Answerbag has become a place for fun and wouldn't be if we all became censors. It makes little difference to the site if people have spelling errors. Also, one man's trash is another man's treasure, which is to say what you may think of nonsense, another will think it witty, or cute, or funny, etc. And without the fun, AB would be a very dry place indeed. So.... to answer, no, I do not agree. --- +pts for your question --- *SMILES*

It's annoying, but I meet many people in my professional life who also cannot spell correctly, or use proper grammar. "No child left behind" has led to all of them being left behind. I tease them about it at work in an attempt to get them to care enough to work on it, but laziness abounds. I probably sound like their parents. I try to just enjoy the fun questions, and let the CL's decide what's nonsense.

i consider myself pretty smart, but I'm not a good speller, I'm better at math more scientific things. I've always hated spelling.

Orrrrr, a spell-check option.

-Nonsense questions should not be rewarded with intelligent answers, or the nonsense will continue. Agree or disagree? - I disagree. If you really perceive some people as unintelligent, then how will this nonsense ever stop continuing if there's nobody with intelligent answers to try and teach them? Knowledge should be shared with everyone, and I don't really believe that people will ''never learn''. That saying is only said in order to disapprove of a way someone uses what they HAVE learned. Assuming that nobody can ever learn and dismissing them any chances of this on the conviction that you know how human intelligence works is a lack of intelligence in itself. Agreed, a lot of them are just being stupid or insulting, but it's not because they don't reply to you or keep being stupid that they don't actually think about what you said. And again, maybe there are a lot of lost causes, but if you preach to a thousand and only one follows, then it's a victory and accomplishment anyway. And it's not because someone has bad spelling or grammar that they don't have anything worthwhile or intelligent to say, at all. The nonsense questions add variety, and as long as there's no hostile intent behind them, then I don't really see the problem. Some people might just come here for fun, not everyone is serious all the time. And finally, having to wait every time you ask a question for it to be verified and validated would suck, this place wouldn't be as fun.

dull dull dull

Alot of grammar errors use to bug me (mainly at the high school) i just kinda sluff it off or correct them depending on my mood. Even i make spelling mistakes and my best scores are english, reading and grammar.

There is nothing in the rules that says questions have to be spelled correctly. The criteria for 'nonsense' is apparently on a very low bar. I used to wonder about that myself, but most of the users seem to enjoy them. Nonsense seems to be very popular, so I say let it be.

Has it occurred to you that not everyone on Answerbag is from an English speaking country and therefore English may not be thier first language? Furthermore, not everyone has the gift of writing skills. My approach is, if I think the question is in good faith, no matter how badly it's written, I will answer. If I think it is a question posted just for the heck of it, in silly text talk or badly written on purpose (it happens), I just ignore it and move on.

If someone does his or her best to use proper spelling and grammar, I do not take offense and answer the question if I desire. They also might not be native English speakers. If they use textspeak, leet, or misspellings to be cOoL, I find it annoying in the extreme and usually refuse to answer. Occasionally I do answer the CoOl crowd and smart off but usually I just move on and forget them. We cannot all have perfect spelling and grammar. For instance, you forgot the apostrophe in "can't" and it should be "lives" not "life". ;)

I disagree....

This is two questions in one. MANY of us tolerate bad spelling and grammar because we KNOW that AB (as is the internet) worldwide, and not everyone speaks English well... Heck, for some it's not their first language, and some of THEM are still learning. There are also ALL ages asking questions on AB, from 12 to over 60, from my observations. If you remember YOUR spelling and grammer when YOU were 12yo, you will understand. Text-speak stopped bothering me too much when I realized that SOME people are using cell phones and other hand-held devices. As for nonsense questions, most of them are fun. They provide a way to "lighten up" after answering several serious relationship or educational questions. Also, as far as "nonsense questions go, isn't this question ( http://www.answerbag.com/q_view/651522 ) really "nonsense", or are you taking a survey?

Just because a person can't spell, they shouldn't be banned from here. Everyone has the right to ask a question or give advice. This is what makes AB the best. If they can at least get in the ballpark, to where we can understand them, I will be happy.......

Many people on this boring planet just don't care about standards anymore and correct use of language is one area where standards have been allowed to decline markedly in recent years, but which is not limited to anonymous sites like these as I have seen professional people, TV and newspapers etc., displaying similar levels of shoddy care. For those whom English is not their first language etc., the Answerbag system gives them assistance as spelling errors are underlined in red when they are typing their question, answer or comments, so they could make the effort if they wanted to. But because many people are easily accommodated with their poor/incorrect use of language, they see no point in changing what they do. I do believe some sort of standard should be set but in this and other aspects, the owner of the site don't care that much so I doubt we will see any changes.

