I thenk my iQ is drooping from to much stupid here as of lately...
OK, I've missed a few days, trying not to be burned up by fire down here, and have been catching up.
Did the Ann Arbor School for the Grammatically & Vocabulary Deficient let out for the summer already?
Seriously, either one troll with 15 log-ins is wreaking havoc, or there's suddenly been an influx of retarded Michigan fans.
What gives? Did Dantonio piss off the MSU fans, that they'd be jumping on our wagon?
If you're:
A) in too much of a hurry to type English - don't bother,
B) seriously that illiterate - you've got better things to do than be here having discussions, like re-reading your elementary English book or anything else that'll improve your odds at a job, girlfriend, two-digit IQ etc
For fear of being ridiculed, I agree 100%. Proof reading is your friend!
thumbs ^. every1 must type compl. sent.
the www is ruining r lifes 4eva
There's no stopping it, just find other things to do. The inmates are running the asylum now.
April 24th, 2009 at 11:50 AM ^
yeah...pretty disappointing
Every other thread makes my head hurt.
has been a factor, there are now fewer cops running around
Bingo. Folks, we have ourselves a mechanism!
April 24th, 2009 at 10:06 AM ^
Although I agree 100% about the terrible writing that abounds, I'm just as concerned about the content. When threads non-sarcastically debate whether Tate Forcier is better than Jesus, or simply IS Jesus, I begin to wonder whether the occasional bits of helpful, informative content are worth the search anymore.
April 24th, 2009 at 10:16 AM ^
The post-spring lull is partly to blame for this. With no more impending practices, no imminent recruiting signing day, and no games in the foreseeable future, substantive threads are simply rarer.
Instead, we are reduced to debating whether Tate is God and what number Denard Robinson will likely wear as QB.
April 24th, 2009 at 10:36 AM ^
Worst time of the year for college football fans. WolverineHistorian on youtube is helping.
I also like to watch youtube videos of wolverines (which is harder to search for with that damn movie coming out). Here is one of my favorites:
My only complaint, I did not understand a darn word those wolverines said.
Listen again. They're speaking pig latin.
But for real, check out their teeth, bro. Nasty. I would not want a beej from one of those.
I was in Alaska over the summer, and a guide there told me that if a wolverine comes around when a polar bear has a fresh kill, the bear will just walk away, leaving the food to the wolverine. He said that two wolverines could take down a polar bear in 20 minutes, and that one could take down a polar bear by itself in an hour. If polar bears don't want to mess with them, neither do I -- let alone getting a "beej" from one.
April 24th, 2009 at 10:11 AM ^
I, for the most part excuse it in others and always for myself.
Commas have always been a bit of a mystery for me, never quite sure I am using them correctly.
I can usually help my 7th grade daughter in any class she is struggling with, except English, I then tell her she is on her own.
April 24th, 2009 at 10:14 AM ^
I almost replied to this saying you were an idiot. Then I realized your sarcasm. I need a goddamn coffee this morning.
April 24th, 2009 at 10:19 AM ^
Seriously, why are you complaining about grammar and spelling on the internet? All people who misspell are complete retards with no girlfriends? You seem to think you're better than most of us, and sadly you're mistaken. Get off your high horse, stop taking peoples comments on this site so seriously, or go start your own Michigan sports site for people who are concerned with grammar. You wont get many visitors, but then you can feel like you're the smartest person alive.
P.s. If this post was an attempt at sarcasm then my sarcasm meter didn't go off, and for that I apologize.
April 24th, 2009 at 11:38 AM ^
Grammar and spelling matter because it helps make your point understandable. If I need to wade through a swamp of mis-spellings, improper word-usage, and randomly placed punctuation, it make it extremely difficult to understand what the person is trying to say.
Second - justified or not - it DOES make me think the person is stupid. When I received a business e-mail with these problems, my assumption is that the person isn't educated.
April 24th, 2009 at 11:43 AM ^
Like it or not, language is an agreed-upon currency that we use to communicate. It's like money - when you go to a store and purchase something but the cashier can't figure out that you need $1.43 back, it annoys you, right? Or when you order something at the drive-thru and you drive away without realizing that they forgot to give you your french fries, that's annoying, right? You have to take extra time to figure those things out and/or fix them.
English is the same way. If a guy misspells a word here or there, it's not a big deal. But if you have to re-read things two or three times and mentally insert a bunch of periods because they're too careless/stupid to do it themselves, then it's kind of a pain in the ass. We all come here to learn about Michigan football, put our two cents in, and enjoy ourselves. It's hard to do much learning when you click on a post and can't figure out what the person is trying to say.
April 24th, 2009 at 10:29 AM ^
psssss...
if you're going to make a post about grammar, you should know that 'to' != 'too'
April 24th, 2009 at 10:37 AM ^
The "to" in the title is intentional. He is being sarcastic. So is the spelling of "thenk" and "drooping" (as opposed to dropping), and the phrase "as of lately."
April 24th, 2009 at 10:38 AM ^
sarcasm detector malfunction.
April 24th, 2009 at 10:46 AM ^
I agree.
