I could say a shit ton, but this guy does it better.
http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=video&cd=2&ved=0CEEQtwIwAQ&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DJ7E-aoXLZGY&ei=MRxGTaH1HcH_lgfJ1_QG&usg=AFQjCNE_sqqaXC7Xzq7DS34UyxRpTqcRGQ&sig2=Dh-JZHx-uTPQ4ax4aEgqQA

Now.. just because I removed the sticky, doesn't mean fix'd comments are still allowed.

So...would this be considered a good thing, or a bad thing?

Would what be considered a good thing?

KloH0und said:
Would what be considered a good thing?

That the guy is "preserving" the English language.
Is that good that he is preserving it for future generations?
Or is it bad because...?

Stephen Fry isn't trying to "preserve language," he's saying that some people claim they do, but all they are actually doing is conceitedly chastising other people's grammar and fixating over insignificant flaws in everyday writing and speech.

Those linguistic zealots aren't doing it for the altruistic sake of maintaining the clarity of the English word; they're simply trying to satiate their own desire to feel superior over others.

Fry believes the rote criteria for judging English as "right" or "wrong" is much less significant than you might think. Language is dynamic. Just because a sentence isn't technically correct it doesn't mean it can't be understood.

WolfieWolfie1992 said:
That the guy is "preserving" the English language.
Is that good that he is preserving it for future generations?
Or is it bad because...?

relisten to it, you got the meaning all wrong

Although I agree with most of the video, I can't help but get irked by people who misspell "its" and "it's", "two" "too" and "to", and "cord" and "chord"

hg3300 said:
Although I agree with most of the video, I can't help but get irked by people who misspell "its" and "it's", "two" "too" and "to", and "cord" and "chord"

I think it's fine if you want to correct people when they make occasional mistakes; you're only a jackass if you act all "holier than thou" about it.

Honestly, I think most people do it to troll. It is not even just to try and make themselves feel superior to anyone. The main goal of this sort of thing is to make the other person feel like a dumbass. Generally, in my experience I see this stuff mostly on forums boards when people are arguing and someone just points out a grammatical issue in order to further infuriate their "opponent," and a lot on World of Warcraft, where people just jerk each other around and troll one another constantly.

Really, no one is trying to preserve the English language. They are simply using language as a way to make fun of each other and piss one another off, should their target be hot-headed or worked up enough.

I've been around since a LONG time, Since BBSes actually when back then just to get ONTO the damned things you needed at least some semblance of know-how and typing was, Basically, ALL you could do on there. Over the years I've seen your average chatroom-goer go from, "Why hello there, Sir, And what a fine day to peruse the porn archives for suitable browsing material, Wot?" to "N E WAYZ IMMAH GO EET SUM FUUD AND WANK 2 PRONZ LOLOLOL111!1"

The daily spotting of misspelt words and things we used to get smacked for writing incorrectly in school (Like the aforementioned 'They're/There/Their')

Personally I blame two major things: The EASE of getting online (Most average kids just have to sit in front of an already-connected computer with only the knowledge of point-and-click) and text services that charge by the letter/Word forcing people to write and get used to things like "R U THAR?" which unfortunately carry over to their general online use. :P

I agree though that there's a fine line between 'maintaining' the language's 'integrity' (Such as it is!) and being an absolute powerdouche over doing so.

..Doesn't mean it doesn't still annoy the fuck out of some of us older folk. :P