Please, please, please...use some punctuation, capitalization, and grammar. Please. Politely, I am requesting.

Reasons why using proper grammar will benefit you:
1. You appear more intelligent.
2. You can clearly express your thoughts, ideas, and opinions.
3. People are more likely to read your post.

Some short tutorials (compliments of Wikipedia) regarding some important parts of proper written communication.

Grammar - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_grammar
English grammar is a body of rules specifying how meanings are created in English. There are many accounts of the grammar, which tend to fall into two groups: the descriptivist, which describe the patterns through which meanings are typically created in functional speech and writing; and the prescriptivist, which set out pre-existing rules as to how meanings are created (see prescription and description).

Common mistakes related to grammar - http://hubpages.com/tag/grammar

Capitalization - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capitalization
For any word written in a language whose alphabet has distinct cases (such as the Latin, Greek, or Cyrillic alphabets), capitalization (or capitalisation) is the writing of a word with its first letter as a majuscule (upper case letter) and the remaining letters in minuscules (lower case letters). This is distinct from all caps and small caps, where a word is written entirely in uppercase.

Capitalized words may also be said to be in title case, since traditionally most words in titles of books, films, etc. are capitalized. In Unicode, a few letters have a separate title case form, where the Unicode character for the first letter of a capitalized word differs depending on whether the whole word is in upper case or just the initial letter (see Croatian and polytonic Greek below).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I...tions - some common guidelines for capitalization as it relates to written communication on the internet.

Punctuation - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Punctuation
Punctuation is the act and the effect of punctuating, i.e., using punctuation marks.[1]

Punctuation marks are symbols that correspond to neither phonemes (sounds) of a language nor to lexemes (words and phrases), but which serve to indicate the structure and organization of writing, as well as intonation and pauses to be observed when reading it aloud. See orthography.

The rules of punctuation vary with language, location, register, and time, and are constantly evolving. Certain aspects of punctuation are stylistic, and thus the author's choice. A separate consideration should be reserved to tachygraphic language forms such as those used in chats and telephonic short messages. An English language bibliography may be found at the end of this article.

Paragraph - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paragraph
A paragraph is a self-contained unit of a discourse in a written text dealing with a particular point or idea, or the words of a speaker. The start of a paragraph is indicated by beginning on a new line and ending without running to the next passage. Sometimes the first line is indented, and sometimes it is indented without beginning a new line. At various times the beginning of a paragraph has been indicated by the pilcrow mark:¶.

Spelling - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spelling
Proper spelling is the writing of a word or words with all necessary letters and diacritics present in an accepted, conventional order. It is one of the elements of orthography and a prescriptive element of language. As a means of transcribing the sounds of language into alphabetic letters, spelling, however officially sanctioned, often offers but a rough and inconsistent approximation.

Whereas uniformity in the spelling of words is one of the features of a standard language in modern times, and official languages usually prescribe standard spelling, minority languages and regional languages often lack this trait. Furthermore, it is a relatively recent development in various major languages in national contexts, linked to the compiling of dictionaries, the founding of national academies, and other institutions of language maintenance, including compulsory mass education.

Learning proper spelling by rote is a traditional element of elementary education. In the US, the ubiquity of the phonics method of teaching reading, which emphasizes the importance of "sounding out" spelling in learning to read, also puts a premium on the prescriptive learning of spelling. For these reasons, divergence from standard spelling is often perceived as an index of stupidity, illiteracy, or lower class standing. The intelligence of Dan Quayle, for instance, was repeatedly disparaged for correcting a student's spelling of "potato" as "potatoe" at an elementary school spelling bee in Trenton, New Jersey on June 15, 1992[1]. In fact, "potatoe" is a variant, though long obsolete, historical spelling.

The opposite view was held when spelling began to be standardized, and was voiced by President Andrew Jackson who stated "It's a damn poor mind that can only think of one way to spell a word."

In countries such as the US and UK without official spelling policies, many vestigial and foreign spelling conventions work simultaneously. In countries where there is a national language maintenance policy, such as the Netherlands and Germany, reforms were driven to make spelling a better index of pronunciation. Spelling often evolves for simple reasons of alphabetic thrift, as when "catalogue" becomes "catalog."

Divergent spelling is also a popular advertising technique, used to attract attention or to render a trademark "suggestive" rather than "merely descriptive." The pastry chains Dunkin' Donuts and Krispy Kreme, for example, employ nonstandard spellings. The same technique is also popular among recording artists.

Since traditional language teaching methods emphasize written language over spoken language, a second-language speaker may have a better spelling ability than a native speaker despite having a poorer command of the language.

