Why is Grammar Important on the Internet?

You are exploring your favorite forum on the Internet when you come cross a poorly written post. You are astounded by its poor grammar.

It reads, "Your right. I cud go too both but what will I where?"

However, that's not the worst post on this particular forum. Another reads, "how r u ill brb im thrsty idk wat ill hav 2 drnk maybe ill hav sum koolaid or sumtin idk wat wud u have?"

You are completely shocked someone has the audacity to use such poor grammar, and you think it should be illegal to post so indelicately. You complain to the administrator about the blatant problem this forum has been having lately with grammar.

How could this have been avoided? Well, the posters could've used better grammar skills and put more diligence into their posts. What are better grammar skills, though?

First Rule - Correct Punctuation

This is an extremely important rule in grammar. A post with merely a single period can be bewildering and aggravating. Could you imagine how confused you would be if you were to read a book with only one period per few sentences? Wouldn't you be unable to understand a grand portion of the story? It's the same for Internet posts, except they're a trillion times shorter than books.

Another punctuation problem that's not as troubling is the correct use of commas. You use commas to start a new clause, which is a phrase with both a subject and a verb, in the same sentence. You do NOT use a comma if the phrases are not clauses.

Example:

BAD - I went for pizza, but not for soda.
GOOD - I went for pizza, but I didn't go for soda.

Second Rule - Capitalize Each New Sentence

This one goes along with the whole period part. It aids in not confusing the reader by telling them where the sentence ends. You need both correct capitalization and correct punctuation, however. Without using correct capitalization yet using correct punctuation ( and vice versa,) your posts can still be confusing.

Third Rule - Double Negatives

This problem isn't even half as annoying as the above two, but it still can be acerbating and confusing. Using two negative words, such as "no, not, nothing, nowhere, no one, etc." is considered incorrect grammar. A plethora of people do this, especially my mom.

Examples:

BAD - She don't work there no more.
GOOD - She doesn't work there anymore.
She no longer works there.

BAD - I don't have no job.
GOOD - I don't have a job.

Fourth Rule - Your and You're

In case you didn't know, there is a BIG difference between "your" and "you're." One shows ownership, and the other is a contraction. "You're" means "you are." "Your" means the person you're talking about owns something.

Examples:

If you were to write, "You're cat," it'd really mean, "You are cat."

If you were to write, "Your beautiful," it'd really mean that person owns "beautiful." That doesn't make much sense, now does it?

Fifth Rule - Don't Use 1337!

D0 y0u 7hink 7yp1ng 1yk 7h15 15 c007? Well, the truth is, IT'S ANNOYING, especially for people who don't regularly read things written in "leet." I recommend not typing like that, unless you want to be abhorred by the entire community and forever banned.

Sixth Rule - Chatspeak Should Stay in the Chatroom!

I don't know about you, but I find an exorbitant amount of chatspeak highly annoying, especially when it's not even in the chat room! If ur typing lyk dis, how cud u not b annoyed? Alright, some people find it okay to read stuff like that wherever they could read things, but many don't and would appreciate you much more if you wouldn't excessively use chatspeak. It's disrespectful to type like that when you're not in a chat room. At least I think so. It's alright to say "lol" everyone once in a while but using chatspeak constantly just ruins your post and makes you look like a six-year-old. Do you not want to appear intelligent and mature?

As you can see, exorbitantly poor grammar not only makes you look like a nine-year-old, but it is also annoying, obnoxious, and rude. If you plan on staying on Mibba or any other website, use correct grammar. I know I missed A LOT, but I did mention some basic grammar rules Internet users should be obligated to abide to. You'll learn a plethora more from your English teacher. Nobody's grammar is 100% perfect, but you could at least put some diligence into your grammar and posts. This article probably has a ton of grammatical errors itself. Now go show the world you can use correct grammar!