Anyone noticed how bad the spelling is on this forum. Grammar too! I seem to remember that when I was a kid it was drilled in. I do remember getting the cane (from Mrs Andrews, if you must know) at Pye Bank Junior School for a badly constructed sentence. How times have changed.

I think that spelling and grammar are important but they aren't the be-all and end-all. The purpose of language is to communicate. Grammar and spelling are important because they aid this. But it's not the end of the world to get the spelling of a word wrong. And its also okay to bend the rules of grammar to help communicate or make a point...

Anyone noticed how many people post in the rong fromus?

(Moving to Site Feedback, as it's sort of feedback ;) )

Originally posted by Geoff
Anyone noticed how many people post in the rong fromus?

(Moving to Site Feedback, as it's sort of feedback ;) )

Ooh you are awful. I assume your reply is meant to be humorous. I think you are mistaken in moving the post. Sure, it's a form of feedback but it is really an observation on how Sheffield folk have changed. In my opinion, it fits better where it was posted.

Well, as it's Saturday night I will move it back for you... ;)

And yes, please don't laugh, but that was my weak attempt at humour...

...damn there I go again.

Originally posted by Smiler
I think that spelling and grammar are important but they aren't the be-all and end-all. The purpose of language is to communicate. Grammar and spelling are important because they aid this. But it's not the end of the world to get the spelling of a word wrong. And its also okay to bend the rules of grammar to help communicate or make a point...

Hi Smiler. Whilst I agree with you in the main, I cannot accept shoddy scripting. It is important that the writer and the reader have an agreed protocol. Anything else can lead to misunderstanding. Whilst a spelling error in most sentences will not detract, it can occasionaly lead to wholly different meaning. Wars have been started on less.

Originally posted by Geoff
Well, as it's Saturday night I will move it back for you... ;)

And yes, please don't laugh, but that was my weak attempt at humour...

...damn there I go again.

Don't give up tryin' ;)

Originally posted by Geoff
Well, as it's Saturday night I will move it back for you... ;)

And yes, please don't laugh, but that was my weak attempt at humour...

...damn there I go again.

Thanks. Glad to see that some Sheff folk are reasonable and are willing to consider an argument. My faith is restored.

Are Sheffielders worse than others in the use of the English language? Having travelled far and wide in the UK, I find it annoying that my fellow Sheffielders cannot type sentence without an error. Try working with a typewriter and a bottle of Tippex.

The point is, how can I take someones views seriously if they do not know how to deliver it correctly.

Maybe this should be a poll. Do the users of this forum have a worse grasp of the English language than our forebears?

Are we less intelligent?

Do we care?

I have been on other forums. The posts to this one do not compare well.

I agree. The spelling and grammar by some members of this forum are nothing short of atrocious. I get told off if I ever point this out to them though - how ungrateful.

Originally posted by The Boy Wond
Ha Ha Excuse me mate but you have incorrectly spelt "occasionally".

S##T I'm turning into that gimp T020, replying to posts about peoples spelling and grammar.

Lord have forgiveness!

Excellent. I am so pleased (I'm not being sarcastic). Damn right about my spelling error. Glad to see that it was spotted. Maybe I'm wrong about the inability to spell. However, if that's true, why is this site peppered with bad spelling and grammar?

I've noticed 4 errors by superCol in this thread so far.

:loopy:

Originally posted by superCol
Do we care?


No.

da spelling on this form is disgraseful Dose noboddy no how two tipe in English anny more?

even supercol went and made sum mistaeks wen he started this thred

Got bored after a few sentences, and spelling and grammar are suffering after a few too many beers. Not to mention tpying ability.

To summarise, I see the same problems with spelling and grammar on all 3 forums that I frequent. This one, and two national ones. So there is nothing special to Sheffield here.

Good gravy....if this is all you have in your lives to worry about I'd be pretty contented with my life and stop moaning if I was you.

Please try and remember that people of all walks of life, ages, and therefore literacy...s (is that even a word?) go on this site, and there seems no point in being so pedantic all the time. If you can understand it (and I KNOW you can, even if it's in txt mssge spk), then just go with the flow, for the love of crimony!

I try to get my spelling, grammar, etc. roughly correct, but if i jumble a couple of letters around is it really going to affect humanity in the long run? Well?

