Thursday, July 21, 2011

I'd really love to read your blog but...

A few blogging friends and I recently had a discussion about our biggest peeves regarding other blogger's sites.  The annoyances had very little to do with the topics, the design, or the opinions expressed within the blog post.
Nearly all had something to do with spelling and grammatical errors.  But, what can one do?  Leave a comment that says "Look, this could have been an awesome post, but because your period key must have been broken, I can't read it."  Nope.  That's tacky. Or, I could say, "You're an idiot.  Please cancel your account."  Nah...that is even tackier.  So, I began to compose a letter in my head of what I would say.  Today, I will "send" that letter.


***Disclaimer!!!  This letter is in no way intended for the many blogs I follow!!  All your blogs rock, which is why I follow you in the first place!  The blogs I'm referring to are blogs I have stumbled upon, but do not follow.  It isn't directed at any one blogger in particular, but several I have come across lately!***


Dear Fellow Blogger,
     I would really love to read your blog,  I would, but it causes me physical pain to stumble through it.  I'm certain the point you were trying to make was a very important one, and one close to your heart.  I can tell you must be passionate about your topic, because your thoughts were flying so fast you didn't even have time for punctuation.  That tiny little dot...its called a period.  It may be small, but makes an enormous impact.  By the time I made it through your first paragraph  sentence, I had already forgotten about what topic you were writing.  The first paragraph of your blog...It needed to be 5 sentences at the very least.  I cannot continue to read your blog when I cannot even understand your "sentence".  When in doubt - diagram!
     Spelling.  Spelling, spelling, spelling.  Such a simple task, yet so damned difficult for so many people.  We all make the occasional mistake; even the most professional of authors will occasionally glance over a typo and leave it uncorrected.  Allow me to introduce to you two of an author's best friends - spell check and proofread.  Most programs will actually underline the misspelled words in red, so you can easily identify and correct any mistakes.  All this time you wondered what that squiggly line was for!  Those not immediately caught can usually be corrected by clicking on the little "spell-check button".  (Someone give that inventor a cookie.  Its the best thing since sliced bread.)  Once that is finished, read through your blog. S-l-o-w-l-y.  As though you have no idea what it says.  Trust me...you will find some pretty glaring mistakes.  Like missing words.  (Again, I'm sure it was because you were so passionate that your little fingers were flying faster than your brain could handle.)
     A dictionary should become your closest, most trusted friend.  It will help you spell.  It will help you to understand what some of those words you used (incorrectly) were.  It will also help you come to the realization that "clataclismic" is not even a word at all.  (By the way, the word is cataclysmic.)
   One of my mottos is "Proper English can make a stupid person look wise, but a poor grasp on the English language can make make even the most intelligent of people look like an idiot."
     Again, I'd love to read your blog.  I'm sure you have a lot to offer!  Unfortunately, your blog is like fingernails on the chalkboard of my brain.  Please, I beg you.  Borrow your child's Basic English Language text book, then get back with me.  Have a lovely day.


Signed,
Literate Bloggers Everywhere

21 comments:

  1. I have good friends on facebook that I have seriously want to delete because every status update is just awful. There's no way I would spend my time looking at that mess if I didn't actually know who they were.

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  2. Oh yes...I know how that goes!

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  3. I also feel the same way too. It drives me crazy with some of my friends. But what I don't understand is every time I write my posts, I have correction lines underneath. What's worse is I'm OCD, I will go back and fix it if I see an error.

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  4. LOVE it!!!!
    I think part of the problem is "texting". Everyone now is doing "short hand" to save time, they have forgotten how to spell!
    Nothing more annoying then spelling mistakes!

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  5. Yes! It really doesn't take that much more effort to write "with" rather than "wit". I understand the reasoning when a person is texting, but when you don't have limits on characters, there is no sense in using that "shorthand".

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  6. Momma Sunshine - I get those lines occasionally on words I KNOW are correct. I make plenty of mistakes, I know, and the perfectionist in me goes crazy! Barb Wire Man pointed out to me a typo in this post...I was quite upset!

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  7. This is seriously my pet peeve too! I think proofreading even more than spell check is key!! :)

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  8. I saw the "am" too but didn't want to mention it,lol. ;)

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  9. Haha Bethany! I found one other, as well. I went back and changed them both! That just proves my point that literacy can shine through, even if there are a couple small mistakes!

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  10. haha! I love it. Though, sometimes I type my blog hurriedly and post without proofing, these types of errors drive mad also!!

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  11. Ha! Ha! Ha!!!

    Too funny!

    I am the Type-O Queen so many of my mistakes are type-o's :-)

    Some days I will go back and look at my blog and think to my self, "What were you thinking!?!".

    OK, I can't read blogs who make multiple posts each day. It drives me insane!

    Have a great day!

    <><

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  12. Thank you Ande! Christie, I agree. I'm hardpressed to get one post up a day, let alone multiple. It gets confusing, too!

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  13. Now I'm all paranoid trying to think if I've proofread my posts. I love spell check and instead of a dictionary I make use of my google search, If I'm not sure how a word is spelled I start typing to see what google sets up for me. If I need to know the meaning of a word or to use a thesaurus there are some pretty awesome ones online.

    My biggest pet peeve lately is when people actually type "I seen" instead of "I saw" shudder

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  14. This is excellent! Completely agree.

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  15. "I seen"...yep. That one makes me cringe as well!

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  16. I'm right there with you! The occasional mistake is one thing but when it's consistent you have to wonder if they're paying attention or care about how they come across. My husband told me one time that reading something out loud is the best way to proofread. He was right!!

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  17. That is hilarious and it is so true! I may not know a lot about grammar and what works and what does not but I know basic punctuation and spell check is amazing lol.

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  18. so true...however I do tend to make some errors in mine I am sure. Lately I have been more pictures less talking so hopefully its not too bad! ha!

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  19. Tee hee!
    Thanks for stopping by my blog and leaving such a nice comment. I hope I passed your bloggers test :)

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  20. RALMBO!!!!! Whew that was funny!

    Hope you aren't talking about me though! I do my best to check my spelling!

    Have a great evening momma! <3

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I enjoy reading every single comment I get, and make every effort to respond to each one...as well as return the favor! I do allow anonymous comments. But, if you use anonymity to hide behind cowardly attacks on my faith or anything else, it will be deleted. Also, if your comment is lewd, vulgar, and full of potty mouth words, I will delete it. Thank you!