Its up to us to police ourselves.

[video200]

Sarcasm is a definite large part of the problems that go on in most forums. What I think of as funny, may come across as mean to others. I just altered a smiley guy to maybe help with this.

not to mention all that gets lost in translation for and from us who dont have english as a first language.

[Steven Vaccaro]

WARNING!!!
The following post contains a bit of



Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I am the one at fault here, and I know I should not let some of this stuff get to me but it occasionally does.

Not many things get under my skin. One of them is when people are unaware of some of the rudimentary basics of the English language. I see it all over the Internet where the written word is the only means of communication. For those of you that speak English as a second (or third, fourth, or whatever) language, this rant does not apply to you. English is a difficult language, especially with so many words that sound the same or are spelled the same, yet have totally different meanings. I'm not going on about spelling (which is frequently atrocious), per se; rather simply the use of the correct word at the correct time. For those of you that could use a little help, here it is:

There = A place. “Your boat is over there.”
Their = Belonging to a group. “Their boats are fast.”
They’re = A contraction for they are. “They’re going to the pond.”
Theirs = Belonging to a group (possessive). "Theirs are the best-running hulls available."
There's = A contraction of there is. "There's a race going on."
Strait = A narrow body of water between two land masses. “The Straits of Gibraltar.”
Straight = Not bent. “A straight shaft.”
Here = A place. “Your boat is here.”
Hear = What your ears do. “Did you hear that?”
Seam = A joint between two or more things. “A seam in a deck joint.”
Seem = What something appears to be. “It seems to be a fast boat.”
It's = A contraction of it is. "It's a fast boat."
Its = Belonging to it. "His boat has its setup done perfectly."
Your = Belonging to you. "Your boat."
You're = A contraction of you are. "You're going to have a fast boat."
Yore = A long time ago. "In the days of yore, I had a fast boat."
To = Implying a direction. "I'm going to the pond."
Too = Same as the word also. "I'm going there too."
Two = A number. "One plus one equals two."
Course = The field of play. "All the boats are on the course (of course)."
Coarse = Rough. "The bottom of his hull is coarse."
Whole = The entirety of something. "The whole truth."
Hole = A void. "There's a hole in my boat."

For those who do not speak English as their primary language, mastering words like the following has to be frustrating.

Read = (Pronounced “reed”): What you are doing now.
Read = (Pronounced “red”): What you just did.

Yes, English is a frustrating and confusing language. That is one reason it is taught for so many years in school to those who speak it as their primary language.

Another pet peeve of mine is fabricated words and this is the reason for Steve posting this thread. When I see these made-up words, it is like someone dragging his or her fingernails on a chalkboard; and the root of the most recent flap. That is the word “prolly”. I see it all the time; far too many people use it, and when I see it, all I think is that the writer is either still in grammar school, or functionally illiterate. It no doubt originates from the writer’s use of the spoken word that becomes slurred over time. Probably evolves into prolly.

Yes, I meant my post in a humorous, tone, although not necessarily sarcastic. I thought that is what I conveyed, but obviously not. I just get so tired of seeing that word used so often that I had to finally say something. Interesting that the final edited response I received used "your" when it shoud have been "you're" and "Ebonix", when the correct word is "Ebonics", but I digress....

I take pride in my work, and I consider writing some of that work. I am an Engineer by trade, and writing is something my job requires me to do, and do well. I authored the 90,000-word Transportation Element of the Comprehensive Plan for the City of Moses Lake, and all the associated Municipal Ordinances that go along with it (another couple hundred-thousand words). I write contracts, specifications, and similar documents dealing with large public works projects, such as roads, bridges, water and sewer facilities, housing developments, and such. My current project is the construction of a new dam in South San Diego County (actually raising an existing dam by 120 feet by building a new dam around the old one). These are billion-dollar projects, and the difference between a miswritten word and the correct word could have huge financial impact. Using “and” instead of “or” or “shall” instead of “may” could mean millions of dollars.

