Important notice from the GRAMMAR POLICE. Plz read. This means you.

[jolrei]

The structure (and any number of semantic cues) imply the tone of voice, generally.

This at least is true.  I can easily discern rohina's growing ire and frustration from the structure and semantic/textual cues in her last post.  The inexplicable thing to me is why she even bothers to keep answering any of your posts, after most of the rest of us have given up due to sheer exhaustion (the "throwing up your hands" kind).  I can only imagine it's a slow day in Calgary.

I also imagine that if rohina was a ninja warrior, you would be a practice dummy.

[rohina]

Summer VACAY, jolrei. If this were term time, I would be more "HULK SMASH".

[Liz]

I'm still amused by the idea that rufio's "inner voice" has ears. All sorts of body parts out of place on that non-standard head...

[Audrey]

Shame, poor Midwig.   Deja vu. You tried, Rufio, you really tried.  However, that little exchange between you and rohina did make for interesting and amusing reading.

[J. M. Pescado]

Because guess why? NO ONE CAN HEAR RUFIO'S INNER VOICE, EXCEPT RUFIO.

Actually, I've heard people's inner voices before. Remarkably, they all sound rather similar: Moist and squishy.

[jolrei]

Actually, I've heard people's inner voices before. Remarkably, they all sound rather similar: Moist and squishy.

Are you sure that's a voice?  I mean, once you get inside there, everything is moist and squishy.

On the other hand, if that is a voice, it seems possible that Joan of Arc's "voices" that compelled her to rampage through France and then jump into a BBQ were little more than gas and perhaps her tummy rumbling.  Joan was a hungry emo; thousands die.

[/historical reductionism]

[Jelenedra]

Actually, I've heard people's inner voices before. Remarkably, they all sound rather similar: Moist and squishy.

Are you sure that's a voice?  I mean, once you get inside there, everything is moist and squishy.

On the other hand, if that is a voice, it seems possible that Joan of Arc's "voices" that compelled her to rampage through France and then jump into a BBQ were little more than gas and perhaps her tummy rumbling.  Joan was a hungry emo; thousands die.

[/historical reductionism]

Now you're making me want to watch The Messenger. Just for the scene where the Dustin Hoffman voice starts giving her a bunch of random scenarios as to why there might've been a sword lying in the middle of a field.

[K_L_Carten]

I have been lurking here on and off for years, but I have been a little afraid about my grammar.  Just like many of others here, its been years since I have taken a English class and even had to write something that I was truly worried about my grammar.  My spelling compared to most in any reports I had to write up at work was always better than my co-workers and my handwriting was the best of the lot.  I was always worried that I would have been called out by inadvertently making grammar errors.  Sometimes, I forget and sometimes use the rules of Spanish instead of English, and English is my native tongue.  It just slips and I am not fluent in Spanish anymore, it just seems that when writing I happen to mix it up at times. It sounds strange, but its the truth, ok, enough rambling. 
 
I just want to say on one thread there was question asked in a very misspelled and really hard to read grammar and logical way.  Someone cared enough to interpreted it for the rest of us and a few post down someone put a link on the site. The site is SpellCheck, not only does it check your spelling.  I always did that before posting, but it checks your grammar.  I have a tendency to be wordy and wow, it really shows on SpellCheck. If only we had that 20 years ago. I could have run it through SpellCheck and not worry about grammar.  Damn, kids are lucky today, I remember arguing over what was considered too wordy and cut it down so easy with this, and with that.  I just have to say the grammar police should be on patrol.  Really there is no reason that a post should not be misspelled and grammatically correct.  Thank you grammar police, and now when I go back to college, I will not be afraid of writing term papers again.     
 
 

[rufio]

Sometimes, I forget and sometimes use the rules of Spanish instead of English, and English is my native tongue.  It just slips and I am not fluent in Spanish anymore, it just seems that when writing I happen to mix it up at times.

Just out of curiosity, what kinds of errors?
 

