Something that really bugs you.

I read and write a lot.  My academic background involved probably more of each of these tasks than most people (barring maybe lit majors), and I'll admit I'm a bit of a snob about it.  That being said, few things grate on my nerves more than really poor writing.  I can be tolerant of the whole text/web writing phenomenon like "where u @?" or "nm l8r" I even use some of that language myself occasionally to an extent.  What I'm referring to is more along the lines of blatant typos.  Come on, web browsers even underline misspelled words now, so there's really no excuse.  Also, using the wrong version of a word.  This is *especially* true when I see it in professional writing.  For example, I just read a facebook posting from Amnesty International that was questioning the "roll of the United States in Pakistan".  The more common offenses are "your vs you're" and "their, they're, there".

It may be superficial of me, but honestly I feel like poor spelling and grammar make for an unprofessional image.  In some cases it can also just make you look dumb (I finally had to message a friend of mine that "texting" language did NOT mean you could just leave every single vowel out of your message because it got to the point where I literally couldn't figure out what the crap he was trying to say).  So basically when I find these glaring errors in other people's writing it bugs me.  I know I'm not perfect, I've found the occasional typo or spelling error myself in my own stuff (even this blog) but in general, just stop it already.  Seriously.