Of course I find it a little disconcerting if someone pairs bad linguistic skills with a pointless post, but if they've got a good point to make, so bloody what if they spell a word with an s missing?



Sheesh....

You didn’t capitalise an I in that post Rosie.. I don’t know! Kids today!

;) :lol:

Whilst the standards of grammar and spelling may be trivialised, I believe they are, to an extent, indicative of the standards of society in general. It's the "can't be bothered" mentality of some that contributes to bigger problems, such as badly raised children, voting turnout, marriage breakdowns, etc.

Originally posted by t020
Whilst the standards of grammar and spelling may be trivialised, I believe they are, to an extent, indicative of the standards of society in general. It's the "can't be bothered" mentality of some that contributes to bigger problems, such as badly raised children, voting turnout, marriage breakdowns, etc.

Care to back that up with some, oh, I don't know, evidence? Research?

Originally posted by superCol
Having travelled far and wide in the UK, I find it annoying that my fellow Sheffielders cannot type sentence without an error.


spot the mistake? Irony at its best.

Plain English rulez ;)

it's no hard and fast rule, nor can I back it up with any hard evidence, but in my personal experience there is a clear correlation between level of education and linguistic ability.

People who write a post as if it were on their mobile phone, immediately come across as a cucumber sandwich short of a picnic.

The odd spelling or grammatical error on the other hand, is hardly something to worry about.

I must agree that, in the main, I can accept bad grammar and spelling but what really annoys me is when people start using 'textspeak' on these forums. Thats not a lack of education - its just plain lazy!!

(Now standing back to take all the flack)

Originally posted by Saxon
I must agree that, in the main, I can accept bad grammar and spelling but what really annoys me is when people start using 'textspeak' on these forums. Thats not a lack of education - its just plain lazy!!

(Now standing back to take all the flack)

I actually agree with you there.

But not all of us write in text speak on our mobiles, I send texts all the time and I always use proper English, out of habit really.

It is helpful if people put an attempt forward to construct their sentences properly. (Spelling more than anything). However, misspelling a word shouldn't be harped on.

The problem I have is that I've lived in countries where many common words are spelled differently. Which makes it a bit akward.

However, I believe Geoff posted this utility somewhere in the forum. I've been using it a lot.

http://www.iespell.com/ - It's a spell checking plug-in for Internet Explorer. So if you use IE, you can automatically spell check your posts. It doesn't handle grammar, but perhaps it will help you avoid ostracization from the likes of T020. ;)

Originally posted by rlloyd
It is helpful if people put an attempt forward to construct their sentences properly. (Spelling more than anything). However, misspelling a word shouldn't be harped on.

The problem I have is that I've lived in countries where many common words are spelled differently. Which makes it a bit akward.

However, I believe Geoff posted this utility somewhere in the forum. I've been using it a lot.

http://www.iespell.com/ - It's a spell checking plug-in for Internet Explorer. So if you use IE, you can automatically spell check your posts. It doesn't handle grammar, but perhaps it will help you avoid ostracization from the likes of T020. ;)

Thing is though, nobody cares about him bitching about how society is, according to him, turning out a nation of people who can't spell.

Originally posted by superCol
Anyone noticed how bad the spelling is on this forum. Grammar too! I seem to remember that when I was a kid it was drilled in. I do remember getting the cane (from Mrs Andrews, if you must know) at Pye Bank Junior School for a badly constructed sentence. How times have changed.

While I agree with everything you say and applaude your intentions, I think you're flogging a dead horse. All you'll get for your efforts is abuse from semi-literate people who can barely string two words together.

Give it up, it's not worth the aggro you'll get/create.

The odd spelling mistake and poor grammar I can handle (I do it myself often enough). Bad punctuation I can accept (again, I do it myself). But text speak gets on my wick. Theres no 160 character limit on the internet, youve got a proper keyboard rahter than a small phone keypad, so use it.

I'm not sure about a correlation between spelling / grammar and intelligence. I've spent time with several people who are brighter than me but who have a poor use of written English - dyslexia, autism, vision problems, etc.

I have dreadful handwriting and still exhibit some difficulties that, I'm told, go back to my early childhood when teachers decided I should use my right hand for writing, like everyone else did, rather than my left hand. The mid-1960s were always terribly enlightened...;-)

I've used word processors in one form or another for about 23 years - starting with basic text editors. The arrival of spell checkers made me terribly lazy, and I have to say that some of my quirks of typing and spelling - typically transposing vowels and consonants, so I write 'teh' rather than 'the' when in a hurry or excited - don't always get picked up. A good one is 'sue' rather than 'use' - that gets thrugh spell checks and often grammar checkers as well.

