Request to Writers and Posters

[terrydactyls]

This request is for everyone who contributes to Twins Daily. I try to read as many of the articles, forums, and blogs as I can because information on the Twins (and all other Minnesota teams) is very difficult to obtain in Maine. I think there may even be a law that prohibits any written discussion of teams other than the Patriots, Bruins, Celtics, and Red Sox. Probably not, but it wouldn't surprise me. Before I begin my request, I will provide some context.

 

I'm old, dammit. I'm not "you kids get off my lawn" old but I am closing in on 71, and not as familiar with the writing shorthand used by texters and twitterers as someone younger. I also spent many years of my work life as an editor of books and magazines. Because of this experience, poor writing is like fingers scraping along a blackboard to me. (For those of you that may not know what a blackboard is, Google it.)

 

And now to my simple requests. Please take a moment to read what you have written before you upload it for all to read. The Twins Daily regular contributors do a pretty good job, but some days even they appear to be in a big rush and upload articles with misspellings and grammatical errors which make the articles difficult to understand. And for those of us who are "non-regular" contribuors, the poor writing is far more frequent. It only takes a moment to review your post to ensure that your meaning is clear.

 

The second item I want to mention is the heavy dosage of acronyms, abbreviations, and what I think of as texting shorthand. Sometimes postings are so inundated with shortcuts that they have the feel of a foreign language. Just this morning, I read in a single post that the Twins had a winning streak between two EDs. Is this a reference to people named Ed? (This term was spelled two different ways in a short span which made it even less clear what was meant.) And I also learned that Pressley is a NSFW. I have no idea what this means either. Another post in the same article mentioned Wilson batting 90th. At first I thought it was his ranking among all catchers. Then I realized it was just a typo (I think). And there were the usual misusages of "there" and "their", "were" and "we're", "your" and "you are". All of these are easily corrected by a quick review.

 

And now I'm going to review this post and edit as needed. Thanks for reading my rant. And turn down that damn hip-wiggling music.

[Han Joelo]

"And for those of us who are "non-regular" contribuors, the poor writing is far more frequent."

 

Ahh, the irony.  I'm just giving you a hard time, though.  While I don't dismiss your claims, I find the Twins Daily community to be relatively well read and written, and I enjoy the commentators' various styles and viewpoints.  

 

As for acronyms/text speak, I was substituting for some 10th/11th graders the other day, and working on my NY Times Sunday Crossword.  I asked them what "ROFL" meant, and they ironically chuckled as they told me no-one uses that anymore, but it means "rolling on the floor laughing."  My takeaway is twofold--don't worry about trying to keep up, and Google is your friend.

[Jerr]

Acronyms, text talk and certainly the sabermetrics, can lessen my wanting to read some posts.

But, its not enough to complain about here. It does get pretty heavy in some posts.

[Richie the Rally Goat]

This request is for everyone who contributes to Twins Daily. I try to read as many of the articles, forums, and blogs as I can because information on the Twins (and all other Minnesota teams) is very difficult to obtain in Maine. I think there may even be a law that prohibits any written discussion of teams other than the Patriots, Bruins, Celtics, and Red Sox. Probably not, but it wouldn't surprise me. Before I begin my request, I will provide some context.

 

I'm old, dammit. I'm not "you kids get off my lawn" old but I am closing in on 71, and not as familiar with the writing shorthand used by texters and twitterers as someone younger. I also spent many years of my work life as an editor of books and magazines. Because of this experience, poor writing is like fingers scraping along a blackboard to me. (For those of you that may not know what a blackboard is, Google it.)

 

And now to my simple requests. Please take a moment to read what you have written before you upload it for all to read. The Twins Daily regular contributors do a pretty good job, but some days even they appear to be in a big rush and upload articles with misspellings and grammatical errors which make the articles difficult to understand. And for those of us who are "non-regular" contribuors, the poor writing is far more frequent. It only takes a moment to review your post to ensure that your meaning is clear.

 

The second item I want to mention is the heavy dosage of acronyms, abbreviations, and what I think of as texting shorthand. Sometimes postings are so inundated with shortcuts that they have the feel of a foreign language. Just this morning, I read in a single post that the Twins had a winning streak between two EDs. Is this a reference to people named Ed? (This term was spelled two different ways in a short span which made it even less clear what was meant.) And I also learned that Pressley is a NSFW. I have no idea what this means either. Another post in the same article mentioned Wilson batting 90th. At first I thought it was his ranking among all catchers. Then I realized it was just a typo (I think). And there were the usual misusages of "there" and "their", "were" and "we're", "your" and "you are". All of these are easily corrected by a quick review.