I don't mind people who can't spell. It just bothers me when people can't put coherent sentences together...and they often get pissed because we misinterpret their incoherent ramblings.
April 24th, 2009 at 10:52 AM ^
what did you just say about my mother??!? (jk)
April 24th, 2009 at 11:07 AM ^
All I'm saying is...I know where those cold sores came from.
Malleted.
April 24th, 2009 at 11:02 AM ^
and Brian replied that he was working on implementing something for the Fall that might approximate an administrator function, which would act as a filter of some sort. Not sure how that type of thing works exactly, but it may help.
April 24th, 2009 at 11:42 AM ^
Must we be so critical on a Friday? Instead of venting to us about it; man up, and have some fun tonight.
(EDIT: After noticing the title, I "thenk" this has to be sarcasm)
April 24th, 2009 at 11:51 AM ^
Finally! A post that isn't a stupid waste of my time! Feels good.
April 24th, 2009 at 12:00 PM ^
grammer police thread makes it better? You should of just stayed away wear you were instead of bringing this crap hear and wasting are time.
April 24th, 2009 at 12:17 PM ^
Your being a looser by responding!
Stop acting like such pre-madonnas
I have a tendency to be more tolerant of my fellow UM fans. As long as something is readable and I can understand what the poster is saying, I am fine with whatever format they choose. If this was a formal writing class, then stiff, formal writing would be required. Most people, though, don't really enjoy reading or writing anything if it is too formal. Consequently, style becomes a factor.
Most people here write informally while trying to stick to most of the rules of style, but there are times when even the most grammatical of posters use grammar that would be considered improper by a writing professor. I think that many of these are acceptable in today's landscape.
The internet is evolving how we write and how we process information; sometimes evolution is "good" and sometimes it is painful. Some may even argue that a lot of the evolution caused by the internet is actually devolution.
At any rate, the internet has shortened the attention span of most users. In addition, the first "internet generation" is now used to having information in ten-second "bites" at their fingertips. "Acceptable" online grammar has now been "expanded" to include internet abbreviations, sentence fragments, and even posts devoid of capital letters or punctuation. Also, I see a lot of vernacular and slang.
I don't really mind most of this, but some of it is painful and difficult to read. Those are the posts I usually don't finish. The most painful "format" for me to read is the absence of "white space." If a post contains only one "paragraph" but is fifty lines long, I usually don't even bother to read it. I know that I will just get frustrated somewhere down the line, so I don't put myself in that position.
Anyway, grammar that is either "bad" or "evolved," depending on your point of view, is here to stay. I usually don't bother to read the things that I consider to have fallen off of the Bell Curve, but I don't think I should flame anyone for writing something that I don't prefer to read.
It is human nature to respond in a positive manner to nurturing feedback and to respond in a negative manner to flaming. This begs an obvious question: if you really want to change someone's grammar, why on earth would you flame them for it? All that accomplishes is making them angry, which more often than not involves more flaming (with even more abuses of grammar) as a response.
In other forums, I have found that a gentle reminder sent offlist works a lot better than calling someone's intellect into question onlist.
Your mileage may vary.
"Tolerance" is a relative term.
"Tolerance" can mean you:
A) allow the 20 year old M fan at the game to stand up on big plays, even if it means you too must stand, or risk your view being momentarily blocked
B) see nothing wrong with (tolerate) your fellow 92 year old M fan berating that 20 year old for his idiocy
It all depends on which side you are "tolerant" of.
I is certainly no "grammar-police". It's just that I felt the need to blow off some sarcastic steam, before my head "asploded". I am "tolerant" of a lot, but c'mon... it has been REALLY bad lately, and I think the Board at large will agree.
I will state that most people would like to be able to "read" without having to think too much - "writing" without thinking though, is a different story, and the reason for my OP.
I've wavered on this one myself, wondering if blasting someone's intelligence is appropriate, while still being annoyed by the meaningless babble... Then I realized that the grammar police do us all a service by preventing the proliferation of posts that could make the site devolve into a typical fan blog. I have decided that not ripping apart horrible grammar is probably the greater evil.
the decline in quality content in the boards and comments.
Perhaps it is me, but I have found the overall content to be both less interesting and less humorous/entertaining. And this may be due to the increased traffic here, I have spent less time here.
So busy no one goes there anymore.
I think some of the crit is mis-placed. It isn't just that spelling and grammar are problematic. It is whether or not the post is readable. When words or concepts get too arcane, I quit. When sentences get too long, I get lost. As an example, some of gsimmons analysis is great, as are the UFR postings from Brian. But honestly, some of it is over my head. I don't fully get the 3 - 4 or 4 - 3 or 5 - 2 defense. Intelligent, legible, understandable posts for the fan are greatly appreciated.
April 24th, 2009 at 10:36 PM ^
as does the entire board. thats why i was against bringing MGoBoard back in the first place. And its why i disagree with VarsityBlue's board. Boards create idiot breeding grounds.
April 24th, 2009 at 11:08 PM ^
zero Alanis lyrics.
Fail