# What you are using affects your EMTLIFE image??? (New posters, take note)



## mycrofft (Apr 2, 2012)

I think the proliferation of little teeny texting devices  <_< has led to some of the crummy looking posts and replies here, both due to the physical limitations of the device, and also the sloppy mental shorthand they reinforce which can reappear once a real keyboard and some free time are available.

(I am not going to address the decline of literacy, but feel free to chime in).

Any other opinions? Or more of the same? Not asking for a grammar fest here, but how does poor grammar and excessive slang or inordinately familiar/disrespectful language here make you feel about the poster?


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## bigbaldguy (Apr 2, 2012)

Depends on the post subject and the length of the post itself. If someone rattles off a reply of "+1 u no yur stuf" It's probably just someone on their phone. On the other hand if someone writes a multi paragraph reply and it is chocked full of poor spelling or lots of shorthand I would tend to give it a slightly lower credibility rating than one that was well written. If people feel strongly enough about something to make a long reply they should do it carefully. All that said I've rattled off some very poor responses on here due to a combination of haste,fatigue,fumble thumbs, and simple laziness so I try not to place too much stock in how something it written and try to look at what the post contains info wise. I suppose not judging a book by its cover would be a good way of explaining my views on this.


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## adamjh3 (Apr 2, 2012)

bigbaldguy said:


> I've rattled off some very poor responses on here due to a combination of haste,fatigue,fumble thumbs, and simple laziness



Yup, I have, too. And I've made a complete fool out of myself more often than I'd like.

On the other hand, spelling errors jump out at me, and I tend to focus on those rather than the subject matter. The posters I have the most respect for type rather well. Whether typing well is causative to me learning from you, or it's just some bizarre correlation... who knows?


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## WolfmanHarris (Apr 2, 2012)

I predominantly read the forums via tapa talk on my phone. Certainly this makes typing a long, well crafted reply now difficult, but not impossible. If anything the limitations of mobile posting make it more likely that I won't post unless I truly have something to add to avoid the hassle; either that or I wait until I have a proper keyboard in front of me. 

    We can't lose sight of the fact that mobile browsing is a tool like any other with inherent benefits and limitations. The onus is on the user to recognize them and work within them rather than inflict the results on their audience. 

    I won't delve too deeply into the general decline of literacy, but I do want to touch on the infuriating combination of ignorance and self-righteousness. It is one thing to post with poor grammar, spelling or sentence structure. It is another to react with annoyance or anger when your audience criticizes your post for poor spelling grammar and structure. This is not a journal or an intimate note to a friend, a forum is a public discussion. There should be an expectation that the poster communicate in such a way that they can be understood and that reflects them in a way they wish to be viewed. If your post is all but illegible and full of text talk, don't be surprised if you're treated like a child. You chose the impression we would have of you in the only medium where you're granted such a luxury. 

(sent from my iPhone.)


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## akflightmedic (Apr 2, 2012)

I have zero respect for someone who misspells, uses text type shorthand, and/or poor grammar. It very well could be a brilliant post but I am unable to get past the lack of punctuation, run on sentences, no sentences, no punctuation...it is horrible! 

I feel if I take my time and compose a proper response designed for ease of reading and understanding, the least someone else can do is pay me the same respect and reply in kind. It is disrespectful to not give a response with the same level of care or thought which they did.


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## Aprz (Apr 2, 2012)

bigbaldguy said:


> "+1 u no yur stuf"


Lol wat a dumy he put y b4 u in u no ur stuf


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## Medico (Apr 2, 2012)

I use tapatalk when on the forum, therefore I'm on a phone. This allows me to check the forum during down time. However, I feel obligated to use proper grammar and punctuation. It speaks of your character and education if you can't take the time to make sense, especially when looking for the opinion of others.


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## Aidey (Apr 2, 2012)

I probably use my computer 75% of the time and tapatalk the other 25% of the time. I try to make sure that all of my posts use proper English. There is a higher chance of typos on my phone, but I try and avoid them. I don't think using a mobile device is a legitimate excuse for poor English.


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## adamjh3 (Apr 2, 2012)

Aidey said:


> I probably use my computer 75% of the time and tapatalk the other 25% of the time. I try to make sure that all of my posts use proper English. There is a higher chance of typos on my phone, but I try and avoid them. I don't think using a mobile device is a legitimate excuse for poor English.



