Paragraphs please , Now pantagraphs too!

Agreed. However, good luck with your suggestion, as some folks simply have no clue!

In a perfect world, everyone would know what the "enter" key does.

Pressing it just one time creates a paragraph break, like the one I just made. Depending on your device, the enter key might be labeled, "return", or simply an arrow pointing down and to the left.

That's the big metal lever on the left that you push to the right when you get to the right side of the page, right?   (no, I don't have one, but I used one of my parents' in elementary school for reports before I had a computer/printer)

-Dave

I would also suggest a crash course in grammar and punctuation. Some posts appear as if the periods, commas, apostrophes and such were applied with a shotgun. 

  It's partially the composer style (software). It particular the oversized paragraph break (double, triple, or even quad line space where and indention alone suffices).

 Many, maybe most (?) books use paragraphs grouped into "sub-sections"(within chapters/section/subsections/paragraphs); each sub-section using a multiple line space to note itself. (Sections might use a breakine or bullet)  

 This composer doesn't lend it's self well to those that tend to write in that style; the extra space simply isn't used as efficiently IMO. 

   Myself for sure. I often use triple or quad letter space vs a line return and indention while composing. This allows more words to stay on the small screen of a phone.  The small composer box of a phone only shows about 4-6 lines of type. That limit prevents easy review of what's been written where; which leads to "scattered" compositions and omissions, especially while editing on the fly . I sometimes forget to change these triple space paragraph markers into a return/indent.

Note the following double line space below↓ isn't really as effective as one in a book with indents only. 

No author,  I was a graphics major, text/font design studies, instinctive reactions to them was very fascinating; akin to how the casino's designs and colors "steer" you.

The design here is simply  meant to be easily read on a phone at arms length using as little data, memory, and battery power as possible.

  It's also taylored more towards short bursts of type and "live conversation" vs "logged" and ongoing.  Some folk do this naturally, others need a whole page just to say "yes" with conviction.  

Visually exciting design has been a downhill run after W7 Aero was canned and App. Crap took over..  

  I'm reminded of a form I just struggled over context with, because of the skipping the traditional "Oxford comma" the government says we don't need anymore. I bet the context questions will cost far more than the ink and space saved  

Not all the composer menu options work on all OSs or browser versions either. So some things like bold, italic, line breaks, color, bullets; which are other visual options for a sub-break aren't there at times either.

I.e., I liked the old look (4-5 years ago) much better.  It was easier to taylor the look and edit with close line spacing. 

But I also like that our pals with poor eyesight can see better

Also note that "spellwreck" and "vindictive text" (auto programs) for google will turn every other sentence into nonsense. Shutting the options off doesn't stop it either. ...Ive literally spent two hours on typing twenty lines once.

Seriously?

With all that's happening in our society right now... and you want to whine about paragraphs and punctuation?

Amazing.

At this point I care for the well being of my friends here. I'm not concerned at all about any lack of grammar I may run across. I'm just glad to see them posting.

Andre

Yes I realize there are bigger things happening right now.

But he's right on. I pass right by all of those kinds of posts and it is a bummer. It's very difficult to read and I don't even try anymore

Frankly, there a few posters who I simply skip right over as soon as I see their names.

So, yes please, paragraphs on those l-o-n-g posts.

Dream on.

I skip over the post whining about punctuation and grammar.

Dave45681 posted:

That's the big metal lever on the left that you push to the right when you get to the right side of the page, right?   (no, I don't have one, but I used one of my parents' in elementary school for reports before I had a computer/printer)

Don't laugh, I learned to type on one of those.  If you think it's hard to type on a computer keyboard, try hitting 50 WPM on a manual typewriter!

laming posted:

Seriously?

With all that's happening in our society right now... and you want to whine about paragraphs and punctuation?

Amazing.

At this point I care for the well being of my friends here. I'm not concerned at all about any lack of grammar I may run across. I'm just glad to see them posting.

Andre

Andre, seriously?

I didn't know that a constructive suggestion post was whining, and I don't know how it affected what is going on in our society now. My suggestion had a positive tone. Did yours?

Amazing.

I learned to type on one of those things with the big metal arm on the side.     As I remember, that was a line feed, not a paragraph feed.    Those old babies did not automatically go to the next line.    A bell went off when you got close to the end of the line - 5-7 letters maybe, and you were supposed to finish the current word and then push the lever for the line feed.     To make a new paragraph, depending on style, you either hit the tab key (which you preset to so many characters) to create an indent in classic style, or you hit the metal bar a second time to add a blank line for the block style.

(Note: new paragraph)  This all brings up a quote from one of my favorite musicals.     To Quote Henry Higgins in My Fair Lady (Pygmalion) " - - -  This is what the British call an elementary education!"    

I'm sure we all were given a basic education in English grammar in grade school and high school.     We were supposedly taught to make complete sentences, use correct verb tenses and structures, and use the proper words.    We were also taught to use paragraphs to separate changes in subjects.     Unfortunately many of us were probably thinking about trains or baseball or something when the teacher was telling us about that stuff!

Lionelski posted:

Andre, seriously?

I didn't know that a constructive suggestion post was whining, and I don't know how it affected what is going on in our society now. My suggestion had a positive tone. Did yours?

