It’s not so often that I go on a rant but every now and then something sets me over the top and I feel that must let it out. That being, I received a few comments on the blog yesterday that don’t actually upset me per se, but rather annoy me for how silly they are and how silly people can be. What really bothers me is that comments such as these make me feel that society can be so petty sometimes. That being, see the exchange of posts below:
Commentator 1: “You should be a spelling snob too… or just spell check your writing. The spelling really weakens the strength of the classy aura you’re trying to put out there.”
My response: “Classy? How long have you been reading the blog? I am not a writer, just a person speaking my thoughts. Thanks for your feedback anyway.”
Commentator 2 (in response to my response): “Obviously you’re not a writer. ”A new brand on the scene that “are” creating?” “Is” would be correct. “Relative to “it’s” price point?” Its would be correct. (this was my incorrect writing in the post that he was highlighting) And this is just for openers. I think you were absent on the day they taught grammar in grammar school…”
The first commentator may have been commenting genuinely. It’s hard to tell, especially as I don’t know how long he has been reading the blog. The 2nd was just being annoying. And I did not know there was such thing as “grammar school.” All I ever had was English class, which I absolutely hated (I was a Math guy). So, some of you will read this and agree with my feelings. Others will go on and argue that I do the same thing with shoes. But that is where you are wrong. I go on my own forum and talk about what I do and don’t like, but I don’t bother going up to people or commenting on other’s blogs and putting them down just for the sake of what they are doing that may bother me. That’s just a waste of time and time is a precious commodity that I don’t have enough of to waste. Clearly many do.
The real argument here is the fact that ‘who the hell cares’ if I make a mistake and don’t correct it, like when adding an incorrect apostrophe to ‘its’ or using ‘are’ instead of ‘is.’ It’s not like I don’t know these things. Come on people. Use your common sense that you should have been born with. It’s that I write 50-60 words per minute that are flying off of the top of my brain and when writing like that sometimes things just come out (which are not caught by spell check) and I simply don’t have enough time, nor care enough (or at all) to go back and check my spelling/grammar. It’s not that important to me. Call it a bad attitude or whatever you want. But in life we all have our priorities and spell checking is not one of them for me. It is not like I am not writing a political essay in the NY Times am I? No, I am writing about shoes on a blog.
I have had genuine people write a comment, or better yet an email, telling me why something was wrong and politely giving me the correct way of doing so and those people I completely appreciate as I will be the first to admit that my writing is not great. But for those that write petty comments, I feel that they are doing so 1. Because they have inferiority complexes and therefore feel the need to show superiority and/or 2. Because what they really want to say but don’t have the balls to do so, is “Justin, you are a f***ing twat.” If they said that, I would at least respect them more and probably laugh about it too. But to leave comments about using an apostrophe where I should not have? GET A LIFE PEOPLE! THIS IS A BLOG AND NOTHING MORE. SO DEAL WITH MY ERRORS OR DON’T READ THE BLOG!!! …… it is really that simple.
Thank you,
Justin, “The Shoe Snob”
Keep up the good work Justin. At the end of the day, Focus on your priorities. Don’t let small minded folks get you down. Keep giving to the world and the world will reward you in return.
Please don´t let it get you! For every annoyingly OCD grammar snob out there, you will also find plenty of us who greatly enjoy your work, rarely or never post comments, and really don´t care if your use of the apostrophe is a catastrophe or not. Some of us even went to grammar school. (They are, or used to be, quite British institutions which often forced children to endure daily shoe inspections) Wishing you all success.
I am sorry that people feel the need to post derogatory comments. The silent majority really appreciate your blog and perhaps we do not say “Thank you” often enough.
I do not care if your grammar is perfect. I read your blog to learn more about shoes, not grammar. Keep up the good work.
A friend of mine once told me that in every criticism, there’s a kernel of truth. Weed out the trash talk and just take the good (i.e. grammar and spelling points) you can get out of it. Then again, even if your grammar and spelling and sh*t were perfect, these people would still find something to criticise you about.
At the end of the day, communication isn’t about technicalities. It’s about putting your message out there and being heard. Keep it up.
I actually filter out any English or Gramatical mistakes as it doesn’t matter in my opinion, I get where you are coming from and love the blog, the shoe porn photos are amazing. Don’t let the bastards grind you down they mean nothing, if they were so great they could do a blog themselves. Hope to see you soon. Cheers JC
Justin don’t let those knuckleheads get you down, they probably have terrible taste in shoes! 🙂
Same here! Forget them and go on, Justin!
And excellent shoe porn!!!!
You’ve got my simpathy Justin!
Hello Justin, I hope I’ve got that correct as I’m a little lost for words and very concerned about the comer etc. The person who sent you the rather petty emails probably has little going on in their life. I like your writing it’s from the heart and apart from a managable obsession with shoes (I’ve no problem with that, and it’s your life, and apart from anything else your work), who cares?
I expect nobody apart from your somewhat anal retentive poster. Just to avoid confusion that should not refer to me as the poster. Now it’s getting complicated. I guess what you need above anything else is a creative and excited mind. You have those traits. So good luck to you. This comes from someone who got hammered at a very poor school for not being able to spell and reading books that were seen as too advanced. Is it to or too? I think it’s too but open to correction. Anyway didn’t stop me working at a high level or passing post graduate courses even without a degree. Still can’t spell as for grammar, don’t get me stated on that…..
Anyway all the best. Sean
PS should have tried your mothers cure for ear infections.
Justin.
Petty comments from petty little people. Just ignore those cretins and write great posts with passion and knowledge for the rest of us. As you always do!
Hi Justin. The real purpose of writing is communication. I know writers who can write technically perfectly but really cannot communicate, while you might perhaps make the occasional technical mistake but you communicate exceptionally well. I know which I prefer 🙂
Love the circle of shoes! What’s the one in the 1 o’clock position? Love the last shape!
Grammar is very important; however, it can also be the enemy of style!
Hi Justin,
I discovered your blog a few months ago. Total shoenoramus (not a thesaurus word so I’m sure it’ll annoy Grammar Dictators) here. So reading your blog has been an insightful journey. I agree with Alan O and T.Lansangan – you can be as technically proficient as you like. Means jack if you can’t communicate. You communicate your passion for shoes so well it’s got me reading regularly. Keep up the great work. (btw loving that suede Wedgwood pic above 🙂 )
Hie
Two me grammer is very importante, especiallys in litterature.
Great litterature hase foten god or grait gramar!
Most Grait blags dont own god grammar. They ar so moch moaré than grammar. Väj not niid good grammar.
This Just in, you are gräjt and I friggin LOVE your BLAAG!
Thanks as a dyslexic that really made me smile and is easy to read 😂
I get a lot of similar comments on my blog. My grammar and spelling is sometimes not up to par. I understand their argument that poor grammar and spelling can put a hit on credibility. But I do not necessarily agree with it. I do try to spell correctly and use correct grammar, but it just doesn’t always happen. I usually write in a stream of consciousness, which doesn’t always fall in line with editing. As other commenters note, I think it is more important to convey your messages and communicate what you want. The grammar and spelling can come second.
Let the “grammar police” say what they want to say! Anyway, I enjoy reading your blog and those pair of shoes looked fantastic! I would love to have those inside my shoe cabinet. http://www.dressu.org