Opinions please...

[joseph01]

I take it you didn't use SpelChek on this post?

Correct. I don't always use spellcheck, and I mispell words like everyone else. Did you read my original post, Gator fan?

[joseph01]

Well, I think the consensus is in. That is, never say anything about it. I will abide by that. Thanks again for all your opinions. Now I'll go see what Emily is doing.

[GalvestonDuck]

I take it you didn't use SpelChek on this post?

Correct. I don't always use spellcheck, and I mispell words like everyone else. Did you read my original post, Gator fan?

I did. Please note the "winky" -- I was kidding with you in light of the discussion.

[joseph01]

I take it you didn't use SpelChek on this post?

Correct. I don't always use spellcheck, and I mispell words like everyone else. Did you read my original post, Gator fan?

I did. Please note the "winky" -- I was kidding with you in light of the discussion.

Oh, forgive me for being dense. It's early.

Top of the morning to you!

[GalvestonDuck]

I take it you didn't use SpelChek on this post?

Correct. I don't always use spellcheck, and I mispell words like everyone else. Did you read my original post, Gator fan?

I did. Please note the "winky" -- I was kidding with you in light of the discussion.

Oh, forgive me for being dense. It's early.

Top of the morning to you!

No prob! Yeah, I see you were up at the crack of dawn! Good morning to you, too.

[azskyman]

There aren't many ways we can tell something about someone's personality online.

But the way someone writes, the words they choose, the care they take or don't take in trying to tell their story or convey their message, does say something about that person.

I tend to write wordy long posts...mostly spelled correctly. Some see them as boring. Others as thoughtful or insightful. However they look at those, they assign a "personality" to me based on those things.

And over the course of months or years...you either see me as someone consistent, someone flaky, or in some other way.

Spelling is important to me personally in painting that personality picture. For others, spelling may not matter. Maybe what matters is the emotion or tone of the message. Still others seem like "me" personalities rather than "us" personalities.

And a little piece of who you are comes out in your style.

I personally am rarely if ever bothered by the way someone spells or posts their messages. Once in a great while, I'll see a "trigger word" that is not spelled correctly (the word tomorrow, for example), and it will catch my eye. But my mind takes all that into account as part of that person's wonderful attributes.

I know some wonderful people who can speak in articulate ways, but when they write...it's like they are someone else. Similarly, I know some people who can write in wonderfully flowing ways, but can't say a word in public without tripping over an adverb.

In the end, I love that part of who each of us are plays out through the keyboard. It would be fun to be able to have many different people write a paragraph or two on the same subject anonymously...and then try to guess who penned which one.

I'm a dead giveaway.

One more sidebar. I was editor for a weather publication for 14 years. I had one woman in Michigan who cared less about weather, but subscribed so she could get the magazine, mark every page up with red markers, and critique it to the bitter end. If I had been graded on my work, I would have failed every month. The interesting thing, however, to me was that she renewed each year!

DeeBee...thanks for your many years working with those to improve their skills. How much I admire your commitment...and even moreso, your forgiving nature for all our personality quirks, including how we choose our words when writing.

[Dee Bee]

My bottom line is to lighten up -- or, if really necessary, ask the writer for clarification as nonjudgmentally as possible.

I am more confused after your post. The first half seems to extol the virtues of communicating well, the second seems to say it's no big deal. Which is it?

Hi, joseph01--

I'm sorry for this late reply. I wasn't on line most of yesterday evening and have had a late start this morning.

Yes, communicating well is the goal of writing, but the key to whether one should correct another person's grammar/mechanics is the situation.
If a spelling error truly causes confusion on the reader's part, then asking for clarification (by using the correct spelling of a word) is necessary. Personally, I doubt that the spelling error "becuase," for example, would truly cause confusion, although I can understand how that error can be irritating to a reader. In addition, although some people appreciate being corrected in any situation, for many people, the mental response is "Thank you, Mr./Ms. Know-It-All."

As a college instructor (and freelance editor), part of my job is to point out sub-standard English errors. I believe that since students/clients are paying to take the writing courses I teach or for my professional services, they expect to learn how to avoid those errors. The first step in avoiding writing errors is to recognize those errors, including fragments, comma splices, run-on sentences, agreement errors, tense errors, case errors, consistency errors, parallelism errors, modifier errors, and others, as well as punctuation and spelling errors. The key here is the circumstances under which those corrections are pointed out: I am expected to do so by my students (and my department head, for that matter!).

However -- since I believe in respecting other people's personal preferences -- if even informal writing errors really bother an individual reader, that person is free to respond as he/she sees fit.

I still may have not given a "yes-or-no" answer here, but I just do not see the world in general as strictly "either/or."

So, unless someone asks for correction in an informal situation such as our S2K forum, IMO it may be construed as condescending to point out errors, especially relatively inconsequential spelling errors. That's what "lighten up" meant.

Here's another explanation of this opinion, one which I apply to many other life situations:



Ladies and gentlemen, take my advice:
Just pull down your pants, and slide on the ice.






P.S.I appreciate your explanation and comments, too, azskyman!

[alicia-w]

i think much of it is typing errors.

[cajungal]

I try not to mis-spell. But, I type so fast that sometimes I hit enter without proofreading. It is not like I am doing it on purpose. But, I am a very impatient person, sorry.