I just want to say on one thread there was question asked in a very misspelled and really hard to read grammar and logical way.  Someone cared enough to interpreted it for the rest of us and a few post down someone put a link on the site. The site is SpellCheck, not only does it check your spelling.  I always did that before posting, but it checks your grammar.  I have a tendency to be wordy and wow, it really shows on SpellCheck. If only we had that 20 years ago. I could have run it through SpellCheck and not worry about grammar.

I didn't see the site, but computerized grammar checkers generally suck balls.  Anyway, being too verbose is not a grammatical problem, so a "grammar checker" should not be concerned about that.

[maxon]

I just want to say on one thread there was question asked in a very misspelled and really hard to read grammar and logical way.  Someone cared enough to interpreted it for the rest of us and a few post down someone put a link on the site. The site is SpellCheck, not only does it check your spelling.  I always did that before posting, but it checks your grammar.  I have a tendency to be wordy and wow, it really shows on SpellCheck. If only we had that 20 years ago. I could have run it through SpellCheck and not worry about grammar. 

I shouldn't rely too heavily on something like that if I were you.  The effectiveness of grammar checkers is very limited.  Similarly, spell-checkers - there are many words that sound the same but are spelled differently depending on what they mean.  You need to know (no) this, so you use the correct word.

[rohina]

The Grammar Check on MS Word is notoriously dreadful; it has no idea about pronoun agreement, and there are perfectly grammatical sentences you can write (especially using nouns and verbs ending in -ing) that it will mark as incorrect. I have a grammar exercise I give my students that is entirely made up of sentences the Grammar Check interprets incorrectly.

[michaelrym]

Essentially, my position is that spelling, punctuation and grammar are craft; stylistics is art. Compare it to painting: any hamtard can throw paint at a canvas, and maybe sometimes even get an aesthetically pleasing result, but a real artist has command of technique and craft, and knows WHY he/she achieved an aesthetically pleasing result.

Sorry to nitpick, but I just cannot agree with that.

A person who has command of technique and craft is just a good craftsman. An artist also has - in addition - his own, unique vision of the piece of reality he's trying to represent or imitate. There are no 'real' artists and 'unreal' artists. There are just artists, craftsmen, and morons who think they're artists because it makes them feel good.

I'm also tempted to debate the point that an artist knows why he achieved an aesthetically pleasing result. Well, maybe in retrospect, given enough time... IMO in all the big artistic breakthroughs  there's something I'll call the X factor: a combination of special circumstances which makes the artist do something unusual, to attempt something he's not attempted before. Note that 'special' here does not mean 'extraordinary'; it can be something as simple as a nagging toothache (as one art historian has it, the inspiration behind Munch's "The Scream").

Interesting thread, this. Spent two hours smoking and reading instead of playing TS3. Now, I have a question for everyone here: How do you feel about these two text strings from our favourite game: Write A Non-Fiction Novel and Write A Fiction Novel?

[shelleyb]

  I'm brand new to this particular "forum," but WOW!

For those in law enforcement, please note that CORRECTLY, any small punctuation mark goes INSIDE the close quotation mark.  Large punctuation marks, such as ? or ! go on the outside.  There is a very interesting reason why this is true and it has nothing to do with grammar.  In the old days of typesetting, actual metal pieces were lined up to assemble a page of print.  It just so happened that typesetters noticed when they placed a small punctuation mark tile OUTSIDE a close quotation tile, the rest of the line of type was slanted.  However, when they placed the small tile INSIDE the close quotation tile, no slanting occured. 

(And yes, it is true, occured can also be spelled occurred, but in today's proper grammar rules most of those redundant consonants are being dumped.  I think the reason is that someone has figured out that a person's actual lifespan can be determined by how many syllables we use--errors such as irregardless and preventative--or the quantity of letters we use in writing during our lifetime and are teaching today's youth to JUST SAY NO.  Any yes, it is also true that one can start a sentence with And or But if they know how to do it correctly.  Enough of my rant and back to the lesson at hand, typesetting.)

The reason for the slanting type can be easily explained mathematically, but the typesetters didn't have time to sit around and speculate, like we obviously do--otherwise why the attraction to forums?  Those old typesetters had to get a paper or periodical or penny dreadful printed and on the street or they would be out of a job.  So, in closing to this particular topic, that is the reason small punctuation marks are placed inside a close quotation mark.  Interesting . . .  (The dots, by the way, are called an ellipsis.  Two dashes placed one right after the other is still called a dash, it just places more emphasis on the break in the sentence.)

