Are you referring to posts on this site? I sometimes miss a word and misspell it. I even proofread and miss a word. I normally proof read. Are you a grammar Nazi? I just concentrate on my OWN spelling and don't worry about others and their misspelled words. I don't mean to be critical...

I have too much perspective on things like physical difficulty with typing, dyslexia, and simply not giving a darn about the finer points of written communication to immediately disregard someone whose content is unpolished. If I can find a coherent and interesting message that's worth the effort to extract, I'll continue reading. If not, I'll skip.

Grasp of language mechanics is only partially representative of quality of thinking.

We're not perfect, but I find the overall quality of writers and communicators on this site to be higher than what I've experienced in other forums.

It's not something which bothers me, though even people who know me well tend to assume it will - I'm more concerned with what people write than how they write it.

(P.S.: There's one punctuation error and one grammatical mistake in your first sentence )

You presumably mean "harder" ? Rather than to make something "hard"

Sometimes English is the second language or the third.

Anyone who reads any of my posts: I'm disabled with lupus and ankylosing spondylosis that has rendered me unable to use my hands to write or type, so I depend on an app that I speak on and it types the words out for me. Unfortunately technology isnt perfect. The app frequently changes words and punctuation or just leaves punctuation out altogether. Last night, I was writing to a friend and dictated DIALYSIS. It types BIRMINGHAM! I kid you not. So there I was, in my office, yelling DIALYSIS into the mix over and over, trying to get the same thing to dictate what I said. It leaves off apostrophes, especially. TONIGHT, when I said ANKYLOSING SPONDYLOSIS, it types out ALKALINES SPONTANEOUS.

By the way, there are MANY people like me - the blind, the paralyzed, etc.- that use wheelchairs to travel and this sort of app to communicate. So, before you begin criticizing peoples' spelling, grammar and punctuation, you might want to remember that we're trying to reach out to the outside world as best we can and are at the mercy of imperfect technology, and that we are ALL IMPERFECT human beings. If you still wish to block me, whatever, that's fine; I prefer not to have to put up with arrogant, superfluous people. (They're far more difficult to abide than poor speakers.)

Having been an editor for few years, I feel your pain. It seems to be partially a gradual breakdown at the teaching level, and also the result of texting more than reading books. I've watched English in general break down over the years. It is apparent in news articles, public signs, menus, etc.

The last full time job I had was at a Community College held in high esteem. Reading some of the students essays was downright depressing. These were college level students going into the medical fields ! All this said, in order to not go mad, I've learned to just go with the flow. For some, English is a second language (one I would hate to have to learn !). And for others, well, their writing is simply reflective of their exposure to words.

If you seek perfection - please don't look to humans ! Acceptance may help ease your discomfort.

You don't mean to be critical but you do it anyway? how does that happen?

Many years ago I attended a lecture on the philosophy of language. I sat in the middle isle, three rows from the front where the lecturer stood on a raised platform. Later, in the foyer, I asked the man who sat to the right of me during the lecture, what he thought about it. His reply was: "He did not polish his shoes." You remind me of him.

I always proof read. I don't know about others.

I believe your frustration is warrented. But, there are several reasons that people don't write well. For one, typing on our phone is not perfect and auto-check on certain phones can add letters or even change a word. Sometimes, we hit 'something' in error and it went out before we could correct it. Then there are the people who have not done a lot of writing and their writing comes off as crude. But, I believe everyone has a 'story' and I want to honor that. Sure, I struggle, but once upon a time, people struggled for me and I am grateful. So I guess, you can choose not to read 'stuff' that you have to struggle over, but I wonder if you are doing yourself any favors?

I agree with you in principle, but I have (I hope) learned to be more tolerant than I used to be. Apparent errors that are in fact due to a different style (e.g. non-US English) are of course not errors at all, and must be ignored. And if the writer is not a native English speaker, that too requires us to be gentle. Simple typos should be corrected in proof, but they can slip through even then. Furthermore — language keeps changing, whether we like it or not.

I’m guilty sometimes, but generally I do proofread. My ,s are all over, I think it just adds character, although I made one post even I can hardly understand, not proud of it, but people did their best and gave me a lot of good advice on an emotional issue. As long as it’s understandable, it’s all good. I don’t suffer from OCD, and if I did, I’d need to learn to live with it. Also, if you have difficulty reading it, then deny them your opinion, it’s the best option for all parties involved.

I had a military writing instructor that said, "write to inform, not to impress." That has stuck with me for the last 50 years. I also recall a poster on the wall where I worked that said, " If you don't have time to do it right the first time, how will you have time to do it over?" more great advice.

I understand where you're coming from. I'm sometimes amazed as to how many errors I find in my comments and it's just as well I proof read them first before posting. Yet sometimes errors still creep in.

Definitely! We should all strive to write with precision, clarity , and accuracy (bptj grammatical amd informational).

Here's a test as to how good you are at proof reading. The quiz is between the speach commas.com/ "How quickly can you find out what is so unusual about this paragraph? It looks so ordinary that you would think that nothing is wrong with it at all, and, in fact, nothing is. But it is unusual. Why? If you study it and think about it, you may find out, but I am not going to assist you in any way. You must do it without coaching. No doubt, if you work at it for long, it will dawn on you. Who knows? Go to work and try your skill. Par is about half an hour."

You must mean to be critical, that is what the post is. I should point out that many of us have different spell checks on our computers as we use different versions of English and given the medium we are using I assume that netspeak would be most appropriate. Both grammar and punctuation have changed dramatically since I learned them in the 60s and the Americanisation (spellcheck wants a "Z" ) of the language since inception of the net takes many of us a lot to get used to. I do judge people by the way they present their discussion, however I enjoy the diversity, adds to the character of the conversation.

Wot fur

I kinda agree - I even commented on a post that was incomprehensible; someone criticized me for me saying so, then the OP agreed with me! The irony...

I can get sloppy with spelling, etc. as I'm dyslexic, but my PC underlines obvious mistakes which is cool.