I Love the Internet

Well, the internet never ceases to amaze me in it’s lack of etiquette person to person, as well as never a conversation shall they have.

• My Friend: Okay–been seeing a lot of problems with this one basic grammar issue. Please take a few minutes and acquaint yourself with the meanings of and appropriate use of these words: there, their & they’re. Thank you for your part in helping to extinguish the common perception that Americans are illiterate buffoons.
• Commenter #1: Whatever there saying about us, it’s none of they’re business, so their.
• Commenter #2: Their you are again over they’re, making fun of them people.
• Commenter #3: I must repost…lol!!
• Jane Doe: Then/Than.
• Me: penis/vagina
• My Friend: Mike LMAO.
• Me: ‎:-)
• Commenter #1: Might as well add Your/You’re.
• Commenter #1: And To/Too.
• My Friend: aloud/allowed except/accept
• Jane Doe: Michael… I’m lost. Do you confuse the two when speaking or typing?
• Commenter #1: Allowed/Aloud isn’t that common a mistake.
• Me: Jane Doe, don’t make this personal. I was just making a joke, and it wasn’t even to anyone. Bad form.
• My Friend: Commenter #1-You’d think that was the case, but I’ve seen it a lot recently (on WBOC threads)
• Jane Doe: Why was your joke funny and mine bad form?
• Me: You actually have a really good question, I’ll take it off this comment thread and message you.
• Jane Doe: Ok. Thanks.

My Friend: Mike-please do not delete. I like the comment. My message to Jane Doe:

Hi Jane Doe,

So, like I said, good question. First and foremost let me just get to the why of the bad form, and then explain how it is bad form.

To the point, your comment was personal, “Michael… I’m lost. Do *you* confuse the two when speaking or typing?” (my emphasis). My comment mentioned no one, and was fairly random.

I also found your joke a stretch because in making it personal, we have a comment thread about common grammar mistakes that we witness other people do, yet in order for your joke to hit me (once again, the joke is directed at me, which is what really surprised me considering I did not direct mine to anyone) we forego the idea that I’m making a suggestion about a common grammar mistake, and am actually making a mention of a grammar mistake THAT I DO. I mean, how did you make that stretch?

And even if we go down the rabbit hole of, “Well, you brought it up, so it must be something you do,” then at that point would I not have already made a self-effacing joke? Why compound on it?

So, once again, I said it was bad form because you made it personal. And the “how” of it all was that you had to take a little step to make it personal.

I know *my friend* has good friends, so I’m not holding it against you, nor do I think ill of you, but i was just surprised to have something directed at me negatively from a person I don’t know. I guess that’s just the internet. I doubt your worried about it though, and if anything you could always reply with either something to prove me wrong (e.g. random joke throws out all rules), or that it’s just the interwebz, chill out.

Mike K

Her response:

Wow. It's pretty obvious to me that you wouldn't confuse the two, and probobly (sic) anyone else for that matter. Pardon the offense.

After that, she actually went BACK to the original thread and made ANOTHER comment.

To whom it may concern:

I really don't think Michael confuses the two.

It's all fun and games till somebody loses an eye (oh, and I don't mean that literally).

Pardon my humor...or lack thereof.

It’s crazy times. I tried to be courteous and go off thread, and she makes it MORE personal and BRINGS it back to the thread. As if she is trying to be mean and make it a point to be. And yes, that is her actual comment. America, Fuck Yeah.