you're right, I appreciate the honest words.
i'm just having difficulties in being serious - this is a personal trait and part of my very way to learn since it enables me to stay distant and see more of the bigger picture, thus not easily changed. I'll try to be more serious however.
also, since my english is rather poor, I apologize for my bad grammar and unstructured sentences.
It might be a good idea to mention that English is not your first language, at the beginning of your longer posts.
For shorter posts, it is probably worth your time to spend an extra 1 or 2 minutes making sure the capitalization and grammar are correct. But, for longer posts, when you are expressing more complicated ideas, spending too much time reviewing your writing style would damage your train of thought. It would probably suffice to say, "Sorry if my English isn't so great."
There's a HUGE difference between a native English speaker writing a thoughtless post with bad style, and a non-native English speaker writing a thoughtful post with bad style.
I think a lot of HN people are sensitive to writing style because it's a useful way to decide whether or not you should bother reading something. If a comment is very poorly written, it is more likely (but not definite) that the content is also poorly imagined.
The problem is when there are "false negatives" such as yourself--people who are carefully thinking through their ideas, but are not as well-versed in writing style. Help the community cut you some slack; advertise the fact that English is not your first language when you do not have the time or skill to make your posts perfect. :-)
Just about every language out there that uses the Latin alphabet capitalizes the first letter of every sentence. The lack of capitalization in your posts makes it a bit harder for a lot of people to read them, regardless of your tone or lack of seriousness.
Personally, even though i'm quite particular about punctuation, grammar and general writing etiquette i find your style to be more personable and therefore a hint of fresh air.
After all, provided you can convey your thought and emotion to me successfully, that's all that matters right?
Thanks for the flowers. I'm even using my broken shift-key for you're reading pleasure (I'm particular too about all that although I also like the style of all-lower-case, but I understand that might not be obvious and seen as an insult).
I'd really don't know if it's all that matters, but you might be right, I'll have a try. After all that's were emoticons might be of help as well (as a pro argument for their use ;).