I haven't read through this whole thread--just the first and last pages--but wondered if a lesson on split infinitives or past participles has been provided.  I have been out of school for quite a while, doing technical writing by the way, and find that I have trouble remembering the rules for lay, lay, and laid.  Other interesting facts:  (and use of a colon is the proper punctuation mark to use in this situation seeing that I am beginning a list, separated by semicolons) school-aged children today are being taught to use very few commas in their writing (see the above explanation about determining lifespan) but technical writers are encouraged to use many commas so that a reader knows where to stop and digest the technical information they have just consumed; no one in today's society has any clue when to use -ible and when to use -able; very few people know when to use its and when to use it's.  Again, end rant.

Oops, one more thing to add.  I think it is appalling that there is a law enforcement task force which is allowed to use vulgarities and abusive language.  I may be inviting a nasty retort, or nobody reads this thread any more out of lack of interest.  In either case, vilifying someone else by insinuating that they are unintelligent is worse, by far, than overlooking some inadvertent misspelled word or text-speak.  If one can't understand the message someone is sending, a civilized person politely asks for clarification.  Name-calling is juvenile and should be below the standards of someone whose purpose is to monitor the language used on this website.  As you can clearly see by my signature line, you have hit a huge, throbbing nerve when you insult someone's cognitive abilities.  I came here to get the "awesomemod" and thought I would check out some of the forums to see what kind of information is being presented.  I was hoping for something better than what EA has to offer, but after reading a few entries on this thread, I may just satisfy myself with checking in periodically to see if any new updates to the mod are available.

If there is still any interest in this thread, I will look here a couple of times to see if there are any takers . . . (again, an ellipsis.)  I would be most honored to hear back from the originator of the thread (did someone assign the job of GRAMMAR POLICE to this individual or was it an assumed task?), and especially gratified to hear from the originator of the actual website.

Follow Up:  I have glanced over my missive and deleted most, not all, of the derogatory language directed at the grammarian (look it up, it's a valid word).  However, I was in a negative emotional state when I wrote it and pounded it out very quickly.  Some things you may notice are run-on sentences, verbosity, and continuous insults directed to those who are obviously not as erudite as they believe themselves to be.  IF (and I emphasize if) anyone looks at this thread anymore and finds a misspelled word, I apologize in advance.  That is the price you sometimes pay when adept with a keyboard.  Otherwise, the editorial field would be significantly "downsized."

End of rant.

[rohina]

Wow, the number of inaccuracies per word here is pretty high, considering how long the post is.

[snowbawl]

Word Vomit

Oh go fuck a retard and call yourself a Good Samaritan.  We do not care.

Here, you can have "{" as a parting gift.  Thanks for playing!

[Liz]

I'm brand new to this particular "forum," but WOW!

That was the most presumptuous and condescending introduction I've seen in quite some time. I especially liked the part where you chose to claim "too F to spell" and ended your pompous grammar screed by declaring that you couldn't be arsed to find and fix your errors. I feel honoured to have witnessed this emerging profile in courage.

I think it is appalling that there is a law enforcement task force which is allowed to use vulgarities and abusive language.  I may be inviting a nasty retort, or nobody reads this thread any more out of lack of interest...

In that case, I would like very much to introduce you to the word "fucktwittery". And please do feel free to enjoy that non-line-slanting, post-quotation-mark punctuation, free of charge.

[Lorelei]

[chaos]

@shellyb: All that ranting about grammar and you still exhibit which/that confusion. Grammar cat is not amused.

[socurious]

TL;DR. I skimmed the reaaaaaalllllly long rant.  Am I missing something? 

