
More Bad English, Please (2010) - floriangosse
http://ostatic.com/blog/more-bad-english-please
======
macinjosh
This is a good point to make! I don't know how accurate the article is about
the emotion or reason behind this phrase being written.

I've always taken it as a social shorthand for communicating that the writing
may not be interpreted 100% in the way it was intended so more thought may be
required before responding. Also, I take it to mean that the writer is aware
their writing is not perfect. Some may perceive that as embarrassment but it
could also come from a place of humility, respect to the language, and to
establish a baseline of understanding with the reader.

Just because someone is in the minority doesn't mean they feel embarrassed
about it.

~~~
pesfandiar
Maybe people associate bad grammar and limited vocabulary with lower
intelligence, which may be somewhat justified for native speakers. I think
announcing your poor English will make readers be mindful and see through your
language barrier.

I don't think it's really about feeling embarrassed. I remember reading about
a study that showed people with foreign accents are judged to have lower
intelligence levels. I think, in general, bringing your language handicap to
people's conscious mind will prevent them from making such subconscious
judgements.

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spriggan3
Hey (Good) English is hard. Be thankful most of the planet feels compelled to
learn it and you natives don't even have to learn a single foreign language. I
wish I would be in that position, but I'm not. So excuse my french. Now if
you'll excuse me, I need to go back to my English lessons which consist in
watching american TV-shows ...

------
baking
Sometimes when I stumble reading poor English I wish there was a way I could
gently, privately, suggest corrections without making the author feel
criticized.

I never feel it is appropriate to do so in a comment or reply because I am not
critiquing their ideas. Usually the meaning is perfectly clear, but to a
native speaker's ear it can just feel awkward.

Of course, we all make typos or fail to proofread adequately so we could all
benefit from a kindly edit now and then.

------
lwhalen
I could not disagree more stridently. If the goal is clear, concise
communication, the ask-er should be reasonably fluent in the language they
presume to get a response in. If I had to start asking questions in a
primarily-Japanese tech forum, you can bet I would make sure my written
Japanese was pretty darned good before I start bothering native speakers whom
I'm hoping will help me for free. Yes, that process might take years, but
that's what I'm signing up for if I choose a primarily-Japanese supported
widget. If I'm imposing on someone, the expectation is that I am going to bend
over backwards to not waste their time, and that means communicating clearly.

See: [http://catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-
questions.html#writewell](http://catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-
questions.html#writewell)

~~~
douche
This is the old internet mindset, which apparently is not appreciated anymore.
I agree with you, nobody that is helping strangers out of love and compassion,
with no dollar signs attached to that role, should go out of their way to
suffer fools. I guess the days of BBS's and forums with always-stickied
"Search the site first" and "For Beginners" threads is in the past.

~~~
k__
ah yes. the thousands of moderators that thundered at you with "USE THE SEARCH
FUNCTION!!" while the first 10 result pages just yielded topics of people who
got told they should use the search function.

merry days...

~~~
douche
Inevitably leading to innumerable "the search function is broken" threads...

I really miss forums, in some ways. There are so few of them that are really
active these days.

~~~
k__
I liked them for their community character, this is totally missing in
wikipedia, stackexchange and HN, but these three are still better information
sources than the forums back in the days.

