Lack of recent posting quality.

In my opinion the problem is not the grammar or spelling, but the acronyms that are used, because this is done on purpose. We can´t blame a child for not being able to spell every word correctly, but we can ask them for not writing things like u = you, r = are, bcoz = because, n = and, dat = that, mah = my, iz = is ....... I think this is what Tri wanted to say with "they choose not to speak properly". They certainly know that you don´t write like that, but are still doing it. This is what´s really annoying to me, not the grammar or proper spelling itself.
Sure, most wbo users are kids, but here are also many adult users who are really irritated by posts like that... So a good compromise could be that we do tolerate the spelling to a certain degree but ask them for writing at least words, not only single letters...

I also agree with UGottaCetus that we shouldn´t blame specific members. tonymitchel isn´t the only one posting things like that, so we shouldn´t use him as a scapegoat or even post his PRIVATE messages!
Personally, people abbreviating Meteo L Drago, L Drago Guardian, L Drago Destroy, etc. bothers me more than an occasional "r u alrite".
At last. Geez, took someone long enough.

Kay look. I know it's a child's game, kids don't know, use, or care about grammar. Still, it's a ridiculous problem. Whenever I text, I usually go over it before sending it, correcting, spelling, capitalization, etc. Tedious, yes, but it's just the way it should be. I don't think anyone wants to read the examples kindly provided by some of the younger and sadly, older members on the site. It's a bother to have to decipher the jabber when it's probably not even on topic.

SPAM is short for "Short Pointless Annoying Messages." Their posts are usually short (imagine the horror of a wall of text in that writing), at times pointless to the discussion, annoying to decipher and annoying in content (at times) and they are technically messages. IIRC, the WBO has a rule against SPAM? They may be kids, around 8-14, but I'm just half a year off 14 and I'm keeping a high standard of quality. It just takes effort, geez.

I still remember that joke story some of the more advanced writers here did. It's exactly like that guys. It's something to laugh at and shrug off. If it gets worse, okay sure. Hasbro may want to see good spelling and grammar, but the respect of each individual and when they do use horrible spelling and grammar, they are reminded with respect and care. The whole reason for this thread (IMO) is for those posters to just realize they are doing no good to their reputation, their time, this community and doing no good for anyone.

PMing doesn't always work mind you, since they are 'kids' as you say, they'll just flare up and reply with something just as bad. The internet has made people lazy and given them a tough front. Funny thing is, that laziness in typing is what makes them look well... stupid.

On discrimination, as I said earlier, we're just trying to remind those people who don't care or intentionally post in the most unreadable way.

I'm really glad that this topic is up, put some effort in your posts people. *Ginga* and Ultramarine both make perfect sense. I don't see why just enforcing the neater posting will hurt, if anything, it's a bonus; we get easier posts to read, they get their idea across better, more possible combos could come up, certain problems spring up, they improve writing quality which will help in school. I don't really see why we should hate that someone is bringing this up and complaining.

That aside, those people who keep insisting to post like that usually get a high warning level or become the laughingstock of the community. We don't need to hate, just laugh and get along with it and help.
Somewhat religious (Click to View)
Kai, would we really care about your post if it was like the posts we're complaining about? I don't really think so. You're posting neatly because you KNOW it'll make you more respected in this argument.

On WLPaA (once we get re-booted, if ever) I seriously enforce a decent post quality standard. As one of the Administrators, I did warn a guy for insisting to post in the way we're discussing.

Basically, it's JUST effort and etiquette guys, it's not hard, geez. Ironically, the thread title is not properly capitalized, lol.

*not directing this at any member unless stated*

EDIT: Kai-V, whoops, I'm definitely guilty of that. I can see why you find that annoying.
Wait, so the point of this thread- as it seems to me- is to bring forward the matter of people who-
1. Use good grammar in their posts but don't contribute.
2. Contribute, but don't use correct grammar.
3. Neither contribute, nor use correct grammar.

At first, it may seem annoying. It is, but not something we should have such a long-winded discussion about. Just because most of us know how to communicate in English, doesn't mean that we expect others to know the language the same way as we do.

Starting things off-
As Kai Hiwatari said, this a a kids' spinning tops forum. Children come here to talk about something they like to play with. Its us who go into the technical details of stuff. For them, its just basic spinning top clashing. So first off, don't expect everyone around here to be able to contribute as well as few other members do.
If we get posts which seem immature, it means that we have a new member who's trying to learn- or if not that, is a member for whom Beyblade is just a regular spinning top game (sans the technical details).

Speaking about the other issue raised in this thread (mostly about the use of wrong grammar), I don't think we have any authority to call out on members, or even complain about them not communicating properly. Heck, so what if we learned English at a young age? Others might not have- or even if they did, always remember that the WBO is an international Forum. Not all people here are used to speaking in English- and hence don't have the fluency.
Don't bring age in here. It doesn't affect one's fluency- unless we are referring to extremely young kids.

From personal experience, I'd not deny the problems mentioned in this thread. For having had nearly one-fourth of my posts in the Build Me a Combo thread (where such posts have been a common sight), I'd not rule out the fact that we do receive such posts. But are those really that problematic? If you don't understand what one means to say, ask him/her politely to explain. Or you can simply leave the post alone for a while, and see if there's someone else who's able to help such people. Temporarily overlooking such posts does not count as ignorance. Its in the best interest of everyone on the forum, to be honest.

