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Thread: Is it wrong to correct a poster's spelling or grammar?

  1. #1
    Registered User usqebach's Avatar
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    Default Is it wrong to correct a poster's spelling or grammar?

    It seems to me as of late that there are more and more occurrences of either poor spelling and/or grammar such to the point that the mistake actually changes the meaning of the poster's comment.

    I can find two obvious errors in just a casual scan of current posts, and these are both comments from an original poster.

    However, this is such a genial and polite forum that I would feel like a complete heel by pointing out the mistake.

    I think the irony of the situation is that our society is moving headlong in the direction of written communication (texting, blogs, forums, etc.) at exactly the time that the school system is abandoning the objective of teaching proper spelling and grammar.

    It just aggravates the bejabbers out of me when someone does not take take the time to spell check their posts and leaves the mistake hanging out there for everyone to read. I even hit up Google twice to check spellings for this post (and was wrong once!) because I know it will be scrutinized. And as I'm posting this, I get little red lines under any questionable word.

    So once again, would I be perceived as a real prat if I were to correct a poster's obvious mistake, even if the intent was to teach them (and the readers) the difference so they wouldn't make the same mistake again?
    Jim Sims

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    Registered User dusty miller's Avatar
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    Default Re: Is it wrong to correct a poster's spelling or grammar?

    I wouldn't correct people but I see where you are coming from. I think some people could get offended, I have seen it done though.
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    Chief Moderator/Shepherd Ted Eschliman's Avatar
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    Default Re: Is it wrong to correct a poster's spelling or grammar?

    Sometimes we Moderators will edit a thread title to correct spelling, somewhat at the risk of offending the Original Poster. It's not really our job though. Keep in mind, if we did correct it, you might never know.
    Ted Eschliman

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  6. #4
    Site founder Scott Tichenor's Avatar
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    Default Re: Is it wrong to correct a poster's spelling or grammar?

    I consider people that engage in this on a routine basis to be boorish. Review the posting guidelines when in doubt:

    - Avoid flaming or trolling – posts intended to create discord, antagonize others or create general mayhem. Be polite and courteous at all times. We expect spirited discussions and widely varying opinions that some may even find offensive, but exercise caution. A good rule of thumb is don't say anything on the forum that you wouldn’t say to someone in person.

    That's a long way of saying be polite and mind your manners.

    Correcting someone's spelling or grammar in a permanent public place doesn't feel real good and quite frankly I find it ill mannered. You wouldn't stop someone mid-sentence in a conversation and correct their grammar so why the need here? People come here and stay for the enjoyment. I'd prefer to see less of this kind of activity. Are grammar and spelling errors annoying? Sometimes. Do we need to correct them all? That's a path I don't want see us going down.

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    Registered User sunburst's Avatar
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    Default Re: Is it wrong to correct a poster's spelling or grammar?

    I use spell check, but it doesn't know the difference between "to" "too" and "two", so if I type the wrong word, it can get by. I proof read and edit my posts, but sometimes I miss things. On those occasions when I read old posts of mine, I sometimes find misused words and misspelled words, and it's far too late to edit them. I'm not a good typist, and a relative of mine who is dyslexic and is a Phd. educator assures me that I am dyslexic too (though I have no diagnosis and have never been tested), and I often type letters out of sequence (for example, I just changed "oggd" to "good" in this sentence, but I might have missed it if the red "spell check" underline hadn't brought it to my attention), and sometimes those misplaced letters end up spelling a word that spell check doesn't flag, though it's not the word I wanted ("I" is right between "O" and "U", and spell check likes "fond" and "fund" just as well as "find" though the meanings are not the same). Sometimes an adjacent computer key hit by my "fat" finger, inserts a letter that makes a porperly spelled word and spell check doesn't catch those either (I decided to leave "porperly" instead of correcting it, just to show how much editing I normally have to put into a post).
    In short, there are many pitfalls, it's "only" an internet forum, not a dissertation, I can proofread a post and see what I meant to say rather than what I actually typed, so things get by because of that. It's more of a conversation than a letter; communicating on a forum. There is not enough time to edit everything until it's all correct, so when I see poor spelling, poor grammar, or other writing mistakes, I just let them slide. I sure can't criticize when I have so much trouble typing and spelling myself, and I feel no urge to correct the spelling and typing errors of others.

