Why do forums make people talk smart?

Hedge said:
Maybe its just the way the words are used that gets to me. I read lots of stuff where people correct each other for no reason other than to make the person look stupid.

I guess that was what annoys me, not the use of good words in general.

:)
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Could be, although it seems most people correct others (and occasionally start threads about it) because so many basic words are used wrongly and it winds them up. They're/there/their probably being the most common one.
 
Treefrog said:
Could be, although it seems most people correct others (and occasionally start threads about it) because so many basic words are used wrongly and it winds them up. They're/there/their probably being the most common one.
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I never did get why that winds people up so much. Are they on a crusade to make everyone better? Maybe if they get enough people to get wound up about it, it will stop :p
 
cyborg said:
I never did get why that winds people up so much. Are they on a crusade to make everyone better? Maybe if they get enough people to get wound up about it, it will stop :p
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I can't speak for anyone else but for me, I'll be reading along and taking the meaning of the word as it's spelled, then I suddenly have to stop and reread the sentence because it has stopped making sense and then figure out what (I think) they're trying to say.

With correcting people, I suppose the correcters believe that people would rather get better than get worse.
 
50/50 said:
I actually do type the way I speak in "real life", although I also get annoyed by the wanna be interlects. If you were that clever you wouldnt be spending your life chatting on this forum
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LOL

BTW, what would they be doing if they weren't on here. Is this a place for thickos not intellectuals?
 
Gilly said:
Seems to me its your own lack of vocabulary that annoys you, and there's a very easy answer to that :)
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Sounds like you've got it there Gilly.

I happen to have quite an extensive vocabulary (larger than many, I like to think) and I prefer to use it to express myself more fully. There are occasions when a commonly used word would suffice but in the context of the post, a less common word may express my view better. If people don't understand or recognise any words I use, the onus is on them to find the meaning of those words, rather than being on me to "dumb down" so that everyone can understand.

Stan :)
 
Treefrog said:
Could be, although it seems most people correct others (and occasionally start threads about it) because so many basic words are used wrongly and it winds them up. They're/there/their probably being the most common one.
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The they're/there/their thing is irritating because pretty much everyone knows the difference between 'know/no' or 'by/bye/buy' and don't mix them up, so why is there/their/they're such a struggle for them to comprehend?
 
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Hedge said:
On this forum a lot of the time i see people using words they wouldnt normally use in normal conversation. They use these words to give them some sort of sense of superiority (ooh, thats a word i dont use in the pub).

"Condescending" has been the top word on the forum for weeks now.

and people dont just talk to eachother they "address" one another.

I notice certain people doing this a lot and to me it makes them seem like unsavoury toffee nosed gimps. If my mates in the pub started pulling fancy words i would just laugh at them.

Do all people on the net feel its necessary to eat a dictionary for breakfast then start spewing up fancy words allover the place?
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You think that "condescending", "address" and "superiority" are big words and you do not use them in daily speech?

How do you communicate at work? Shouting cockney on top of your lungs :confused:

larger than many, I like to think
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Oh please :rolleyes:
 
Hedge said:
On this forum a lot of the time i see people using words they wouldnt normally use in normal conversation. They use these words to give them some sort of sense of superiority (ooh, thats a word i dont use in the pub).

"Condescending" has been the top word on the forum for weeks now.

and people dont just talk to eachother they "address" one another.

I notice certain people doing this a lot and to me it makes them seem like unsavoury toffee nosed gimps. If my mates in the pub started pulling fancy words i would just laugh at them.

Do all people on the net feel its necessary to eat a dictionary for breakfast then start spewing up fancy words allover the place?
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I talk exactly the same on here as I do in real speech.
 
Ex-RoNiN said:
You think that "condescending", "address" and "superiority" are big words and you do not use them in daily speech?
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Indeed, I worry about people who think that those are "fancy" words :(
 
I have also noticed sesquipedalian tendencies in some posts though not noticably from our antipodean friend ;)













Didn't ya just know it was gonna turn out like this ? :p :D
 
starscream said:
Internet forums are an archetypal example of dialog perhaps born more from a construction of social contraposition of discourse, rather than a quintessentially more veracious representation of more traditional colloquial vernacular.
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I think Hedge was commenting on posts such as yours where the author obfuscates with lavish and prodigal language.

Ofcourse your post may just be an example of repartee, although I'm assuming it took you some time compose :p
 
I thought one had to be ox-bridge educated to join this cummune? :p

Actually, i do think part of it is because we are a bunch of (somewhat) intelligent people who are well educated. And secondly, it is forbidden to use text speak on this forum, and you will get better replies if you speak clearly and precisiely.
 
cleanbluesky said:
Wow, this thread MAKE people talk smart
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No real surprise there though, is it? A certain amount of perverse delight always appears to be taken by some people who immediate post in the manner that the original poster complains of e.g. someone bemoans text-speak and of the first 10 responses you can all but guarantee that half will be composed entirely of 3 letter 'words'.

Although the original question has been answered many times and in various ways my own personal take on the situation is that my manner on the forums is broadly speaking the same as my usual manner of speech. I can take time to compose a post and attempt to make sure that I have used the correct vocabulary to minimise any potential confusion but any language I use on the forums would also be used in everyday conversations(depending on the context of course and with liberal doses of swearing no doubt ;)). This means that sometimes I will use a wide variety of 'big' words and other times the post will be as simple as this one.
 
semi-pro waster said:
... but any language I use on the forums would also be used in everyday conversations(depending on the context of course and with liberal doses of swearing no doubt ;)).
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Actually I should have said that I talk exactly on the forums as I do in real life... except I swear a lot less on here :o ;)


Yes I know swearing isn't big or clever
 
I think am an exception. i type the way i talk. If that makes whoever am debating or trying to get a point across to thinks they are superior....then so be it. :)
 
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