Quality of spelling and grammar in posts

I feel that the quality of posting is below standard with some posters struggling to maintain a basic level of spelling & grammar. There are too many posters posting carelessly - making simple spelling & grammar mistakes all over the shop, whilst not elaborating on such opinions as..

"i tink Man Utd will win cos dey r good lol"

I mean, a little bit more effort would go a long way. Not only will it improve the quality of discussion, but it will help invite potentially good members on board. I know on a personal level, that I've read so many threads & posts that have really, really frustrated me. I'm not calling or demanding for a whole step up in quality of your spelling or grammar, but at least a little bit more care & thought to get your true opinion across instead of making a whole mess of a very good discussion. It's just a suggestion from myself and I feel the forum would really benefit from it. It's also going to help foreign visitors, people who don't know great English. They won't understand 'txt spk' too well and will generally feel alienated.

I don't want to pick out names really. And I'm personally not very good with spelling & grammar, but I put a little bit of effort into my posting. I read the other posts thoroughly, making sure I don't go off topic or miss people's opinions or points. Then I type up my post, double check that it's readable & somewhat sensible.

There is a nucleus of some excellent posters on here, surrounded by so many careless posters who are actually (I believe) trailing down the standard.

I apologise if I sound too serious, over the top, intimidating or arrogant. But I feel it had to be said.

its just quicker i supose. as long as its readable then no prob, but i agree if they take it too far then it can be annoying. i used to type shorthand when i first joined. but now i mostly type full words

Tom - you do get your points across mostly and the majority of your posts are easily readable.

I wasn't having a go at certain people. Just suggesting people take more care, for the sake of their posting & for the sake of the forum.

yeh i know where your coming from m8, can be annoying at times

Sorry to sort of pick you out here Tom. But your sentence there could make much more sense with a little more care & effort!

'Yeah, I know where you're coming from mate. It can be annoying at times.'

Do you not think that reads better and makes more sense? And it doesn't really take much more effort does it? If you put this little bit more effort in, it might influence more of the other members also.

I am sorry J-Axe, I will put more effort into my posts in future.


that ok?

Miles better!

And it'd be so much handier for Foreigners to understand. It's actually quicker & easier to read that way and makes you sound much more respectable, mature & genuine.

But Tom, you always seem to get your point across well - but your last post just looks so much more attractive.

I tink tht tis a soooo obv rule oan m0st f0rums. lik i dnt tink m0st peeps listen. If n00bs do it dey r lik warnd by a m0d.

Obviously not warned enough by mods jamieg. The quality of posting & S+G in the past couple of days has been absolutely ridiculous in some cases.

Again, just a suggestion you might want to take shape with.

Lol nah mate, if a mod does notice it they should edit the message with a warning. I usually do everytime i see it anyway...

Feck off, I won't be going over somebodys post and correcting their errors. I will say something to them though. Agreed J-Axe, we need more quality regular members definitely to add to the ones we have.

Of course. The Moderator's do a tough enough job already, keeping things running, locking & moving threads & posting themselves etc.

The best way is for people to read this thread and realise that it's important to consider being careful with posting.

1. Use capital letters to begin a sentence.
2. Don't use 'txt spk'.
3. Try to stay on topic. Hence, read the thread thoroughly so that you fully understand what is going on, instead of producing another off-topic discussion by mistake.
4. Try to give your opinion as clearly as possible.
5. Consider the overall readability - by structuring your post sensibly, by using paragraphs & such.

I mean, in the Women's football section, you have posters from different parts of the World. And their expression through posts, even their use of colours (hehe) & their S+G is so much better than a lot of the English posters around the board.

If you take more care and make a little more effort, I believe you will;

1. Make your thoughts and opinions more clearly.
2. Make Foreign members feel more welcome, as they'll be able to understand you more.
3. Improve the standards on the board.
4. Introduce potentially great & regular members, who will give good opinions for healthier discussion without being annoyed by messy posters.

I agree J m8, i tink txt talk should only b used in txts when ur runin put of space kwl init westside.

I agree J-Axe, however it is something that us moderators try and review on a regular basis. It is much harder trying too implement your plan, we can't exactly force people to change the way they type. In some cases it is laziness and maybe in others its the most comfortable way for some members to express themselves. There is a fine line, so if we pull people us all the time, it may deter them from the forum altogether.

yeah it is annoying , but like moravcik has said it is sometimes difficult to tell the difference between someone who is just being lazy with their typing and someone who has a problem and cannot spell too good or is just not able to post as good as other members , i agree on the text speak though ....that is annoying and best left for your mobiles and i see no place for it on this forum .....no excuses .

I don't think theres too much wrong with that at all, I've seen far worse!

We also have to remember, J Axe, that English isnt always the first langauge of many posters. So their grammar and spelling might not be up to your standards, please bear with them as I think it is great to have that level of diversity on the forum.

Yeah. But not even quality of spelling or grammar is an issue either.

Reading through some of the sub-sections, even the Arsenal bit (which I often check) there have been some absolutely awful posts, threads & replies. One guy from abroad came on seeking help for travelling to Ashburton Grove. Then somebody replies that doesn't make sense, doesn't help the guy whatsoever and is totally off topic - not to mention every simple word spelt wrong.

I understand that foreign members will struggle to spell, but some of the best members on here are foreign and their expression & formal writing is excellent. Yeekiat & AS are examples. Meanwhile there are English based posters who simply do not care.

How do you think foreign posters, with really basic English (but will put in a big effort to express themselves clearly) would feel if they came in and had to read through 10 posts in a thread reading something like - 'i tink rondainho is gr8 cuz he has da most skillz lol'...

I'm only giving an opinion as a member coming into the board seeking good football & healthy discussion. And since coming back recently I have already thought many times about turning away because I'm often clicking on and reading ridiculous posts, from careless kids or careless adults too.

I mean, as long as you can get your point across, fair enough. I don't think Tom uses great S+G, but he really gets his point across at times. But there are many more who can't spell, lack true opinion and generally waste space (no offence) in threads where it is possible for healthy discussion.

I'm only trying to help. Simply because, if I already feel outnumbered by careless & clueless posters, and feel like making an exit straight again, how might other passionate football fans who are great posters, with great opinions feel when they come on board? I bet that's how you have a small nucleus of great posters and a whole farmyard of poor posters.

I thought I was wasting my time with this 'suggestion', but I thought if I was going to stay I'd try and help things improve.

I do believe mine are understandable now. I Used To Type Like This Or Like J-Axe Example.

well one of the forum rules is that we must not use text speak when posting ......that applies to everyone , so the phrase `no problem m8 , make sure u watch the game ` is still using text speak and should not be seen as ok by members .
This is also an English speaking forum so anyone wishing to use the forum must be able to make themselves understood and this applies to foreign members as well as uk members ....i agree with J-AXE that some of the posts are awful and can result in sarcastic or silly comments being made to the member ...ie ` learn how to spell please` or `i thought kids under 12 were not allowed on here ` or `did you ever go to school `...etc

It is especially important for mods/admin to post/spell correctly as they need to set an example for the others to follow .