Correcting Grammar

That begs the question... wrote:

If that's the case, why did you still post it?

A legitimate question, I'd say.

I suppose I posted it because I thought that the particular individual to whom I was responding would make sense of it.

...And, to be honest, because I had already spent a fair amount of time on it and wasn't interested in spending any more.

picking nits wrote:

...And, to be honest, because I had already spent a fair amount of time on it and wasn't interested in spending any more.

No offense, but considering the source, do you realize just how ironic that statement sounds?

Many of us come to the LetsRun boards for casual, informative conversations about running. Personally, in the past I have written for nationally published magazines, and people have told ME that I'm exceedingly picky with my spelling and grammar. However, I would never dream of closely scrutinizing my own writing in an environment like this one, and I certainly wouldn't be bold enough to attempt to "mentor" another person's writing on the LetsRun message boards.

Why? Because it's a casual environment, so I'm not going to run it past my editor-in-chief before I post, and"because I had already spent a fair amount of time on it and wasn't interested in spending any more." What a concept, huh?

Points taken.

However, please note the title of this thread. Anyone who clicks on this thread knows what s/he's getting into. If memory serves, I rarely or never hijack a *regular* (i.e. running-related) thread with one of my extended rants. I could be wrong about that, however. I'm frequently wrong, about a lot of things.

In any case, thanks for your thoughtful responses. Good night.

Mostly, I've been posting on this for the sake of being ludicrous, but I do appreciate your struggling with it. I had a friend who thought that all use of the subjunctive is pedantic and pretentious in our modern world. While I don't agree with that, I do think that "whom" will drop out of the English language entirely. We don't say "thee" and "thou" any more.

Anyhow, I use the subjunctive with conditional sentences--using were instead of was--in order to distinguish between something that actually did happen in the past with something that could happen.

I'll look over your post again tomorrow a little bit more, but I am pretty much satisfied with where I am were I anywhere significant.

Ta ta

picking nits wrote:

If memory serves, I rarely or never hijack a *regular* (i.e. running-related) thread with one of my extended rants.

Perhaps not. However, it certainly doesn't need to be an "extended rant" in order to be inappropriate. There have been numerous occasions when you have interjected with condescending little one-liners that correct some variety of writing miscue, but add absolutely nothing to the topic at hand. Those are the type of comments that Wejo himself deems unacceptable.

Maybe this is something that you and Spelling and grammer prioritize as a critical task in order to fulfill your own personal "esteem" needs within Maslow's Hierarchy. But the simple fact of the matter is that the vast majority of us either don't care about your little comments, or simply find them annoying (much like Wejo and his moderators).

Yeah, I kind of find Wejo annoying, too. I don't really know about his moderators. Most of the people who take great offense to grammar and/or spelling corrections actually believe that those doing the correcting comment on every mistake they see. Truthfully, they rarely interject, and they let most mistakes pass without comment.

By the way, you don't really need those commas before "but" and "or" because you don't have an independent clause after them. Just take those commas out and you'll be better off.

Also, I hope your response to picking nits in speaking for the "vast majority" has helped you in your "esteem" needs within Maslow's Hierarchy. Sheesh, how condescending...

Really? wrote:

Mostly, I've been posting on this for the sake of being ludicrous...

That's not exactly the best-kept secret on the LetsRun message boards. Essentially, I stopped reading the bulk of your posts after your "gaybo" effort (that was deleted by the moderators) yesterday.

That being said, it's still nice of you to take a break from "pwning noobs" on Xbox Live and visiting with your high school class mates on DyeStat in order to contribute to the LetsRun boards.

Really? wrote:

Most of the people who take great offense to grammar and/or spelling corrections actually believe that those doing the correcting comment on every mistake they see. Truthfully, they rarely interject, and they let most mistakes pass without comment.

Well, that is an entirely different matter! If that's the case, I will refer back to the analogy in my previous post. Your unique brand of philosophy would only make it mandatory to wear a coat & tie in McDonalds periodically. Perhaps one or two days per week would suffice?

Really? wrote:

By the way, you don't really need those commas before "but" and "or" because you don't have an independent clause after them. Just take those commas out and you'll be better off.

Correct statement of the rule, but there should be a comma after "out." "You'll be better off" is an independent clause.

...not that I'm paying attention. ;-)

Yeah, you're right, but I didn't know the moderators got rid of the "gaybo" post. Man, that was sooooo hilarious! And I don't go to McDonald's: fast food sucks.