 

And now I'm going to review this post and edit as needed. Thanks for reading my rant. And turn down that damn hip-wiggling music.

Some kids don’t even learn cursive anymore. It’s the world we live in. Spelling errors are a way of life.

 

As important as effective and unambiguous written and verbal communication is in the work place and interpersonally, our society doesn’t value it. Crap, I’ve utilized predictive text over 90% of this post.

 

 

Personally, I value the insight that the data and posters bring and common acronyms carry that heavy lifting for us.

 

As much as I agree with the OP in the value of effective communication, I’m not willing to die on this hill. I understand and accept that with a diversity of backgrounds comes a wide range of communication styles and skill levels. I value those varied opinions and accept that they get conveyed in ways that are less effective at times.

[terrydactyls]

Just a few seconds to review your post before oploading. That's all I ask. And I apologize for the missing "t" in contributor. I also Googled and learned that Pressley is "not safe for work" (NSFW) and I still don't understand what the poster intended.

[TheLeviathan]

 

Some kids don’t even learn cursive anymore. 

 

Yay!

[USAFChief]

Just a few seconds to review your post before oploading. That's all I ask. And I apologize for the missing "t" in contributor. I also Googled and learned that Pressley is "not safe for work" (NSFW) and I still don't understand what the poster intended.

I'm an old **** like you. In addition to Google, I've found The Urban Dictionary to be helpful in bringing me into the 20th Century.

[snepp]

 

I'm an old **** like you. In addition to Google, I've found The Urban Dictionary to be helpful in bringing me into the 20th Century.

 

How long until you join the rest of us in the 21st?

[USAFChief]

 

How long until you join the rest of us in the 21st?

http://i0.kym-cdn.com/entries/icons/facebook/000/012/132/thatsthejoke.jpg

[terrydactyls]

Okay.... I Googled "Baseball NSFW" and guess what I found? A list of sites containing sex acts by fans at games. Now I'm really confused. "Pressley is NSFW" was listed under positive things currently happening with the Twins. WOW!!!!

[USAFChief]

 

Okay.... I Googled "Baseball NSFW" and guess what I found? A list of sites containing sex acts at games. Now I'm really confused. Pressley is NSFW was listed under positive things currently happening with the Twins. WOW!!!!

Clear your browser memory.

 

Trust me on this. 

[LaBombo]

 

Okay.... I Googled "Baseball NSFW" and guess what I found? A list of sites containing sex acts by fans at games. Now I'm really confused. "Pressley is NSFW" was listed under positive things currently happening with the Twins. WOW!!!!

 

 

And I would add that when trying to preserve a lead, the entire Twins bullpen is absolutely NSFW.

[Twins33]

Okay.... I Googled "Baseball NSFW" and guess what I found? A list of sites containing sex acts by fans at games. Now I'm really confused. "Pressley is NSFW" was listed under positive things currently happening with the Twins. WOW!!!!

Seems like an appropriate time to say ROFLMAO.

[terrydactyls]

Clear your browser memory.

 

Trust me on this.

 

I won't say anything about watching a video of you at Target Field. Naughty Boy.

[Blake]

 

This request is for everyone who contributes to Twins Daily. I try to read as many of the articles, forums, and blogs as I can because information on the Twins (and all other Minnesota teams) is very difficult to obtain in Maine. I think there may even be a law that prohibits any written discussion of teams other than the Patriots, Bruins, Celtics, and Red Sox. Probably not, but it wouldn't surprise me. Before I begin my request, I will provide some context.

I'm old, dammit. I'm not "you kids get off my lawn" old but I am closing in on 71, and not as familiar with the writing shorthand used by texters and twitterers as someone younger. I also spent many years of my work life as an editor of books and magazines. Because of this experience, poor writing is like fingers scraping along a blackboard to me. (For those of you that may not know what a blackboard is, Google it.)

And now to my simple requests. Please take a moment to read what you have written before you upload it for all to read. The Twins Daily regular contributors do a pretty good job, but some days even they appear to be in a big rush and upload articles with misspellings and grammatical errors which make the articles difficult to understand. And for those of us who are "non-regular" contribuors, the poor writing is far more frequent. It only takes a moment to review your post to ensure that your meaning is clear.

