You've probably encountered this. I don't know if people are lying, or just horrible writers, but I see all sorts of 'grad students' and 'college students majoring in English' and 'psychologists' and such online--people ostensibly in their 20's--who cannot put together a sentence. This bemuses, puzzles, and frustrates me. Granted, when I edited for my college paper, I sometimes had to revise rather heavily, but I can understand it if freshmen in college had a few issues with grammar. People in their mid-twenties? Not so much.

I've just never had to face the outlying standard deviations of the bellcurve quite so starkly...

At the same time, I know 16-year-olds who write incredibly well. I've come to the depressing conclusion that simple experience can't make a writer (no, I'm not talking about grammar; I'm chiefly talking about the psychological maturity necessary for character creation. It's depressingly rare).

I suppose some people lie about their ages, but the refined immaturity I see amongst online twentysomethings is just so pathetic...


And why are people so stupid these days?

Oh, I think... things like... *rant transition*

Women's and Gender Studies Majors are to blame.

Seriously. What the f**k. What kind of a major is that? It's simply so misguided in its intention and its practice... chiefly, the job of a WGST major seems to be: 'find a reason to feel oppressed, then whine.' They can't agree as to which gender differences are real, and, once they do find that trait that seems to be more common in one or the other... it's only statistical, anyway. People, taken in samples of one, do not conform to a statistical model.

But most importantly--what the major IS, is about sex. It's for pathetic, sex-obsessed idiots who couldn't make it past 'feminist critique' in that comp. lit. major they were trying for.

And what really pisses me off is those critics who write some drivel, some artsy, vague, illogical drivel, and call it 'a woman's point of view.' Jesus, it gives women a bad name.

Now, I am actually very pleased to be a woman. I don't see much of a problem with it. Sure, I had sexual anxiety when I was younger, as do many women (think about the physiology...) but so would my male friends, if they had the same, er, parts.

But why found a fricking religion on stupid things? Sex is fun, not theoretical, and there are much, much more important parts of life. What will really efface those damn gender/race/class/sexuality boundaries people are going on, and ON, and ON about is getting out of the damn bed and into the workplace, into a productive, useful, non-retarded-brooding job. Which involves no WGST experience whatsoever.

Women's and Gender Studies joke:

Me (to WGST major friend): Hey, you know what would be really fair? If there were men's studies, as well as women's studies. Oh wait, I forgot... that's everything else.

I love me some misogyny. It's in self-defense, really, contra all this idiotic 'womynpower!'. Save me, please.

That's all. >.>

I know that this is a rant, and I agree that sometimes it can be frustrating to find someone who claims to be this wise person, and yet the can't seem to write more then a few measly lines, all of which do not really form a coherent sentence. However, I've found that when I am RPing I tend to leave my "perfect grammar" and large words at home. While I was reading your rant, I felt like I was back in school and it's still in my summer break. I know I am not in my mid-20's. I am only 22, but the fact of the matter is I will be graduating college this year, but I still do not fill my posts with words that look like I've looked them up in a thesaurus to impress people. I do try hard to make it clear and understandable and of course literate, but not a college thesis paper.

That being said. Maybe because you were an editor to your newspapers you have a lower tolerance level for mistakes? Or a higher level of "pickyness" that comes with the job. But most of the time you must take a step back and remind yourself that this is all for fun, and even though the mistakes and simpleness in someones post might bother you, the ultimate agenda is just to relax and have fun. If you worry too much about how it is written or the fact that the person claims to be a college grad and still writes like they are in the 9th grade you'll lose the whole joy of the game. Some people are just not born writers. For me, my flaw is spelling. I love to write, but spell check is my best friend. I have always had a problem with spelling, but some people even though they love to write, may not be the best at it.

I think over all, it's a good thing to just sit back and take things with a grain of salt. If it bothers you that much, don't rp with them. Or kindly ask them if they could reread over their posts before they post them because it's hard for you to respond with some of the things they are giving you.

As for the part about Women's Studies. I can't really say much about it, because I have never majored in it. Aside from the general requirements in the subject that I had to take, I can't speak on it. I found those classes enlightening though. It was a chance for me to understand the different stages that women have gone through to get to where we are today. It was also fascinating to learn about the different women who played a part in shaping our lives, and the different issues that we still face today. That was what I got out of the course, but then again I only took one. :]

In some ways I can relate; I've met plenty of people that dish through the thesaurus looking for words that sound intelligent without even an inkling as to what they really mean. For instance, I got into an argument with a Sephiroth role player on Myspace yesterday and he spelled etiquette as 'edicate'. ... not kidding. Some people just try too hard and end up tripping all over themselves.

