I hope that got every member's attention.

I would like to kindly remind everyone to please take some time to write legible posts! That means using punctuation (commas, question marks, etc.) and capital letters, especially the word "I".
Also, there is a box called "Check Spelling" at the top-right of the posting area as well as a box called "Spell Check" at the bottom left. Hit one of those buttons BEFORE you hit the "Submit Thread" button.
We at Herp Center would like to keep a nice, professional standard to our site and we don't want internet short forms used in posts, like "u r 2 cool" .
Abbreviations such as "lol" and "btw" are OK.

Please be aware that moderators or administrators WILL edit your posts to make them more legible, but we would REALLY rather spend our time answering your questions and commenting on your threads!

Thank you for your efforts in making this the most interesting, friendly and professional forum on the net!

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Andrea

One thing a lot of members don't realize is that the HC Network is an international forum. We have users from other countries that translate our posts. When shorthand is used, they can't translate those posts. They don't translate correctly.

Many of us type fast, even those of us with good spelling, and we make mistakes. The spell check button takes a second to use and helps make the post look and translate so much better than those with misspelled words.

(I just ran spell check on this post and found I had accidentally misspelled a word I know how to spell. I was simply typing too fast, go figure!)

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Thanks for that attention-getter! Punctuation is one of my personal pet peeves....

I use Firefox web browser | Faster, more secure, & customizable which has a built-in spell check that automatically underlines in red any misspelled words much like Microsoft Word does. You can right-click over the word and choose from the library of words that pops up. And I like the customizing part. I have Mario Bros. for my browser theme....

Not only does using correct punctuation look neater and keeps International members being able to translate, but It actually makes the member's posts look more professional and easy to read.

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Veronica
,,
/_^.)///////////,,,,,
...\\\_#_#_#_//_#_#_#_#_#_£_£_&_&_
..._//......_\\
Exotic Animal Rescue of Henry Co.
~~Rescue - Rehab - Rehome~~

I know my title was a dirty trick: but given how many views this thread has gotten, I achieved my goal.
Thanks for the support and for those good tips, Veronica. And Rich, although I'm over here in Switzerland, I forgot all about the non-English speakers using the site! Thanks for bringing that up.

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Andrea

It is also a fact that a well written legible post will get more, and better, replies.
Many people when confronted with something that they have to sit, look at, and attempt to decipher will choose to blow it off and go on to the next post!

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Merlin,
What's Life Without A Little Magic!

Wow, thanks for reiterating this. Personally, I really appreciate it.

For me, the way a person writes determines how they sound in my mind. Something that's well written makes the writer sound like a knowledgeable person - someone who knows what he's talking about.

When the post is in text speak, or badly punctuated, or even just missing capital and lowercase lettering, it makes the person sound young and inexperienced to me. The worse the posts are, the more childish they sound in my head.

I take a well thought out post much more seriously. When I see badly written posts, I tend to write the person off pretty quickly as not knowing what they're talking about. It's something I am trying to work on, but that's my gut reaction, and I think that goes for a lot of people.

Oh, and clever moving that spell check button, Rich. I keep accidentally pressing it because I'm used to the post button being there. Very sneaky!

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"Let's eat, Grandpa!"
"Let's eat Grandpa!"

Punctuation. It saves lives.

Thats the whole point, lol.

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MARSHA
A man without a woman is a bachelor, A woman without a man is a genius!.

We have enough youth, how about a fountain of smart!

I am starting to use the spell check all the time. I am getting old and seem to be forgetting how to spell, lol. In the end it can be a pain, but as I looked through some of my posts, I realized it really is a good thing, for me anyways, lol.

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I have sucker tattood on my forehead

I am the same way as Typhanie, though I don't always capitalize my I's, nor do I always start the first word of a sentence with a capital letter. But I am pretty good at using punctuation. I can't stand text speak or IM speak even if I'm talking through IM I hate it, and it does make someone sound immature or young. Especially with "ur" "tru" and when people put numbers instead of words like "2 cool". How hard is it to type out "your" add an e on "true" and write the word "too" or "to", etc.?

So I'm glad for this reminder as well. Also I'm used to having the post button where the spell check button currently is so I find myself using spell check as well. But its a good trick putting it there.

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yes i am a she ^_^

~My Babies~

1 Rosy Boa (male) Chaos
1 Snow Corn (male) Blizzard
1 Anertherystic Corn (male) Bullet
1 Senegal Parrot (male) Shadow
2 dogs (male) Spot and Bear