The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) aims to provide a medium of alphabetic characters to transcribe all sounds in all languages.

A couple notes on the easiest ways to ensure you are spelling correctly...
1. use the (ABC Check) Spell check button just above the text box entry portion of the forum thread post page.
2. Use Firefox 2.0 as your primary browser. It includes a built in active spelling correction tool for any time you are typing on a page hosted within the browser. - http://www.mozilla.com/product...en-US

Please use NICO to Communicate Effectively

BTW, I never knew the paragraph mark was actually a pilcrow mark.

the thread killa

...or .

I'm pretty good with punctuation and anal about spelling. Paragraphs, I'll have to read your link!

THIS LEMON CAR IS SOLD.

Currently the father of a 1993 240SX 'vert with a lot of body work issues. But but the new back window rocks!

Perhaps!

But if people want us old fogies - with bad eyesight and no patience (since the EOL is approaching) - to listen to what they have to say or read what they want to write, then they need to follow basic rules.

Z

Man I'm only 21 and I feel old, lol.

I know exactly what you mean.

Unfortunately those that stand to benefit from this little tutorial, will never have the patience to read it. Most will likely never visit this thread in the first place. Next time think up a clever title to lure them in, like "Jennifer Aniston Nudes."

Is that better?

I think we have a :win:

i think capitalization is completely useless for typing. it might not be a big deal to reach over with my pinkies and hit that "shift" key, but i'd rather not take the split second to do that. those split seconds add up and by the end of a post/email/message, i've probably saved myself a whole 5 seconds!!

in all seriousness, i don't think anyone has a hard time understanding what someone else is trying to communicate if they don't use capitalization. i use propper grammar, sentence structure, punctuation, and spelling (most of the time), etc. i just don't use capitalization. is it really that big of a deal?

on a side note, i never noticed the spellcheck button. that's nice.

Is it a big deal? I think so. Though, I agree it is probably the least important of the items I detailed in the original post.

I believe there are two reasons why capitalization is important...

1. Capitalization is an important factor in denoting additional emphasis or respect to certain words and titles. Primarily, peoples names. On an internet forum where screen names are used more commonly than real names, capitalization is less important when referring to people. But, out of respect, it would still be nice if you used "R" instead "r" at the beginning of my name (Ross) just so that I don't feel as though ross is roughly equal to stool, mushroom, road, or another minor object.

2. Capitalization is a visual indicator of a change within sentence structure. For those of us who have been reading English our whole lives, the period (.) at the end of the sentence is always accompanied by a double tap of the space bar and then a word that has been capitalized. When any part of this equation is missing (period, double space, or capital letter) it becomes less intuitive to determine when you are finishing/starting a thought.

By that justification, why should I take the extra split second to read your post that doesn't have correct capitalization? I type about 105wpm, and I pretty much ALWAYS have proper grammar\spelling\punctuation\capitalization. So the "split second" doens't hold water.

105wpm?!? You type like a madman Chopp!

With out capitalization, your post looks like one big sentence to me. It looks like you half-assed whatever you typed, which apparently, by your own admission, you did. If you argue with someone, and you come across as stupid, it doesn't matter if you're 100% correct. Is that the way it should be? Probably not. But that's how it is.

It's like dressing up to go to a business meeting. Is that tie going to keep you warm? Are your dress shoes going to be as comfortable as a pair of sandals? No. But it says more to someone than you like the way a tie looks. It means you're a person who should be taken seriously. Without capitalization, you sound like a perpubescent teen talking on AIM.

You were saying...

Love,
Jordan

I agree with your post inre capitalization. But, this above "double space after period" rule has changed. It was required in the past, when typewriters used fixed-width characters - the old "Courier font".

But, with the advent of variable-spaced fonts in certain expensive IBM typewriters in the late 70's and 80's, and word processor software in the 90's, this double space rule became optional a decade or more ago. And now, this is also true for fixed-width font usage in writing (i.e., it is optional there too).

Z

Z

Quote, originally posted by M3Racer »

You were saying...

There's a difference between spelling properly, and typos.

Agreed, but it was still funny. Sorta like complaining about "grammer"!

Z

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leet

Not that I encourange using it.

Quote, originally posted by krimsonviper »

hahahahahaha! man, my penis is so gonna be on the internet one day

"I drive a Dodge Stratus! People fear me!"

Barr for President

I liked him on Frasier, but he was boring on Cheers.

