Heh, I've used that first quote on my AIM friends multiple times.

The worst part is that commas would solve the entire problem. The first sentence should be "I had to help my uncle, Jack, off a horse".

What problem? Its a joke. And the commas, although they can help clarify, are not in any way needed, and therefore I wouldn't say that the first sentece should be, but rather could be.

The problem is that the original intent of that sentence would indeed be decipherable without capitalization if the necessary commas were added.

But still incorrect, as Jack is a proper name.

But still decipherable.

This topic is so far away from the programming that supposedly brings this community together...

But that isn't the point. The point is that people shouldn't HAVE to decipher your words. If they do, then you have failed. When your teacher corrects a paper you turn in, and takes off points for spelling and grammar, do you argue back that it was still decipherable? Of course you don't, and this is no different. The entire purpose of a formal written language is to provide a unified, 'standard' structure to communicate with. Therefore you shouldn't ignore the rules, as they are there to clarify, as the capitalization example clearly demonstrates. And don't make the mistake of assuming that just because you are online that it is no longer a formal situation, as it most certainly is.

EDIT: It isn't programming that brings a community together, it is communication.

Sorry Kllrnohj, (God I hate trying to remember that user name! Where did you get the idea for it? Maybe it will help me remember.) unfortunately my grammar is to the point were sometimes I do argue whether or not it was decipherable. I know this isn't good, but sadly enough it's true. I agree that everyone should make their best effort when typing online. It should still be formal (Maybe not on Sax, Aim, and things of that sort.) I don't think we should get to the point maybe this thread got to at times if someone was to miss a comma.

I'm sorry if you had to decipher this post. I myself am not the best at grammar. (lol, see some other threads I've posted in, possibly the recent political debate. ) I still tried my hardest to make this post a readable one, and not soil the English language so much.

Sorry if this is considered a necropost. I think it's only been 15 days, so I don't think it's been dead for too long.

edit- Underlined items have been edited to make the post grammatically correct.

Well, to put it simply... we need grammar to keep the English language from becoming like Myspace...

I have been looking for that "article" (actually, its closer to editorial) forever

I realize I am posting on a finished point, but I will make my point anyways.

Although Kllrnohj may seem to just be insulting you and not helping, if you LISTEN to him, you will improve. I agree with him to, your spelling is horrendous... Its better to be told there is a problem than told what a problem is if you have a hope of improving. It was (mainly) because of him that I stopped necroposting (although that would have happened anyways).

Your spelling may be because of the way your type (I am sure many of us have always typed "teh" at one point), but you still need to take the time to read over your posts and ensure that your original meaning is what you meant it to be.

It may seem like Kllrnohj can create a hostile enviroment in the Forum, but if you can't take being called an idiot because you do something like misspelling words habitually, then you need to find a different forum. No matter what you say, you WILL learn faster this way.

That "article" is actually correct on this. A perfect example:

@Groene07: The quickest way to decrease the amount of misspellings you have is to simply use FireFox or Opera, which both have built-in spell checkers (I *think* Opera does anyway - can someone (re)confirm this?)

Grammar nothing can help you with - other than reading what you type before you hit that big, shiny "Submit" button.

@Harq: I know, it is totally awesome . I have to re-find it every time I want it though, but it is pretty easy to do if you know how to google (quote searches FTW!).