Gun Grammar Gendarmes Go GangBusters ! (AKA - Grammar Police)

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Gun Master

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Once again, the voice of Firearms Knit Pickery has surfaced.

In the May 2015 issue of Guns Magazine on page 6, "Cross Fire" (letters to the editor), Grammar Police portion, a letter writer responds to the "incorrect use" of 's. This ('s) is asserted as improper use, unless as the possessive of a noun or a contraction.

The editor retorts that adding "s" at the end of a noun sometimes leads to confusion, such as "K98ks" might mistakenly be taken to be a sub variant.
Using "K98k's" is more understandable and seemed the best path to take.

I know some are dead set on "proper grammar", but come on. Gimmie a break. Even on THR I've seen misspelled words and other egregious errors, but I can let it slide. I try to relax, enjoy, and larn sumpin'.

Can you ?:)
 
THR is indeed a couple notches above your average gun forum.

Last year, or the year before that, a certain member sent me a PM to scold me about some nuance in my writing skills left for prosperity write hear on this website. I reckon he did not care much for my response as I proceeded in a manner meeting the King's lofty standards.
 
Not to nit-pick, but it's nit-pickery, not "knit-pickery."

Which one would know, had one ever picked nits before.

Of course, I've also picked knits, but my sartorial choices are hardly germane to the conversation.
 
A subordinate clause is usually joined to its independent clause with a comma, and not a period. It should read thus: . . . but come on, give me a break.
 
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Something that would be worthwhile to keep in mind, these pages, like much of "social media", are open to many others. Some of these other readers are people that take delight in denigrating us, calling us "rubes", "hicks", "rednecks", or worse.
When we misspell words, use poor syntax/punctuation, "explicit" language, we only reinforce their negative views.

It's similar to the old joke about certain people having to work twice as hard to be thought half as good.

So, keep it clean!
:D
 
Something that would be worthwhile to keep in mind, these pages, like much of "social media", are open to many others. Some of these other readers are people that take delight in denigrating us, calling us "rubes", "hicks", "rednecks", or worse.
When we misspell words, use poor syntax/punctuation, "explicit" language, we only reinforce their negative views...


Excellent point!

A lot of people have countless excuses why they use poor English but all I see is a lack of respect for the reader. Poor grammar and spelling are bad enough but not being able to put together a lucid paragraph is even more annoying. It's extremely embarrassing to not have command of your native tongue!
 
JTHunter said:
Something that would be worthwhile to keep in mind, these pages, like much of "social media", are open to many others. Some of these other readers are people that take delight in denigrating us, calling us "rubes", "hicks", "rednecks", or worse.
When we misspell words, use poor syntax/punctuation, "explicit" language, we only reinforce their negative views.

Quentin said:
A lot of people have countless excuses why they use poor English but all I see is a lack of respect for the reader. Poor grammar and spelling are bad enough but not being able to put together a lucid paragraph is even more annoying. It's extremely embarrassing to not have command of your native tongue!
I agree.

And how many of those complaining about the "grammar police" have the vapors when a reporter misuses a gun term (e. g., calling an AR15 an "assault rifle")?
 
Myself?

I can't spell very good.
And my Kansas farmer English is what it is.

I barely passed high-school English in high-school.

I was too busy making A+ grades in shop class learning how to weld with gas & electric, do precision machining on lathes & mills, and rebuild Ford V-8 flat heads and Harley 74 engines.

It stood me good in life as I continued to a good blue collar living at it the rest of my life and became a middle manager without a collage education.

I also wrote a monthly magazine column for a radio control aircraft magazine for a couple of years, and got paid for it.

My Mis-spelled words and bad sentence structure?
That's what editors get paid for to publish information they have no knowledge of.

In short, there are guys with dirty hands who know how to do things but don't write so good.

And there are grammar critics that are editors that can't change the oil in their lawnmower.

Personally, I don't care.
Until it degenerates into text message gibberish on THR?

I'm to old to understand this new American language.
http://www.netlingo.com/word/urapita.php

rc
 
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Well, I do think we have a duty to write carefully, to the best of our ability. As noted, it behooves us to articulate our message legibly, with credibility. I recognize for many of us, the use of written language might not be our strong suit, but we are judged, so I'd hope at the least, our posters strive to write with clarity and minimize stupid slang or immature language. Occasional spelling errors can be overlooked, poor grammar and attempting to keep up with the latest urban slang cannot ...

