I'm beginning to wonder...


Alright, so I have read previous threads about misspellings and poor grammar in Audiogon posts, and I have even joked about it myself in one thread a long time ago. In fact, while I was poking fun at a misspelled word in the thread, I misspelled one myself and was called out for it!
What I am beginning to wonder about is what percentage of Audiogon members speak (or write) english as a first language. Almost every day, there is a classified or a post that is nearly unreadable. The strange thing is that the post will be answered by several readers with no mention of the poor writing. It is so common, that I am wondering what pecentage of regular members are living in the USA. Does anyone have an idea?
roxy54

Showing 1 response by brownsfan

Roxie, the answer to your question is 73.89%.
Now, to address some of the comments in the slowly drifting subject matter---
In 1980, my world was confined to a small fraction of the Midwest, apart from occasional attempts at deciphering Chemiche Berichte or Monatshefte fur Chemie. These days, it is rare that an hour goes by that I don't talk to or correspond in writing to someone whose native language is German, Mandarin, or French. It is not hard for me to give them a pass on idiomatic mistakes. I am somewhat less forgiving of native English speakers for their idiotic mistakes.
When I correspond with ESL communicators, It is almost universally true that their English is better than my German, and I wouldn’t even attempt any other language.
I get sloppy sometimes with my AG posts. this typically happens at 6AM when I can’t find my reading glasses and I am still half asleep. That doesn’t mean I am an idiot. Sometimes, quick and dirty is good enough. However, in general, if one wants to be taken seriously, one should take a little care in proofing one’s post. Deep insight can in fact be obscured by poor communication.
Roxy is right. There are questions asked that are so poorly articulated that I just don’t take the time required to decipher them.