Why do people use ; instead of '

[Irish_Tom]

Why do people use ; instead of ' ?

*Dons Grammar Nazi uniform*

This is something I've noticed recently on OCUK, quite a few people use a semicolon instead of an apostrophe.

For instance: Don;t instead of Don't.

Is it simply because they type too fast and the ; key is next to the ' key or do they actually think that they are being grammatically correct?

If it's the former then I can't understand it because if I make a mistake like that I correct it before pressing 'submit' (or go back an edit it). If it's the latter then I'd like to know where people are learning this 'rule' because it's totally wrong.

*Hangs up Grammar Nazi uniform*

 

[Irish_Tom]

I hate it when people use later instead of latter.

Damn it! I was so careful to not get caught out during a grammar rant and I failed.

For those of you saying "it's just an internet forum not an english essay" it shouldn't matter. Spelling, punctuation and grammar are rules used to help articulate oneself. If you deviate from the rules, all you're doing is confusing what you're trying to express.

Oh and another thing, how is it 'too much effort' to go back and fix mistakes. Surely you can't be that lazy?

 

[Irish_Tom]

Simply because they are next to each other on a qwerty keyboard, and only a very specific sub-type of human being proof-reads forum posts before posting.

/thread

I think I've already proved that I don't 100% proof-read my posts. However, forgetting a punctuation mark is one thing but including an incorrect mark is something else all together. You've gone to the effort of typing it, you see that it's wrong but then you just leave it? It just doesn't make sense to me.

Why have you asked a question without a "?" at the end?

Fixed, thank you.