Has your writing changed because of using fluther?

I don’t think fluther uniquely has contributed to any change, but fluther along with other online discussion boards in general have definitely changed the way I think.

My thinking has changed in that I’m less likely to rely on my own experience to determine how the world is. In physical life, I stick pretty tight with people I share experiences and background with, and this used to lead me to believe our experiences were universal and revealed the whole truth about any given situation, and therefore anyone with a different opinion from me was clearly stupid. Now I’m more humble, willing to admit that I am wrong and/or willing to accept other experiences as also true. I spend more time researching new ideas from multiple angles. I hold back on forming opinions. I’m more willing to apologise for doing wrong. I’m more willing to put work into determining what went wrong, rather than just writing the other person involved off as stupid.

Of course sometimes people really are just stupid, and it’s easier for me now to determine when that’s the case. I used to get really upset and engage with these people. Now I just pull back and forget it. And on the other hand, sometimes people act stupid – or impervious to logic, anyway – when they are really fired up and emotional. That’s something else I’ve learned, and I’ve learned from experience on the boards that when this happens it’s best to leave off for awhile and come back later, because when people are in this condition they will never respond to logic.

I’m not saying I’m perfect, nowhere near! I’m just better.

As for how I write, the only change has been that I’m more likely to use short-forms (like lol) and emoticons in my emails.

It has given me the opportunity to edit even more drastically. I ask myself, “How clear can I be in fewer words?”

Yeah, often it worsens due to the sense of “urgency”. And often the lack of willpower to put way more in than I get out. But, hey, some writing is better than no writing at all :)

Over time, I have changed how I deal with information when on Fluther. For example, if I don’t particularly like someone’s snarky response, I just walk away for a bit and cool off rather than unloading on the person. I have also learned to skip over responses from folks who are sharing their opinions rather than facts (on factual questions). It is all to the good and makes me a more patient person.

Do you know what? Yes it has. Someone not too far from here obliged me with one or two little tips a while back. Take a bow @..........well you should know who you are!

I find myself wishing I could have more options for the ways to write in other online websites. So yes, I think I do write differently , and edit more often.

@everephebe Huh?

@nicobanks, the use of bold crossout italics whisper and links

Understand now?

I think my writing has changed in that I proofread what I write more often so that it looks and comes across better for other Jellies to read. I’ve always been pretty meticulous in my grammar and spelling and it makes me crazy when I go back over answers I’ve given and see careless errors especially after it’s too late to make edits. So, in essence, I think I spell better and communicate better. I hope anyway.

I account for these changes probably from the volume of answers I’ve given (6000+ so far) in the couple of years I’ve been a member of Fluther. The more participation, the better I get. I think anyway.

What has been most influential in this change is the outstanding Fluther community itself. Without all of you Jellies asking such great questions for me to answer and comment on, I wouldn’t have an occasion to write so much and improve on it. This I know.

And finally, my writing has changed in the fact that sometimes I’m far to verbose in response to some of the questions I answer or comments I give. Like in this very question, for instance. Sorry.

No.

I can’t think of any way to elaborate on that. I just don’t feel anything has changed about the way that I write or think since joining Fluther.

Yes. I use the – and _ incorrectly in Word and emails. It doesn’t make the words any smaller or italicize them anywhere else but here.

@seazen Amen.

Not that I know of; I’d been coming on Q&A sites for a couple years before I came here and already developed my writing style by then, though I’m sure there have been subtle changes (hopefully improvements).

Not just my writing but my thinking as well. I was pondering this same question today and thats when I realized that.

Writing, I’m not sure. I’m terrible at looking at and assessing my own writing in any sort of way, for seeing good, bad, or change.

But I do know that sometimes my thoughts run different than usual. I’ll be thinking in my head, and form a question. (Usually it’s a rather silly question, but still, it’s a question.) And then I’ll start defending or elaborating what I had said in the question, in my mind. Ranting, almost, but in a slightly more organized, much less conscious way. And then I’ll go quiet, like I’m waiting for a response… but then realize what I’m doing, and that I’m the only one there, since it’s my mind. It’s kind of funny. Only happened a couple times, but was surprising. : ]

Yes. I never really had to utilize my writing skills once I got out of high school so I will admit I’m still rusty. Even in tech school it was more hands-on and mathematical. I’ve always been more technical than lingual.

I do believe some people on here make too big a deal out of it. As long as you don’t mispell too much and miss a capitalisation/punctuation mistake on occasion and your post is easy to comprehend I don’t see what the big deal is.

Some do go very far with their criticising of other people’s writing mistakes to a point where it gets nerve racking. I didn’t know because someone could spell better than me that made them more intelligent than me. There are some people on here who are mechanics, electricians, technicians and construction workers (or maybe it’s only me on here in this category I don’t know) so obviously because being in these field you’re not going to be utilising your writing skills compared to many other people who work in white collar or office type fields. Even my math skills dwindled after working in the real world when the majority of my work was related to reading and creating circuit diagrams, planning equipment modifications and alot of hands-on type work. Even if you were once proficient at something when you don’t get to use what you learned after many years you do become rusty.

My writing has changed not only by answering fluther questions but because of my habit of writing to our Newspaper’s editor. I have learned to keep to the subject and hopefully learned to answer in a more concise style. I also use the “spell check” function in Google to check for typos and just plain stupid misspelling.

I am more careful with grammar… and I developed a better sense of humor. I also use… more.