Rule amendment

Firefox has a built in Spell Checker for browsing and it works on the forum as well.

 

Bit ut iss knot yused

 

Please keep the thread on topic. We all understand what is meant by the topic, splitting hairs over the corrects spelling is not necessary. Dirk, please understand that we have a huge amount of members who do not speak english as a first, and sometimes even a second laguage. And not everyone is pc friendly.

Some internet browsers have a built in spell chequer, but IE is not one of them

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And we could argue spelling of specific words too...spelt vs spelled? English vs American spellings. I try to be a grammar & spelling Nazi but as with everything else in life, we all have our strengths & weaknesses. As long as the poster is not posting using sms-speak and the post makes sense, I can accept it. Peace out.

 

Both 'spelt' & 'spelled' are correct, though spelled is the more commonly used.

 

I'm probably a bit overly sensitive to some things after the Stormers loss to the Bulls yesterday,but in what I think is a very important discussion on TASA,is 'correct spelling' the only comment you guys can add?Seriously?Nothing els?

 

Hi Rudi,

I agree about the importance of the thread, but in the thread heading, you have what as far as I am concerned a major spelling error, a real clanger as far as I am concerned. Am I then not entitled to mention this? It completely distracts from the thread as far as I am concerned. I am not worried at all about different spellings of English as Desert Convert mentions, I would accept any, I am just concerned about writing English with correct spelling and there have been many more major errors of late. In my work, I have to write a lot of scientific papers and reports and if you make mistakes there you get criticized heavily. As a result, I am sensitized to seeing errors and I have to correct errors in reports and seminars all the time. What I have noticed is that the general ability of spelling in South Africa has deteriorated severely over the past ten or fifteen years and I just wonder whether this is because the education system is failing or whether because of the advent of SMS language, people are so confused or could not care less that it has degenerated to the extent that it has.

That is my opinion and that is the point that I want to make!

Kind regards,

Dirk

 

You could've made the point in a new thread.There is no need to clutter this thread with something that has nothing to do with the topic,even if it is spelt wrong.You can mention anything you want but keep it on topic,thread hijacking is still rude and uncalled for.

 

Sms language has only been around for the past 4 or 5yrs. So i blame education.

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Hi Rudi,

But if you spell "amendment" as "ammendment" this word does not describe what you are trying to bring across in this thread, which is an amendment of the rules. For this reason my comments are not cluttering this thread and have everything to do with this thread. There is no such a thing as an "ammendment" so for all intents and purposes (note spelling because I have seen this completely misspelt on this forum as well) the discussion here means nothing. It also has nothing to do with thread hijacking as this is absolutely to the point of the thread nor is it uncalled for.

I contribute to overseas forums (English and German) and I am even a moderator of an American forum but nowhere, do I see this bad spelling and grammar. I think the South African education system is failing dismally as Ashley indicates, and what worries me even more is that no one seems to care either, and this making out that this has nothing to do with this thread is another indication that folks in SA just simply do not seem to care nor to take pride in spelling and using grammar correctly. For me this is a grave state of affairs.

Kind regards,

Dirk

 

Ammonia thread again!

Damn, this guy is irritating the hell out of the Prof!!

So, while we are discussing rule amendments, maybe we can introduce another rule, where you get a point for every spelling mistake. Three points if it is in the thread heading. These points can then be displayed as another statistic on your profile. We can make it fun, too. We can make a game of playing, 'split your mate'. That way we can make sure everyone is so busy with spell checkers, dictionaries and thesauruses that one will think twice before posting another post that irritates the hell out of each other and make no sense.

That can be TASA's contribution to address the lack of educational standards in this country.

 

Then start a new thread,Dirk.You can call it "South African education system sucks" or "No one cares" or whatever.Your comment still has nothing to do with the thread or to be more precise,the general content of the thread.
You can ask the moderators to change the topic to "Rule amendment" if you like but the content will stay the same,the opinions won't change and your comment still won't add anything constructive to the discussion.

 

I think the corrections should be made right here, I mean this thread is 16 pages long and no one has even asked about the correction of the spelling of "ammendment", this is atrocious as far as I am concerned and as a result I am adding something that is constructive, I am adding what is wrong in this thread!

