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hizgeorgiapeach -> RE: Judging Based On Grammar Capabilities (12/31/2008 5:29:23 PM)
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I've seen the topic come up a multitude of times. I've been asked on more than one occassion why I tend to be a bit Anal regarding my insistance on having good written communication skills - grammer, spelling, punctuation, etc. - if someone is going to contact me via email. I've been asked that frequently enough, in fact, that I finally wrote a public journal entry regarding my reasons for said anal attitude - I'm reposting that journal entry here.
quote:
Someone inquired recently as to the reasons for my seeming bit of analness (is that even a word?) concerning the use of good grammer, spelling, and punctuation whilst writing. To enlighten the masses (though I have my doubts as to whether they'll actually read this, or pay heed to it if they do) I've decided to answer said question.
In my past, I have been plagued with the attentions of men who lacked good writing skills. A lack which I overlooked and ignored with the thought that I was perhaps being unfair to them, or there must be Some good reason why the lack existed. There was a good reason - it indicated a lack of sufficient intelligence on their part to keep up with me mentally.
Those attempted relationships subsequently failed for various reasons, most of which can be traced back to the inequity of our respective Ability to learn, and to retain comprehension of what we learned. This, in turn, taught me that it is unwise for me to attempt to form any sort of serious relationship with someone who lacks the ability to easily and quickly demonstrate to me that his level of intelligence is similar to my own.
I grew to view the ability to communicate effectively in this medium as an indication of potential suitability. I reasoned that someone who Actively Chooses to use the written word as a form of self introduction, networking, screening for potential mates, and hence communication, yet is incapable of actually Using said medium to the commonly accepted scholastic standards, in all likelihood there is one of four causes:
- The person lacks sufficient intelligence to learn - in which case I have no use for them. Pity perhaps, but little use.
- The person is to lazy to learn - in which case I have even less use, and utterly no sympathy, for them. Lazy people tend to deny personal responcibility, which is something that I simply will not tolerate in another.
- The person is so bound by their own ego they fail to realize that they need honest improvement in such a simple area - in which case I not only have no use for them, but seriously feel they need to see a shrink to address their issues with narcicism.
- English (the written language of my native tongue) is not their first language - in which case we probably have to little in common to sustain more than a passing aquaintance, and would be unable to communicate effectively outside the written word as well.
Since I wrote that explanation, I've been accused by a couple of folks (most of whom couldn't spell or use correct grammer or punctuation during their tirade) of being pretensious (I'm not), of being elitist (only sometimes), of being arrogant (check the thesaurus - that's the same as saying pretensious), and gods forbid my fingers got ahead of my brain and I happened to have a typo that got missed during edit review - of being a hypocrit (I'm not - I hold myself to the same grammatical standards that I hold anyone and everyone else.)
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