topic Re: Posts on Facebook! in Among Friends

Posts on Facebook!

this is my nic — Wed, 15 Jan 2020 23:11:14 GMT

I am a member of several groups on Facebook and am astonished by the poor spelling and grammar I see constantly. Yes, there have been some posts on these boards that are hard to understand. There have been times, especially on FB, when I really wasn't sure what the person commenting was attempting to say. I don't know if these people are not educated or just don't care. Please know I'm not talking about an occasional error; we all make those!

What do you think? Why would someone post a comment full of errors so that readers have difficulty understanding what is stated?

Re: Posts on Facebook!

ECBG — Wed, 15 Jan 2020 23:14:58 GMT

I think some people go so fast, they don't see that their finger hit a neighboring key, and then there is regional dialect in all communities that effects speech patterns.

My students were often displeased that I corrected speech in their papers. My answer was "I teach YOU!!".

Re: Posts on Facebook!

Alison Wonderland — Wed, 15 Jan 2020 23:22:18 GMT

@ECBG wrote:
I think some people go so fast, they don't see that their finger hit a neighboring key, and then there is regional dialect in all communities that effects speech patterns.

My students were often displeased that I corrected speech in their papers. My answer was "I teach YOU!!".

Yes.

I post to Facebook from my phone over 90% of the time and usually very quickly. Between the tiny keyboard and autocorrect, sometimes I am appalled at what I've actually posted and have to go back and edit.

Re: Posts on Facebook!

GenXmuse — Wed, 15 Jan 2020 23:23:13 GMT

I'd probably leave the groups since it bothers you so much. Problem solved.

Re: Posts on Facebook!

geezerette — Wed, 15 Jan 2020 23:26:45 GMT

It's one of my pet peeves too.

But, I have to admit, that sometimes I make errors that I don't catch when I proofread. And, I swear that oftentimes I type in a correct word and autocorrect changes it to something else entirely! I've reread some of my posts and can hardly understand them myself.

But what irks me is that when that happens, I go back and correct my mistakes since there usually is an 'edit' option. As @ECBG said though, a lot of people are in a hurry so I guess they don't read what they've written.

Re: Posts on Facebook!

x Hedge — Wed, 15 Jan 2020 23:37:07 GMT

I can account for some of what you see.

My keyboard was programmed by someone who thought they knew what I want to write better than I do.

This keyboard changes the words I tap out, changes tense, mysteriously adds words to the end of the sentence when I drop space to start a new paragraph. If I strike between letters it prints the nonsensical choice instead of the real word, every time.

I once carefully tapped out four letters and was amazed to see a seven letter word appear onscreen.

I proofread, and occasionally find it made a change back to the wrong thing after I'd made corrections.

So I've become more tolerant of the errors I see, not knowing if it's from the poster, or the uppity keyboard programmer.

Re: Posts on Facebook!

Alison Wonderland — Wed, 15 Jan 2020 23:38:54 GMT

@geezerette wrote:
It's one of my pet peeves too.

But, I have to admit, that sometimes I make errors that I don't catch when I proofread. And, I swear that oftentimes I type in a correct word and autocorrect changes it to something else entirely! I've reread some of my posts and can hardly understand them myself.

But what irks me is that when that happens, I go back and correct my mistakes since there usually is an 'edit' option. As @ECBG said though, a lot of people are in a hurry so I guess they don't read what they've written.

If I'm posting during the day, it's often before I step into the shower, on my way up the elevator, walking down a hallway between meetings, when I'm in a meeting room and everyone else is running late, etc. I edit my errors when I see them, but sometimes it takes hours to get back to it.

Re: Posts on Facebook!

this is my nic — Wed, 15 Jan 2020 23:39:31 GMT

@Alison Wonderland

I completely understand what you stated! I always look over my comments before they are posted and wonder how in heck I managed so many errors. Because the voice to text method is problematic due to accents, etc., I don't use it. Evidently, lots of people do use it rather than type. Why they don't check what the final product looks like is a mystery.

Re: Posts on Facebook!

this is my nic — Wed, 15 Jan 2020 23:43:34 GMT

@GenXmuse

I stay in the groups because the subjects interest me.

Re: Posts on Facebook!

blackhole99 — Wed, 15 Jan 2020 23:53:13 GMT

I would think people would want to appear smart and credible when they post on FB or where ever. I must say I am surprised at the the college educated people who have atrocious grammar and can't spell. I wonder if that's because of all the aides built into technology today, they never really have to learn it. It could just be that people do not care, they're not word masters and don't get off on possessing those skills that were so important in the past.

