Forum:Grammar

First post. Looking over various articles I notice a trend of horrible grammar on this website. I'm not trying to be a grammar nazi, but seriously, some articles are just plain unreadable. I'd love to contribute to fixing things up, but I don't really understand why everything is locked for edits. I thought this was a wiki! I could fix pages SO fast. I have an English degree and have contributed to numerous wikipedia articles, particularly those on video games. Improving grammar will give articles a better flow and help the site retain readers. Captainpirate (talk) 06:24, August 23, 2012 (UTC)

After 4 days and 10 edits, you will be able to edit most of the protected pages. 06:39, August 23, 2012 (UTC)

This wiki uses UK english, so the grammer is actually correct. Also not every page on this wiki is locked for edits, i may be an anonymous user (i have been for 3 years now) but i make edits on a daily basis in one way or another. And, these articles are not unreadable nor are they in need of fixing (other then periodic updates), in fact i (who go to many diferent wikis) believe this wiki to be put together very well. And lastly this wiki is the very first wiki site that comes up when you search for wikis, so its in no need of retaining readers, it has plenty.98.26.246.122 (talk) 06:40, August 23, 2012 (UTC) yomiko-chan

It is actually not a matter of UK grammar vs US grammar. And I mean no disrespect towards the site, but it is undeniable that run-on sentences abound, and often make things confusing to read if you don't already know the information. And here is an example of a tense disagreement, "Deidara refused at first until he accepts a challenge from Itachi on the condition that the Akatsuki let him be if he won." Aside from the grammatical issues in this sentence, it lacks flow and could be broken up into multiple sentences/clauses. It's always good to try and write as economically as possible if one wants to communicate clearly, especially for a mass audience site like this.

And being the first link on google does not retain readers as much as it gets new ones. The key is to keep them coming back. You can always do things to improve how well you retain readers no matter how good you think you are. In my experience with websites and businesses, retaining readers/customers is never something you have done "enough of," it requires constant attention. The whole point of wikis is that they are constantly being improved and anybody can contribute in areas of their specialty. As someone who dedicates their life to reading/writing, I can assuredly tell you that this website could use some improvement. I care because I love Naruto and this is the best Naruto wiki as far as comprehensive information goes. I also get a strange satisfaction out of improving sentences, most often my own. Captainpirate (talk) 18:32, August 24, 2012 (UTC)

And here is an example of multiple grammatical mistakes in a single sentence, "Team members must function very well or at least to accomplish their task even though they have a mutual problems with each other." That one is from the page on Akatsuki. There seem to be words missing between "least" and "to," and I shouldn't even need to point out what's wrong with "even though they have a mutual problems." These things have nothing to do with UK vs US grammar. I can pull examples of other bad sentences from just about any article, but that would just be a waste of time. Captainpirate (talk) 18:37, August 24, 2012 (UTC)