The second item I want to mention is the heavy dosage of acronyms, abbreviations, and what I think of as texting shorthand. Sometimes postings are so inundated with shortcuts that they have the feel of a foreign language. Just this morning, I read in a single post that the Twins had a winning streak between two EDs. Is this a reference to people named Ed? (This term was spelled two different ways in a short span which made it even less clear what was meant.) And I also learned that Pressley is a NSFW. I have no idea what this means either. Another post in the same article mentioned Wilson batting 90th. At first I thought it was his ranking among all catchers. Then I realized it was just a typo (I think). And there were the usual misusages of "there" and "their", "were" and "we're", "your" and "you are". All of these are easily corrected by a quick review.

And now I'm going to review this post and edit as needed. Thanks for reading my rant. And turn down that damn hip-wiggling music.

You do realize that reading then posting requires one to actually read before posting, right? Where's the spontaneity in that? It would be the end of all that is normal and right when it comes to blogs. It might even, shudder, prevent a flame war or two. Every one does it! Where's your humanity? 

[Craig Arko]

Nice try, anyway.

[ashbury]

This request is for everyone who contributes to Twins Daily. I try to read as many of the ...

tl;dnr

lol

ls/mft^*

 

^{* _{If you're as old as you claim you are, you won't have to look this last one up.}}

[ashbury]

But seriously, I sympathize with your view. An ounce of proofreading saves a pound of, you know, like, whatever.

 

The site's Comment Policy contains a passage devoted to your concern. I'd even laud it as a comic masterpiece except that modesty forbids me Riverbrian would have done it better.

 

3. A minimal level of grammar and spell-checking is required.

No, we ain't no Grammar Nazis here. And nobody's going to hassle you about a tpyo (unless it's inadvertently fanny). But if it's not worth your time to do at least a proof-reading pass of what you're about to submit, maybe it's not worth your readers' time either. If it looks like it was typed on your phone keypad upside-down after one too many adult beverages, orwithoutspacingandparagraphbreaksresultinginawalloftext, or with SHOUTING IN ALL CAPS, or with too many abbreviations and overly obscure "text-speak", it stands a chance of being deleted by the moderators, lol;#omg;rofl@u.

 

However, this takes a back seat to the main concerns that we post respectfully to one another and try not to post inauthentically (i.e. trolling). I don't remember the last time a moderator took action against a poor typist. I'll take a pound of their/they're/there mistakes over an ounce of flaming.

 

 

[terrydactyls]

But seriously, I sympathize with your view. An ounce of proofreading saves a pound of, you know, like, whatever.

 

The site's Comment Policy contains a passage devoted to your concern. I'd even laud it as a comic masterpiece except that modesty forbids me:

 

 

 

However, this takes a back seat to the main concerns that we post respectfully to one another and try not to post inauthentically (i.e. trolling). I don't remember the last time a moderator took action against a poor typist. I'll take a pound of their/they're/there mistakes over an ounce of flaming.

I agree with you. It's just that sometimes I spend so much time trying to figure out what the author is trying to say that it takes away from the enjoyment of the website.

[tarheeltwinsfan]

 

Just a few seconds to review your post before oploading. That's all I ask. And I apologize for the missing "t" in contributor. I also Googled and learned that Pressley is "not safe for work" (NSFW) and I still don't understand what the poster intended.

Don' worry abou omiing he "t". I didn' even noice.

[Squirrel]

I set a pretty high standard for myself and am often correcting my own posts a day later. And I do this after I’ve taken the time to read and reread (and reread and reread) before I hit ‘post.’ Sometimes we just aren’t perfect no matter how hard we try. What I’ve learned from the near 3 decades I’ve been a participant in internet chatter ... accept my own and each other’s imperfections, reading typo as a second language gets easier over time, and autocorrect (as well as spellcheck) is, more often than not, not my friend. While I do expect more from articles and blogs, I consider the forums the most casual part of the website and therefore take what I get with ease.

 

As frustrating as it might be to read things that could be expressed better, I try to follow some self-imposed rules: a little tolerance goes a long way; and if you still don’t understand what the poster’s intent is, ask. It’s really very rare that there’s a post that is completely incomprehensible after a little effort on my part.

[nicksaviking]

I set a pretty high standard for myself and am often correcting my own posts a day later. And I do this after I’ve taken the time to read and reread (and reread and reread) before I hit ‘post.’ Sometimes we just aren’t perfect no matter how hard we try. What I’ve learned from the near 3 decades I’ve been a participant in internet chatter ... accept my own and each other’s imperfections, reading typo as a second language gets easier over time, and autocorrect is, more often than not, not my friend. While I do expect more from articles and blogs, I consider the forums the most casual part of the website.

