to show that I'm superior to others in the proper use of English. To those that are of that opinion, I offer the following suggestion: spend some time reading a novel or some other kind of book - you might be supprised at what you find!

--ScottKin

[ShaneSparky_YYZ]

So wat if wii make mistakes on da net, spelling doesn't matta, it's not like an essay we gotta rite.

Talk bout bad grammer EH! LOL!

[naap51stang]

I blame SMS messaging. Kids have become so accustomed to "phone spelling" that they do it all the time now.

I've even seen job applications where they "text spell".

[Skittlebrau]

In this day and age of SMS texting, you should think yourself lucky you actually get whole words at all never mind the punctuation!

My gf's dad was a recruitment manager and he came across some shocking resumes from time to time written like they were just long SMSs. I really don't like where the English language is heading...

My absolute pet hate is when people turn he's into his.

eg. i think his gonna get it now

[x-scratch]

i spell like i want to spell you dont like it to bad nobodys perfect

& what ****es me off is when somebody trys correcting my spelling

[Farstrider]

People are lazy. When they communicate on the internet they want to get the message across fast and quick, without any worries of punctuation, spelling, or grammatical errors. It does tend to annoy me at times, on my forums most of the time. However, if I'm in a game I'll use short condensed versions of words because I'm pressed for time.

What you say is true; it is symptomatic of just about everything in the modern world! Every activity that is undertaken, shopping at the supermarket, driving, heaven help us, playing games on your PC, chatting on the forum at Neowin, just about ANYTHING that you can think of, has to be done at once and as fast as possible! Why not play the game and then chat or stop the game and chat, but no everything needs to be done at breakneck speed! This results in inaccuracies across the board! (Excuse the unintentional pun.) I have heard people in the supermarket on the mobile phone talking to their wives, with the conversation going something like: ?Where are you now honey, I am in the frozen foods section!? For God?s sake, is this necessary? What the hell did people do before the advent of mobile phones?

The point that I am trying to make is why not slow down a little and take some care! If you know that your spelling and grammar sucks, it will take 30 seconds to check and correct these errors! Once your post is finished, cut the thing and past it into an open word document and guess what, the thing will actually check everything automatically. Once this has occurred it will also help you do corrections!

It appears that as with ?real? conversations no one is listening, everyone wants to get their five cents in as fast as possible! ?Quick, have to get my post up before old Fred beats me to it!?

My parting shot would be to clarify one thing, I am not suggesting that every single post at Neowin has to be grammatically perfect or that a post with spelling mistakes will result in you being shot at dawn, but please make an effort. Also to the non English speaking people, if your best is just that, then keep trying. (Cue to: A crescendo of applause that takes five minutes to die down! Bows to the crowd thinking, ?Man, that was almost:D soliloquy? :D

[curme]

i spell like i want to spell you dont like it to bad nobodys perfect

& what ****es me off is when somebody trys correcting my spelling

Do you hate it because people are trying to help you? Deep down maybe you feel that you are not deserving of help? Do you feel insecure and angry when someone points a fault, for example, that you don't know how to write or spell correctly? A little embarrassed, so you transfer that embarrassment into anger?

People are trying to make you a better person, and you deserve to be that better person!

Don't be angry at your lack of education in the past, be angry because you are not doing anything about it today!

You are worth it! :hug:

[Skittlebrau]

i spell like i want to spell you dont like it to bad nobodys perfect

& what ****es me off is when somebody trys correcting my spelling

The thing is that you're only hurting yourself in the end. The more you do it and the more you're exposed to it will cause it to subtley interfere when you want to type something out properly for an important document or something like that.

I agree that it's just as annoying when people become way too adamant on correcting people all the time.

[Astra.Xtreme]

^Not true. If you have half a brain, you can spell how the hell you want whenever the hell you want.

People that correct spelling on the internet just make them selves look like ignorant pricks that have nothing better to do than bitch about everything.

I vote for worry about more important things like your own twisted self. Nobody in here is perfect enough to have any excuse to nit pick spelling on the net.

[shakey_snake]

"Why can't people spell right on the internet?"

