Will, for example, chiding us grammar police to stop doing our jobs and turn in our badges make a difference because that's what these educators think should happen?
Without appointed people in the world to educate the rest of us in how we should behave, the world would be anarchy, this is why they have laws, courts, judges and the police, and prison system, and this is regardless of whether those people desire to change, there is a need to protect other's in society from undesirable and harmful behaviour.
As for people that refer to themselves as "grammar police," these are not normally people that are working in a job as an editor, librarian or school English teacher. Neither are they well-meaning grammar lovers whose sole aim is to be helpful when giving grammatical feedback, in private, by "modeling."
These are individuals who cross the line by dishing out public corrections, with the intent of making themselves feel superior while putting others down. Such pedants seek out opportunities to brandish their grammar skills in an attempt to embarrass or humiliate anyone who commits a grammatical blunder. Not surprisingly, then, the grammar police are commonly perceived as rude, annoying, and even bullying by others.
A research study looked at the personality traits of people who react to errors in written communication. Study participants read email responses to a housemate-wanted ad, that either was error-free or had been modified to include typos or homophone errors (grammos), such as confusing to, too, and two. Participants were then asked to employ an evaluation scale for each message, which gauged their reactions to the writer, in addition to completing other research instruments. The study concluded:
“More extroverted people were likely to overlook written errors, that would cause introverted people to judge the person who makes such errors more negatively. Less agreeable people were more sensitive to grammos, while more conscientious and less open people were sensitive to typos.”
The grammar police are inclined to forage for grammar gaffes in cyberspace, with a specific hunger for “Comments” sections. Comments sections, for instance, are to language bullies what the Cheers bar was to Norm Peterson, or what murky waters at twilight are to the bull shark.”
Above all, communication - correctly formatted or not - is all about understanding, so if you give a little grace when it comes to grammar mistakes, you'll find that communication improves overall. People on social media sites, such as question and answer sites, usually use them for the social aspects, and do not want to feel "controlled" by someone's compulsion to use those sites for a completely different reason. It is all about how well you can read social cues and respect boundaries.
So judging by what I know of grammar police, then no, they don't normally change, because overall they care more about what they get from behaving the way the do, than social cues, being understanding, other peoples boundaries and feelings.
I dunno! Sorry, I couldn't resist :P
As a philosophical interjection however, I would say that in part, it can be that the grammar police themselves do what they do, because 'they' believe themselves educators of the rest of us on how to spell..
To be honest, I don't care much either way.. I used to find it intimidating but along the way found it had the advantage of forcing me to up my game.. That's not entirely a bad thing..
I think I sit on the fence on this one!
kjames 