On 2016-04-15 21:48:45 Veronica Franco said:
Who fucking knows why! Let me know why when you figure it out!

Because we are human. That's what we do.

If only man was as loyal as a dog.

Ok, that came out wrong.

On 2016-04-15 22:47:03 Black Sparrow said:
On 2016-04-15 21:48:45 Veronica Franco said: Who fucking knows why! Let me know why when you figure it out!

Because we are human. That's what we do.

If only man was as loyal as a dog.

Ok, that came out wrong.

"If only man was as loyal as a dog."

He'd be licking his own balls and sniffing his mates arses all day long.

Along with it's beauty comes the complexity of the English language

On 2016-04-15 23:07:11 Indian Courtesan Lalita said:
On 2016-04-15 22:47:03 Black Sparrow said: On 2016-04-15 21:48:45 Veronica Franco said: Who fucking knows why! Let me know why when you figure it out!

Because we are human. That's what we do.

If only man was as loyal as a dog.

Ok, that came out wrong.

"If only man was as loyal as a dog."

He'd be licking his own balls and sniffing his mates arses all day long.

Hahaha! Good one, Lalita.

I've decided to post on this thread after, for the umpteenth time, I’ve read a post in which one forum participant was “corrected” or “questioned” about his or her choice of a particular grammatical approach.

At his point, I’d like to quote the first rule of the ESA forum, namely, “Rule #1 of the ESA Forum can be summarised in one word: Respect.”

Next, I’d like to ask whether or not taking another forum participant to task because of an apparent incorrect use of grammar, or a spelling error, does not, perhaps, amount to the display of a lack of respect for that participant?

Is the ESA forum a social media platform where we, like-minded adults, can interact, sometimes frivolously and light-heartedly, in the practice of a form of recreation? Alternatively, is it a satellite facility of the English department of an arts faculty of a university? If it is the latter, and our forum posts are assignments we present for assessment, then, absolutely, by all means, take us to task when our spelling and grammar falls short of being absolutely perfect.

I also don’t agree that we should accept admonishment, for errant spelling or incorrect grammar, graciously. The forum is a public place and an act of admonishment on it, actually constitutes public ridicule and causes the recipient thereof to, amongst other things, feel terribly self-conscious. Now, I’m not suggesting that it is always the intention of the “admonisher” to belittle the “transgressor”. However, the act of admonishment is, most often, perceived to be exactly that, belittlement.

Furthermore, admonishment often results in the substance of the post in question being lost. For example, on Erin’s “Men on ESA” thread, her intention was to welcome men into the ESA fold, as service providers and encourage more to enter the fold in this capacity. When she was “rapped on the knuckles”, albeit that the intention to do this may not have been malicious, the thread was actually derailed. Digressing slightly at this point, I could not, for the life of me, identify Erin’s grammatical faux pas. I read her posts again a few times and, as far as I’m concerned, they conveyed what they were intended to, rather eloquently. I’ve also had the pleasure of chatting to her a few times, at length, and her English is, as far as I’m concerned, impeccable. She’s also an absolute lady.

Moving on, I’d also like to touch on another element of this issue, by providing a small extract from a recent discussion, with some fellow ESA punters, in which I was a participant. The topic of conversation was this very one. None of those punters post as frequently as I do and the reason for this, they said, was the risk that they’d be publicly ridiculed for any error, or perceived error, grammatical or otherwise, that they would, perhaps inadvertently, make themselves guilty of. Do we really want to discourage broader participation on the forum? Surely not. I’d actually love to hear from more ESA members. It is also their right to participate.

In closing, I respectfully ask that we refrain from the aforementioned act of admonishment. Instead, start a completely new thread on the beauty of the English language. Yes, I know that some posts are totally unintelligible. I also hate the use of undefined abbreviations and acronyms. Nevertheless, let’s always remember, as has been mentioned by several posters, that English is not everyone’s mother tongue. Let’s consider also, how we would feel, before we post, if we were to be publicly admonished for making a grammatical or spelling error, in a social setting where the language in use, was not one we were fluent in.

@Mr Bond,Well said my friend.

@mrbond your sentiments are shared on this one. A few posts on certain threads come across as bullying with a degree of pack mentality. Something which I hate.

I lived in South America for a few years, and learning and understanding another language is extremely difficult. I take my hat off to anyone who can write and speak in another language and would never belittle anyone who attempts to do so.

Having said that though, this short form of writing in English, or text English, really grates me. Particularly when written by someone who's nother tongue is English.

Enjoyed your post, thanks