But, despite all this, I've had a few hundred articles and half a dozen books published over the years so I must be getting something right! I think that postings in online forums always tend to be 'slacker' than work that's going to reside on the printed page somewhere, but I do make the effort!

Joe

7h3r35 n07h!n6 wr0n6 w!7h my 5pe11!n6

:P

Originally posted by mr craig
7h3r35 n07h!n6 wr0n6 w!7h my 5pe11!n6


I don't know what is scarier, the fact I know people who actually write like that on other message boards or the fact i can read that without even thinking about it.

Erm... :confused:

Wilf

as long as i can read it i am not bothered!!

Originally posted by The Boy Wond
Dear Sheffield Star,

I just want to introduce myself. My name is Gimp otherwise
known as Teeeeee Twenteee. Me and my mate Supercol have
such insignificant lives that we spend all day checking other
peoples spelling and grammar on The Sheffield Forum Website.

When we find errors we then report them.

I have also noticed that the Sheffield Star is full of typo's and
errors, not that I buy your newspaper, as I'm to intellectual.
I manage a quick glance whilst I visit my psychologist.

Please can you give me a job proof reading your paper, as I
have nothing better to do than mock other people's education
and affulence whilst I sit here and snigger with my only friend
Supercol, whilst we compare our all in one leather gimp outfits.

Sorry, no job for you. Not only did you leave out the apostrophe in your first use of "people's", you stuck an unnecessary one in "typos". Not only that, you can't spell "too" (as in "too intellectual"), or "affluence". Finally, you left out the hyphens in "all-in-one". And that's not to mention a couple of wayward/omitted commas here and there.

Originally posted by rlloyd
but perhaps it will help you avoid ostracization from the likes of T020. ;)


You say it like this is a bad thing??

Originally posted by mojoworking
While I agree with everything you say and applaude your intentions, I think you're flogging a dead horse. All you'll get for your efforts is abuse from semi-literate people who can barely string two words together.

Give it up, it's not worth the aggro you'll get/create.

Agreed, mojo. Not seen your posts for a while but it's good to see that your common sense and honesty are back.

What about people who are dyslexic? Do they not have the right to post for fear of getting it wrong?

Dyslexia is a specific learning disability that is neurological in origin. It is characterized by difficulties with accurate and / or fluent word recognition and by poor spelling and decoding abilities. These difficulties typically result from a deficit in the phonological component of language that is often unexpected in relation to other cognitive abilities and the provision of effective classroom instruction. Secondary consequences may include problems in reading comprehension and reduced reading experience that can impede growth of vocabulary and background knowledge.

Adopted by the IDA Board of Directors, Nov. 12, 2002. This Definition is also used by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD).

Studies show that individuals with dyslexia process information in a different area of the brain than do non-dyslexics.

Many people who are dyslexic are of average to above average intelligence.

Originally posted by rlloyd
http://www.iespell.com/ - It's a spell checking plug-in for Internet Explorer. So if you use IE, you can automatically spell check your posts. It doesn't handle grammar, but perhaps it will help you avoid ostracization from the likes of T020. ;)
Trouble is with it though, it Americanizes everything, which is one of my pet hates.

Originally posted by JoePritchard
I'm not sure about a correlation between spelling / grammar and intelligence. I've spent time with several people who are brighter than me but who have a poor use of written English - dyslexia, autism, vision problems, etc.

[snip]

But, despite all this, I've had a few hundred articles and half a dozen books published over the years so I must be getting something right! I think that postings in online forums always tend to be 'slacker' than work that's going to reside on the printed page somewhere, but I do make the effort!

Joe

Agreed using computers has made my spelling etc.. lazy and I have not wrote anything except sig for at least 5 years (bad I know...)
But since I dont need to, I wont bother.



:D

Originally posted by BrainThrust
I don't know what is scarier, the fact I know people who actually write like that on other message boards or the fact i can read that without even thinking about it.

Erm... :confused:

Wilf

Oh yes, the mind can read words if spelt incorrectly - there was a page that showed that words spelt wrongly can be read as the mind only reads the words as a whole not letter-by-letter.
I'll dig out the link...

