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I am a little upset with what has happened with my previous post.

It seems to me that one particular user has some problem with my posts and always posts negative comments regarding my poor English. It feels like he's always trying to make fun of my poor English.

Because of this, I would like to delete my account. How can I achieve this?

Is it not possible for people who speak poor English to ask a question on this site?

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  • Going by the sample question you posted, your english isn't too bad. Compared to some other questions we have on meta, it's pretty good.
    – tombull89
    Commented May 15, 2013 at 13:38
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    Who knows. Just flag for moderator attention, explain what the user is doing and let them handle it. Don't waste your own energy.
    – Bart
    Commented May 15, 2013 at 13:46
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    you dont have to delete your account because anyone insulted or harshed you what all you need to do is inform to moderator .... and let them handle that switchwation for you i am sure they wont be disappoint you Commented May 15, 2013 at 14:08
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    Please stop vandalizing your question. Significant edits that change the question are not acceptable behavior.
    – Catija
    Commented Sep 23, 2016 at 11:46
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    This seems like the rollback war equivilent of a sloth fight. I think what @Catija said over 3 years ago is pretty true. Commented Jan 17, 2020 at 14:12

4 Answers 4

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How to Delete my account?

You can visit this help page, which will guide you through deleting your account.

Is it possible for people who speak poor English to ask a question on this site?

Most people here are willing to help you converse in English, as long as you give them some starting point. For them to understand your post, your English should be at least comprehensible, which in turn can help make sure your question keeps it's context.

Excerpt from a post on official policy for non-English questions:

Now, if askers try to use English and put in “sorry, my English isn’t very good”, that’s fine. Heck, a lot of native English speakers aren’t very good at it, either! The reason we have collaborative editing is to learn and improve together. This is totally fine and even encouraged.

Comment on disputed question

Don't be discouraged by this incident. To quit this wonderful Q&A site should be an extreme last step. I have gone through your question and your English was pretty good. I did see, however, that somewhere in the middle of those counter comments you used words like "psycho". Please avoid abusive words and don't indulge in fights with anyone. If you find any comments offensive then you can flag them or politely ask the commenter to delete them.

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The question text changed repeatedly. "Profile deletion" is addressed in the older answer. Regarding nasty comments, the answer is: flag them.

But to answer the question asked in the question title:

Poor English isn't necessarily a problem. Just follow the KISS principle (Keep It Simple Stupid). For example:

  • Write simple, short sentences.
  • Follow the basic "subject verb object" paradigm.

Of course, that reduces your ability to express yourself. And that will not work for all questions or domains. But it is a valid starting point.

The real problem is another one: when your English is barely sufficient to ask a comprehensible question, chances are: you will have real trouble understanding the answers given to you.

Also note that technology can help you. You can use online translation services, in 2 ways:

  • to validate your question before submitting. Simply have Google Translate translate your question text to your native language. When the outcome of that translation seems reasonable, then probably your input is "okay".
  • to help interpreting the answers and comments coming back.

Please note: given the often low quality of online translation, I advise to not make automatically translated texts public at all. The idea is that you use such services to either cross check your own output, or to interpret other people's input to you.

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    The quality of machine translation is often ... laughable. Commented Jan 18, 2020 at 21:25
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    @PeterMortensen I am aware of that. Therefore I suggest to not make output generated that way public. I updated the answer to be more clear.
    – GhostCat
    Commented Jan 19, 2020 at 9:52
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I will leave an answer here for others with the same question.

Stack Exchange has a site for English language learners! If there is something in the answer to your question that you can't figure out, you can get help there. Also, if you aren't sure about a word or phrase, to get your question across, you can also ask for help with that at ELL.

Stack Exchange also has a mechanism for getting administrative support when someone says something unconstructive or hurtful. Flag the comment or post so the moderating team can address the problem.

But first: before you ask for help at ELL, and before you post your question:

Make the dictionary your friend.

Check the spelling of words. Check the conjugation of the verb. Check the meanings, to make sure you are using the words correctly.

You can use a print dictionary (in book form), or you can use an online dictionary. Also, you can set up your browser so that it checks your spelling as you go.

Volunteers who answer questions are usually perfectionists, and as such, they get irritated when they see a post that wasn't written carefully. Of course, no matter how irritated we get, we should still be polite! But I want you to understand how some people will react to a post that is full of spelling mistakes and misunderstandings about simple, non-complex usages of standard English vocabulary. (I looked at the text of your original post -- and I'll be honest, it didn't look as though it had been written with care.)

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  1. If you can find Stack Overflow in your language, then good for you.

  2. If you still want your question on the main SO, try stating it as clearly as possible.

  3. Maybe you could ask someone to proof-read your questions.

  4. If you are still worried about it, you could add a short note at the end of the question saying so; so people who answer/comment will also abstain from using very complicated words.

  5. If you wrote this Q yourself, I would say you can use SE by yourself. Please think before deleting your account.

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    Maybe in hindsight: because you assume the OP was only talking about stackoverflow? But they posted on MSE!
    – GhostCat
    Commented Jan 17, 2020 at 12:55

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