Why do some people take the internet SO SERIOUS?
Got IBTL.
(Not this thread, the referenced one.) 
Really though, except for "Ebay" and "off" being improperly split, I thought it was perfectly fine grammer. I mean, true 12th grade reading level material is hard to read - almost everything we read even at the professional level like the NYT is somewhere between 5th and 8th grade level. Whenever I had to deal with 12th+ level material in college and such, it would take me a good bit of time to wrap my mind around it and be able to make sense of it all. Doesn't make it bad English though, and doesn't mean that re-writing it at the 6th grade level makes it better. This was a complex statement with several modifyers on various words and, yeah, it wasn't the easiest to understand. But I don't think re-writing it at a lower level is the solution.
YMMV.

Really though, except for "Ebay" and "off" being improperly split, I thought it was perfectly fine grammer. I mean, true 12th grade reading level material is hard to read - almost everything we read even at the professional level like the NYT is somewhere between 5th and 8th grade level. Whenever I had to deal with 12th+ level material in college and such, it would take me a good bit of time to wrap my mind around it and be able to make sense of it all. Doesn't make it bad English though, and doesn't mean that re-writing it at the 6th grade level makes it better. This was a complex statement with several modifyers on various words and, yeah, it wasn't the easiest to understand. But I don't think re-writing it at a lower level is the solution.
YMMV.
Originally Posted by skibum,Sep 23 2008, 11:57 AM
Originally Posted by mxt_77,Sep 23 2008, 01:45 PM
That's cool. I'm sure you weren't the only one that was able to read it on the first pass. However, I'm sure there was also more than one person that had to read it twice to understand what he was trying to say. It could've been worded more clearly, is all I'm saying. I didn't deem it ridiculous enough to comment on it (originally), but I can understand the point that Martha was trying to make.
And, congratulations for having access to the internet for more than 6 months. You rock. But I'm certain that has nothing to do with the topic at hand, given the fact that we're talking about basic rules of written communication which has been around for thousands of years and is not limited to the confines of the internet.
And, congratulations for having access to the internet for more than 6 months. You rock. But I'm certain that has nothing to do with the topic at hand, given the fact that we're talking about basic rules of written communication which has been around for thousands of years and is not limited to the confines of the internet.
second, the reason i mentioned having had the internet for a while is because it shouldn't be that hard for someone familiar with the internet/ebay to realize that he was using ebay as a verb. yeah, he could have worded it more clearly, but it wasn't a big enough goof to turn into the big deal that it did.
I thought the original complaint was about lack of punctualization, not the use of "Ebay" as a verb.
As for the title of this thread - maybe he's an Apple employee. "Think Different(ly)."
As for the title of this thread - maybe he's an Apple employee. "Think Different(ly)."
Originally Posted by HonCBRf2,Sep 23 2008, 12:43 PM
some people get their kicks by telling others how much their grammar/punctuation sucks and to let everyone know how prudent and proper they really are.




on both accounts.