We spend billions of dollars on education, and it makes me cringe when little Johnny tells his teacher two plus two equals five and the teacher’s response is: “That’s a good boy Johnny; you’re doing a great job; you should feel good about yourself.” In this country, 20% of the people you meet are functionally illiterate. When little Johnny tells his teacher “I’ll prolly do that”, the teacher should tell Johnny that the word is pronounced p-r-o-B-a-B-l-y, and just perhaps little Johnny will learn to spell it correctly.

From here on, I'll keep my thoughts to myself.

Flame Suit on.

Well said, but the sad fact is some people (including myself) grew up in cities where school was a place to babysit kids. I still remember some of my English teachers just sitting there while we all goofed off. The extent of his teaching was "open the book and read page x to page z". Massachusetts has taken drastic steps to make teachers accountable with the mcas testing system.

http://www.doe.mass.edu/mcas/testitems.html

Quite controversial but a step in the right direction if you ask me.

Also, I just had a discussion this past week with my son's language arts teacher. It seems her main issue with the newest generation of teenagers is the use of IM text being used in reports and stories.

[Mich. Maniac]

WARNING!!!
The following post contains a bit of



Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I am the one at fault here, and I know I should not let some of this stuff get to me but it occasionally does.

Not many things get under my skin. One of them is when people are unaware of some of the rudimentary basics of the English language. I see it all over the Internet where the written word is the only means of communication. For those of you that speak English as a second (or third, fourth, or whatever) language, this rant does not apply to you. English is a difficult language, especially with so many words that sound the same or are spelled the same, yet have totally different meanings. I'm not going on about spelling (which is frequently atrocious), per se; rather simply the use of the correct word at the correct time. For those of you that could use a little help, here it is:

There = A place. “Your boat is over there.”
Their = Belonging to a group. “Their boats are fast.”
They’re = A contraction for they are. “They’re going to the pond.”
Theirs = Belonging to a group (possessive). "Theirs are the best-running hulls available."
There's = A contraction of there is. "There's a race going on."
Strait = A narrow body of water between two land masses. “The Straits of Gibraltar.”
Straight = Not bent. “A straight shaft.”
Here = A place. “Your boat is here.”
Hear = What your ears do. “Did you hear that?”
Seam = A joint between two or more things. “A seam in a deck joint.”
Seem = What something appears to be. “It seems to be a fast boat.”
It's = A contraction of it is. "It's a fast boat."
Its = Belonging to it. "His boat has its setup done perfectly."
Your = Belonging to you. "Your boat."
You're = A contraction of you are. "You're going to have a fast boat."
Yore = A long time ago. "In the days of yore, I had a fast boat."
To = Implying a direction. "I'm going to the pond."
Too = Same as the word also. "I'm going there too."
Two = A number. "One plus one equals two."
Course = The field of play. "All the boats are on the course (of course)."
Coarse = Rough. "The bottom of his hull is coarse."
Whole = The entirety of something. "The whole truth."
Hole = A void. "There's a hole in my boat."

For those who do not speak English as their primary language, mastering words like the following has to be frustrating.

Read = (Pronounced “reed”): What you are doing now.
Read = (Pronounced “red”): What you just did.

Yes, English is a frustrating and confusing language. That is one reason it is taught for so many years in school to those who speak it as their primary language.

Another pet peeve of mine is fabricated words and this is the reason for Steve posting this thread. When I see these made-up words, it is like someone dragging his or her fingernails on a chalkboard; and the root of the most recent flap. That is the word “prolly”. I see it all the time; far too many people use it, and when I see it, all I think is that the writer is either still in grammar school, or functionally illiterate. It no doubt originates from the writer’s use of the spoken word that becomes slurred over time. Probably evolves into prolly.

Yes, I meant my post in a humorous, tone, although not necessarily sarcastic. I thought that is what I conveyed, but obviously not. I just get so tired of seeing that word used so often that I had to finally say something. Interesting that the final edited response I received used "your" when it shoud have been "you're" and "Ebonix", when the correct word is "Ebonics", but I digress....