-He/she explains typsetting-induced punctuation
-redundant consonants (as opposed to unneccesary?)  -oops )?
-ellipses, dots and dashes for those who really don't know
-commas in technology
-the -ible/-able debate
-the use of vulgarities by grammar police to spork us dumbasses
-and an admitted unwillingness to correct his/her own typos/mistakes in a grammar thread

Was the point to inform, impress or redress?  Evidently, the rant missed its intended mark, or it would be clear.  I'm assuming the point is to lecture us about the use of vulgarities - he/she believes we should be addressing language, rather than the effective use of written communication. I don't claim to have superior writing skills, but personally, I think the use of the pronoun "fucktard" in the place of an incredible nuisance's username is a perfectly acceptable, grammatically correct way to say, "stfu."  This site is not for 12's who shouldn't be around such communication.

[soozelwoozel]

(The dots, by the way, are called an ellipsis.  Two dashes placed one right after the other is still called a dash, it just places more emphasis on the break in the sentence.)
blah blah blah
(and use of a colon is the proper punctuation mark to use in this situation seeing that I am beginning a list, separated by semicolons)
blah blah blah
no one in today's society has any clue when to use -ible and when to use -able; very few people know when to use its and when to use it's.  Again, end rant.

Gee, thanks so much for those condescending explanations. (That single dot I just used is a full stop by the way. It's used to end sentences.) I'm so glad you arrived on the scene armed with all this mind-blowing grammar knowledge, I was lost in a mire of semicolons and exclamation marks before you came along. Also, I think you're hanging around the wrong people if your fellows don't understand when to use its and it's.

[Lorelei]

CAGE MATCH: rufio vs. shellywhosits.

TWO SELF-PROCLAIMED GRAMMAR "EXPERTS" ENTER!

With luck, none emerge unscathed.

[shelleyb]

  Hilllllarious!  Let me start off by redirecting anyone's belief that I am insulting the forum community at large.  The whole purpose of my first post was to slam the GRAMMAR POLICE.  I can see from the replies that the grammar mafia were, as expected, the most insulting and leanest on value.  I apologize for sounding so pompous to the forum community.  Had I made it clearer that all my comments were for the benefit of the grammar mafia and their own unjustifiable (-able/-ible) arrogance, the rest of you might have looked at that post from a different perspective.

It's so funny that there was no interest in this thread for almost a month until I read one post mocking someone's intelligence, got pissed off and launched on a rant.  It was unforgivable of me (-ible/-able).  I'm really too busy living a life in the real world to waste much precious time in a virtual one, though it seems virtual worlds are preferable (-able/-ible) to those of you beating up on anyone and everyone who decides to post a reply to your sacred thread.  Look at how much work you put into "amusing" avatars and badges to represent yourselves.  As I stated, I only came to this site to get a mod and thought that a thread initiated by GRAMMAR POLICE might be informative and intelligent.  I was mistaken.

I'm amazed that this thread is even allowed to exist, given the ignorance of those purporting to be its mafia squad.   You see, here is an example of IT'S and ITS being properly used.  I probably shouldn't have mentioned one of my pet peeves in the first place since you misunderstood my intent.  Your grammar mafia seem to be truly confused about which to use when.  And my FELLOWS, as you called them, would laugh me out of the room if they knew I visited this type of forum, let alone posted something.

The type of exchange I am used to directs responses to the originator and posters are encouraged to include additional information regarding the topic introduced.  Many of those posts can be quite long, being of a technical nature, and often include links to sites with even more information than is being given in the post.  I was merely utilizing habits I am familiar with when posting to forum threads.

I do appreciate the fact that anyone even made an effort to respond to my post.  I'll try address each of you in turn:

I noticed some of the mafia corrections in here pertained to the use of punctuation marks, but without any clear understanding of how they work.  Therefore, a simple lesson seemed appropriate, for the benefit of the mafia cretins, in the dynamics of how some punctuation rules came into being--from pure mechanics instead of grammatical rules.  There actually is a distinction between punctuation rules and the rules of proper grammar, just as there is a distinction for misspelling.  Just an FYI for those with so little to do that they spend all their time inaccurately making fun of everyone's inaccuracies (per word).  By the way, thanks to the individual for contributing the "full-stop" comment.  I completely forgot that what we call a "period" used to be called "full-stop."

