Annoyed by poor spelling?

Ah, good to know there are people out there who get irritated by poor spelling and grammar! I was beginning to think the net was converting into a world of a nomadic version of English. Oh my. The internet and texting with mobile phones is really taking it's toll on teenagers-- we get told by teachers of the silliest spelling and grammar mistakes in exams as well-- to think, people don't bother with the differences between their they're and there as well as your and you're! You'd figure people would have more trouble with words like practise/practice and effect/affect. English is hitting a new low with the internet. Wouldn't you agree?

I did use to think that, until I started exploring writing forums on sites like AC, Helium or those devoted to authors - i.e. sites where you're not doing it just to get paid. I was knocked over by the excellent English usage on, for example, Jasper FForde.com (a writer's own site, that he set up for his ffans)Guess it comes down to intelligence levels, and whether you write for profit or a genuine need to communicate. Some people seem to use the internet as a kind of digital alternative to a street fight, and concentrate on sites that allow bad language etc - YouTube is good for this. What I've discovered is, anywhere that offers an incentive will attract those who simply upload junk to earn a few pennies. They are the sort to whom a dollar an hour is big money. I belong to EuLance (a freelancers' bidding site) and it really peeves me when I get offered 'work' from some place in the undeveloped world for a dollar an hour, doing blogging or 'data processing.' Invariably I'm put through to Ciao reviews or places like this. The jobs always get snatched up, and always by people in similar countries to the original poster. So, it's a pretty artificial world in here really - English hasn't got worse, it has just expanded to include the whole population, including people whose words would previously have been hidden from us. In fact you could argue that people who previously couldn't even write their name are at least having a go, which is a good thing. Yes, there are plenty NOT in it for profit, who want to give their opinion and have simply got into the sloppy method of blogging as they would text. You won't find them on the AC pages, though, and that has thousands of members. Try logging on to a few of the writing sites, or even go to DooYoo - unlike Ciao they filter out the non-genuine and as a result there is healthy competition among a large crowd of writers (both amateurs and pros) who do real reviews and pride themselves on their work. I came here to get away from 'serious' writing and ended up writing about it!