Kind regards,

Dirk

 

Personally what I find amazing is that a blacklisted thread has made it to page 16, with extremely constructive discussion about a very relevant topic. Every single other thread that deals with the blacklist lands up being closed because it turns nasty. We are on page 16, the entire thread has been (1) on topic, and (2) hugely beneficial to the forum. Dirk, you have not been around as of late, but I'm sure some of our members will agree that the whole blacklist issue seems to be a little bit more tolerable as of late. Regardless of how the word was spelt in the name of the thread, the thread had more benefit to all on tasa than any other thread posted in the last few months.

I find it amazing that we are on page 16, EVERYONE knows the the topic is about, and NO ONE cared about the spelling of the word.

Maybe instead of criticising us South Africans for not taking pride in our spelling and grammar, take note of how tolerable South Africans are of such (in my opinion) trivial matters. Germans speak German or English, so obviously their English will be good. England speaks... Duh. USA is same. SA has 11 languages, we cannot expect everyone to speak, type and spell Oxford English.

I agree 100% with Rudi on this one, this should have been brought up in a completely different thread, as this arguement is not being constructive to anything of this thread, which, up until now, has been very constructive.

Regardless of whether it was spelt ammendment, amendment or even if it was spelt amndmnt we all knew that the thread was about.

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I.M.O. the content of this thread is a little bit more important than the spelling of the title and in these 14 pages forum members were allowed to speak their minds about a very contentious rule for the first time without the fear of being reprimanded.
Now all you can add to a sensitive topic is a mis spelt word.This is not a school essay,it's a public forum were things are sometimes typed in haste when the topic gets a bit heated,as it did.Did you read the thread at all?
Dirk,you could have just as easily brought your grievances to the attention of the moderators.They are,after all,the only persons who can rectify this most terrible mistake.You can't do it,I can't do it.And then to reduce this thread to your personal "spelling crusade" is,for lack of a better word,atrocious.

 

Well Rudi,

If we bring this thread back to the topic, then I actually want to put another aspect on to the discussion table and that is that at present the whole black list is to be changed in any case. In 2009 in the Government Gazette, the new biodiversity law that was to be implemented was outlined (it was published with a full list which I have as a pdf, and if the mods wanted to we could make this available somehow perhaps, I have it in my possession), and very, very many of the blacklisted plants and fishes, and shrimps for that matter as well, have dissappeared from the list. I am not sure when the new law will be implemented but then most of what is being debated here, will not be relevant in any case. For this very reason, I also do not understand why there has been this sensitivity on this forum about the blacklist, because soon the present blacklist will be no more!

So besides the spelling perhaps this whole thread is also a storm in a teacup? Some food for thought?

Kind regards,

Dirk

 

I'm sorry Dirk but it seems to me even you are missing the point of the whole thing.It's not just if or why shrimps,certain plants or fish are on the black list,but why we as a forum are, or were,not allowed to discuss,name or show these species.Whether some species are omitted from the list or legalised in the near future does not change that fact.
If I saw an interesting article about,lets say Sulawesi snails and shrimp or any other blacklisted species,then I'm not allowed to share that article on TASA.I'm not allowed to discuss these animals because inverts are on the current blacklist,the one that counts.All that is debated here will still be relevant.
That's what this thread is about.Freedom of speech is not a storm in a teacup.

 

Well Rudi,

If you would have a look at the new list, then there is nothing left to debate about, that is my point, and that is the point I am trying to make.

Kind regards,

Dirk

 

Oh, I am sure there will be other interesting creatures on the new blacklist(whenever is comes into play). So I agree with Rudi on this one.

I think if one makes it clear enough that this section is about "illegal" species and that this forum does not endorse the keeping, etc. of such species, it could be rather informative. Not only might it shed some light as to why certain species are blacklisted, but if nothing else it might be a perfect tool to educate uninformed members about the status of certain species.

So instead of the moderators having to block a thread - it can be referred to the "blacklisted-section" and that way people can be nudged onto the righteous path instead of the usual "fire and brimstone" approach. We have to agree that there has been some discussions in the pass about "scaring" people off when our diligent moderators would shut down "blacklisted-discussions" and this might be a better way to handle the issue.

Surely education about the hobby must include the no-no's too?

My two cents..

Morné

 

Hi. I while back I was banned for having Rainbow cichlids. A friend gave me 2 which he bought from a LFS in Bellville. He was not sure what they were and on the end I was banned for a few days after asking what specie is was on the forum. I few weeks back I went to some LFS and 2 shops had a few of them in stock. ??????. I gave them away to one of the shops.

If its blacklisted why is it still sold at 2 places without nobody caring? I still have around 20 babies 20-30mm that I need to get rid of.

Just my 2 cents worth as well.