Originally posted by amhudson119
Oh yes, the mind can read words if spelt incorrectly

They are spelt correctly,there just in 1337 :P

ph34r my m4d 1337 5k!115 y0

lol :D

I really don't think the odd spelling mistake causes any concern. It is true that our mind reads words as a whole, so unless we make a point of looking for errors, they cause no trouble to read.

A few people have been making connections between literacy and intelligence. This of course is quite a ridiculous connection to make, but assuming that there is a link. Are people suggesting that posting on the forum should be limited to those of a certain IQ or higher? If so what would be the required IQ and how would we test it? Maybe registration could be preceded by a competency test.

Does anyone have any other ways of making the Sheffield forum more elitist?

It must be said however, that I do find text speak annoying. Unless you use it all of the time, it's harder to read than plain English.

Someone been reading this (http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/1861976127/txtbux-21) ?

super col,i and my 2 other brothers went to pye bank as well,and i remember mrs andrews,im off andover drive originally.

john t

Originally posted by mr craig
They are spelt correctly,there just in 1337 :P

ph34r my m4d 1337 5k!115 y0

lol :D

I got the other one but not this.

Originally posted by The Boy Wond
Including Mojoworking, Thats Three Gimps I've now netted.

I now realize that none of you lot get my side swipe at T020
because your ALL morons.

I'll leave you lot to post inane comments about each other
whilst I get on with my life.

Well done, you only had 4 spelling/grammatical errors in that post (including the heading). Not bad for someone who clearly enjoys advertising his lack of education.

Originally posted by fuzzy
I got the other one but not this.

ph34r my m4d 1337 5k!115 y0 = fear my mad elite skills you!

i think...

Wilf

Originally posted by BrainThrust
ph34r my m4d 1337 5k!115 y0 = fear my mad elite skills you!

i think...

Close enough. :)

Its fairly sikple to work out,there are some translaters on the web,but everyone does it slightly different.
Its the hardcore stuff whats hard to make out.

533 |/\||{47 | |\/|34|\| , |75 |o|)\377% 7|)\|(|<%

Originally posted by mojoworking
Well done, you only had 4 spelling/grammatical errors in that post (including the heading). Not bad for someone who clearly enjoys advertising his lack of education.

Please reply to my post. I don't see the connection between literacy and education/intelligence. people are lazy sometimes, that is true. Do you really get that upset about the odd punctuation mark being out of place. This is not a forum for the English language elite, this is a public forum. It is a forum that welcomes all people involved with Sheffield. Considering that, i think you have less place to post here than someone who doesn't meet your high linguistic requirements. You don't live in Sheffield after all.

If you really find people on this forum below your level of intellect, why post? I really must assume that you are taking the micky somewhat here. I cannot believe that someone can be that anal.

Originally posted by Andy78
Please reply to my post. I don't see the connection between literacy and education/intelligence. people are lazy sometimes, that is true. Do you really get that upset about the odd punctuation mark being out of place. This is not a forum for the English language elite, this is a public forum. It is a forum that welcomes all people involved with Sheffield. Considering that, i think you have less place to post here than someone who doesn't meet your high linguistic requirements. You don't live in Sheffield after all.

If you really find people on this forum below your level of intellect, why post? I really must assume that you are taking the micky somewhat here. I cannot believe that someone can be that anal.

I think you're missing the point. There's absolutely nothing wrong with honest spelling mistakes, typos, poor grammar etc (annoying as it sometimes is). But, as I'm sure you've noticed, this debate happens regularly on the forum. This is usually how it goes:

Someone posts in annoying text speak, or with lazy punctuation, and then someone else picks them up on it.

Then someone else who was not originally involved gets on their high horse and starts abusing the second poster, calling them "anal" etc.

The argument then escalates as we've seen here.

To repeat: as far as I'm concerned there's nothing wrong with the odd spelling mistake and the like. On the other hand, it's totally indefensible to try and defend illiteracy and lazy/sloppy grammar by abusing those who would attempt to correct it.

As for your claim that I should not post here because I "don't live in Sheffield after all". What a strange thing to say! It's not the first time you've said that. Would you care to expand on this? After all, unlike many on the forum, I was born in Sheffield and spent 33 years living in the city. Are people to be excluded from the forum if they move away or, more to the point, because they don't agree with you? Perhaps you'd be better off taking this one up with Geoff?