I love it when sentence structure is non-existent, there's syntactical errors left and right, words are used inappropriately, and the poster tries to blame it on their phone.


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## firetender (Apr 2, 2012)

I'm supposed to read all the posts.

My attention drifts when I have to translate.

Then I have to sort through all the posts that react to the poor grammarian.

Then I forget what the thread was about.

So I have to start all over again.

Cruel and unusual punishment!


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## Anonymous (Apr 2, 2012)

True, but that applies under a couple of conditions:
1) That all the letters of the word are present in the word - something LOLspeak is notoriously short on
2) That correct punctuation and grammar are present


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## Brad Z (Apr 2, 2012)

Run-on sentences and lack of parenthetical breaks are my pet peeves.  My brain runs out of breath just reading those posts!

It is almost always in conjunction with a request for help of some sort.


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## Martyn (Apr 2, 2012)

When all is said and done, let's face it...EMS is supposedly an educated career whereby we have all undergone formal further education. My opinion is that due to this further education everyone should be able to write and read reports etc to a high standard. Why then is this not reflected in the posts on this and many other forums? I would dearly love to see some of the field reports written by some of those who post that are grammatically challenged. :wacko:


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## hippocratical (Apr 2, 2012)

¿ǝlqıƃıllǝʇuı ǝɹoɯ ʇı ǝʞɐɯ uʍop ǝpısdn ǝuoɥd ʎɯ ƃuıploɥ sǝop


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## bigbaldguy (Apr 2, 2012)

hippocratical said:


> ¿ǝlqıƃıllǝʇuı ǝɹoɯ ʇı ǝʞɐɯ uʍop ǝpısdn ǝuoɥd ʎɯ ƃuıploɥ sǝop



Cool how did you manage to type in Greek?


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## DesertMedic66 (Apr 3, 2012)

I guess I'm the first one on this thread to say I don't have an issue with how people type. Being able to use perfect sentence structor and etc doesn't reflect how much respect I give someone. I have read many doctor's reports that have many errors. 

As long as I can get the information from it I honestly don't care how it is. I know my posts contain alot of errors, so please feel free to point them out. I am not going to take college English classes. 

The simple thing is if you can't read something on this site because you are a grammar nazi then isn't it alot easier to just ignore the post instead of correcting every single little thing? Just my opinion.


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## STXmedic (Apr 3, 2012)

firefite said:


> Being able to use perfect sentence structor and etc doesn't reflect how much respect I give someone.



structure*


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## Anonymous (Apr 3, 2012)

PoeticInjustice said:


> structure*



LMAO :rofl:


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## DesertMedic66 (Apr 3, 2012)

PoeticInjustice said:


> structure*



And exactly what good does correcting one word do?


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## STXmedic (Apr 3, 2012)

firefite said:


> And exactly what good does correcting one word do?



It's the only error I found


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## DesertMedic66 (Apr 3, 2012)

PoeticInjustice said:


> It's the only error I found



Haha. I'm sure there are others. But it's ok because I have alot of excuses (I'm on my iPhone, I just got off a long shift, my thumbs are big) but in reality I'm just not good at spelling, grammar usage, and sentence structure


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## Anjel (Apr 3, 2012)

Regarding the posts that are just one paragraph that go on and on and on. I will not read them.

I get a headache and loose my spot trying to read on my phone. I just ignore those posts, or just read the replies.


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## Tigger (Apr 3, 2012)

I have to be super bored at work to write up a long and somewhat well constructed response using tapatalk. The iPhone keyboard is just not that great and I have to correct 9000 errors before I post it. Nonetheless, I still proofread everything I write no matter what it was written on. Somethings get through of course, but I don't like messy posts. If you're going to to post something you owe it your expected readers to make it easily readable.


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## STXmedic (Apr 3, 2012)

I'm the same as Tigger. I'm on my phone 95% of the time. Yet I still don't post illegible crap. Everything gets proof-read so I know that I'm getting across what I want to say, and that it's in such a way that others can read and comprehend it.* I don't buy the "I'm on my phone" excuse. As others have said, I take time to write out my posts legibly. If you don't share the same courtesy, I typically don't read your post. 

*Sadly, even my "quick" text messages are this way.


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## mycrofft (Apr 3, 2012)

Maybe folks who have to resort to mobile devices don't have the time to carefully post?


