My, this is quite an interesting and provocative debate. I can't really take a side here as I think some really good points have been raised.

First of all, we're living in a time of high-speed Internet, text messaging, blogs and Blackberries. So I'm not going to expect everyone to have Strunk & White at their sides. Still, a misspelled word raises my hair sometimes more than nails screeching a blackboard.

On the other hand, preserving the writer's voice is also very important. Let's face it. No one speaks in complete, perfect sentences. I mean, if you're going to attack someone for poor grammar and spelling, you might as well go after Shakespeare, James Joyce, e.e. cummings, and a slew of other writers. But, perhaps that's another topic for another time.

Lastly, and most importantly, I've noticed that some people turn to VegWeb seeking urgent advice or comfort for a range of topics ... baking tips, work conflicts, medical situations, personal trauma, death, emergencies, etc. They do so because there are some very intelligent, compassionate and honest people on this website.

In a situation like this, I think the person needing help would much rather get a quick response with misspelled words, than a delayed response because someone was editing his/her reply, consulting a dictionary to correct a sentence, as Spell Checks don't catch everything such as synonyms.

This thread just spells trouble for me. I'm staying away from it!  :-X

Bye! :)

edit: Oops I forgot to write...this post isn't sexy. ::)

and i dont use punctuation and i run on and on and use alot of dot dot dots (...)

Ellipses, Adam... ellipses...

I know what you guys mean about sending personal messages...but the first post of this thread is what I agree with....people need to start making their posts a little more carefully.  No one means the little typos, tiny grammatical errors, or whatever.  But when the entire post is just filled with errors and theres no punctuation (there isn't just one person that does this, there are a few) I can't read it.  And if I can't read it or understand it, there's a good chance others can't either.
I don't think gotskates is the only offender, so making a general post is a good idea (in my opinion)

And this is just typing...no one's attacking someone else's mommas or anything

And if Tk itty offends you, just insult her back (I hear she's got small boobies, hit her where it hurts) ;)

 I'm largely in agreement with Tkitty although I do think it would have been better not to name names.

 Over the years I have seen this issue come up in many different forums. I've heard a lot of arguments on both sides of the issue, the same points seem to be made again and again. Here's my take on some of the major ones.

 Spelling and grammar are important. The spoken and written word are what reveals the invisible thought. If your words are chaotic and poorly ordered that tends to make your audience conclude that your thoughts are as well. If you want to be taken seriously by people then learn to communicate effectively. Don't expect me to give serious thought to a question you have or a problem you may be experiencing if you can't be bothered to structure your communication in accordance with at least the general rules of the English language.

 I've heard many people say that just because a person can't communicate effectively that doesn't mean they aren't intelligent. I'll concede that to be true in cases of dyslexia or when a person is still learning English. If English is your native tongue and you have achieved anything more than about an eighth grade education, you should be able to write and spell with enough skill to not appear to be only semi-literate. People will judge you by your words. If you write like a moron you will likely be perceived as one. Personally, I will conclude at least that you aren't intelligent enough to know that you sound stupid when you don't bother to write properly. I'll probably also conclude that you are too lazy to make the effort to check your writing.

 If what you have to say is important enough that you are going to post it on a forum then it is important enough to proofread and spellcheck. Period. Especially if you mention frequently that you're in college, including postgraduate programs. You should be able to spell by now. I don't believe the "I was in a hurry so I made a lot of typos" excuse is valid either. Wait and write your post when you have the time to do it properly.

 Here's a pointer that can help you become a better writer. Turn off your television and read books. Serious ones, both fiction and nonfiction. Seeing words in print on a regular basis helps you to recognize when you've spelled something wrong. You also begin to become familiar with things like sentence structure, organization, etc. You can even read books on how to write. They exist. There aren't many television shows about writing though.

 It's never been easier to use a dictionary and thesaurus while writing. They are all over the web. Use them. Even if it's just to check to see which version of their, they're, there to use. Or too, to, two. Or especially it's or its.

 Yes, I'm a curmudgeon. I'll save you looking it up:

 cur·mudg·eon,

 noun a bad-tempered, difficult, cantankerous person.

  a crusty irascible cantankerous old person full of stubborn ideas.

Now 1337 speak, yes.  hehe  Dont make me bust out my 12 years of gamer acronyms on you n00bs!

Oh please do!

I am a very poor speller. If any of you would like to offer inventive solutions to my spelling problem I would very much appreciate it, as i feel I have tried everything to become a better speller. Threads like this make me very nervous because I worry about people thinking I'm unintelligent because of my spelling errors. For the longest time, I believed I was unintelligent because of it. It wasn't until the last few years that realized I was not clinically retarded or something. I'm an avid reader, I always have been. I was sick a lot as a child and could not be physically active like the other kids, so I'd sit on the side lines and read my favorite book, the dictionary. In grade school I never once got a 100 percent on a spelling test although I studied for hours everyday of the week. I have tried many programs to improve my spelling and have noticed only marginal improvements. Its very discouraging. My spelling skills are so poor that I often do not recognize when a word is misspelled (although I will concede that my two most common errors are typographical, "teh" for the and "adn" for and I could avoid those by exercising a bit more caution.) I do make an effort to use the spell check feature when its available on a message board, but even that gets confusing when you have inadvertently spelled a different word, or when your spelling is so poor that the computer doesn't know what you are trying to say and you have to try spelling it 5 different ways before it can recognize it and offer the correct spelling.I have been diagnosed with dyslexia...but it wasn't until I was 17 or so, and by then my confidence had already suffered quite the beating from years of criticisms from my peers and teachers and so forth. My little brother has even worse spelling and reading problems than I have, yet he is definitely one of the post intelligent and compassionate young people I have ever known. He's a total wiz at computers and robotics and even led his academic clubs/teams to state and national victories in Jr high. A person's ability to spell "weird" has nothing to do with their intelligence-- weird was actually hard for me to learn to spell, you see, it doesn't follow the spelling "rules"....

and thats my two cents...I still love you, tkitty! ;)