Just a request (like others) to forum users...

I don't mean to be a bugger about this, and I don't mean to single any specific person out, but It's one of the most annoying things I ever run into on a forum.

Use the spell check button! Use it! The moderators even switched up the positions of the submit/spell check buttons to trick us into hitting it more often!

Come on now!

I've seen so many posts lately (from one person in particular) that look as if a drunken monkey has been sitting at the keyboard.
At least put some effort into your correspondence. Please?

-The not always correct, but always proof-reading Shade

Ditto. I cannot figure out why people can't take the two seconds it requires to do a quick spell check on their posts. I give some leeway to people who are new to English but most of the really bad posts I have seen are written by the English or by Americans. Go figure..

Exactly, PCGhost.

The native speakers tend to be the most careless...

-Shade

Tell you what Shade, you think these forum's are bad, well, from my point of view you could argue the point about the actual spellings i.e. English English or American English, because we (the English)invented the language etc etc, personally I don't care either way.

You are correct about native speakers, we just climb on-board the ship of linguistic complacency and ride along - just about the worst place I've found is the mailing list for my LUG and some of the members are educated to PhD level (about 80% or so are IT professional's), but the poor spelling and typo's have to be seen to be believed - and you get treated like a criminal if you dare to question someone about it or ask for clarification.

Also, it would be nice if it was mandatory to put a location so we can understand the likelihood of whether you are trying to follow someone who's English is a second language or just lazy. Even if, like me, you use a lat and long (just to be a smart arse and if you could be bothered to work it out )

Anyway, I'm now going to stand in "pedants' corner".

regards

John

I'm guilty of this, but I'm wondering what the problem is at the same time. "Native" speakers, whether located in the UK, US, Australia, New Zealand, etc., shouldn't really have a problem. Granted, some posts are just horrible, but for many of these, the spell checking is only half the problem. Grammer and meandering thought patterns are the items that bug me the most (there was an excellent example a few weeks ago, in all caps, that should have been left as an example of what to avoid).

If this were a complaint by someone who speaks English as a second or third (or more) language, I could understand. Trying to use a dictionary or software to translate while fighting poor spelling is also something no one should be subjected to. In fact, I find myself being especially careful to make my answer easy to understand when the post is made by someone who posts in obviously broken English, while I tend to get sloppy with native speakers.

In other words, while I'm thankful the forum provides a spell check button, I don't think it's an absolute requirement. If I feel like sounding like an uneducated moron, that's pretty much up to me. Spell check alone won't help that. Perhaps it would be better if the mods built spell check into the submit button, but I'm sure that would cause havoc with linux commands and other items that fall outside of the English language.

The real question should be, is the message communicated? Seems to me that the average LQ'r is doing a fine job answering questions, despite age, education, and native tongue. Is it sometimes difficult to read such posts? Yes. Is that important? Not really.

I like LQ because it is laid back. "The other site" (many of you migrated from a place similar to this, and you know who you are, and the site's name) had all sorts of perfectionist rules like that. Spelling/grammer was hassled, "RTFM" and "search this site/Google" were the majority of the posts, and so on.

These things are nice in theory, but like most things viewed with a global perspective, they are quite petty, and virtually useless. If, as a good example, English speakers were absolute tyrants with those who misused the language, English wouldn't be the language taught around the world. One of the benefits of English's "sloppiness" is that it's easy to add/modify words and so on, which makes it quite accepting of other speakers dialects and accents, and allows it to absorb concepts from a multitude of languages and cultures.

So, instead of complaining about how it's used, perhaps you should be thankful that you are able to understand it, despite the worst "misuse". Better yet, be thankful that you're not being hassled for your spell-checked posts, which would have been ridiculed only a few decades ago. Or did you forget/not know?

Um, my edit's for meandering thought (i.e., I didn't delete something I edited before posting), so how am I supposed to complain about other's annoying posts? Cast the first stone and all...

Minor mistakes here and there don't bug me.

But when an entire post is simply garbled by horrible typing, it just looks like someone is trying to fool themselves into thinking they're faster typers than they are...
Bad grammar, yes it's annoying.
Meandering thoughts, yes, annoying too.
But spelling is the easy thing to fix
The resources to fix it are *integrated*. And then being just a little more careful would help boatloads, as well.
--Shade

Use the spell check button! Use it! The moderators even switched up the positions of the submit/spell check buttons to trick us into hitting it more often!

Word. I couldn't have said it better myself. I do too, notice that alot of of the bad posts are from the english, mostly the American english.
Like SCOTT_R said, I also could understand if english was a second or third language, but a native american should realise that what he or she is typing may not be easily understood.
Doesn't anybody proof-read anymore?
It's not very hard to go over what you've typed, and it would get your question answered sooner if the answerer didn't have to figure out what you've written.
just my

RANDON

ya.... I reeely hate peeple that dohnt use the slpell chek, I can sea if thay are nu to englash buht the lazee 1s are Evn worst...

one argument
iz da internet an da language iz evolving. we have a new age pseudo pigeon English blending into a post modern irc/msn/icq chat by product encryption style coding for all da people who live in the space between.

another
dumb American spell checks swapping "ise" for "ize". By the way color is spelled "c o l o r" not "c o l o u r". You Americans corrupted the language way before the internet got its hands on it.

and another
be glad everybody doesn't try and type 1337, that is annoying stuff. some forums are full of it.

i don't really mind dodgy spelling its bad sentence structure that can piss me off.
what sorta spelling are you bothered with computer discussion cant go very far without acronyms.

have fun.
Ben.

quote:
Word. I couldn't have said it better myself.

Now what the heck does "Word" mean?

quote:
Doesn't anybody proof-read anymore?

Do you need to proof read anymore to graduate from high school?

quote:
By the way color is spelled "c o l o r" not "c o l o u r". You Americans corrupted the language way before the internet got its hands on it.

Who spells it colour? Never used that spelling in my life. Here we go again, blame the Americans.

You Americans corrupted the language way before the internet got its hands on it.

Yes, Americans are the scourge of civilized society and should be wiped from the face of the earth.

opps, word up. my bad.

colour is correct color isnt. damn monkey hit me with his bottle and took over.

Originally posted by quietguy47 Yes, Americans are the scourge of civilized society and should be wiped from the face of the earth.

That's the spirit!

And yes, I do hate it when people spell like retards intentionally. Minor typographic errors are normal when learning English, but inconsiderate use of AOL chatroom contractions is annoying.

By the way:

u=you
i=I
ure=your
ur=you're

Now what the heck does "Word" mean?

Pardon the slang, (East Coast, USA) but it means I agree with what you're saying.

Do you need to proof read anymore to graduate from high school?

Probably not, but it is considered common courtesy so that other people can understand you (or understand yourself).

dumb American spell checks swapping "ise" for "ize". By the way color is spelled "c o l o r" not "c o l o u r". You Americans corrupted the language way before the internet got its hands on it.

Looks like someone woke up on the wrong side of the pond......

First of all, I don't know where you're getting the "colour" thing, since that word is nowhere on this thread.
Second, (and I might get flamed for this but) the BRITISH are the ones that use the "u" in color and "ise" in realize. I was always told that "realize" was spelled the way I just spelled it. In fact i've never seen "colour" or "realise" spelled that way untill I read a British newspaper! I KNOW I spelled it differently and on purpose! I spell it that way sometimes, just for a change, It's really no big deal.
RANDON

I can usually figure out what someone is trying to say no matter how bad a speller they are. Funny what bugs some people. This smiley > < bugs me. It has teeth. Just doesn't look friendly.