Chris,
Please forgive me posting this after your comments re hijacking of the thread - perhaps ALL of the comments not related to the OP's request for help should be transfered to a new thread probably called 'First Few Posts on DR1'
irate:
This is a 'CONSIDERED' response to all those posting about the discontent of long time posters who respond in an abrasive manner. :ermm:
PLEASE remember that your first few posts are the only thing we know about you. WE make an interpretation from them as to your mental ability, your temperament & agendas PURELY from what you write AND how you write it. As such, it would be helpful to a positive & helpful relationship if you could treat us with a certain amount of credibility until you get to know us (& we get to know you) better. Good spelling will show your level of education &/or nationality, good grammar will help to support this. A desire to LEARN rather than telling us how it SHOULD be (in your eyes) will allow a learning curve by us too - not alienate us to you.
IF you were standing in front of us asking (sometime demanding) responses, we could understand your body language & respond accordingly - regrettably on forums where only your written word is visible, we have to make assessments & decisions as to whether we want to get involved, ON WHAT YOU SAY & HOW WE PERCEIVE THOSE WORDS. You write badly, without respect &/or in an aggressive manner & we will either respond in a like manner or ignore you completely.
Over the ten years of DR1 I have tried to be helpful in an honest manner. Over the last two or three years I have posted less because of the lower level of comprehension of the English language & the bastardisation of it by people being incorrectly taught my Mother tongue. I do not mean people to whom English is a second or third language just those from ENGLISH speaking countries who have not been taught it correctly. Some people seem to think that this excuses them from writing correctly - I do NOT. It is OUR responsibility to be able to communicate in a manner that others can immediately understand & respond to & not for them to make concessions for our lack of good education.
Living in the Dominican Republic (a Spanish speaking country) it is MY responsibility to be able to communicate in THEIR tongue or apologise profusely in advance for MY shortcomings. After 15 years here I STILL apologise anyway - it lets the receiver of my communication know I am a foreigner who knows I still need help & understanding in any/all communication we are about to have. Regrettably, too many 'newbies' have (or give the impression that they have) the thought process that it is the Dominicans that need to learn THEIR language (English) rather than the other way round. This causes resentment (& quite rightly so) because the 'Newbie' is trying to impose THEIR way of life rather than accepting an alternative & respectful appreciation of the Dominican Culture.
So it is on DR1. YOU (the newbie) are entering a new arena for communication. Initially you should abide by the rules (written AND unwritten) that have been set over the years. AS you progress on this forum, you can then develop your personality & arguments from WITHIN the group rather than TELLING the group on day one that you think they are Crap & need to mold to YOUR ways. I think THAT is what the posters here refer to as humility - not that you are expected to bow down to us & agree with everything that is written here. Perish THAT thought!!!
I do not DEMAND your respect - I earn it by what I write & how I write it. The Same goes for you ........ you can not demand MY respect - you have to Earn It. That will be done by writing clearly, unambiguously & in a manner that the majority on here will understand - that means CORRECT GRAMMAR & SPELLING to the best of your ability.
Again - my apologies to the moderator for putting this on an already hijacked thread.
irate:
Disclaimer - all spelling mistakes in tis post are as a result of emotion when writing - NOT because of lack of education!! :cheeky: :cheeky: :surprised