Amazing.

 

Yup. Seriously.

Consider many of our posters are getting quite elderly (eyesight issues, etc), and/or come from a very blue collar background (don't/didn't earn their living typing) , had zero typing in school, grammar wasn't their strong suit, or even dealing with a learning disadvantage (such as dyslexia?)... whatever the case... and so they're dealing with the digital world as best they can and just trying to enjoy and share their hobby with other like-minded people.

I'm fine with that and would rather they post and share, and enjoy the hobby with me in their own way in their way of typing.

I for sure will do that instead of getting on here and shaming them/upbraid/whine/instruct (who asked you for grammar instructions anyway?)... whatever you want to call it... about their grammar/literary mannerisms when using the typed medium.

I'm here to enjoy the trains and the fellowship and if someone types differently than I do... I can deal with it. Besides, many are trying to find a bit of relief from the CV19 mess by interacting on forums and such. How 'bout we give 'em a break?

Andre

prrjim posted: ...snip...(Note: new paragraph)  This all brings up a quote from one of my favorite musicals.     To Quote Henry Higgins in My Fair Lady (Pygmalion) " - - -  This is what the British call an elementary education!"     ...snip...

The actual words:

"This is what the British population,
Calls an elementary education."

My favorite line from that song:

"Arabians learn Arabian with the speed of summer lightning.
And Hebrews learn it backwards,
which is absolutely frightening."

 Sorry, it is my favorite broadway play and at one time I knew almost all the words to every song. Time dimmeth the memory.

gunrunnerjohn posted:

....................

Don't laugh, I learned to type on one of those.  If you think it's hard to type on a computer keyboard, try hitting 50 WPM on a manual typewriter!

Oh me too (or at least I was supposed to learn ). 

I am in my late 40's, so in the mid 80's when I was in school, they forced us to take typing class I think in 7th (maybe 8th too) grade. And it was on a mechanical typewriter (may have been electrics, I don't recall that detail).

I remember the typing teacher's routine well.  We were seated at the typewriter, but the thing we were trying to type was a book laid out on a desk to our right.  We were NOT to look towards the typewriter, since they wanted us to learn the proper feel for the keys without looking at them.  He would roam the room as we were all typing and when he caught people peeking, he would whack his yardstick on your desk to scare the cr@p out of you!  

I never did pick up proper typing skill in the long run.  Some things I can type faster just from achieving some level of muscle memory over the years. But that's probably why I have many typos I need to go back and fix.  I can't tell you how many times I end up with form/from inverted, and even fomr sometimes (how the heck that works is a mystery to me, maybe one hand connected a little faster to the brain than the other, causing the o and m to come out before the r )

Having had some form of computer since I was about 10, my own habits far outweighed that class.

We now return to our regularly scheduled O Gauge train discussions.   Everyone stay healthy/safe, especially those in the medical field.

-Dave

I have no problem with reading posts however they use their grammar.   The information is good and the ideas get across just fine.     Just commenting on what we supposedly learned in school.    My mother always browbeat me with the advice that if I didn't get a good education (and a scholarship), I would have to work in the coal mines or steel mills like my dad.    It must have meant something to me, So I worked hard at school, it was not a fun time.    but I have forgotten most of my grammar and style sheets too.

I do have a problem with the  posters who consider their advice or ideas "holier than thou" and berate anyone who does anything differently or disagrees with them.

I agree with Andre and I'll add bit more. Some posters here are using a smarty-pants phone to access the interwebs. As such it is difficult at best to get spelling correct let alone do any formatting whatsoever when using a 'phone.

I enjoy all the commentary on these Forums having to do with trainz, real or model and I enjoy the camaraderie including little insights into people's lives. Regarding "forum etiquette" I'm pretty much live-and-let-live. I ain't nowhere near purfec' anywise.....and neither is anyone else.  

I majored in communications for my electrical engineering degree.  We learned to "speak precisely and listen forgivingly."  This refers to errors in electronic signals.

I am a stickler for certain things based on my high school typing class, which I barely passed due to the number of errors in typing for speed.  These include one space after a comma and two spaces after a period.

I have noticed reduced use of indents, but this is OK if there is a blank line between paragraphs.  If neither is used it is very hard to read.  I refer here to technical papers and business memos.

I don't hold the same expectations for informal communications but it would help in longer posts.

I got a typewriter for my high school graduation in 1969.  My specialty was getting the type arms jammed together.  When I started using computer keyboards I reverted to hunt and peck.  It took about 20 years to get somewhat good at no-look typing.  But the backspace key is my best friend.  I am also subject to starting to type with my fingers not on the home keys.

The features on electronic keyboards are traceable back to the mechanical wonders.  However the worst "innovation" was the behavior of the shift key when the caps lock is on.  I usually install a software fix to avoid this pROBLEM.

PRRick, LOL!

Speaking of pantagraphs, a few years ago at York there was a couple with a van painted tuscan with gold wide pinstripes in the manner of a GG1.

It got a lot of attention. I asked the wife where the pantagraph was. She said that "he" had a real one in their living room, and that it took up almost all of it. Now THERE is a PRR fan!

Andre: I agree with you 100% and I hold an MA in ENGLISH! LOL! TOO much emphasis on "correctness" spoils the fun!