As frustrating as it might be to read things that could be expressed better, I try to follow some self-imposed rules: a little tolerance goes a long way; and if you still don’t understand what the poster’s intent is, ask. It’s really very rare that there’s a post that is completely incomprehensible after a little effort on my part.

Yeah, I usually don't catch my mistakes until the third read.

 

And I'm not re-re-reading them to proof read but instead to admire the masterpiece I created.

[Mike Sixel]

Yeah, I usually don't catch my mistakes until the third read.

 

And I'm not re-re-reading them to proof read but instead to admire the masterpiece I created.

That's why we all read your posts....

 

I don't mind spelling mistakes too much. It's the use of completely wrong words, like, of..smh.

[ashbury]

And I'm not re-re-reading them to proof read but instead to admire the masterpiece I created.

"I often quote myself. It adds spice to my conversation." - George Bernard Shaw

[Danchat]

Just wanted to throw this out there: I understood the "Pressly is NSFW" as another way to say "Pressly is filthy". The metaphor of a pitcher being filthy means they induce strikeouts and have elusive pitches, not using the normal definition of "vile, foul, or contemptible". So I thought that filthy = NSFW. Maybe it should be NSFB (not safe for batters).

[Platoon]

I didn't see the Pressly thing, but I do know what NSFW stands for. My problem woulda been, "What in the bleep does Pressly the RP have to do with unsavory electronic conveyances at work"? All I really expect on TD is baseball discussion, some attempts at humor, and civil and polite discourse. Speaking of which, there was a stretch earlier in season when the discourse got a little acrid. It's a total turn off. If I want to read snippy comments I will read the comment sections of the Strib. The few days I am interested in the perfect use of the written English language I read George Will. Fortunately I don't feel that need, that often.

[ashbury]

I'm an old **** like you. In addition to Google, I've found The Urban Dictionary to be helpful in bringing me into the 20th Century.

For the Sabrmetric terms I was about to recommend the FanGraphs glossaries tab:

https://www.fangraphs.com/

 

But then I did a search of BABIP on Urban Dictionary, and found that they have all bases covered:

BABIP

an advanced baseball statistic (h-hr)/(ab-k-hr+sf) that is used typically by non-athletic caucasian american nerds to attribute the skill of hitting to a random chance. this term is used mostly in conversation by nerds with other nerds to soothe the pain of rooting for a crappy low payroll baseball team that can't get the big hits to win games. when used by a nerd with a non-nerd, it is used in a condescending manner to exemplify their superior knowledge of crappy players and teams who are supposed to be good but aren't because of BABIP.

sabean: "i knew freddy sanchez was going to be clutch and take it to cliff lee in game 1 of the world series and give us the momentum we needed to finally win a world series championship".

beane: "hahaha, you do realize that it was just a fluctuation in BABIP right? oh wait, i forgot, hahaha...you don't know what that is. let me explain...."

 

So, never mind. As you were.

[Platoon]

For the Sabrmetric terms I was about to recommend the FanGraphs glossaries tab:

https://www.fangraphs.com/

 

But then I did a search of BABIP on Urban Dictionary, and found that they have all bases covered:

 

 

So, never mind. As you were.

Not sure about the whole definition, but they definitely nailed the "nerd" parts.

[USAFChief]

I set a pretty high standard for myself and am often correcting my own posts a day later. And I do this after I’ve taken the time to read and reread (and reread and reread) before I hit ‘post.’ Sometimes we just aren’t perfect no matter how hard we try. What I’ve learned from the near 3 decades I’ve been a participant in internet chatter ... accept my own and each other’s imperfections, reading typo as a second language gets easier over time, and autocorrect (as well as spellcheck) is, more often than not, not my friend. While I do expect more from articles and blogs, I consider the forums the most casual part of the website and therefore take what I get with ease.

As frustrating as it might be to read things that could be expressed better, I try to follow some self-imposed rules: a little tolerance goes a long way; and if you still don’t understand what the poster’s intent is, ask. It’s really very rare that there’s a post that is completely incomprehensible after a little effort on my part.

Wut?

[Mike Sixel]

Not sure about the whole definition, but they definitely nailed the "nerd" parts.

I love the reverse condescending post on wkikipedia. Sort of