Balancing Grammar and Respect

[The Frog...]

Poetic Misfit

My friends know that I love grammar; they wouldn't be my friends if they minded it. I correct people sometimes by habit, but I try not to do it ad nauseum(sp?). I really can't help it sometimes, though. To anyone who hates me because of it, Fatue te ipsum. (Latin for "go ******** yourself")

AAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!!! I LOVE THAT!!!!! Nobody likes Latin so it's even better!!!!!!!!!!!!

I only correct certain people's grammar. My biology teacher is only a few years older than us so she's easy to talk to. Same with my Theory teacher but he's 60-something. At heart he's really 18. Other people I just wince and if they notice and ask, then I tell them, but if they don't notice, I let it go.....for a little while.  

[Shrocomemos]

It really depends on who I'm talking to. If it's someone I tend to get along with well or I know really well, I'll just type out the word spelled correctly in the reply and they'll go 'Sorry.' If I'm browsing a topic and not really sure if I'm going to reply to it or not and see a lot of spelling errors, I just don't reply. But if I'm already talking to that person and there's not that many, I just ignore it because I usually come off as rude when I correct people. But I mainly refuse to talk to people other than literates, so I don't run into those problems much.
Also, I don't usually have many spelling errors or typos because I read my post over once I post it and edit it when I spot something. Though I do get a lot of typos before I even post it.

 

[Explosive Lotus]

In the past I used to be one of those grammar nazis', but mainly because I let myself get sucked into an AOL-RPer fad. Later on in life I eased up and now I almost never point out others' mistakes unless they ask for it. During my growing phase I would simply due it but I soon learned that most people cannot take constructive criticism, no matter how nicely you word things.

Now it all depends on who I'm talking to at the moment. If they're accepting then I will kindly spell check them if they need it. If not then I'll leave it alone and silently seethe about certain words which are so easy to spell its a crying shame to dismember them.  

[Shrocomemos]

I talk to a 21 year old that still doesn't know the difference between 'your' and 'you're'. gonk But other than that, he's literate, so I let it slide or correct him with the defense that I would go insane(er) otherwise. (Yes, I'm aware that insaner is not a word.)

Correcting people is risky business, because some people will get offended and might explode and start bitching at you. So, I try not to do it much.

 

[Thalestris]

The context is important. If the correctee is a person that honestly cares about the way their speech presents them, then correcting them can help them shape their communication skills. Sadly, so many people just don't care, and correcting them only aggravates them further:

"OMG gramer nazi! gtfo bich!"

Shinobi 1977

I try to set the proper example, and when I quote posts and reply in PMs, I send back a correct version for the person to learn from. I think that even if they don't notice right away, they'll pick it up subconsciously.

This method could help... It corrects them while not directing attention attention to their errors (unless you bold them, but I really don't think that's a good idea...). And if they became offended, a good response might be: "I tried to present your idea/argument to others a little more clearly so they wouldn't misunderstand you."  

[Rime_Solitaire]

I try not to get to pissy about small things, I only really tell people if their spelling is awful.  

[TaintedNightmare]

I usually just try and be as good and correct about my spelling and grammar as I can be. That way, if I am talking to a person who isnt so good about it, they can see how much nicer my post looks than thiers and maybe they will pick up on it. If it is really bad, I usually will try and help them with it as well.  

[Archdemonessa]

I don't even know English fully, so I try to keep a good grammar record just to see if I'm doing it right.  

[lola_siannodel]

I normaly am respectful. I mean, if a person is insulting me, and they are using txt tlk, I would say something like "Yeah. At least I can type. stare ". But if I am having an intelligent conversation with someone, or just chating kindly, but they happen to use txt tlk, I wouldn't bring it up. I myself used to use txt tlk, but one time I went into a role play that was literate, and it just became a habit. Though my spelling is still less then perfect. The way I see it, you only critique a person's typing if you feel it is damaging their brain, or if you use it as an insult to someone who is bashing you, like "U IZ SO DUM! scream scream scream " (I don't know why I'm not using quotations, but oh well.), but if it's just a person your talking to, then don't. There is no point in bringing it up.  

[WellThen]

Well, if I'm just in a random thread in the GD or something along those lines, I'll only bring up a correction if someone is making the same mistake repeatedly. Usually, I'll just mention it at the bottom of my post, in a P.S. or something of the sort. Politely, of course.