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Reading this thread, http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/cube-ltd-team-from-jc-cycleswhat-a-disaster, I know I wasn't the only one who assumed the original poster was a teenager.
It's not the fact he can't get credit and has a 20 year old brother, so much as the spelling and grammar.
Even the most literate of people can make mistakes, but it seems normal for teenagers now to think it's perfectly acceptable to write in Pidgin English with no attempt at correct punctuation, grammar or spelling.
Are we the last generation to think such things matter ?
Are we the last generation to think such things matter ?
Lolz.
Wot he sayz^
😆
What I meant, of course, was "Are we the last generation to think that such things matter ?" 😳
no.. I suspect that you'll find that the well educated conscientious youths of today simply have far better things to fill their weekends with than ranting to a bunch of sinister middle aged malcontents on an internet forum..
just a thought like..
My eldest son cares passionately about apostrophes. And knows far more than I'll ever know about grammar.
So I suspect it's not a generational thing, but more a how-good-were-your-teachers thing.
I think I'm reasonably intelligent, have a good career, have always been good at what I do and have never, ever been any good with the written word. I would say I'm mildly dyslexic, if you can be (don't know and it doesn't matter). Saying that, I'm also 32, so, no longer the yoof of today
X
Perhaps it is a blinkered view.
Almost my only interaction with young people is via the written word on the internet.
If someone with more real world experience could tell me that my experiences don't represent the majority, I would find that reassuring.
Almost my only interaction with young people is via the written word on the internet.
Hmmmm.....
I think grammar is important, but! I do find it incredibly pedantic and potentially rude when people insist on picking up on every little mistake. It maybe that the person writing has a learning difficulty that makes these things difficult, if not impossible. While the 'alleged downward spiral of or education system and it's standards is an important issue to debate, holding up individuals to criticism isn't really fair.
Perhaps it is a blinkered view.
There's no 'perhaps' about it.
I find it quite hard to read things that have glaring grammatical and punctuation mistakes like the OP's example.
That's because I'm below average intelligence, and so I don't have enough spare brain power to cope with poorly written text. As a result of my impediment, I often just give up trying to plough through stuff like that.
I am actually just too stupid to read it.
it's only an internet forum, wgas?! 🙄
it's only an internet forum, wgas?!
Thin end of the wedge, sunshine.
I'm sometimes surprised with peoples spelling and grammar. When dealing with people from the classifieds over email it can be appalling - who doesn't put a capital letter at the start of their own name? Who sends a one line email with 3 spelling mistakes in it?
I'm 19, right handed and typed this with just my left hand. It's not hard to do it right, and it's the same as not dribbling all over yourself.
it's only an internet forum, wgas?!
it's only the pub, wgas?!
it's only my living room, wgas?!
it's only the UN, wgas?!
it's only real people opining, they give a shit!?
I dont really care to be honest. As long as they can communicate why should it bother anyone?
I've been working with teenagers for more than 20 years now, so I should be able to make a sensible contribution to this thread.
However, since it has been repeatedly suggested over the last week that I am not really part of the 'real world', I hesitate to comment! 😉
"incredibly pedantic and potentially rude when people"
Weak grammar and spelling is not an embarrassment: not everyone is as educated and articulate as Stephen Fry. The "pedants" are often just trying to be helpful. People cannot improve their communication unless errors are pointed out.
Sorry. Just found the perfect name for my new rock band..... "The Incompetent Cowboys."
Cheers
I do find it incredibly pedantic and potentially rude when people insist on picking up on every little mistake.
this and as long as it can be understood it does not matter. However,
the person on that thread, at times, was hard to comprehend.
TBH sometimes i do it just to get at grammar nazis but I can do it correctly if required.
i am trying not to be sloppy these days.
Spelling and grammar are not higher intellectual functions. Someone can read and right perfectly well and still be thick as mince. Even people with Downs Syndrome can read and write.
Similarly people can be incredibly smart, but unable to write well. Writing isn't natural and for millions of years humans didn't do it.
MTG, [url= http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com/2010/04/alot-is-better-than-you-at-everything.html ]this [/url]will ease your pain.
Mrs T, you've gone and done it now! We'll have another new thread soon.
It's MidlandTrailquestsGraham and not MTG, he doesn't dig abbreviations in the name department. 🙄
Abbreviations are acceptable, it's "The OP" that isn't. 👿
😆
Phew, thort i wuz in alot off hot water, LOL!!!!111111
It's all a load of tosh - I spend all bluddy week writing grammatically perfect reports - thus whilst I am milling around the internerds i want to be Able to use as many random capitals, poorly placed hyphens and misssspelled words as I damn well want.
Abbreviations are acceptable, it's "The OP" that isn't.
so now ive annoied mtg lol! dunno how its so offensive though
lol!
The only thing I can add - is that I get one - two hundred cvs a year from youngsters looking for work.
Sometimes I do take them on for the summer. The challenge I set them is a hand written letter of application (along with a cv).
That there alone eliminates 80%+ of applicants, the others fail on even more obviuos stuff.
I was there (young) once though!
You'll pick up my spelling / grammer mistakes above!
what job is it? hand writing application letters and CV's?
Is it needed for the job? I bet you just get the ones where their parents write them for them 😀
You may well be right Junkyard. Under my "rules" - the application / covering letter needs to be hand writtten. The cv is fine from a computer. It's a crap job tbh. General dogsbody in a fashionable line of work-ish!
And yes - I get the obvious parents replies. When they're in my office - they get to fill in some of my usual forms, and god - it can and does go tits up.
#Edit- Dont get me wrong. I see lots of kids with way more potential than any job I can give them. I also see lots of "mini adults" with an attidude about learning anything new (and even spelling) that is worrying.
Thats my point - I guess.
i worked recruiting young people probably read a few thousand a year everything from tea stains and someone who got his own name wrong and then crossed it out to correct it through to people with next to know quals with beautiful CV's clearly done by parents.
I had to interview everyone. Poor cvs almost always led to poor candidates [ a couple of good ones at best]. Great CV's did not lead to great candidates [10-15%] but they were all school leavers
Junkyard- I doudbt if we're at cross purposes here, maybe.
As a youngster I was a useless ****er. Now - when I see a cv I try to be open. But I try and add a specific interest / challenge for the job in question. All my work involves communication - Eng;lisj. ish. I cant and wont employ someone that speaks "approximiatish-english-ish"; my clients will laugh at me!
Ok fair enough - was not having a pop.
Most of what I did was for skilled manual labour/trades so it had much less relevance I argues for practical tests but was overruled/ignored.