    (EDIT)
    Those three posts ahead of mine; none of them were there when I started typing and editing this post. That's how long it took to get it even this near correct.

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  10. #6
    My Florida is scooped pheffernan's Avatar
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    Default Re: Is it wrong to correct a poster's spelling or grammar?

    Quote Originally Posted by usqebach View Post
    It just aggravates the bejabbers out of me when someone does not take take the time to spell check their posts
    Quote Originally Posted by usqebach View Post
    So once again, would I be perceived as a real prat if I were to correct a poster's obvious mistake, even if the intent was to teach them (and the readers) the difference so they wouldn't make the same mistake again?
    Would you be uncomfortable or grateful if I were to point out that plural pronouns such as "their" and "them" do not agree with singular antecedents such as "someone" and "poster" in this post?
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    Registered User Mike Steadfast-Ward's Avatar
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    Default Re: Is it wrong to correct a poster's spelling or grammar?

    Anyone is allowed to correct mine. Even though most of mine may be due to dyslexic fingers, or predictive texting.
    Also there are differences between American spelling and English spelling. Not to mention colloquially used phrases and words.
    Then we also have changes in word useage, today word meanings change quite a bit.

  13. #8
    Registered User Tim W's Avatar
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    Default Re: Is it wrong to correct a poster's spelling or grammar?

    I'm a moderator on a hand engraving forum and as a rule (albeit unwritten) I don't correct anything but the title and only if it's someone I know personally. Meaning, I know them well enough to know they're not illiterate, just fat fingered on a keyboard or a phone. Other than that, I leave things as the person posting the post posted it. How's that for a tongue twister?

  14. #9
    Registered User Mike Steadfast-Ward's Avatar
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    Default Re: Is it wrong to correct a poster's spelling or grammar?

    Another thing I have just remembered, is that not all posts come from Desk Top Computers.
    Other machines are used e.g. Pads, Phones etc. They don't all have checkers.

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    Default Re: Is it wrong to correct a poster's spelling or grammar?

    Thank you Scott.

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    Default Re: Is it wrong to correct a poster's spelling or grammar?

    I don't really see it as a huge issue, auto correct often misses or corrects tags....err things I don't need corrected. And the predictive texting can be quite Ann oh Ingrid.....errr annoying, I have typed up emails, posts, etc and gone back to proof read and be a AY Se......errr because Apple thinks it's smarter than me and has changed it I sometimes have no idea what it was I was trying to post......(is this a run-on sentence....)? ☺️
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    Pittsburgh Bill
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    Default Re: Is it wrong to correct a poster's spelling or grammar?

    NEVER! We do not know the blogger or the reason for the grammatical errors. Is it carelessness, a sense of insignificance, a weak formal education, a person that lives with a learning disability, or any number of other reasons? We should not hold such a pompous attitude towards another person that may have many other wonderful abilities or characteristics. Poor communication skills speaks of my late father. While he could barely write a comprehensible paragraph, he possessed skills that few Phds I encountered in my 38 year career in education could begin to perform. Our world is made up of people that can perhaps put a new motor in their automobile over the week end or build a second story on their house, while we have great writers that are unable to do a realitively simple task like installing new brakes on their car.

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    Default Re: Is it wrong to correct a poster's spelling or grammar?

    I reckon if there's some repeated error and you think the poster would appreciate a private message to help them with it, then that should be ok if done politely. I certainly have a few that always catch me out when typing quickly and wouldn't mind someone saying they've noticed over time.
    There's no reason for public correction in the thread where the error happens, many others will have spotted it but will have used their better judgement and either contacted the person if they care enough, or just moved on if they don't know them.
    Eoin



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    Registered User biologyprof's Avatar
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    Default Re: Is it wrong to correct a poster's spelling or grammar?

    Since this is an international community everyone may not have been schooled in the use of proper grammar and the subtle nuances of the English language. "Teaching" us may not be viewed in the same vein as intended. Over time it could stifle some very interesting and informative posts for fear of public criticism. Read and respond to the topics of the posts that interest you. Then play your mandolin or listen to some music until your aggravated bejabbers have gone.
    "I yam what I yam"

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    Default Re: Is it wrong to correct a poster's spelling or grammar?

    Know.
    Object to this post? Find out how to ignore me here!

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    Default Re: Is it wrong to correct a poster's spelling or grammar?