:pinch:

Why are people on the internet incapable of using correct grammar?

[LTD]

It's actually "why can't people spell correctly?"

Grammar is just as important. ;)

"Why can't people spell right on the internet?"

:pinch:

Why are people on the internet incapable of using correct grammar?

I think you got to it right before I did.

[Farstrider]

Nice post curme, that made my day! Some folk just do not get the point; in their minds it becomes the thing to do, solely to irritate the established wisdom by being unconventional, not realizing how foolish it makes them look!

Edited February 13, 2008 by Farstrider

[LTD]

^Not true. If you have half a brain, you can spell how the hell you want whenever the hell you want.

People that correct spelling on the internet just make them selves look like ignorant pricks that have nothing better to do than bitch about everything.

I vote for worry about more important things like your own twisted self. Nobody in here is perfect enough to have any excuse to nit pick spelling on the net.

Then let's not even bother to do anything properly.

Correct spelling and grammar might matter less on the internet when communicating with friends, etc. But bad habits die hard, and when your spelling/grammar abilities (as part of basic communication and language) really count, you'll end up looking dumb.

[sjgore]

I also hate when people say "I could care less" when they're trying to say "couldn't care less".

The one that really gets me is "I could care less" that doesnt even make sense it should be "I couldn't care less"

Seriously annoys me.

I'm glad it's not just me that gets wound up by this! The incorrect version seems to be quite widespread in forums at the moment.

Steve.

[Ji@nBing]

How about alot - should be 'a lot' ;)

For some reason that one drives me more crazy than anything else.

edit: oops :pinch:

Edited February 13, 2008 by Ji@nBing

[dreamz Veteran]

I also hate when people say "I could care less" when they're trying to say "couldn't care less".

i hate it when people think that the phrase 'could care less' is necessarily incorrect. i've pointed out this error before, but i'll point it out again.

I could care less! you might say sometime in disgust. You might just as easily have said I couldn?t care less and meant the same thing! How can this be? When taken literally, the phrase I could care less means ?I care more than I might,? rather than ?I don?t care at all.? But the beauty of sarcasm is that it can turn meanings on their head, thus allowing could care less to work as an equivalent for couldn?t care less. Because of its sarcasm, could care less is more informal than its negative counterpart and may be open to misinterpretation when used in writing.

http://www.bartleby.com/64/C003/078.html

a second explanation might be this: 'could care less' means, literally, 'there is a lower level of care that i might exhixrding x'. inxords, x is actually less meaningful than one might think.

99% of people confuse 'that' and :angry:'. :angry:

When will people learn that 'that' is restrictive and 'which' is unrestrictive?

incidentally, the use of 'which' in place of 'that' is more prevalent in the uk than in the us.

but there are, in fact, legitimate reasons for using 'which' instead of 'that':

that / which (restrictive and nonrestrictive clauses). The standard rule requires that you use that only to introduce a restrictive (or defining) relative clause, which identifies the person or thing being talked about; in this use it should never be preceded by a comma. Thus, in the sentence The house that Jack built has been torn down, the clause that Jack built is a restrictive clause telling which specific house was torn down. Similarly, in I am looking for a book that is easy to read, the restrictive clause that is easy to read tells what kind of book is desired.

By contrast, you use which only with nonrestrictive (or nondefining) clauses, which give additional information about something that has already been identified in the context; in this use, which is always preceded by a comma. Thus you should say The students in Chemistry 101 have been complaining about the textbook, which (not that) is hard to follow. The clause which is hard to follow is nonrestrictive in that it does not indicate which text is being complained about; even if it were omitted, we would know that the phrase the textbook refers to the text in Chemistry 101. It should be easy to follow the rule in nonrestrictive clauses like this, since which here sounds more natural than that.

