Ok, I've decided that we're done with arguing with anonymous posters.
Back in January, I complained about people who confuse the words then and than. Months later, an anonymous commenter took exception to this and began checking my blog looking for grammatical errors I have made. Some of these comments can be seen here, here, here, and here. (There are others, but I don't want to track them all down.) More recently, anonymous was involved in this lengthy debate. It terminates with the revelation that the "Grammar Nazi" is retiring, but anonymous claims that some of the comments left, which are attributed to "Sha'qwantae" were not of his doing. So, even if Anonymous/Grammar Nazi has retired, Anonymous/Sha'qwantae is still commenting, as seen here, and seems to have spilled over to my sister's blog.
For the record, yes, I ranted about bad grammar even though I regularly make similar mistakes. I think all of us do things like this from time to time. We complain about someone who cut us off while driving, but fail to use our turn signals. Things like that. On some of the points recently raised (about the phrase "focus down" for instance) I still maintain that I am correct, and others have agreed with me. However, I now declare this debate to be finished. Shannon remarked the other day that anonymous has picked a fight he/she can't/won't win, because both myself and Suzanne will not give up on a debate, and will not admit defeat. We are quite stubborn. But I feel that lines have been crossed and the debate has started to turn somewhat nasty. It is time for the debate to end.
To this end, I will no longer be responding to any such comments left by anonymous. I ask others to likewise ignore such comments. Any subsequent argumentative comments from anonymous will be deleted. If that does not solve the problem, anonymous comments will be disallowed. If Anonymous/Grammar Nazi or Anonymous/Sha'qwantae would like to contact me personally, they should feel free to do so. I am fairly certain of the identity of one of them, and will discuss this with him when I see him next.
Now if only I could get people so interested to comment on the topics I pick.
6 comments:
It's true, arguing with a Blockburger is a lost cause. And it can be a scary experience; I don't recommend it. Way to end the battle, Clark!
I do admire you for putting a stop to the grammar police debates. However, I find it be kind of a shame. I found it all to be quite entertaining.
Maybe I should clarify, that I am happy to carry on the debate provided the anonymous commenter(s) identify themselves. However, I don't consider blog comments as an effective way to have such a debate, and would prefer to converse via email. Blog comments lend themselves to short points and few details, which is not a recipe for an argument, not a debate.
Jeez, the first time I venture a response to Anonymous, and this is what happens.
Yes Adam, it's all because of you.
Sabrina, just hop on over to my blog. He's already resorted to calling me a racist - what's next, comparing me to Hitler?
(To be fair, I did start that by calling him the Grammar Nazi.)
I shall continue responding to him until he no longer amuses me, and then I shall disable anonymous comments entirely.
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