Introduction to My Website: The Grammar Curmudgeon

My website, The Grammar Curmudgeon, has been in existence for about four years. Despite its name, I launched it as a multipurpose site – a way to "publish" some of my own writing and to share family photographs, as well as a guide to writers. It's probably not a good idea to start a website with too many functions in mind. It can become unwieldy.

Once the site was established and had attracted a small following, I decided to add some message boards where people could participate in discussions about grammar, language, and topics of general interest. These boards have turned out to be the chief attractions on the site and now have nearly 650 registrants. The first three boards were a Grammar Discussion Board, an ESL Board, and a General Message Board. I later added discussion boards devoted to Literature and Education.

Since I have participated in other Internet forums and know how easily they can deteriorate into silliness or become infiltrated by troublemakers, I have kept a wary eye on the boards to ensure that they are civil and reasonably mature. I approve almost all applicants, but I can expel anyone who abuses the privilege of participation. Fortunately, I have rarely needed to exercise this option. We have a courteous and constructive virtual community. Yes, we have our disagreements (grammarians can be a contentious bunch), but the tone is always respectful. Only a small proportion of registrants participate regularly, but new topics appear almost every day.

The site also continues to be an outlet for my own writing. However, to keep it as focused as possible, I have taken advantage of offsite venues (linked from the website) to avoid clutter on the site itself. For instance, I no longer create photo albums but instead post my photos on my own photo album page at Webshots, which is much more versatile than my site is for this purpose. This blog is another example of the use of multiple channels. Though my site contains a rather large collection of Essays and Articles (as well as some smaller sections devoted to Grumbles and lighter writing under the heading of Just for Fun), this separate blog gives me an opportunity to ramble, as (you may have noticed) I like to do. Sometimes I'm just not in the mood for controlled writing.

In keeping with its primary purpose, The Grammar Curmudgeon has continued to hold some tips for writers in a section titled Grammar, Words, and Usage, which has such subsections as a Writers' Guide, some short entries under Grammar FAQs, and discussions of frequently confused words under Word and Usage FAQs. I really should do more to add to these sections, but I've found that the Internet abounds with good sites that give tips on writing, grammar, and usage. In fact, a Links for Writers section on my site lists many of those that I consider to be especially useful. Finally, in this general area, I added a section specifically for my students (MCCC Students' Pages), though it is useful for composition students no matter where they are attending school.

Given the size of the site, I have included a Site Map, as well as an Internal Site Search tool (provided by Google), located in its own section and on the homepage. I can't speak for others, but I hate websites that are hard to navigate or contain large numbers of dead links. (If visitors have any problems or locate dead links, I would certainly appreciate hearing about it so that I can correct the faults.)

It should be apparent that The Grammar Curmudgeon is a project to which I am deeply dedicated. I certainly appreciate visitors, and I especially appreciate comments and suggestions for improvement. Please stop by; the door is always open.