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## ffemt8978 (Apr 3, 2012)

mycrofft said:


> Maybe folks who have to resort to mobile devices don't have the time to carefully post?



If so, then maybe they should wait until they have the time.  I don't want to create another forum rule about posting here while driving code 3 in rush hour traffic.  

Sent from my Android Tablet using Tapatalk


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## DrParasite (Apr 3, 2012)

hippocratical said:


> ¿ǝlqıƃıllǝʇuı ǝɹoɯ ʇı ǝʞɐɯ uʍop ǝpısdn ǝuoɥd ʎɯ ƃuıploɥ sǝop


that's awesome!!!!

I almost always check out the forum on my PC, using Google Chrome with it's built in spell checker. I've actually made spelling corrections when I quote people if chrome flags them.

It doesn't catch grammar errors, but I also make an effort to avoid run on sentences and short hand anytime I am not on my phone


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## mycrofft (Apr 3, 2012)

My Mac Mini's MAC OS X (lion I think) has embarrassed me a few times by suggesting spellings which were substantially different than what I was trying to type, which I missed in rereading.
I know, I KNOW, the optimal way to post to any forum is to do it in a word processor first, then cut and paste, but that is a drudge on the spontaneity here and elsewhere. AND the typos.

My posts from my netbook's smaller keyboard have been more harrowing, but editing them before sending still yield's something better than "thumbspeak".


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## Tigger (Apr 3, 2012)

mycrofft said:


> I know, I KNOW, the optimal way to post to any forum is to do it in a word processor first, then cut and paste, but that is a drudge on the spontaneity here and elsewhere. AND the typos.
> 
> My posts from my netbook's smaller keyboard have been more harrowing, but editing them before sending still yield's something better than "thumbspeak".



I care about spelling and grammar, but not to the point that I'd ever use a separate application to ensure its perfection. The firefox spellcheck is good enough, though it often times misses medical or industry specific terms. A quick google can turn up the proper spelling quickly though.


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## akflightmedic (Apr 3, 2012)

firefite said:


> I guess I'm the first one on this thread to say I don't have an issue with how people type. Being able to use perfect sentence structor and etc doesn't reflect how much respect I give someone. I have read many doctor's reports that have many errors.
> 
> As long as I can get the information from it I honestly don't care how it is. I know my posts contain alot of errors, so please feel free to point them out. I am not going to take college English classes.
> 
> The simple thing is if you can't read something on this site because you are a grammar nazi then isn't it alot easier to just ignore the post instead of correcting every single little thing? Just my opinion.



You cannot say "and etc" like you did in the first paragraph as it is redundant. Et cetera literally means 'and others'.

You also use the word many twice in one sentence...a more fluid line would state "I have read several doctor's reports and they contain multiple errors" or something to that effect.

It is a shame that you do not care how information is delivered to you as that is sometimes more important than what is actually delivered. Like it or not, how one speaks and how one writes in order to communicate does define what level of respect they receive and how much credibility is given to their claims.

Additionally, Nazi is a proper name despite it's evil connotations and should be capitalized. 

The word "alot" is not a word.  http://www.grammar-monster.com/easily_confused/alot_a_lot_allot.htm

Finally, after writing what you did, you then got defensive when someone corrected a word of yours....but that person and myself were only following YOUR instructions.  



firefite said:


> so please feel free to point them out.


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## DesertMedic66 (Apr 3, 2012)

akflightmedic said:


> You cannot say "and etc" like you did in the first paragraph as it is redundant. Et cetera literally means 'and others'.
> 
> You also use the word many twice in one sentence...a more fluid line would state "I have read several doctor's reports and they contain multiple errors" or something to that effect.
> 
> ...



You were still able to understand my post with all my errors. 

And I was not getting defensive. I was asking what good does correcting a word or multiple words on an Internet form do?


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## mycrofft (Apr 3, 2012)

Is it "FemiNazi" or "Feminazi"? Let's ask Rush...


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## akflightmedic (Apr 3, 2012)

firefite said:


> You were still able to understand my post with all my errors.
> 
> And I was not getting defensive. I was asking what good does correcting a word or multiple words on an Internet form do?



It educates and peer pressures others to conform and represent our community like the educated professionals we all claim to be yet rarely demonstrate.