Re: Posts on Facebook!

this is my nic — Thu, 16 Jan 2020 00:30:48 GMT

@blackhole99

I would think if someone cares enough to make a comment, they'd want their comment to be understood.

You're right, today's technology makes it easy to bang out a couple sentences, but as others have stated, the phone, computer, IPad have brains/programming of their own. Even though someone hits the right keys, something else appears on the screen. Technology is great when it works properly! We still need to use our own brains to be sure our electronic communication is correct and easy to understand.

Re: Posts on Facebook!

Sage04 — Thu, 16 Jan 2020 00:44:48 GMT

A lot of my friends on FB are people that I know and grew up with. A lot of them are teachers. Many times I want to correct them, but I don´t but I understand what they are talking about, so I leave it alone.

Re: Posts on Facebook!

Carmie — Thu, 16 Jan 2020 01:24:22 GMT

They are poorly educated. If you notice, they probably use incorrect grammar when they speak too. Spelling errors happen when spell check has a mind of it's own, or the poster is in a hurry or lazy. I know I make spelling errors on simple easy to spell words.

Many people start a sentence with " me and him" " her and I" " us and them"

They get confused with when to use we and when to use I or when to use " have or of"

Sometimes this is a regional thing...everyone in their circle talks this way. They have no idea it is wrong.

It drives me crazy, I'll admit it, but I let it go. I would never point out the error.

i know from volunteering in a school, correct grammar and spelling is not stressed or as Important as it was at one time. My teachers were strict. I would have to redo the paper if it had errors. The teacher would not accept it.

If teachers make a negative comment on a student's paper today, the parents post it on social media and the teacher is admonished, so many just ignore it.

Re: Posts on Facebook!

GenXmuse — Thu, 16 Jan 2020 01:29:43 GMT

I have not noticed that problem to the degree that some of you have.

Re: Posts on Facebook!

proudlyfromNJ — Thu, 16 Jan 2020 01:31:52 GMT

I don’t really see much of this at all. I’m not friends with that many people on Facebook so maybe that is why.

Re: Posts on Facebook!

Carmie — Thu, 16 Jan 2020 01:57:40 GMT

@proudlyfromNJ I don't have a Facebook account at all,but I see this everywhere.

Our local newspaper has an online version. The grammar is awful. I am amazed the journalists are still employed there.

Some of the articles allow you to comment on the story. The public always comments on the poor grammar. It continues anyway.

Re: Posts on Facebook!

lids — Thu, 16 Jan 2020 11:42:11 GMT

We're not in school anymore who really cares about spelling and grammer, mine isn't the best either.

Re: Posts on Facebook!

Suzeecat — Thu, 16 Jan 2020 15:35:17 GMT

Grammar and punctuation are not as important as they used to be. People are much more lazy with their written communication, at least in social media. I have gotten better at not being as judgmental as I used to be, since it's just the wave of the future. Another reason is auto correct, which messes me up all the time! Also, I've found especially on Facebook, that English is a poster's second language and much gets lost in translation.

Re: Posts on Facebook!

BlueFinch — Thu, 16 Jan 2020 15:52:55 GMT

You've reminded me of written narrative, in hospital charting, before we went to computerized data, mindlessly clicking redundant boxes.

I found it upsetting, as I always felt I could better describe a patient's condition and behaviors more clearly with written notes.

When I complained, I was told that there weren't many who could write solid documentation. Even if they did, they were full of sometimes incoherent comments, terrible spelling (even of medical terms, duh), and other issues. Yes, and these were all very educated people.

We initially has a small box for a narrative addendum, but that was finally removed, as well. The bottom line was -- terrible charting never needs to show up in court.

I think it robbed some of us of our autonomy. I always hated when I observed something I felt needed to be documented, but there was no appropriate box for it. By the time I was ready to retire, I felt robotic.

So Facebook doesn't surprise, as it's a casual social site. I would suspect it would be even worse than what I've seen.

Re: Posts on Facebook!

chrystaltree — Thu, 16 Jan 2020 16:01:43 GMT

Why ask us? We don't know. You should go back to that poster and ask her or him. However, not many people treat social media posts like they are scholarly dissertations. I know I make spelling/grammar/punctuation errors that I would never make if I was writing something that mattered. Social media, especially FB, is a "conversation" and I'm writing down my thoughts. It's the thoughts that matter.