Do you think less of someone on a forum when they don't use "correct" English?

[storealex]

Yes but my danish blows yours out of the water

Rødgrød med fløde!

 

[CIVPhilzilla]

I find its harder to take someone's view on a debate seriously, if I can't get past their grammer and spelling.

 

[Blasphemous]

It really depends on a few things... First of all I'm much less forgiving for those who don't have English as a native language. Besides that it depends on how hard I find it to understand what they mean to say. Generally if I see over time that a poster is very intelligent and just has a language barrier I will not think less of them in comparison to other posters who seem highly intelligent over time.
If someone's posts are really hard to read I have a hard time thinking of them as respectably as they deserve.

 

[Evil Tyrant]

I don't like it when people don't capitalize the first word of a sentence, have extensive spelling errors, and refuse to put a period on the end. I don't ask that a post be perfect, as my writing would probably bring a shudder to any English teacher. I merely ask that the post look as if the poster actually put some effort into ensuring that his post is readable. I also think that foreigners should be cut some slack if they are from a country that doesn't speak English as a first language.

 

[Quentin]

Yes, if it seems like they are not putting much effort into the post.

I would only think any lesss of them if they made a simple error and claimed unrelentingly that they were correct, or if they used a huge amount of l33t talk.

LOL!, b|_|+ 13375p3aK i5 t3h 5|-|1tz (00L; aM I c0rr1|-|i9h+ oR (oll3f+???!!!!11!!??!

 

[Stefan Haertel]

Of course it is ridiculous to think less if someone whose mother tongue isn't English is not able to write perfect English. However, I do think less of someone who is grown-up and from an English speaking country and includes myriads of typos/spelling mistakes/grammar errors and the likes in his posts.

 

[bhsup]

No, not at all. I do, however, look with disdain at the excessive or even regular use of profanity by someone. The occasional slip up, sure, it happens. Joe Pesci's character in Goodfellas? Over the line.

 

[downtown]

Nah, not really. For so many of the posters here, english is a second language. If i had to type in what little Spanish or Portugese I knew, it would be awful.
Besides, i know my posts have errors all the time too. I learned to read in a weird way, withover learning how to sound out words for a loooong time. I suppose as some sort of consequence, i cant spell worth crap. If i can't make sure that I can spell, how can I attack somebody else?

When i frequent boards where the population is mostly folks from Ohio, I might be more inclined to be judgemental about grammar

 

[Abaddon]

By correct english, i think the use of "ur" "plz" and not bothering to check for typo's.

I dont have time for people like this, but i have all the time in the world for people who try to speak english when it isnt their first language.

The difference between the two is usually obvious.

 

[Panda]

If people want their opinions to be respected, they should be writing as grammatically correct posts as possible. Especially if English is their mother tongue.

 

[cgannon64]

If I know they're a native English speaker, I admit I look down on them.

 

[blackheart]

really does not matter to me, but with certain posts where the words are horribly misspelled or there is no punctuation so that it makes it a strain on the eye to read, i get annoyed

 

[Aramazd]

Yes, if english is the person's native language, but if it isn't I'll let it slide. If someone misspells a word I don't care too much, but if they use 1337 speak then I get really annoyed.

@Quentin What does 9 stand for in 1337 speak?

 

[MrCynical]

I won't think any less of someone where English is not their native language, for the simple reason they will certainly be better at English than I am at their language. If English is their native language I don't mind bad spelling (within reason), especially typos, but certain non-correct English will affect my opinions of them. I have no patience with anything which makes it awkward for me to understand, most notably '1337 speak', posts containing no punctuation whatever, or posts that have such abysmal grammar that they are incomprehensible. I generally ignore posts of this type, mostly because I can't be bothered to translate them into English.

 

[Abaddon]

+I-I15 15 ?39I_ I_33+ 5/`39&

this is real leet speak, it makes much less sence than Quentins,but thne he is only partially using leet speak.

 

[The Condor]

Generally it bugs me unless what they are trying to say makes sense or if it is not their first language. Also, I tend to overlook it if they made a good post.

 

[Trafalgar]

"U" instead of "you", really bugs the hell out of me. So does "r" instead of "are" . I know my punctuation is pathetic, but at least I take the trouble to spell the whole word!

 

[Archbob]

No, I make blips all the time. I don't care too much about grammar and such as long as its decently understandable. However, if someone starts talking ghetto crap-speak, it makes me think less of them. I hate stuff like when people spell "black" "blacc" . I mean, WTH mate?

 

[The Condor]

However, if someone starts talking ghetto crap-speak, it makes me think less of them. I hate stuff like when people spell "black" "blacc" . I mean, WTH mate?

I occasionally am at fault for that but not a lot. I only do it with a couple of words like "cause"="cuz" cuz my speech is warped by my surroundings like almost anyone else here. I know how to spell the words and what they mean but it is just a habit of mine.

 

[Syterion]

Of course. It is only natural that I look down upon those that conform to lesser standards than mine.