As it happens I don't think that anyone has any less right to post on the forum. Some of the arguments so far in this thread have highlighted people with poor grammar. Almost suggesting that they have less right to post on this forum. The right to post could be argued from several viewpoints. Beliefs, location, grammar quality are just a few. All of these points are as irrelevant as each other. I was simply playing devil's advocate.

If someone deliberately uses obscure language (ie. text speak), that is difficult to decipher sometimes, it can make the post annoying to read. However, the vast majority of people on this forum write in perfectly understandable English. some have higher standards of English than others. As this is not a technical writing forum and we can all communicate with each other, I don't see the problem. The forum is an informal place of discussion, so grammar quality shoudln't be an issue. Similar to when we are in the pub with friends, we use slang and our language is generally more relaxed.

In reference to the comment about people picking others up on their grammar etc; Most people on the forum don't pick others up on their grammar. Most people don't see the need to. Those that do, usually do it to be pedantic, or antagonise the other member.

Research (Bernstein) has in fact shown that the working classes are incapable of using the elaborated writing/speech codes that *certain* forum members want. They are only capable of using the restricted, more colloquial speech patterns. The middle classes, however, can use both.

Just an alternative angle anyways.

As you say, this is an informal place of discussion and I certainly would NEVER ridicule anyone for their grammar/spelling etc just out of the blue. I only mention these things when people get aggressive or, as happened recently, they start jumping on the t020-bashing bandwagon for no reason other than they've seen others do it.

Please go back and read some of the garbage I refer to.

On the other hand, there's absolutely no shame in using correct spelling or grammar. Most people have spell checkers on their computers, so there's no excuse really.

Agreed, let's avoid personal abuse and stick to the nature of the discussion.

Originally posted by mojoworking
As for your claim that I should not post here because I "don't live in Sheffield after all". What a strange thing to say! It's not the first time you've said that. Would you care to expand on this? After all, unlike many on the forum, I was born in Sheffield and spent 33 years living in the city. Are people to be excluded from the forum if they move away or, more to the point, because they don't agree with you? Perhaps you'd be better off taking this one up with Geoff?
Ha, too right!

Surely a love of the city is a good enough reason to be a member?

There should be no boundaries on who can be a member. Anyone who want's to join the community should be welcomed. Wandering off topic here though. *slaps self on wrist*

to be be fair mate, if you want to make a good argument, that is not the best way to go about it. You will get much more respect if you can argue without being insulting.

This is true, but there are more effective ways of voicing your opinion. If you start being abusive, you will just end up being ridiculed. Take time to think of your responses. I'm sure you can work them better.

I think personal attacks should be kept to PMs. Otherwise threads such as this one end up degenerating into pointless arguments that have nothing to do with the topic.

Originally posted by The Boy Wond
I am insulting because I find other people postings insulting.


What goes around comes around.

He who lives by the sword dies by the sword.

You reap what you sow.

Ying and Yang.

Blah Blah

Blah

Uh-oh - Look out, nutter alert!

Please report any posts that cause concern in future.

Originally posted by Tony
Please report any posts that cause concern in future.

Have done - lets now hope the mods can punish this imbecile in the way I definitely would be had I posted such pointless, insulting trash.

Originally posted by The Boy Wond
I am insulting because I find other people postings insulting.


What goes around comes around.

He who lives by the sword dies by the sword.

You reap what you sow.

Ying and Yang.

Blah Blah

Blah

If that's the case, why the personal comment about my pic. earlier on today?

What have I done to rattle your cage?

To the best of my knowledge prior to your posting comparing my appearance to a certain homicidal school caretaker I'd never commented on a post of yours.

Joe

Originally posted by t020
Have done - lets now hope the mods can punish this imbecile in the way I definitely would be had I posted such pointless, insulting trash.
He's been banned, don't worry.

Originally posted by slh73
The odd spelling mistake and poor grammar I can handle (I do it myself often enough). Bad punctuation I can accept (again, I do it myself). But text speak gets on my wick. Theres no 160 character limit on the internet, youve got a proper keyboard rahter than a small phone keypad, so use it.

I completely agree!

Speaking of bad punctuation, have a look at that ticker thing scrolling away madly to the left.

"The forum celebrates IT'S 10,000th user"

Oh dear. :rolleyes:

Hey, not only that, look at the spelling,

Sheff10ldF0r0m.c0.uk

You lot should be ashamed!

