If you enjoy spending your time online, whether it’s social networking, media, blogs or just surfing the net, you’ve surely come across other Internet users that just question your beliefs on our society. No, I’m not talking about Facebook creepers, I’m talking about those that just somehow seem to lack a bit more grey matter than we think is possible. I’m taking about the users who all value grammar with minimal interest. I don’t know how other people feel when they see a poorly constructed comment, where synonyms are switched and capitals appear out of nowhere and so forth, but it personally makes me cringe! I can not stand it, it isn’t feasible to me how someone can blatantly massacre the beauty of English and butcher it beyond recognition. With all due respect, there are some things that should not be remotely seen on the internet, and bad grammar is it. Imagine an Internet where you can read through sentences upon sentences without the fear of running into a “their” when it should have been a “there.” Wouldn’t that be blissful? Unfortunately society has manifested the so-called “internet-talk” into something where lacking the fundamentals of grammar is acceptable. The most infamous example being the use of “your” versus “you’re”. Simply put, I fear for our society, for I’m worried that every time someone has a lack of judgment in their word choices, a poor puppy somewhere in the world whimpers in agony.
![Internet Filtration System of the Day: A modest proposal from Matthew Baldwin (AKA defective yeti): Internet Access Captchas to keep certain less-desirable types off the Information Superhighway. Here’s what happens when you’re your grammar skills aren’t up to snuff: Problem solved? [thd.]](http://28.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lpfninPyJZ1qzpwi0o1_500.jpg)
Okay, jokes aside, it really does bother me when people have troubles communicating at an acceptable standard. I’m not the only one that thinks that though. A man by the name of Matthew Baldwin is on the same page as I am. He brought for a proposal to weed out the people that make the Internet a bit less appealing. Everyone knows what Captchas are, images used to sort out human from robot by getting you to input the word an image says. Well, imagine this: Internet Access Captchas; designed to test human brains and push them to their limits very reasonable and respectable levels of knowledge. Give that link a shot, have some fun with this little widget open for everyone to fool around with (mind you if you pass the test, the phrasing is a bit mature, but nothing to worry about if you’ve been through your “Internet Dangers” course) and see how much you’d appreciate the Internet if it were to be free of simple grammar mistakes.
It’s beautiful. It’s simple. And absolutely essential. It makes perfect sense! This is what the Internet needs, and desperately too. Hopefully one day we will see a filtration system like this, but for the time being we’re gonna have to cope and long for a day of brightened futures.
For the record, I hope no one gets anything wrong, but this is what happens when you do blunder:
Great post! I agree completely. An even bigger problem arises when the internet’s lack of enforcement of grammatical etiquette results in people carrying on bad habits into their writing elsewhere. This results in what is basically a form of illiteracy. I think Internet Access Captchas would not only prevent the agitation of those who do understand the use of the English language, but would also be beneficial to those who do not.