Basic writing tools

[KitWalker]

Originally Posted by ThatGirlInGray

I have some experience with non-native English speakers, so I can overlook incorrect word usage if I can understand the point being made

I am a non-native English speaker. I can also write English.

I know exactly what it takes to learn it and it annoys me when people don't make that effort. Seriously, it's not that hard. There are languages way more complex than English out there.

[ThatGirlInGray]

I wonder if you have an affinity for languages that other people don't. You can definitely write English- I would never have guessed you weren't a native speaker of English!

I've tried to learn other languages and have not been that successful with any of them (and these were Romance languages- not something like Japanese!). And I know people who have lived and worked in a predominantly English-speaking area for years and still are not what I would consider fluent, so maybe what isn't that hard for you is considerably more difficult for others. I think the errors that jar me the most are when it's someone who otherwise is a very good writer and it happens repeatedly so it's unlikely to be a typo. It's the dissonance that gets me, I think, not necessarily the mistake itself.

[PinkDragon]

I'm an editor... watch me twitch LOL

Obvious typos don't really bother me. Everyone hits a wrong key every now and then. The mistakes mentioned previously are what drive me insane (their,there, they're, etc). If you are a native English speaker there is NO reason for you to not be able to use the language correctly!

[KitWalker]

There are a few really annoying (to me) errors that can be taken care of with just a tiny but of work. Affect/effect, for one.

What drives me up the wall is stuff that is wrong on it's face. Like "decapitated head". Did that head have another head growing out of it? Or "I could care less". If you could, why didn't you?

[hyperskeptic]

I'm so uptight about these things I even use full sentences and punctuation when I text! I'll often edit my posts to correct the smallest error.

[PinkDragon]

Originally Posted by kitwalker

like "decapitated head". Did that head have another head growing out of it?

rofl!!!:d:d:d

[ThatGirlInGray]

Originally Posted by KitWalker

What drives me up the wall is stuff that is wrong on it's face.

How about it's/its? :-P I'm just teasing you, but lately for me it has been helpful to remember that I don't catch all my mistakes either. I JUST typed "there" instead of "their" in an email. I know the difference, but was typing too quickly and my fingers went on autopilot! *facepalm*

[KitWalker]

Originally Posted by ThatGirlInGray

How about it's/its? :-P

Statistically, you are 80% more likely to typo when correcting someone else's spelling.

[nycindie]

Originally Posted by hyperskeptic

I'm so uptight about these things I even use full sentences and punctuation when I text! I'll often edit my posts to correct the smallest error.

I do this as well! I very rarely abbreviate anything and my phone doesn't have a QWERTY keyboard, so it takes a long time to write, Still, it makes me feel like an idiot to write things like "u r 2" instead of "you are too." Lively doesn't abbreviate either, I like that about him. Both of us would rather see the messages broken up for length and sent in pieces rather than full of texting shorthand.

[Emm]

Oooh! I've got another one!

Moot != Mute.