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## DesertMedic66 (Apr 3, 2012)

akflightmedic said:


> It educates and peer pressures others to conform and represent our community like the educated professionals we all claim to be yet rarely demonstrate.



Or it doesn't do anything at all.


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## akflightmedic (Apr 3, 2012)

firefite said:


> Or it doesn't do anything at all.



For those who are informed yet choose to remain ignorant...yes, you are correct.


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## WolfmanHarris (Apr 3, 2012)

People are accepting of mistakes in others, provided there's an effort made to correct them. Blissful ignorance and acting like you have the right and privilege to inflict your ignorance on others or that those who refuse to tolerate it are in the wrong is the problem.


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## hippocratical (Apr 3, 2012)

bigbaldguy said:


> Cool how did you manage to type in Greek?



I'm a cunning linguist.

- - - - -

In other news:


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## Aidey (Apr 3, 2012)

hippocratical said:


> I'm a cunning linguist.
> 
> - - - - -
> 
> In other news:




This post is wrong on several levels.


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## mycrofft (Apr 4, 2012)

I seem to remember one new poster opening with something like "Hey, guys and gals" and went on in a real "we're all experts here now, aren't we?" tone. The forum shut him down, and I don't remember if he posted again.


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## ShannahQuilts (Apr 5, 2012)

WolfmanHarris said:


> People are accepting of mistakes in others, provided there's an effort made to correct them. Blissful ignorance and acting like you have the right and privilege to inflict your ignorance on others or that those who refuse to tolerate it are in the wrong is the problem.



I admit I had some trouble parsing this, but I think generally, I agree.  I find it easier to overlook misspellings when it's rare, or when it's NOT in a post about someone else's misspellings.  Having someone correct someone else, while at the same time using horrible grammar or spelling things wrong, really bugs me.

My grammar isn't the greatest, and I have no doubt people can find things that are wrong with what I write.

I do think that caring about how one presents oneself, and making an effort, are important.  People who don't care how their writing comes across make me wonder whether or not they care how their reports are written, or how handoff is done.

Having been in the situation of having a nurse tell a doctor something about me that was absolutely false, even after having discussed it with me at length, this sort of thing concerns me.

I just don't get people who argue that the details aren't important, or that people worry too much about spelling.  If you are suffering from CHF, would you rather have lasik or lasix?


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## Medico (Apr 5, 2012)

Aidey said:


> This post is wrong on several levels.



That is hilarious.


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## hippocratical (Apr 5, 2012)

Aidey said:


> This post is wrong on several levels.



I have an unhealthy knowledge of Memes, a sick mind, and a decade of Photoshop experience. It's a perfect storm ^_^


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## mycrofft (Apr 5, 2012)

*Lasix or Lasik?*

I've seen Xanax and Zantac confused, and Procardia and propanolol (the latter pt died, but was unrelated to the error, per the M.E.).

Maybe we need an new icon with a little clown's head denoting "I'm not being serious here, don't hurt me".


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## Altered Mental Status (Apr 10, 2012)

I'm posting from a smartphone without Tapatalk as I write this. It's a pain in the a--this keyboard skips characters, the phone auto-zooms and doesn't seem to have a setting in between REALLY FAR and REALLY CLOSE. I get frustrated trying to use italics so I sub. caps because the cursor doesn't like to stay where I put it if I try to insert things. I use abbreviations within reason and ones I know we all understand...an amalgamation of standard, pop abbreviations and what we're authorized to put on a PCR.

I still find it important to use a basic level of grammatical form and correctness. If I catch typos, I correct 'em. I'm picky about using "your" as the possessive and "you're" as the contraction of "you are." I detest the improper use of apostrophes: if you're talking about several of something, you don't need to add one!

That said, I'm pretty tolerant of others' mistakes. Not everyone grew up avidly reading and writing as I did and that's okay. I would hope we'd all try to practice our writing here to avoid embarassing errors on our PCRs out there but as long as someone isn't assaulting my sensibilities with "HAY GUISE COULD I GET THE ANSERZ 2 THE REGISTREE QUESCHUNZ 4 BASIC?" I'm pretty much kool with parsing the message myself. I realize that the messenger often has a lot of wisdom to impart, even if he doesn't execute a perfectly formed message.

If somone types the occasional shorthand, that's okay too if it's someone from whom I've come to expect a reasonably well-written point. They may be busy or tired. I consider the source and assume good intent.


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