I come back to the Audyssey list after a few days, and we're flooded with
messages which appear to have been spawned as a result of a few of you
getting your shorts in a twist over typos. Seriously people? And you want
to
put proper grammar in the guidelines? Tongue in cheek note: one of the
biggest proponents of doing so is a staunch conservative! You should be
arguing for less moderation, not more.
So look. First and foremost, typos, bad spelling, and bad grammar are not
endemic to blind people. Examples, even websites, abound of typos made by
the Average Joe on a daily basis. I checked. I don't think I need tell
you--though I'm going to anyway because I like the view from my high
horse--that since blind people make up one third of one percent of this
country, there's a 99.7% chance those typos were made by the sighted. In
fact, just as I finished typing the previous sentence, this came across my
Twitter feed:
"Username posted I do believe the customer service rep at my bank meant I
need to add a recipient on my account, not a reciprocant."
Case, meet point. You guys should go grab a cup of coffee or something.
Get
to know each other.
So why are we getting so thoroughly riled up about this business of hard
to
understand posts? It seems to me that one of the following methods should
solve your problem nicely.
1. Delete posts from people you can't stand to read.
I'm going to come right out and say that there are about six people on
this
who I flatly refuse to read posts from, either because they're posts are
downright hard to read or because they contribute nothing to any
discussion.* You should try it. You'd be amazed how much time and
frustration you'll save yourself.
*The first clause of that paragraph's first sentence contained a hanging
preposition. Sorry about that, but I'm too lazy to fix it. Please don't
start a new thread over it.
2. Take your frustration off list.
If you're tired of poorly-composed emails and you want something done
about
it, try approaching the offender off list with an offer of help.
Publically
blasting them for their shortcomings just makes you look petty. Which
leads
me to point 3.
3. GET OVER IT!
This is my favorite method of dealing with the problem, and you wouldn't
believe how much it has cut down on the stress in my life. There are
things
in life that are worth getting worked up over, and there are things that
are
not. Having a bird flap down to the rock you're chained to and eating your
liver every day should piss you off. Reading poorly-written emails should
not.
I'm going to pick on Dark for a minute because I respect the guy, I know
he
can take it, and because he has said himself that he has a lax attitude
toward spelling in informal communication. His lack of properly-doubled
letters used to piss me off to no end, and I would get thoroughly angry
when
I read his posts. At some point, though, I realized that, in spite of the
occasional hiccups he gave my speech synthesizer, his writings contained a
great deal of well-reasoned, intelligent material and were worth reading,
warts and all.
Are proper spelling and grammar important? Absolutely--on tests, job
applications, cover letters, grant requests, and any number of other
professional documents. But this list is not a professional document; it's
a
hobby.* Treat it as such. Enjoy it. Have fun with it. Don't use it as a
place to vent your frustrations on blind people with poor literacy skills.
*except for those of you who write 30 posts a day. For you, it's a way of
life.
When Jeremy Hartley started the " Blind Gamers Being Taken Seriously?"
thread, he dispensed some excellent advice about working with the sighted
public, specifically mainstream developers. Since then, the thread has
been
high jacked by people who insist on turning the blind gamers list into
grammar school. If those of you who are guilty of this really want to help
fix the situation, see method 2 above and keep your criticisms off the
list.
And if you still can't get over it, go shoot a zombie in the face. It will
be much more productive, and it will save the rest of us the clutter.
Now if you'll pardon me, I'm getting saddle sores.
Ryan
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