>As far as english goes, I thought internet communication was supposed to be
>fast & not necessarily pretty. We shouldn't have to worry about spelling
>and word structure. I don't waste time editing my postings & don't really
>want you teacher types pointing out my englesh errors.

Spelling and grammar flames have long been deprecated on Usenet (and thus,
I suppose, the Internet). Part of that comes from a basic assumption that
computer-literate folks can write reasonably well and that many such errors
are simple typos. That assumption's falling apart with the wide access to
the net folks enjoy these days - we aren't all software geeks any more.

On the other hand, there's been an equally long tradition on the net that
you should at least make an attempt to be clear and literate in your
postings, so the "fast and not necessarily pretty" comment isn't really
accurate.

It's more like "try hard, but you're forgiven in advance if you goof".

This doesn't mean you should take the time to iteratively edit your posts
until they're smooth and perfect. It does mean that it's considered good
manners to at least skim your post for typos and fix those you find.

Not that you'll find them all (read my posts if you want plenty of examples!)

It's also true that a lot of folks aren't used to communicating via the
typed word. Some people who can write by hand just fine stumble for a while
when they try to write with a keyboard. As they get more comfortable with
it, they get better at it. Yelling at them as they're learning is just
going to further intimidate folks like this, who are often a little
technophobic to begin with.


- Don Baccus, Portland OR <donb at rational.com>
Nature photos, on-line guides, at (NEW) http://donb.photo.net