At the moment though, this thread seems like one in which few of the most active members of the WBO complain about how they face problems coping with "inferior" newbies. I don't know what the objective of this thread is, but it does reflect negative and somewhat elitist tendencies... :\

I do agree that people should put in more effort into their posts. People are used to "Facebook/texting culture", and hence do not manage to understand that this site doesn't quite tolerate it. They should improve. Granted.
But expecting everyone to be a born English-speaker isn't right.

As for Kujikato's post, I agree to the fact that people intentionally posting stuff in wrong English should be warned. But are we really sure that they're intentionally doing it? I personally, do not know a way to be able to determine that. So if I am missing out on something, I apologize.

Getting people to post in a better way would certainly be a bonus. But we've had not-too-fluent members who've done a lot for the site already. Most of us know who they are, so yeah...
The not too fluent members post in broken but neatly typed English.
I thought I had made it clear a page or so ago that I am talking about people that do know English fluently.
I think Jan is saying that we may not know if someone's first language is English, or if they speak it fluently.
IMO it is fairly easy to tell I they know English well enough.
Broken English is not what we're addressing here, correct?
No, I don't think so. Besides, broken English is excusable if it is not their first language.
(Jul. 26, 2013  5:36 PM)Janstarblast Wrote: Don't bring age in here. It doesn't affect one's fluency- unless we are referring to extremely young kids.
Great way of summarizing my post. There is almost nobody who is younger than eight on the WBO. We CAN excuse them if they're eight, yet eleven doesn't warrant special treatment. I thnk rule three of this thread is great if you swap the parts where Sparta speaks about writing to posting.
(Jul. 26, 2013  5:45 PM)*Ginga* Wrote: I thought I had made it clear a page or so ago that I am talking about people that do know English fluently.

Oh really? How exactly do you determine that?

Even if your assumptions about a certain person knowing the language fluently are correct, a simple PM to such members would suffice. Discussing such matters at length in public isn't the most noble thing to do, IMO.

I would like to point out that this user has amazing spelling and grammar, and he is only 8 years old.

Shows that 8 year olds can actually post well and competently.
(Jul. 26, 2013  10:40 PM)*Ginga* Wrote: I would like to point out that this user has amazing spelling and grammar, and he is only 8 years old.

Shows that 8 year olds can actually post well and competently.

Thank you! My cousin had to help me with typing at first, but once I got the hang of things it got easier for me to type more maturely. But, of course without the help of others teaching me how to type on forums, I would have been typing like how Ultramarine mentioned, and started typing much better than before. So, I think as long as people can get guidance from others, then it will be easier for those who don't know how to talk on the WBO properly.

Sorry if I said anything rude, or mean.

Smile
As someone who is very picky about spelling/grammar, here is my opinion: It's tops not English essays, so get over it.

If people don't bother to write well, they receive less respect from others - BubloZX is right about not reading it, it's generally what most people do (and yes, Ultramarine, it is a form of discrimination in the same way that choosing to read a fantasy book instead of a romance novel is discrimination - "I don't like reading this type of book so I will not bother reading this type of book despite people telling me it is a really good book because I probably won't enjoy it based on my dislike of the genre", etc etc - discrimination is a tool, and like all tools, it is only bad when used to bad ends. I really do not understand why you would even think that way, but whatever.)

Generally the way to go with things like this, that is problems you see with the forum and community, is to either do something to help sort it out yourself - write a guide or whatever - or be quiet and keep your moaning to yourself or people who can do something productive about it (politely), rather than creating a whole thread just to whine about it instead of actually doing something about it. We also already have some rules that cover writing in an understandable manner and if you think posts violate them then hey - report button.

Anyway, poor/misleading/incorrect answers in threads like BMAC/AAQGAA and of course the never-ending plague of egotism are much more relevant issues (in that they actually affect people) than petty little things like 'oh no you didn't bother to write well'.

Super-Condensed Version (Click to View)
Perhaps discrimination wasn't the right word to use, but it isn't right for someone to completely disregard another's post and all it contains simply because of spelling errors.
And I believe egotism and incorrect answers etc. we're brought up in the OP, and it is simply the spelling that everyone is talking about.
(Aug. 01, 2013  5:17 PM)Ultramarine Wrote: Perhaps discrimination wasn't the right word to use, but it isn't right for someone to completely disregard another's post and all it contains simply because of spelling errors.
And I believe egotism and incorrect answers etc. we're brought up in the OP, and it is simply the spelling that everyone is talking about.

People can read or not read whatever they choose. Whether or not you think they are right to do so is completely irrelevant - this is a very strong case of "MYOB", especially as this is just something that naturally happens anyway - things that don't seem worth people's time at first glance are generally dismissed.

As for the OP, as it currently stands: (Click to View)
Neither of those things are clearly addressed as issues, no. Theblackdragon touched on issues with the customizations forum on page two but then veered back onto this silly spelling/grammar business - and even then, the customization-related thing he did mention, that is people posting bad combos and asking if they are good, is and always will be an inevitability of the site - people come here with no experience and want to learn, and the natural way a lot of people will do that is by first checking how they've managed by themselves. The issue I have is not people not knowing things, it's people acting like they know things when they don't and misleading others as a result, but that really is not the point of this topic - this topic is about petty little things like bad spelling and grammar and other things that are just going to be inevitable in a community based around children's spinning tops that are really not worth a thread (let alone one that's gone on for four pages at this point).

Anyway, I'd rather not continue to add to the barely-relevant discussions that have managed to push this thread to that length myself, so I'm going to take my own advice and be quiet seeing as I can't do anything productive about this thread being a thing.