;)

Originally posted by mojoworking
Speaking of bad punctuation, have a look at that ticker thing scrolling away madly to the left.

"The forum celebrates IT'S 10,000th user"

Oh dear. :rolleyes:

Dont mention the Red ticker thing. It hits a nerve with the "Mods"

Why do people keep getting so het up about spelling and grammar? I hate 'txt spk', because it's deliberate laziness, but I don't like being accused of bad grammar - when a person or people spells something wrong by accident, or misconstructs a sentence it's so petty to make a joke out of it!

Originally posted by mojoworking
Speaking of bad punctuation, have a look at that ticker thing scrolling away madly to the left.

"The forum celebrates IT'S 10,000th user"

Oh dear. :rolleyes:

Yes, the possessive pronouns never take an apostrophe. Quite right and well spotted.

Obviously we deserve a good slap around the head with a copy of the Oxford English Dictionary.

:)

Originally posted by JoePritchard
Yes, the possessive pronouns never take an apostrophe. Quite right and well spotted.

Obviously we deserve a good slap around the head with a copy of the Oxford English Dictionary.

:)

See what I mean though, it's ridiculous isn't it!

Originally posted by noseyrosie
Why do people keep getting so het up about spelling and grammar? I hate 'txt spk', because it's deliberate laziness, but I don't like being accused of bad grammar - when a person or people spells something wrong by accident, or misconstructs a sentence it's so petty to make a joke out of it!

I don't mind honest mistakes. Everyone makes mistakes sometimes with spelling, punctuation, or grammar. Sometimes it's a typo.

What I can't stand, however, is people who defend illiteracy, insulting anyone who points out that basic literacy is, basically, a good thing.

So, in summary, the people who correct every tiny slip, even obvious typos, are annoying. However, they are nowhere near as annoying as people who defend illiteracy.

Originally posted by JoePritchard
Yes, the possessive pronouns never take an apostrophe. Quite right and well spotted.

Obviously we deserve a good slap around the head with a copy of the Oxford English Dictionary.

:)

Do you think the way people type these days is probably due to 'text speak' ie a quick way of communicating either by computer emails or phone texts. Iam afraid Iam guilty of both but would like to think I can converse correctly. Surely if you can read and understand it...... it works 4 me!!:clap:

Originally posted by Cyclone
it's no hard and fast rule, nor can I back it up with any hard evidence, but in my personal experience there is a clear correlation between level of education and linguistic ability.

People who write a post as if it were on their mobile phone, immediately come across as a cucumber sandwich short of a picnic.

The odd spelling or grammatical error on the other hand, is hardly something to worry about.

I definitely agree with this. I'm far more likely to respect someone's opinions if they can express them eloquently. Good spelling and grammar shows me that they have taken some time to think their arguments through and haven't just typed the first thing that came into their head.

Educated and informed debates are a keystone of an intelligent society, and the internet allows anyone to be involved. It's a great shame that these debates are becoming the needles in the haystack of netspeak, mobile-phone-spelling and mis-spelt petty insults.

In particular I find that there is a correlation between well spelt grammatical posts and the political leanings of the poster.

Our friends in the BNP, and those drivers who moan about cyclists typically spew out posts that look like a can of alphabetti-spaghetti emptied onto the screen, whilst our more learned left-leaning friends demonstrate a better quality of discourse.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by ptigga
[B]I definitely agree with this. I'm far more likely to respect someone's opinions if they can express them eloquently. Good spelling and grammar shows me that they have taken some time to think their arguments through and haven't just typed the first thing that came into their head.

ok ok .... sorry alright I will accept the reprimand and gratiously bow down to intellect and wisdom.

Originally posted by superCol
Are Sheffielders worse than others in the use of the English language? Having travelled far and wide in the UK, I find it annoying that my fellow Sheffielders cannot type sentence without an error. Try working with a typewriter and a bottle of Tippex.

The point is, how can I take someones views seriously if they do not know how to deliver it correctly.

Maybe this should be a poll. Do the users of this forum have a worse grasp of the English language than our forebears?

Are we less intelligent?

Do we care?

I have been on other forums. The posts to this one do not compare well.

Surely you mean that the views are posessive to the person?
Therefore, it would be: "...how can I take someone's views seriously..." :)

Alex