You may want to look up redundant and unnecessary in an unabridged dictionary, though.  Sometimes the meanings of words are truncated in an abridged dictionary in an effort to save space which/that causes people to use the wrong word in the wrong context.  In the computer age, the definition of redundancy has changed from its original meaning and that is the definition that/which is most commonly found in an abridged dictionary.  Also, the term effective is subjective, not objective.  In case anyone is unfamiliar with these words, subjective (in this case) means that/which a topic is subject to a person's own biases.  To be objective is more concrete and agreed upon by the majority.  (The reason I am explaining the difference between these two words and their application is that I won't be checking back to see if anyone else misunderstands me.)  I admit that I fall into the subjective mode when viewing the effectiveness of the written communication being used by the mafia.  It falls miserably short of the mark of a real grammarian.

True, my meaning in that original post got lost in the quagmire.  I was HOT when I wrote it.  Clearly stated:

#1-That post was directed to the ORIGINATOR of this thread and others titling themselves the grammar mafia, not all posters in general.  Don't be so sensitive when you aren't even being insulted (by me, anyway).

#2-I don't care how vulgar or profane you are, in general.  It's an oxymoron, though, for people to declare themselves to be grammarians and yet be unable to express themselves in a civil and educated tone.

#3-Don't declare yourself an expert in something that you obviously don't have a broad command of, like the English language.

#4-Be more sensitive to people's mental capacities.  After all, look at how obviously limited your own capacities are.

No, I didn't believe typos would be an issue on this thread.  By admitting that I probably left behind typos shouldn't offend any of you when text-speak and acronyms are freely used here.  I meant that I'm not perfect, but I'm also not trying to pass myself off as GRAMMAR POLICE.  The length of my former post, and this one as well, should serve to inform the reader that I am able to pound out loads of crap onto a computer quickly.  Anyway, at least I put forth the effort of glancing back over my post (and deleting my more egregious insults).  To be frank, I blasted the grammar mafia pretty harshly before I edited my first post.  Can you imagine if I hadn't edited it? 

I didn't read 99% of the gibberish between page one and page 99999, so I don't understand the post about being cage-matched against someone else.  Perhaps it's another person trying to educate the great unwashed in the grammar mafia?  (The "great unwashed" is a derogatory remark from a long time ago and has dropped out of common use; it has nothing to do with hygiene.  I just like to pull it out to use on people who feel superior to others without any merit for their assumption.)

One person's which is another person's that.  Try reading, a book.  A book on grammar might be a good place to start.  You may learn something.  I have to "read up" on current grammar trends constantly for CPEs that/which are required for my job.  Oh, I'm really sorry!  My former and current intent is not to insult the forum contributors as a whole, just the mafia!

Grammar cat and grammar ferret might want to be more concerned about the "presents" coming out of their own mouths (expressed typographically, of course) instead of dropping one in someone's shoe.

We are living in the 21st century now.  The invention of the typewriter actually took care of the line-slanting problem.  The intent of that tidbit of information was a direct insult to the mafia's attempts to use punctuation rules that they clearly don't understand the origin of.  Knowing why you place which characters where can make it easier to remember what the rules are.  Stupid of me to include that before, but the generous side of me was trying to impart some wisdom on the mafia cretins.  (I just love the word cretin.)

I believe the final post that must be responded to regards how honoured an individual felt after skipping over my little foray into the world of grammar, which/that was directed at the mafia and not the posters in general.  Thank you.  I'm glad I could bring a little honour to your day.  Just kidding; I know you were being sarcastic.

I'm sorry if you responded to my post and I didn't get around to you.  As stated many times before, my post was directed at the grammar mafia and I was really hoping to hear from some of its duly initiated members.

Great job students!  At least I got a dead thread going again.  Now you kiddies will have to cross verbal blades with each other without parental guidance.  I said I would check back to see if anyone reads this thread anymore since it is nonsensical (a real word; look it up in an unabridged dictionary--just a musical way of saying nonsense).  I have done so.  Now I must say goodbye; to say farewell implies that we will be meeting each other again, and that (which?) will not happen.  I know this will reduce the few of you in the mafia who actually deigned to respond to tears, but different paths and all that . . . (ellipsis)

P.S. (Or Post-script to the nit picky)  I hope I gave the reader the option of choosing between which and that every time I used one of those words.  To the person who found my laziness in correcting my own typos funny, this next line should be a hoot.  I didn't go back over this particular installment in English 101!  Hurray!  I think my intentions have been made clear; the mafia needs a makeover and should allow conversations to flow organically.  If a post is indecipherable (-ible/-able), simply ask for clarification.  Less insulting heat may lead to more valuable exchange.

