misquotes, improper engilsh, etc

[mikehallbackhoe]

I have noticed a lot of complaints about quotes being misquoted, or not properly worded, or bad punctuation, etc. I am curious as to why this is a concern for some people. To me, this is just a game, and I very rarely read the quote after I solve it. I also could care less who said it, and very rarely read who it is attributed to. The administrators of this site have plenty to do, without having to research every quote to check for accuracy, spelling, punctuation, after all, it is just a game. These things may be important to some people though, and I am curious if it helps you to solve the quote, or what? I don't want to ruffle any feathers, I am just curious, so please don't take offense.

[Annamariah]

I may be something of a perfectionist, so I like it when things are done properly...

Seriously speaking, bad grammar, spelling mistakes and incorrect punctuation affect playing by making cryptograms harder to solve. For example, there are some quotes where there is an en dash without spaces, which makes it look like a hyphen. When I solve the puzzle, I often waste a lot of precious time trying to figure out what the hyphenated word could be, only to realise it's not hyphenated at all but two quite separate words.

[imported_Lurker]

As an example of why this doesn't always bother me, I read the title of this thread as "mosquitoes, …"

Most of the time, it's a poor translation. I do agree with improper use of dashes and hyphens or omitted periods, making U.S. look like US and similar issues. Most of the errors on this site are misspelling the speaker or author of the quote, so I don't usually care.

[mikehallbackhoe]

I don't know enough about proper punctuation for it to bother me, but I will admit that it bothers me to watch someone run a tractor poorly, so I guess I can relate somewhat.

[mikehallbackhoe]

I just noticed the spelling in the title of this thread. Oh well, it is appropriate for the topic

[Annamariah]

I noticed it, but I thought it might have been deliberate

[gryhnd51]

I guess it just depends on how one's brain works. For me, correct spelling and punctuation have often helped me solve more easily. I always read the quotes after solving, and notice the author (if there is one!).....Frequently, I can solve the quote simply by knowing who said it. For example, Martin Fischer was/is a physician and his quotes are always about the practice of medicine.

[bansaisequoia]

Engalnd

I, too, have a lot of trouble solving quotes in Engilsh.

[abra]

I'm always amazed at how knowledgeable some solvers are about grammar and punctuation. I pay little attention, except, that I look for "and" and "but" after a comma.

If someone used bad grammar when they made the quote, I can't see complaining about that, if the quote is correct, it shouldn't be changed.

There are times when I would do better, if I would remember to look at the author. I always forget to do that.

Sometimes I read the quote when I'm done, often I don't.

[montyb]

I think this quote from Puzzle Baron says it best for me:

"But eventually people started to realize these ciphers could be broken quite easily, using nothing but simple pattern recognition, frequency analysis and a general knowledge of grammar and vocabulary."

[damsel22]

misquotes, improper engilsh, etc

In general I am extremely particular about proper grammar, punctuation, articulation, etc. I do notice some errors in quotes, but it doesn't generally bother me much. I try to remember that in many cases, quotes are spoken/written in Old English, which to this day gives me trouble. While I can solve better when things are completely correct, it is only a game. Part of that is just doing the best with what I am given.