I take pride in my work, and I consider writing some of that work. I am an Engineer by trade, and writing is something my job requires me to do, and do well. I authored the 90,000-word Transportation Element of the Comprehensive Plan for the City of Moses Lake, and all the associated Municipal Ordinances that go along with it (another couple hundred-thousand words). I write contracts, specifications, and similar documents dealing with large public works projects, such as roads, bridges, water and sewer facilities, housing developments, and such. My current project is the construction of a new dam in South San Diego County (actually raising an existing dam by 120 feet by building a new dam around the old one). These are billion-dollar projects, and the difference between a miswritten word and the correct word could have huge financial impact. Using “and” instead of “or” or “shall” instead of “may” could mean millions of dollars.

We spend billions of dollars on education, and it makes me cringe when little Johnny tells his teacher two plus two equals five and the teacher’s response is: “That’s a good boy Johnny; you’re doing a great job; you should feel good about yourself.” In this country, 20% of the people you meet are functionally illiterate. When little Johnny tells his teacher “I’ll prolly do that”, the teacher should tell Johnny that the word is pronounced p-r-o-B-a-B-l-y, and just perhaps little Johnny will learn to spell it correctly.

From here on, I'll keep my thoughts to myself.

Flame Suit on.

Hmm and to think all this cause you were upset by one post and one word. It really ruins things and interupts the whole board because you wanna turn it into a grammer class. This is one I will not get over and will prolly keep using the term and all the abbreviations that go with the typing thing. LMFAO!

[ReddyWatts]

We should also use "Private Messages" to keep some of the issues off the main forum.

[egneg]

WARNING!!!
The following post contains a bit of



Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I am the one at fault here, and I know I should not let some of this stuff get to me but it occasionally does.

Not many things get under my skin. One of them is when people are unaware of some of the rudimentary basics of the English language. I see it all over the Internet where the written word is the only means of communication. For those of you that speak English as a second (or third, fourth, or whatever) language, this rant does not apply to you. English is a difficult language, especially with so many words that sound the same or are spelled the same, yet have totally different meanings. I'm not going on about spelling (which is frequently atrocious), per se; rather simply the use of the correct word at the correct time. For those of you that could use a little help, here it is:

There = A place. “Your boat is over there.”
Their = Belonging to a group. “Their boats are fast.”
They’re = A contraction for they are. “They’re going to the pond.”
Theirs = Belonging to a group (possessive). "Theirs are the best-running hulls available."
There's = A contraction of there is. "There's a race going on."
Strait = A narrow body of water between two land masses. “The Straits of Gibraltar.”
Straight = Not bent. “A straight shaft.”
Here = A place. “Your boat is here.”
Hear = What your ears do. “Did you hear that?”
Seam = A joint between two or more things. “A seam in a deck joint.”
Seem = What something appears to be. “It seems to be a fast boat.”
It's = A contraction of it is. "It's a fast boat."
Its = Belonging to it. "His boat has its setup done perfectly."
Your = Belonging to you. "Your boat."
You're = A contraction of you are. "You're going to have a fast boat."
Yore = A long time ago. "In the days of yore, I had a fast boat."
To = Implying a direction. "I'm going to the pond."
Too = Same as the word also. "I'm going there too."
Two = A number. "One plus one equals two."
Course = The field of play. "All the boats are on the course (of course)."
Coarse = Rough. "The bottom of his hull is coarse."
Whole = The entirety of something. "The whole truth."
Hole = A void. "There's a hole in my boat."

For those who do not speak English as their primary language, mastering words like the following has to be frustrating.

Read = (Pronounced “reed”): What you are doing now.
Read = (Pronounced “red”): What you just did.

Yes, English is a frustrating and confusing language. That is one reason it is taught for so many years in school to those who speak it as their primary language.

Another pet peeve of mine is fabricated words and this is the reason for Steve posting this thread. When I see these made-up words, it is like someone dragging his or her fingernails on a chalkboard; and the root of the most recent flap. That is the word “prolly”. I see it all the time; far too many people use it, and when I see it, all I think is that the writer is either still in grammar school, or functionally illiterate. It no doubt originates from the writer’s use of the spoken word that becomes slurred over time. Probably evolves into prolly.