Disagree. Some people aren't good with spelling, some are just young, some do not have English as thier native language. There can be many reasons for the bad spelling or wording. So that really can't decifer what is a good or bad question. Besides others may learn from the answer even if it was just a nonsense question to begin with.

i have to disagree...not everyone spells with the same ability...i do agree some questions are not very well written, if i cant determine the intent i might respond by asking what they meant or ignore it...some of the nonsense questions i pose are strictly done with the intent of finding a certain kind of thinker...

Not everyone here is from an English speaking country. Not everyone who visits here knows how to write correctly, but they may still have a great need for answers. If the question is understandable and not full of texting gibberish, but an honest attempt to ask something, I will answer it and I don't see how I am violating any rule here. IT isn't school. We don't need our work looked over by the grownups and red marker applied telling us we need to try again and correct our grammar and spelling.

I disagree. I admit that poor spelling and grammar bother me sometimes. However, a lot of people on AB don't speak English as their first language. And, I know I'm a fairly good speller, but I'm not the best at typing...so, with me it's not inability to spell, it's inability to type well. I do find "text-speak" and spelling funny "2 B Kul" a bit annoying sometimes, but that's usually younger folks....I chalk that up to age. And, how is it you can complain about poor grammar and spelling, when your question has poor grammar and improper punctuation?

I disagree, everyone has the right to be treated the same here. Even if they don't possess the same grasp of the English language and grammar. As many users have stated, not all users here are native English speakers. If it bothers you that much then you can ignore those questions and those of us that choose to do so can answer those questions.

You can't punish someone for the failure of their teachers (or the system, if you will)! Everyone! Young, old, beautiful, ugly, short, tall, smart, dumb, blonde, brunette, local, foreigner, intelligent, stupid, kind, rude, etc. should be free to express themselves in AB; and those of us who might have been fortunate enough to learn to spell, or who might just happen to be beautiful (such as myself, ahem!) should have the mental capacity to be tolerant and respectful of everyone else.

the comments on 'internet speak' or 'cellphone speak' are interesting, these are shorthand languages, my girlfriend and i had a discussion about this, it depends on your audience, if you want to convey a thought to a cross section of people that is one thing, if you desire an audience of your peers, that is another...it could also be that we are observing a significant change in our language, only time will tell about that... spelling, grammar and usage are another matter, is your thought received in the way you intended? the understanding of the audience matters as well, that is the importance of knowing spelling, grammar and correct word usage

Amen!! We all make errors from time to time, I realize that. But I skip over questions with numerous typos and misspelled words. I read some questions several times and still couldn't figure out what the person was trying to ask. I don't downrate....just skip.

I agree, to an extent. Some spelling errors are inevitable. I think as long as the meaning gets across, it's fine. If, however, the spelling and structure is so awful that no one can decipher what the person is asking, then it should be flagged as nonsense.

No, that is elitism and although you have a point it's wrong. People have the right to be ignorant and stupid. The same rights for the more intelligent, we are all equal in that respect and should be.

Disagree!!! This is a site 4 many different people, and honestly if u dont like how some people ask questions, dont answer them or just go to a different site! This site helps people to have fun with the questions that they WANT to ask-how they want to ask them, or answers they WANT to answer-how they want to answer them! Lighten up a little bit, this site isn't for work or school or anything, it's REAL people, in the REAL world!!! Just have fun with the site!

Disagree. Not everyone tolerates poor grammar and spelling for starters. There are some that are downright nasty in correcting people which is not helpful. It's rude. Questions WERE corrected at one time as part of "moderating". Punctuation, grammar, rephrasing, et cetera (and for zero points). I did it and it was hard to keep up with when AB was small. . .I cannot imagine how difficult that would be now. Joel made a good call when he decided to let people "speak" with their own voice and not that of a moderator. The nonsense will continue no matter what. Everyone will find something to label nonsense even if it is "stamped out". No shortage of complainers. We all have the ability to use filters. I simply don't answer what I have to decipher. Simple.

You forgot the apostrophe in "can't".

I juhct lohwur mai speleeng kwalitee 2 uhndurstand them. Grate mainds theenck alaik

I really only worry about how I am spelling and punctuating things. I don't consider any of my answers 'a reward'.

chill out, we're all on here for different reasons. serious or fun, enjoy it.

I will agree that some spelling and grammar is not up to par but then I always try to keep in mind that this is a world wide forum. A lot of the people posting on here are doing so in a language that is not their first language. I would be delighted if my written languages on a foreign forum were understandable. Second to that I am as prone to make mistakes as anyone and try to accept that. If I can understand the question I will try to answer.

some people are just lazy ...some of our younger ABers just can't help it because they don't know any better and some just don't realize what a spell check is or don't know that the Google toolbar has one and really what may seem nonsense to some may not be to others

On some important questions I've seen someone correct their spelling/grammer. That's just rude! So what's worse a mistake or being RUDE?????