Self-Proclaimed Police Of Twitter Fail To Hear The 911 Call From Inside The Precinct
"What is it about human nature that we seldom feel grateful for such guidance?" asks a Times piece on those people who have decided to spend their leisure time nitpicking the expression modes of their fellow Twitter denizens, whether they're as famous as Gen X crush object John Cusack (who apparently can't spell!) or as everyday as a dude who's just happy to be in slightly less financial ruin than Greece. Perhaps some of the uncharitable reaction comes from the internal contradictions of which these people are blissfully unaware — like, say, a self-proclaimed 140-character grammarian flinging around the phrase "grammar fail" when he wants to flag a wonky sentence? A true keeper of the English language might note that the rise of the word "fail" as a verb/noun/adjective/adverb/exclamation hybrid is one of the worst things that Internet culture has brought to the linguistic table. Which is saying kind of a lot, when you think about it.
Epic success.
A true keeper of the English language might note that the rise of the word "fail" as a verb/noun/adjective/adverb/exclamation hybrid is one of the worst things that Internet culture has brought to the linguistic table. Which is saying kind of a lot, when you think about it.
This.
(by which I mean I disagree, I don't think it's that big a deal!)
"Fail" by itself may not seem like such a problem, but if you take it as part of the broader "epic fail/win" phenomenon it really is about the most torture a new mode of communication has ever inflicted on English.
I really think gloabalized corporate newspeak tops "fail", for example. And I work for a large non-anglo corporation, so I live with it every day :[
I see where you're coming from, but that stuff is largely confined to conference rooms, powerpoint presentations, and development seminars. With very few exceptions it hasn't affected real, spoken English among the population at large. "(Epic) fail/win" is pervasive.
I live in the terrible netherworld you speak of, and I'm not a native speaker. Eh, whatyougonnado.
"With very few exceptions it hasn't affected real, spoken English among the population at large."
Win?
I think you mean epic WIN.
"Human is an adjective and should be used as such, Alan".
I'm going to start the Twitter Internal Affairs Unit to police (v) the police (n). Actually, I'm not.
I feel a Law & Order TWITTER series being born right now.
I am going to start the tumblr Super-Friends to do battle with the Racist Memes of Tumblr but mostly to have a Tumblr of Justice.
I'm going to start Hot Twitter, where I just dress up like I have good grammar.
They interfere in my ongoing battle with Hugo Chavez and I will smurf their asses too.
What is it about human nature that we seldom feel grateful for having some random self-satisfied twit without a life pointlessly snarking on complete strangers' ability to write or spell?
Thank you. I was going to respond to this "grammar fail" genius and other like-minded losers yesterday before realizing that their obvious lack of a life was punishment enough.
What is Julius Caesar?
The play set in 44 BC in which Shakespeare used the phrase 'Right on'.
I learned that on last night's Jeopardy!
Just thought it was interesting, that's all.
YES!
Where does FTW/FTL fit into this? Or, worse, the FML phenomenon.
My blog was one of those mentioned in the article. It was written from a completely different POV than all the blogs it featured. I have never chastised a single person for their grammatically incorrect tweets. As a matter of fact, many people are thrilled when mentioned in one of my posts. Unfortunately, most people who read the NYTimes article (and your post) will never know that, and will dismiss it out of hand for what they perceive it to be. Twitter Fail is a humorous take on all the good, bad and downright ugly silliness that happens on twitter. Its tagline: "sharing the good and exposing the best of the worst on twitter." I think twitter is a wonderful playground, and write my posts in an attempt to help it stay that way. If you want to pass judgement, read a few posts, and then blast me in the comments. At least then you'll know what you're talking about.