Is EVERYBODY on the internet illiterate?!

Well, this discussion really opened a can of worms. I couldn't help but notice that serendipity has not responded to any of the comments. I also feel that some could benefit from taking time to proofread their posts and comments, however I am not going to get bent out of shape about it if they don't. I love to write and I take pride in writing well. But that's just me. I'm enjoying the give and take of these discussions especially because it gives me a chance to practice my writing and typing skills. He is right about one thing though. Every computer I've owned always highlighted misspelled words as I typed so it isn't hard to see where corrections need to be made. Personally, I think a lot of folks are just in too big of a hurry to hit the post button.

I don't know whether you've considered that most of the English content you read on MyLot or anywhere else on the Internet is written by people who's mother tongue is NOT English (and that includes me)? I'm very sorry if I'm a moron to you, I now I write mistakes sometimes, I'd love it if other people could correct me in a friendly,explanatory way, so don't hesitate to do so. It's something else of course if people are to lazy or just don't bother for spelling rules or grammar, I'm currently studying Dutch en English in university, so I'm quite bothered when people just don't care, I think it's a loss for the language, and English suffers a great deal from this, as it's the main Internet language. After all, the language most spoken in the world is bad, bad English right? ;-)

I have come across a few responses and discussions which I cannot for the life of me understand. But those have been very rare. This doesn't mean to say that all the other things I read here are perfect with respect to spellings and grammar. It isn't (I make those mistakes too)....but I can understand what the person meant to say. Even people whose first language is English make mistakes. I don't get irritated if I don't understand what is written...I just move on to the next discussion or response as the case may be. I sometimes do not have the time to re-read what I have typed...sometimes I realize it as soon as it is posted..sometimes later. If it changes the meaning of what I meant to say, I will apologize and correct it....at other times, I make a joke of it and let it go.

u seme ot seirously thnik taht thre si a probelm wtih peopel heer? Could you read and understand the first sentence? If you could then there is nothing wrong in it. language is a means of communication and when you can communicate, even a sign language or miss spelt words and poor grammar really do not matter. I agree a few people may not be having a proper grasp of the language and may not be a sfluent as you and perhaps a few may just be learning the language and must be trying out their hand by writing here. I feel that there is nothing wrong in it. This is the best forum to try out your skills and to let go of your feelings and vent your emotions. This forum is not an examination paper where marks have to be awarded for language. That is why a lot of people take it easy. if you ask a Briton, he wilsay American English is awful and if you ask an American he will say that British English is outdated. This tustle will carry on. it really does not matter as long as one can communicate. How do you converse with a child who has not yet learnt how to speak? Don't tell me you use grammatically correct English. You often uswe monosyllables and sounds which have no meaning. That does not make you illiterate.

Is it that they are illiterate or that because they just simply dont care because there is no money in for them?

It used to bother me a lot in the past, but I've learned to deal with it since it is so common these days. I am still irritated when business emails have errors though. The one that seems to bother me most is "your" and "you're". How does anyone not know the difference between them? I have also received emails with made up words like "misconvence". I know she meant inconvenience, but it doesn't matter that I knew what she meant to say. I wish people would use spell check for professional purposes and maybe pay attention to the squiggly red lines under misspelled words.

I do agree with you. I wonder (increasingly) at what is actually taught - and absorbed - in schools these days ... and whether many people actually CARE! This is our language we are talking about! OK, I do accept that our spelling rules are horrific and that our grammar and idiom can often hold unaccountable pitfalls for foreigners. All of that I can cope with (and will laugh with anyone at the illogicality and incomprehensibility of English 'as she is spoke'). My particular bugbears are the misspellings such as: 'Would of ...' instead of 'Would have ...' (It's pronounced ... and should actually be written, 'Would've ...'). There are may others like this, and some are due to a genuine mis-hearing and common mis-pronunciation of the word - 'an enemy' instead of 'anemone'; 'flourescent' (as if it had something to do with baking) instead of 'flu-or-escent'. Many of them, it is true, originate in a sort of mild dyslexia: you see something written but your brain translates it as something else (a letter order, for example) which is more common. My fingers do this all the time when I'm typing - I commonly type 'ie' when it should be 'ei', for example - and spell-checkers (even the built-in Firefox one) often don't pick it up. Oh! I could go on and on ... many things are just humorous and (to a certain extent) forgiveable. What I do constantly object to, however, are the 'txtspk' contractions such as 'u' for 'you' and 'v' for 'of', 'd' for 'the'. These are useful when you have only 168 characters in which to get your message across but are (to my mind) completely inappropriate when writing for MyLot or presenting coursework to your tutor!

No, not everybody on the internet is illiterate, and I know you didn't mean that literally. But the state of education in the U.S. and even in Great Britain, is deteriorating significantly, and more and more people are just semi-literate. I hope your rant helps you get over your frustration because if it's something that's going to irritate you all the time, then you probably shouldn't be spending too much time on the web. Whatever you may think about proper use of language, most people just don't give a d--n one way or the other. That's the way things are and you have to either learn to live with it, or curl up in your own private corner. Mylot is a good place to amuse yourself if you can stay in the right frame of mind. It's a constant rolling montage of stupidity, ignorance, greed, and even flashes of wit and intelligence, if you're willing to rake through the garbage.

If you want to become a "moron" just continue on the way you are going. Language is not and never has been finite. Its a living, growing, science, and the Internet is just helping it to change and mature. Sure it seems like a sacrilege to those of us who are stuck in the "way it used to be"! Times they are a changing, and so they should! God bless the younger generation! May they Grow and Prosper!

The standard of English has indeed fallen over recent years, partly due to text messaging, email and short-cuts for speed. The language is evolving, as some responses have said. On the other hand, the purpose of language is to communicate effectively, so I lean to your side of the debate in supporting basic standards to assist comprehension. In the past, I have edited articles for an on-line magazine and was often surprised by the frequency of mistakes, even in documents written by skilled authors. As an aside, if you're going to criticise other people for their errors, may I suggest proof-reading your own text? There are many uncorrected faults in your post. (Yes, I'm being sarcastic! *grin*)