gem trouble

[Ignatz]

You've got a good point, Dyntheos, but there's something subtle and clever going on here.

The internet is a horrible place full of horrible people: that's right, the feared, repulsive, distasteful everybody. Having an intelligent, informative, grade-A discussion only happens in a regulated community like the Lounge. And that's only because those who wouldn't add much to the discussion are shouldered out. So you've got a choice (or rather, Bolty has a choice): you either accept everybody, and therefore put up with inanity, ignorance, laziness and poor communication skills -- or you encourage an atmosphere that doesn't tolerate much of that, and end up with a smaller, slightly elitist community that has terrific conversations. It is a damned-if-you-do/don't situation. But there are plenty of places to go and swap words with the unclean masses, but few that produce great discussion.

Personally, I see poor grammar and punctuation as a common symptom of unwashed-ness (so long as the speaker is fluent in English). It shows, specifically, that you don't care enough about the community, or even your own topic, to communicate effectively. That lack of respect means we're probably better off listening to somebody who does take the time to get it right.

So it's basically a sort of verbal profiling. It sounds unfair, but remember that it's the only thing keeping this community head-and-shoulders above the rest.

The bottom line is this: If you want to be treated well, show effort in your posts. That's it.