Which is better to answer, thought provoking questions that are not 100% grammatically sound, or questions that are 100% grammatically sound but is as thought provoking as a used dry sponge?

It really doesn’t have to be an either or situation. I have seen plenty of questions that were both grammatically sound and thought-provoking.

Naturally, I would prefer to see a thought-provoking question that has some grammatical issues. However, I would still push that question to editing.

The best are those that are grammatically correct and thought provoking. Poor grammar and muddled thinking go hand in hand. If you want to provoke thought you should get your own thoughts in order first and the grammar will likely follow.

It’s hard to answer because often, we have both. Not always, but enough. Seeing as I don’t have to chose on here where I participate, I can’t really answer. I’d say what is thought provoking, if I had to.
I don’t have the best grammar here, and I don’t think I offer much through provocation, but if someone reads some of my more serious posts, maybe they can see that I at least try. So given that, it branches off into a whole bunch of other stuff that makes it hard to answer this, as it only proposes two choices which exclude a whole bunch of other stuff that makes Fluther what it is. Not all of which is good, but again, that is a point of perspective, as I’ve learned.

But yes. I would prefer though provocation over proper use of the English language any day. Although one might argue that both go hand in hand, as comprehension does require an efficent means of communication. amer rite?

And because I thought that this would be easy to answer, but is not, it was a thought provoking question. :)

@flutherother The best are those that are grammatically correct and thought provoking.
Sure, in a perfect world we would all choose the low hanging fruit if a solution. But the world is not perfect, there will be questions that follow suit. With all you said, I have not learned much. If I had to assume, and I don’t want to, it appears that unless a question meets both thought provoking and 100% grammatical soundness, you would pass it up; you make no inference of what less than perfect question you prefer.

@Symbeline Although one might argue that both go hand in hand, as comprehension does require an efficent means of communication.
They go hand in hand for the sake of clarity, but if the context of the question is not degraded because of a hanging participle, missed comma, or look instead of looks, I cannot see being so draconian about delivery. Can you imagine if we required that of everyone we spoke to live in regard of their speech? If someone said “My father, mother and me went to Santa Cruz….” Would people be so quick to jump in and instead of listening to the speaker say ”you meant ‘I’, right? You are *supposed to say ‘my mother and I’, the whole conversation could get derailed or bogged down because it keeps getting halted to correct the wrong use of an adverb, conjunction, etc.

It’s easy enough to check your spelling and grammar before posting a question. Once a jelly has thought up a thought-provoking question, what excuse do they have for posting a poor-quality version of that question?

^ maybe they used bare instead of bear and in the way it was used Spellcheck did not catch it. Spellcheck is not so perfect it can’t make mistakes. But since it is not perfect, and can miss things, you would bypass a question that is thought provoking because of which in favor of a dull question Spellcheck ran through perfectly on, I missed than answer…..

@Hypocrisy_Central “I missed than answer”

But, you see, I can’t even understand what you were trying to say here. There is a point where poor grammar makes it impossible to even figure out what the question means.

They go hand in hand for the sake of clarity, but if the context of the question is not degraded because of a hanging participle, missed comma, or look instead of looks, I cannot see being so draconian about delivery.

Neither can I, which is why I said it could be argued. I do not stand for this. If someone uses bear instead of bare, I’m not going to say anything, if I understand what they meant. What is important to me is that the idea is properly conveyed to the audience. However, to some others, they see it in another way.

Good grammar is not going to improve a piss poor question, but bad grammar doesn’t necessarily ruin a fundamentally good question.

@ucme Yeah, that. :)

@dappled_leaves There is a point where poor grammar makes it impossible to even figure out what the question means.
Well let’s not speak of those, let’s deal with those that are not grammatically correct but the context is still understandable, but maybe lacking a conjunction, a missed semicolon etc. but the question is still engaging. Would you favor a question that was stale and dull over it simply because every grammatical tag, attribute, or what you want to call it was intact?

@ucme Good grammar is not going to improve a piss poor question, but bad grammar doesn’t necessarily ruin a fundamentally good question.
I can concur, it is a shame it is not put into practice more.

@Hypocrisy_Central If it is painful to read, I won’t read it. In other words, if the language of the question is standing in the way of my being able to see it as a good question, then it’s not a good question. If the grammar is not that bad, then I’ll read it. You’ve presented the question as a choice between absolutes, but I’m somewhere in the middle, as I expect most people are.

Also, given that Fluther has standards for spelling and grammar, sometimes I will skip a question knowing that an improved version will be available shortly. If the asker doesn’t bother to resubmit after editing, it can’t have been that important a question.

“Bad grammar doesn’t necessarily ruin a fundamentally good question.”

No, but sometimes it does.

It is absolutely possible to ask thought provoking questions by using proper English. While bad grammar may not ruin some questions, lowering our writing standards would definitely ruin this site.

—Here is an example of how this very question could be rephrased to be more concise:—

Which is better: thought provoking questions that are not grammatically sound, or questions that use correct grammar but are as thought provoking as a dry, used sponge?

Disclaimer: The only way I see to keep the heart of the question intact is to present a binary comparison. I apologize to those who abhor such limited choices.

Which of these two options would you prefer: grammatically-correct questions that are as stimulating as a dried-up sponge, or questions that really work the grey matter between your ears but contain grammatical and/or spelling errors?

—However, in order to “prompt a thoughtful discussion” rather than asking your respondents to choose option A or option B, you might have asked:—

To what extent do you value the use of proper spelling and grammar on social sites? Would you be willing to respond to posts that contain some errors if the content were thought provoking? What if your only other option were questions that are grammatically correct, but are as interesting as an old, dried-up sponge?

Used dry sponges can be quite thought provoking. Where have they been? Who has been using them? What bacteria now resides therein?
Yessir, give me a used dry sponge and an icy cold brew on any Friday night and watch out world!

THought-provoking BUT we have to understand them in order to answer.

@Hypocrisy_Central The point of grammar is to communicate. If you have something you want to say you have to use grammar and there is no getting around it. If the grammar is messed up the communication is messed up. I’m not going to say I forgive bad grammar if the question is excellent because the question will not be excellent if the grammar is crap. The medium is the message and the medium is words.

Proper grammar does not always ensure logic or quality points, just as poor grammar does not always mean the logic or points of a discussion or debate must be bad. However, your points still need to be understood. I think people should still strive to enhance their writing skills, but not everybody has the same level of interest in linguistics and writing skills as many on this site appear to.

If it’s a used sponge, it is probably all wet, no? Like your questions.

^ Don’t blame me because they nourishes many thirsts instead of leaving one cotton-mouthed LOL