Does Spelling count? (religion, Wicca)

[Guitar's Cry]

When evaluating an argument on RF (or any other online discussion/debate medium), does spelling and grammar count?

I've seen comments both here and on other sites that literally say, "Until you learn to spell and write better, I will not take your argument seriously."

Is this fair?

[Booko]

Originally Posted by Guitar's Cry

When evaluating an argument on RF (or any other online discussion/debate medium), does spelling and grammar count?

I've seen comments both here and on other sites that literally say, "Until you learn to spell and write better, I will not take your argument seriously."

Is this fair?

Effective communication is important.

However, I see aiming at spelling and grammar as more of an ad hominem thing.

[Buttons*]

fair? maybe not... but I'm not going to argue with someone if they can't get their point across... and even if they can - and do so poorly... well, how can anyone take an argument like this seriously?

u r so silly u xian duds. i think ther shuld b no more.

[Booko]

Originally Posted by Buttons*

u r so silly u xian duds. i think ther shuld b no more.

Yeah, but Ashley, that's not an example of mere spelling errors.

That's the writer being so inconsiderate to the reader that the reader is fully justified in telling the writer to stuff it.

[Quagmire]

Originally Posted by Guitar's Cry

When evaluating an argument on RF (or any other online discussion/debate medium), does spelling and grammar count?

I've seen comments both here and on other sites that literally say, "Until you learn to spell and write better, I will not take your argument seriously."

Is this fair?

I think it's a cop out. Strikes me as a cheap attempt to save face by someone who's losing an argument (or who's afraid they might).

[MaddLlama]

Effective communication is important, but I understand that sometimes people make typos, or just don't know how to spell a word.

However, I do get annoyed when spelling mistakes are consistent, and especially when it's a word they should know how to spell. I find it hard to take a person seriously when they say "I read two books on Wiccaism and now I am a Pagon". If you can't spell the name of your religion right, then I can't take you seriously.

[kadzbiz]

I tinhk taht poprlley selpt wdros mkae no dfifrernece to oens udrenstnadnig of waht's bnieg siad.

[Guitar's Cry]

I agree that effective communication is important. If an argument is misunderstood, it is ineffective.

But this is only a communication problem. As Booko mentioned, it becomes a fallacy to use bad spelling and grammar against an argument--and can sometimes slip into an ad hominem. I agree with Quagmire that it becomes a cop-out.Using things like "chat-speak" and making consistent errors may be annoying, but should that be a factor in deciding the merits of the argument?

[Gentoo]

But then there are those that spell the words correctly, but it's the completely wrong word for the message you're trying to get across. Like talking about the beach, and someone saying that they heard the ocean in a couch, rather than a conch. Where does that fit in?