It's just kind of something you have to deal with when it comes to people. Some people are really good with grammar and such, others not so much. I don't really think its a matter of their age, its just a matter of what they've been exposed to. The popular music these days has such horrible grammar in some cases its amazing someone actually looked at the lyrics and went "omg amazing song!". I think its just how society is these days; its not about being grammatically correct or spelling everything right, its a matter of what's cool, and certainly being skilled with words isn't exactly a surefire way to find a load of friends. Its just the time we live in.

As for the educational system's involvement, personally I think the teachers are getting a little frustrated themselves. If their students aren't interested in school then naturally they might lose interest in teaching them proper English skills. Even for some of the most amazing teachers, it gets a little thin after a while. And naturally the school board's response is "lets make it harder on them then!" while the students are like "um screw that".

I haven't really messed with women's studies, but from what I hear it is actually a very interesting subject to study. Much like any other studies covering people and their history, there probably is a lot to learn from it. It just takes the right kind of person, much like any other subject.

[Which is kinda why I think that the school systems making so and so subject required is just silly... some people... aren't interested... not everyone is the same so shoving the same requirements on everyone is ridiculous... but then laziness is like, abundant.]

All in all I think it really all just depends on personal interests. There's some that are interested in writing and such at a young age so they build their own skills early. Others don't get interested until a later date, at which point they start building their skills and suck until then. And some just never care and have cruddy grammar and spelling skills the rest of their lives. Interest also goes with womens studies; some people enjoy it, some people don't. That's... kinda just life.

I just wanted to interject and say that simply because someone uses a "big word" doesn't necessarily mean they went and grabbed their thesaurus. I'm pretty certain that what Smath wrote was standard for her. I had no trouble understanding it and didn't feel it was particularly "schooly" for a piece of writing. I might as well make this a part of the discussion: Why is it wrong to use more advanced words if you're comfortable with them and know what they mean?

I meant the people that DON'T know what those large words mean, the ones that just use them to impress people. The ones that AREN'T used to them and thus don't use them for that reason.

Sorry I wasn't more clear. I was responding to what xprincessgwenythx wrote in her first paragraph.

You know, it's funny that people leapt on the 'grammar' issue, when that isn't what I was discussing. Viz.:

Maturity. Realistic characters. Sentences that make sense aren't grammatical gold; they're the basic expectation: Make. Sense. Be. Mature.

These things are rare.

They are also rare in academia.

That pretty much sums up my rant. It's nothing against anyone in particular (people always seem to feel so attacked! But then, I sometimes do, too).

Oh, and thanks, RomanHK, for the attempt at clarification.

And yes, misuse of words is silly. Proper usage is subtle, dependent on many factors, and a beautiful thing to behold.

ED: If it's a matter of how I write--I write like I speak, I write like I think--in RP, in stories, in college papers... I only have one style, really, though I'll polish as needed. I don't put on different personae for different writing projects.

Oh no, I didn't mean that she shouldn't use them. By all means, if you feel comfortable using words like that, then have at it. I'm just saying that some people don't feel comfortable using "big words". You know? It just depends on the persons writing styles and comfort level. There is absolutely nothing wrong with writing like that. I encourage it. I just think that some people don't feel comfortable writing like that. It was rather more advanced in writing for those in the RP world who are younger though.


ED: And I would also like to add that I completely agree that the educational system is getting very lax in their standards. It is all in an attempt to appease students rather then educate them. They seem to think it better to cushion and baby, to shelter the feelings of the students that refuse to work at improving themselves. Rather then hold them back and force them to learn what they need to live successfully in society. I find it appalling that teachers would promote a student, who is clearly not ready to go onto the next grade, all because of the students "fragile state of emotions". It is complete bs. Give the child a box of tissues and send them back to the grade they belong in.

Yes...educational standards have degenerated. My senior year there was a guy in my class that couldn't read past a first grade level.

How in the HELL did he get to be a senior? More importantly, why wasn't anyone working with him to help improve his reading comprehension. SOMETHING IS SERIOUSLY WRONG HERE!

I quite agree with the coddling attitude of teachers in schools. There is a nice balance between being psycho strict and coddling children and there need to be more teachers who know where that line is.

Of course there aren't. Good teachers are hard to come by and many just want to sit at the desk and babysit during the school year. There's so many teachers out there without passion for teaching children. I know I know, it's so easy to say there should be more passionate teachers out there and this actually happening...erm probably not.

As for spelling and grammar...I'm pretty bad with grammar I admit...and the only reason I have decent spelling is spell check. I love you Firefox!