Quote, originally posted by nchopp »

By that justification, why should I take the extra split second to read your post that doesn't have correct capitalization? I type about 105wpm, and I pretty much ALWAYS have proper grammar\spelling\punctuation\capitalization. So the "split second" doens't hold water.

my justification was clearly a joke - not to be taken seriously. if you don't take that "split second" to read my post that lacks capitalization, you might miss something funny or miss out on a chance to learn something.

Quote, originally posted by ceningolmo »

Is it a big deal? I think so. Though, I agree it is probably the least important of the items I detailed in the original post. I believe there are two reasons why capitalization is important... 1. Capitalization is an important factor in denoting additional emphasis or respect to certain words and titles. Primarily, peoples names. On an internet forum where screen names are used more commonly than real names, capitalization is less important when referring to people. But, out of respect, it would still be nice if you used "R" instead "r" at the beginning of my name (Ross) just so that I don't feel as though ross is roughly equal to stool, mushroom, road, or another minor object. 2. Capitalization is a visual indicator of a change within sentence structure. For those of us who have been reading English our whole lives, the period (.) at the end of the sentence is always accompanied by a double tap of the space bar and then a word that has been capitalized. When any part of this equation is missing (period, double space, or capital letter) it becomes less intuitive to determine when you are finishing/starting a thought.

well, thanks for at least hearing me out. whether or not i think it's important i guess is irrelevant as i don't make the rules here. i've never had anyone say that they have trouble reading my posts.

Quote, originally posted by M3Racer »

With out capitalization, your post looks like one big sentence to me. It looks like you half-assed whatever you typed, which apparently, by your own admission, you did. If you argue with someone, and you come across as stupid, it doesn't matter if you're 100% correct. Is that the way it should be? Probably not. But that's how it is.

i dissagree. are you telling me someone with a stuttering problem can't win an arugment or someone who can't match his tie with his shirt and his pants can't win an arugment? i think both of those people would come across as "stupid" if you will. that doesn't change the fact that they're right if they indeed are.

Quote, originally posted by M3Racer »

It's like dressing up to go to a business meeting. Is that tie going to keep you warm? Are your dress shoes going to be as comfortable as a pair of sandals? No. But it says more to someone than you like the way a tie looks. It means you're a person who should be taken seriously.

well, i'm not one to judge people by the way they look. i know, i know, i know, people get judged on their appearance, there's no way around that. however, that judgement is usually just a first impression.

the way i type, much like the way i dress, says something about me: i don't care if it's not important. when i have to dress up, let's say for a business meeting or church, i undue the top botton, let me tie sag and untuck my shirt. if i can get away with it, i will. if i can't, i don't. if someone really wants to be a capitalization nazi, i'll change things.

maybe if i told you i was an engineer and HAVE TO RIGHT HAND-SCRIPT LIKE THIS ALL DAY IT WOULD HELP YOU TO UNDERSTAND THAT I LIKE TO type like this to balance things out in my head. call me wierd, or what you will.

Quote, originally posted by M3Racer »

Without capitalization, you sound like a perpubescent teen talking on AIM.

that's obviously your own opinion and probably the first impression that my typing style portrays. but when you read what i type, i'm obviously not. there's no need for name calling.

First impressions are huge. Yes, they can change over time, but first impressions last. People go with what they already know. There's somethign called confirmation bias that everyone has. Whether they know it or not, people will give more weight to events and evidence that support what they already believe.

I'm all for dressing relaxed. I've worn sandals pretty much everyday for the better part of my life. But when I want to make an impression, I dress up. It's both a sign of respect for the person that you're trying to make a good impression on, as well as a sign of self-respect.

You're right. People's opinions should be judged by what they are in and of themselves, not who is expressing them. But this is the real world.

And that wasn't intended as a personal insult, it was to everyone who uses poor grammar, punctuation, and spelling and makes no effort to do otherwise.

That is hilarious! I don't know whether to laugh or shake my head in disgust.

Z

How did he spell his last name?

Z

I expected it to be there, but I didn't expect such a long and detailed explanation.

ETA...2 months maybe? I'm kinda lazy....

ForSale: 1987 Chrysler Conquest TSi
http://forums.nicoclub.com/zerothread/356505

Quote, originally posted by themadscientist »

Websters called. This thread has caused them to recall all dictionaries as suck must now be redefined.

IT WORKED!

yeaa....when I was scrolled through the Gen. Chat all was saw was porn and i clicked into the thread and quickly searched through to find any pics. I was deceived

Grammar, spelling, punctuation, capitalization, and the use of paragraphs makes for more intelligible posts. Please help make NICO both informative and literate.