[Lorelei]

You seem to have assumed that posting a self-congratulatory and arrogant comment full of glaring errors and complaining about the Grammar Police entitles you to have your opinion taken seriously.

[Tingeling]

Hilllllarious!  Let me start off by redirecting anyone's belief that I am insulting the forum community at large.  The whole purpose of my first post was to slam the GRAMMAR POLICE.  I can see from the replies that the grammar mafia were, as expected, the most insulting and leanest on value.

If you had lurked and read some of the grammar police's earlier posts, you would be surprised by the fact that their entertainment value is in high regard around here. 

I apologize for sounding so pompous to the forum community.  Had I made it clearer that all my comments were for the benefit of the grammar mafia and their own unjustifiable (-able/-ible) arrogance, the rest of you might have looked at that post from a different perspective.

Hmm, so what you are saying is essentially FO Grammar police, I'm not arrogant, you are! Meet Mr. mirror. BTW, not all of MATY are grammar police, yet most of us expect others to adhere to the current grammar rules. Which means for me that if I'm called out on a grammatical error (which happens from time to time) I make a note of it and mend my ways. Trust me, it's a learning experience.

It's so funny that there was no interest in this thread for almost a month until I read one post mocking someone's intelligence, got pissed off and launched on a rant.  It was unforgivable of me (-ible/-able).  I'm really too busy living a life in the real world to waste much precious time in a virtual one, though it seems virtual worlds are preferable (-able/-ible) to those of you beating up on anyone and everyone who decides to post a reply to your sacred thread.  Look at how much work you put into "amusing" avatars and badges to represent yourselves.  As I stated, I only came to this site to get a mod and thought that a thread initiated by GRAMMAR POLICE might be informative and intelligent.  I was mistaken.

Yes, yes, this has been stated before by other n00bs. Every time they get the question: Why are you here then? Why do you care so much? Right, you were beaten up by the Grammar police. Poor you.

I'm amazed that this thread is even allowed to exist, given the ignorance of those purporting to be its mafia squad.   You see, here is an example of IT'S and ITS being properly used.  I probably shouldn't have mentioned one of my pet peeves in the first place since you misunderstood my intent.  Your grammar mafia seem to be truly confused about which to use when.  And my FELLOWS, as you called them, would laugh me out of the room if they knew I visited this type of forum, let alone posted something.

So, now we have a mafia? Cool!

The type of exchange I am used to directs responses to the originator and posters are encouraged to include additional information regarding the topic introduced.  Many of those posts can be quite long, being of a technical nature, and often include links to sites with even more information than is being given in the post.  I was merely utilizing habits I am familiar with when posting to forum threads.

That is well and all, but here people are advised to lurk and to read the faq, preferrably more times than one. Also, it is a good thing to do a bit of research so that forum threads don't get bloated and to make it easier on others to find the technical info you search for.

Looong lecture on grammar.

Look, if you want to become a grammar police that bad, sign up with Rufio. She will help you out.

True, my meaning in that original post got lost in the quagmire.  I was HOT when I wrote it.  Clearly stated:

#1-That post was directed to the ORIGINATOR of this thread and others titling themselves the grammar mafia, not all posters in general.  Don't be so sensitive when you aren't even being insulted (by me, anyway).

See, here all is fair game. That means there is no privacy on the board. Type something and you better expect others to respond, even those who haven't started the thread.

#2-I don't care how vulgar or profane you are, in general.  It's an oxymoron, though, for people to declare themselves to be grammarians and yet be unable to express themselves in a civil and educated tone.

Have you talked to the Tard?

#3-Don't declare yourself an expert in something that you obviously don't have a broad command of, like the English language.