Some people extend the rule and insist that, just as that should be used only in restrictive clauses, which should be used only in nonrestrictive clauses. By this thinking, you should avoid using which in sentences such as I need a book which will tell me all about city gardening, where the restrictive clause which will tell me all about city gardening describes what sort of book is needed. But this use of which with restrictive clauses is very common, even in edited prose. If you fail to follow the rule in this point, you have plenty of company. Moreover, there are some situations in which which is preferable to that. Which can be especially useful where two or more relative clauses are joined by and or or: It is a philosophy in which ordinary people may find solace and which many have found reason to praise. You may also want to use which to introduce a restrictive clause when the preceding phrase contains a that: We want to assign only that book which will be most helpful.

http://www.bartleby.com/64/C001/062.html

here are some errors that i cannot stand:

1. using 'where ... at' or 'where ... to' when 'where' is sufficient.

Where means ?in the place at (to) which,? so at and to are redundant in sentences such as Where is your brother at? and Where are you going to? Both locutions are Nonstandard in written English and in most spoken English as well, although they are frequent in Common and Vulgar English, especially in some regional dialects.

http://www.bartleby.com/68/92/6492.html

2. incorrect use of words ending in '-self'.

The ?self pronouns, such as myself, yourselves, and herself, are sometimes used as emphatic substitutes for personal pronouns, as in Like yourself, I have no apologies to make. The practice is particularly common in compound phrases: Ms. Evans or yourself will have to pick them up at the airport. Although these usages have been common in the writing of reputable authors for several centuries, they may sound overwrought. A large majority of the Usage Panel disapproves of the use of ?self pronouns when they do not refer to the subject of the sentence. Seventy-three percent reject the sentence He was an enthusiastic fisherman like myself. Sixty-seven percent object to The letters were written entirely by myself. The Panel is even less tolerant of compound usages. Eighty-eight percent find this sentence unacceptable: The boss asked John and myself to give a brief presentation.

http://www.bartleby.com/61/26/M0512600.html

3. misplacement of the word 'also' (or 'only', 'even', etc.).

also used ambiguously. Also shares with only the virtue of modifying the parts of the sentence to which it is closest, but this can sometimes lead to ambiguity. In the following examples, the sentence containing also is exactly the same, but in each example it modifies a different part and creates a different meaning:

I read in the paper that their band was coming to town. I also heard that the band would play here.

Mary heard that their band is coming to town. I also heard that the band would play here.

The band has been playing out on the West Coast for weeks. I also heard that the band would play here.

It?s a good policy to check that the context is sufficiently clear to limit the meaning of also so you won?t be misunderstood. If you?re in doubt, try moving also to another position and see if the meaning is less ambiguous: I heard that the band would also play here.

http://www.bartleby.com/64/C001/008.html

4. using two spaces after a period rather than one.

when using proportionally-spaced fonts, use one space, not two.

5. confusing 'i' and 'me'. example: 'bob sent samantha and i an email.' 'i' is a subject word and 'me' is an object word. if you wouldn't say 'bob sent we an email', why would you say 'bob sent samantha and i an email'?

[insanekiwi]

english isn't my first language either, but i had ~10years of so called "educational english" at school combined with several trips to the UK ad USA. plus i need alot of english vocabulary to deal with all my buddies on TEH INTRAWEB. no major problems so far, just keep practising daily ;)

[Eric Veteran]

I suspect it's for the same reason that many can't form correct sentences, or punctuate correctly.

When you wrote, "Why can't people spell right on the internet?", you could have written "Why can't people on the Internet spell correctly?", or "Why don't people spell correctly when using the Internet?" (I'm ignoring the obvious fault with that question.)

There are several ways that you could have formed the question. You, ironically, (and yes, for once, this is irony being used in its correct context) managed to mess it up.

For the most part, it's pure laziness and a lack of respect for the reader. The author, in such cases, seems to expect the reader to take the time to put up with, and decipher, his or her errors, instead of taking the time to correct them at the time of writing.

Irony - the use of words to express something other than and especially the opposite of the literal meaning :)

[Lt-DavidW]

The one that really gets me is "I could care less" that doesnt even make sense it should be "I couldn't care less"

Seriously annoys me.

You don't know nothing! :shiftyninja:

[Kudos Veteran]

There are only 2 things that really drive me crazy. Should/could/would of instead of should/could/would have and common instead of come on.

[kezzzs]

Ah... necessity is the mother of invention - http://stupidfilter.org/main/index.php?n=Main.About