Suggestion Box

[Moonchilde]

Spelling and grammar is one thing. Some of us might wince when we see continued egregious examples, but we still know what the poster is talking about and can communicate; we know what's being said - the basic of communication.

The "just don't make any sense" bit is, oddly, becoming more prevalent, and there's nothing that can be done about that. Disjointed thought fragments that don't connect, incomplete sentences missing important parts of speech. Rambling, largely incoherent posts where you honestly have no idea what the poster is trying to say and it's definitely more than punctuation.

I do skip those, as they're just not worth the time. And the posts by others in the thread asking what the person is trying to say (because no one knows) or saying "I think they might mean this (or that) but I'm not sure." Fairly often the poster doesn't return and offers no explanation; perhaps they're unable. Or they do return and subsequent posts are equally unintelligible. We can't know the reasons, but several come to mind that have nothing to do with physical handicaps or devices used.

There isn't anything to "be done" about this except to just not participate. IMO that's the way that does not annoy the reader and doesn't further upset the poster.

[jpie]

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@x Hedge wrote:

In a 'no paragraphs' situation I just skip the post entirely.

Occasionally, if I'm in the mood for puzzles, I'll try to figure out what a wall of words is about by reading the replys. 

I can easily get the meaning from most misspellings and clumsy sentences. But sometimes the missing (or not) punctuation makes a post completely nonsensical.

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_____

I agree.  I won't read a long, long, long, and drawn-out post. I don't mind misspelled words on occasion, and I am not the punctuation police. I did well in all language arts classes, but that was a long time ago!

[dooBdoo]

Maybe the dreaded spell checker is to blame?

😜🙃

Candidate for a Pullet Surprise
by Mark Eckman and Jerrold H. Zar

"I have a spelling checker,
It came with my PC.
It plane lee marks four my revue
Miss steaks aye can knot sea.

Eye ran this poem threw it,
Your sure reel glad two no.
Its vary polished in it's weigh.
My checker tolled me sew.

A checker is a bless sing,
It freeze yew lodes of thyme.
It helps me right awl stiles two reed,
And aides me when eye rime.

Each frays come posed up on my screen
Eye trussed too bee a joule.
The checker pours o'er every word
To cheque sum spelling rule.

Bee fore a veiling checker's
Hour spelling mite decline,
And if we're lacks oar have a laps,
We wood bee maid too wine.

Butt now bee cause my spelling
Is checked with such grate flare,
Their are know fault's with in my cite,
Of nun eye am a wear.

Now spelling does knot phase me,
It does knot bring a tier.
My pay purrs awl due glad den
With wrapped word's fare as hear.

To rite with care is quite a feet
Of witch won should bee proud,
And wee mussed dew the best wee can,
Sew flaw's are knot aloud.

Sow ewe can sea why aye dew prays
Such soft wear four pea seas,
And why eye brake in two averse
Buy righting want too pleas."

[tansy]

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@Carmie wrote:

I,type on an iPad.  For,some reason it inserts commas everywhere.  Before I post, I have to go back and remove most of them

 I have tried changing the settings, but my iPad,is,comma happy.

i didn't correct the commas this time around.

i agree that paragraphs are helpful, but sometimes,the errors are due to technology,

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Sheez, that's one iPad issue I haven't had.

[dooBdoo]

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tansy wrote:

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CARMIE wrote:

I,type on an iPad.  For,some reason it inserts commas everywhere.  Before I post, I have to go back and remove most of them

 I have tried changing the settings, but my iPad,is,comma happy.

i didn't correct the commas this time around.

i agree that paragraphs are helpful, but sometimes,the errors are due to technology,

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Sheez, that's one iPad issue I haven't had.

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            @Carmie,   So far I can't find any technical reasons for this random comma insertion.    One discussion online had a suggestion that it might be caused by inadvertently touching or brushing a finger over the comma key when intending to touch the space bar on the onscreen, virtual keyboard.    That makes sense, because all of your commas appear in places in which you'd normally be entering a space.    Commas are replacing spaces.   You could try typing very slowly, to see if the commas show up even when you don't tap anything.

            I was thinking, too, that if you're using a wireless keyboard it might have a problem that confuses spaces with commas.    Just brainstorming...  I've never seen this one before.

[Moonchilde]

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@tansy wrote:

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@Carmie wrote:

I,type on an iPad.  For,some reason it inserts commas everywhere.  Before I post, I have to go back and remove most of them

 I have tried changing the settings, but my iPad,is,comma happy.

i didn't correct the commas this time around.

i agree that paragraphs are helpful, but sometimes,the errors are due to technology,

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Sheez, that's one iPad issue I haven't had.

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Me either. I have a physical keyboard now (not BT) and it doesn't do that, but my onscreen keyboard doesn't either.  I do have all predictive text options turned off on all my i-devices.

[febe1]

I've found very few posts I cannot understand and just pass over those few.

Long essay blocks of posts w/o paragraphs, I never read, not even a line or two.

Sometimes when I see a post I've written, it surprises me. I just wonder what was I thinking. Proof reading would just be too time consuming....

[StraytoStay]

My auto correct changes words on me sometimes & miss that knowing I knew how to spell when I was done and didn't proof read. Then it looks like a jumbled thought.

I think some posts that seem incoherent might be that English isn't that person's born language. Or perhaps it's meds, but I myself deal with chronic pain and can't fault anyone on that.

[CalminHeart]

Wow.  Just wow.  I think it takes a lot of nerve to tell other people how to write, speak, think, behave, dress, etc etc.   

Remember, there are millions and millions of people who don't have access to a quality education and don't have the same capabilities as others.  A little understanding would go a long way.

[Justice4all]

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@Q4u wrote:

Not everyone has top notch writing, spelling and grammar skills.  Nor does everyone take the time to double check posts because writing on a forum is like a conversation, you jump in and participate.  If the posts needs clarification, that can occur along the way and most people here are very willing to help.

However, if it gets on your last nerve (and it does for some).... just click out of the thread and hop to another one. Easy fix....   

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It's like a conversation, but you imagine the person doesn't TALK that way, and I care enough to want to understand what the person is saying.  I do agree that there may be medical or language issues, but I rarely give up....I really want to know what people think.