Yes, I meant my post in a humorous, tone, although not necessarily sarcastic. I thought that is what I conveyed, but obviously not. I just get so tired of seeing that word used so often that I had to finally say something. Interesting that the final edited response I received used "your" when it shoud have been "you're" and "Ebonix", when the correct word is "Ebonics", but I digress....

I take pride in my work, and I consider writing some of that work. I am an Engineer by trade, and writing is something my job requires me to do, and do well. I authored the 90,000-word Transportation Element of the Comprehensive Plan for the City of Moses Lake, and all the associated Municipal Ordinances that go along with it (another couple hundred-thousand words). I write contracts, specifications, and similar documents dealing with large public works projects, such as roads, bridges, water and sewer facilities, housing developments, and such. My current project is the construction of a new dam in South San Diego County (actually raising an existing dam by 120 feet by building a new dam around the old one). These are billion-dollar projects, and the difference between a miswritten word and the correct word could have huge financial impact. Using “and” instead of “or” or “shall” instead of “may” could mean millions of dollars.

We spend billions of dollars on education, and it makes me cringe when little Johnny tells his teacher two plus two equals five and the teacher’s response is: “That’s a good boy Johnny; you’re doing a great job; you should feel good about yourself.” In this country, 20% of the people you meet are functionally illiterate. When little Johnny tells his teacher “I’ll prolly do that”, the teacher should tell Johnny that the word is pronounced p-r-o-B-a-B-l-y, and just perhaps little Johnny will learn to spell it correctly.

From here on, I'll keep my thoughts to myself.

Flame Suit on.


WARNING!!!
The post you just read contained

I know a guy on another forum that bashes the english language for a reason. He does it to get folks to slow down a bit and take the time to read the post and think about what he says. Here is a sample...

Airhead
Super Member
Posts: 5926
Joined: 11/29/2003
Status: offline

I'm kinda wundring bowt this... I git PMs saying summ kin post pics. Butt I cant. I've hair-a$$ed Admin bowtit.No response. Notta werd. Are there those who can post pics? Is this a temperary thing or a total no-more thing? I'm also wundring bowt saying ta HELL with this forum &finding anuther. Bad mojo since I've bin heer longern most anybuddy. Butt This is getting bad. Wunca ponna time, Admin actually DID his job! And if a prob came up heed tell us bowt it... Whut to eggspect. But this present crew... About as depinduble as our friggin prezdent. Figgers he has the power, lika king... If he snows us with enuff BS weel be too lazy to respond.
I'm thinking of changing to anuther forum. I ask you to suggest any that mite put up with my crazy wayz. It mite be time fer this one to DIE!

[detox]

I would like to apologize for using the phrase "fart smeller".

[Mich. Maniac]

Interesting that the final edited response I received used "your" when it shoud have been "you're"

Your reading skills leave some to be desired as well.


As I stated I was simply trying to lead someone to someone that would know the answer to his question and without spending money that wasnt needed. Help is what he wanted and your snide remark was not helpfull in ANY way. I will let it go when an apology is given to the O.P. for wasting his and our time!

[Diegoboy]

Thanks Steve. Police ourselves it is then!

[Steven Vaccaro]

Thanks Steve. Police ourselves it is then!

Thanks!!

[highndry]

111

[highndry]

Well said Dr. I get a migraine trying to work through some of the discussions. That is, however, not the primary issue at hand. The issue is those that forget, or are otherwise unaware, of the original intention ( at least in my opinion) of this forum. I left RCU for the same reason. I guess it comes back to - if you don't have anything positive to say, don't say it. We should promote the hobby and encourage those who desire to participate, regardless of their knowledge, rather than run them down.

[highndry]

And speaking of 'fart smellers', I have a Black Lab that that will peel the paint off the walls.......

[highndry]

And futhermore, oh nevermind.

[highndry]

furthermore. I'm guilty of my own rant.