    Doo yuo doo winddowes?

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    Registered User jclover's Avatar
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    Default Re: Is it wrong to correct a poster's spelling or grammar?

    Quote Originally Posted by usqebach View Post
    ...such to the point that the mistake actually changes the meaning of the poster's comment.
    If that is the case, ask for clarification, it might be appreciated. Beyond that...well, the site owner made it pretty clear.
    -Jim

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    Registered User Toni Schula's Avatar
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    Default Re: Is it wrong to correct a poster's spelling or grammar?

    English is not my native language. So please feel free to correct me whenever it is necessary.

  29. #19

    Default Re: Is it wrong to correct a poster's spelling or grammar?

    Might just be a typo. A really smart person who is a bad typist. Kinda like what they used to say about George W, he was really a brilliant person, but a poor public speaker.....for example.

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    Registered User Randi Gormley's Avatar
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    Default Re: Is it wrong to correct a poster's spelling or grammar?

    Far be it from me to drag Miss Manners in here -- Scott has already made his point pretty clear -- but Miss Manners frowns on adults correcting adults. It's bad manners. And while I'm always in "learning" mode, I'd find it pretty impertinent for you to assume a public correction of a grammar or spelling error would "teach" anybody anything at all. Snort. (or that should probably be "sniff" if I'm still considering Miss Manners).

    I do sympathize with your frustration, I just think you're looking at the wrong solution. Like you can't pad the world's corners to keep people from bumping their heads, you can't appoint yourself the arbiter of grammar for a public forum. It's best just to let it go.
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    Registered User foldedpath's Avatar
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    Default Re: Is it wrong to correct a poster's spelling or grammar?

    Quote Originally Posted by pheffernan View Post
    Would you be uncomfortable or grateful if I were to point out that plural pronouns such as "their" and "them" do not agree with singular antecedents such as "someone" and "poster" in this post?
    I don't know if it was the poster's intent, but I've noticed a trend in online conversation where people use the plural forms of third person pronouns to avoid the gender-specific single person pronouns like "his" and "her." It's technically wrong, but it avoids the clumsy phrase "his or her" when you're trying to be inclusive, and it's shorter to type. For example:

    "The way someone holds their pick is very important when playing a mandolin."
    vs.
    "The way someone holds his or her pick is very important when playing a mandolin."

    It may be technically wrong, but online conversation always trends towards brevity, especially as more people type on portable devices. So I don't think this shortcut is going away any time soon. I've used it myself.

  33. #22
    Registered User Colin Lindsay's Avatar
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    Default Re: Is it wrong to correct a poster's spelling or grammar?

    Cittern… “did you mean CISTERN?”
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    Don’t ya just love eBay search engine auto-correct?
    "Danger! Do Not Touch!" must be one of the scariest things to read in Braille....

  34. #23
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    Default Re: Is it wrong to correct a poster's spelling or grammar?

    Mostly, the only corrections I will make are to names. It does irk me to see

    Duffy
    Hershel
    Baldasari
    Dudenbostal
    Gilcrest

    but that's just me.

  35. #24

    Default Re: Is it wrong to correct a poster's spelling or grammar?

    Quote Originally Posted by foldedpath View Post
    I don't know if it was the poster's intent, but I've noticed a trend in online conversation where people use the plural forms of third person pronouns to avoid the gender-specific single person pronouns like "his" and "her." It's technically wrong, but it avoids the clumsy phrase "his or her" when you're trying to be inclusive, and it's shorter to type. For example:

    "The way someone holds their pick is very important when playing a mandolin."
    vs.
    "The way someone holds his or her pick is very important when playing a mandolin."
    I'd finesse my way around it and say "......holds the pick....."

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    Default Re: Is it wrong to correct a poster's spelling or grammar?

    I understand the OP's perspective because I'm a lover of words, grammar, and writing in general. And the more one writes and pays attention to such things, the more it sticks out when something is off. But this isn't everyone's passion. In fact it's hardly anyone's. A lot of folks just don't care and that's just the way it is. Correcting someone's grammar, etc. will generally just make the other person feel like an idiot, and that's almost always unhelpful and hardly inspiring.

    The same kind of well-intentioned snobbery occurs from number/math people. I'm 40 years old and can't even count out change or do much beyond simple multiplication. And I don't care.
    ...

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