A ways back on this very forum, I had another member characterize my writing style as "limp-wristed." Haven't seen this guy around since, but found it interesting that the mods let that comment slide.

I always got A's in English, but yeah, I also took wood, metal and auto shop ... and I can change my lawn mower oil, change my automobile oil, hang sheetrock, lay bricks, frame a house, roof a house and fix a leaky faucet ... Let's stay away from stereotyping, please ...
 
Hey!

Nothing personal!

I wasn't stereotyping anyone, least of all anyone that got straight A's in English, and can Also change their lawnmower oil.

I was just saying I could do one very well.
And the other not so well.

I think it's which side of your brain works better?

But if you can't change your oil, and spell 'great', GR8, you might have a problem.

rc
 
Allow me to take a somewhat different approach.

In the on-line world, words are your tools.

Using them incorrectly is similar to selecting the wrong screwdriver - one gets poorer results than one might, and risks damaging the project or device.

Similarly, misspelling and incorrect punctuation is akin to losing your tools or allowing them to rust.

In a 'formal' situation, I suggest it is worth the effort to be meticulous.

In casual conversations, do what you wanna do; most people can keep up.

And, as readers, it is important to note which context applies.
 
Since writing on these forums is the only way we communicate our thoughts, being able to convey your message is important.

That being said....

Those who choose to post like they are tweeting or texting have to understand that it causes us to just pass up the message and shake our heads. Posts with no punctuation, paragraph structure and constant sentence run-ons have no place on a writing forum. These forums aren't limited to X characters so use the entire keyboard when you post!
 
Not everyone writes well, and for many here English is a second or third language, so while the grammar police inside me might squirm from time to time, I don't comment on anyone's grammar. (Cause I ain't perfect ya know. ;))

That said, the better written and thought out a post is the better the answers tend to be. :)
 
One of the most intelligent and creative people I know can't spell worth a darn.

Even professional writers need editting.

One place I worked for passed stuff through three editting processes for brochures and press releases and the like and I was one of those edittors. But even the third edittor would still find mistakes and find needed clarifications. (I almost never post anything on the boards without two or three passes at proofreading, which is why I almost always get stuck with an "edited by" tag.)

And I still find errors in my junk when I review the posts a week later.

My own particular bugbears are technical errors like mixing up power and energy and things like "the voltage went through" something. I might squawk at stuff like that.

I notice mispellings and the like, but unless asked for advice, I let it go.

A long time ago on this board I suggested having a free polishing/editting service for members writing letters to the newspapers or politicians, and everyone thought it was a great idea, but nothing ever came of it.

Terry, 230RN
 
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Excellent point!

A lot of people have countless excuses why they use poor English but all I see is a lack of respect for the reader. Poor grammar and spelling are bad enough but not being able to put together a lucid paragraph is even more annoying. It's extremely embarrassing to not have command of your native tongue!
Si. Es la verdad.
 
Our posts are forever recorded for posterity? Would it be so. Forums crash, websites close down, and entire threads are archived repeatedly to be lost to the average researcher because search engines fail to bring up the item even when the pages are side by side and you copy and paste the actual words.

Sure we use the printed language as a medium of communication - and yet the trend is to post video which takes exponentially longer to communicate less. Newspapers are going out of business and printing less content, as my subscription witnesses each year.

Add the loss of printed matter which never transitioned to the internet from 100 year old books. Once posted the current owners attempt to restrict viewing it unless a paid honorarium is given, which is the current search engine controversy. If it's out of print and no longer under copyright, it's supposed to be free domain, right?

Good luck mining these posts in 25 years. We can go to a good library where the curator keeps volumes out of merit for there expertise, or we can visit one where only those who rate "hits" are kept. So far only the latter method is used on the net, I have no hopes of reading old posts resurrected to prove I was right all along.

Nobody cares now, nobody will care then. Good luck finding them as the technology changes and servers lose drives with no chance of backup to preserve things. It's so bad already the DOD has a task force working on preservation of their documents - and the White House can't seem to keep track of Hillary's or the IRS's very well, either.

Ya think?
 
I can handle the occasional grammatical error or misspelled word, but when things start piling up with no paragraphs, barely even sentences, I just go on to the next item.

I normally reserve my scorn for misuse of jargon. When an Internet Expert once more points out the difference between "clip" and "magazine", yet loads his ammunition feeding device with "bullets", especially .308" bullets to fit the "bore" of his rifle, he has lost my attention.
 
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