I'm not an expert, nor will I ever be. I do however put in an effort to learn me some english grammar and consider the posts by some members here to be highly educational.

#4-Be more sensitive to people's mental capacities.  After all, look at how obviously limited your own capacities are.

You really did take a wrong turn at the intersection.

No, I didn't believe typos would be an issue on this thread.  By admitting that I probably left behind typos shouldn't offend any of you when text-speak and acronyms are freely used here.  I meant that I'm not perfect, but I'm also not trying to pass myself off as GRAMMAR POLICE.  The length of my former post, and this one as well, should serve to inform the reader that I am able to pound out loads of crap onto a computer quickly.  Anyway, at least I put forth the effort of glancing back over my post (and deleting my more egregious insults).  To be frank, I blasted the grammar mafia pretty harshly before I edited my first post.  Can you imagine if I hadn't edited it?

Um, the thread is called Grammar POLICE. Followed by what could be construed as a warning. Are you blind? You don't want to be Grammar Police you say, yet earlier in your post you make an effort of correcting some of the Grammar police. I don't get it.

I didn't read 99% of the gibberish between page one and page 99999, so I don't understand the post about being cage-matched against someone else.  Perhaps it's another person trying to educate the great unwashed in the grammar mafia?  (The "great unwashed" is a derogatory remark from a long time ago and has dropped out of common use; it has nothing to do with hygiene.  I just like to pull it out to use on people who feel superior to others without any merit for their assumption.)

A cage match means that you should try fighting with someone. If you don't understand a saying, try googling it. Or even better, search the forum for related topics. And no, it is a meme. It was funny.

One person's which is another person's that.  Try reading, a book.  A book on grammar might be a good place to start.  You may learn something.  I have to "read up" on current grammar trends constantly for CPEs that/which are required for my job.  Oh, I'm really sorry!  My former and current intent is not to insult the forum contributors as a whole, just the mafia!

Bad grammar police, yeah, we got that by now.

Grammar cat and grammar ferret might want to be more concerned about the "presents" coming out of their own mouths (expressed typographically, of course) instead of dropping one in someone's shoe.

Again, if you had any knowledge of MATY's culture, you would have brushed that off with a laugh and moved on. Ferrets and cats can never be wrong!

We are living in the 21st century now.  The invention of the typewriter actually took care of the line-slanting problem.  The intent of that tidbit of information was a direct insult to the mafia's attempts to use punctuation rules that they clearly don't understand the origin of.  Knowing why you place which characters where can make it easier to remember what the rules are.  Stupid of me to include that before, but the generous side of me was trying to impart some wisdom on the mafia cretins.  (I just love the word cretin.)

Are we really? I wasn't aware of that. Again, if you want to apply for Grammar Police, contact Rufio.

Great job students!  At least I got a dead thread going again.  Now you kiddies will have to cross verbal blades with each other without parental guidance.  I said I would check back to see if anyone reads this thread anymore since it is nonsensical (a real word; look it up in an unabridged dictionary--just a musical way of saying nonsense).  I have done so.  Now I must say goodbye; to say farewell implies that we will be meeting each other again, and that (which?) will not happen.  I know this will reduce the few of you in the mafia who actually deigned to respond to tears, but different paths and all that . . . (ellipsis)

We shall weep for you. No, seriously. Go.

P.S. (Or Post-script to the nit picky)  I hope I gave the reader the option of choosing between which and that every time I used one of those words.  To the person who found my laziness in correcting my own typos funny, this next line should be a hoot.  I didn't go back over this particular installment in English 101!  Hurray!  I think my intentions have been made clear; the mafia needs a makeover and should allow conversations to flow organically.  If a post is indecipherable (-ible/-able), simply ask for clarification.  Less insulting heat may lead to more valuable exchange.

Actually, it seemed like you weren't too sure how to use those words. We do have valuable exchange. With people that are less insulted. It is funny though how many come in here weekly to try and change the forum only to say Buh-bye shortly thereafter. Have a nice trip, shelleyb!

[toad]

Hey, smellyb:
READ THE FAQS OR GTFO. Also, lurk MOAR. This forum has its own culture, don't think it'll change just because you're a Special Suzie.