Grammar and Trolls

I like correct grammar. People who like words like the proper use of grammar but even the most skilled of wordsmiths make mistakes.

Twitter, with it's quick 140 characters seems to have sparked a huge divide 

between the grammar nazis and those who couldn't care less. People get quite worked up about a missing apostrophe or a mis-spelt word. It has also become the new battleground on which to fight Trolls.

I blame the seventies for our obsession with Trolls. Who didn't keep a couple of those ugly plastic dolls in their pocket to stroke their brightly coloured hair every time they were upset or a bit stressed? Our obsession with Trolls has become so great that I found an article online, listing the 21 types of Internet Troll, which must mean that anyone who comments on anyone else's internet exclamation is a Troll. We complain about them but secretly we love those little guys.

The Grammar Troll is, according to the article I read, a thing in it's own right but it has become the favourite Troll-bashing technique amongst the writers and thinkers that are most popular on Twitter. Piers Morgan has said in an interview with GQ Magazine that he finds correcting Trolls' spelling an effective revenge tactic and I have noticed that others are following in his footsteps.

Another good example is @mysadcat, which is a comedy account, where someone puts pictures of their cat looking sad. I'm not quite sure why people get upset about this but his blog shows how he has been dealing with it.

http://littlecatdiaries.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/man-picks-completely-pointless-fight.html

They are funny to read but I'm not sure they really work. Apart from anything else it gives them a wider readership than they could have ever hoped for without the re-tweeted comment and people who post nasty comments in response to something funny or well written are only going to have their suspicion that that person is a smug wotsit confirmed.

Although I like good spelling and grammar I can't help wondering if it really matters. If you understand what is being said does it really matter if it says there, their or they're?

If you are killing Trolls with red-pen correction then it is only fair that you do the same to yourself.

You have to have massive respect for this Guardian Journalist, who originally tweeted, "The only results that matter today: Magazine ABC's at 12noon. If you can bare to wait."