Is Correcting Or Commenting On Another Poster's Spelling

[DavidOxon]

Hi guys

I'm a little confused! (Easily done)

is correcting or commenting on another poster's spelling generally considered as flaming?

thanks for your replies

David

[samuibeachcomber]

no,just tactless.

[Mossfinn]

Generally it is just bad form.

When done in a condescending or mocking manner, then yes it is a personal attack and as such a flame.

What makes me laugh is that the half-wits generally don't understand that the posters are not native speakers and it just makes the flamer look even more stupid.

[StreetCowboy]

You should have included the full question in the subject line.

If it didn't fit, you should have shortened it

SC

[MB1]

Unless it's in a language/teachers forum then I'd say yes it is, soft trolling/baiting IMO and adds nothing to a debate or topic and lets not forget some of the posters here are not fluent in English and English is a second language.

It makes me laugh though when people pick people up on spelling and grammar and then make mistakes themselves, now they IMO deserve to be ridiculed.

All spilling/grandma mistekes cirrect at tim of going too priss.

Edited April 26, 2010 by MB1

[Ulysses G.]

It should only be done if the bad speller in question says or implies that you or someone you agree with is "stupid". IMHO it can be justified in such a case.

[TheKingfisher]

Unless it's in a language/teachers forum then I'd say yes it is, soft trolling/baiting IMO and adds nothing to a debate or topic and lets not forget some of the posters here are not fluent in English and English is a second language.

It makes me laugh though when people pick people up on spelling and grammar and then make mistakes themselves, now they IMO derserve to be ridiculed.

I totally agree, also I cant be bothered most times going back over a post to correct typos..... I think like my mother used to say, If you have nothing good to contribute to the conversation go to your room and bat off some more........

[tominthat]

No OP it is not good. However grammar is ok. You should always start a sentence with a capital letter and finish it with a full stop, question mark or exclamation mark. Just my two bits dude.

[StreetCowboy]

No OP it is not good. However grammar is ok. You should always start a sentence with a capital letter and finish it with a full stop, question mark or exclamation mark. Just my two bits dude.

Should've had a a comma before the dude, mate.

The tattoo thread reached 244 posts - quite a target for a futile and irrelevant thread; we'll need to put something controversial in to match that...

What about arguing about the transliteration of Thai words? What's the general feeling on the acceptability of that?

SC

Reason for edit: S S Stammer corrected...

Edited April 26, 2010 by StreetCowboy

[skippybangkok]

Unless you can perform the sam feat in atleast 5 different languages, correcting spelling in one is not much to be proud about ( hard not to take the bait on this on eh ?)

Edited April 26, 2010 by skippybangkok

[tominthat]

No OP it is not good. However grammar is ok. You should always start a sentence with a capital letter and finish it with a full stop, question mark or exclamation mark. Just my two bits dude.

Should've had a a comma before the dude, mate.

The tattoo thread reached 244 posts - quite a target for a futile and irrelevant thread; we'll need to put something controversial in to match that...

What about arguing about the transliteration of Thai words? What's the general feeling on the acceptability of that?

SC

OOPS must get my glasses cleaned as I cannot see a comma before the word dude.

[MB1]

"Aoccdrnig to extnesvie rseeacrh conudcetd at Oxofrd Uinervtisy in Enlgnad, it deosn't raelly mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer is at the rghit pclae.

The rset can be in a toatl mses and you usulaly can sitll raed it wouthit much porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae we do not raed ervey lteter by it slef but

the wrod as a wlohe."

[Ulysses G.]

How about spell-check? You do not have to be a native English speaker to use it.

"According to extensive research conducted at Oxford University in England, it doesn't really matter in what order the letters in a word are, the only important thing is that the first and last letter is at the right place.

The rest can be in a total mess and you usually can still read it without much problem. This is because we do not read every letter by itself but the word as a whole."

Edited April 26, 2010 by Ulysses G.

[Takeo]

"Aoccdrnig to extnesvie rseeacrh conudcetd at Oxofrd Uinervtisy in Enlgnad, it deosn't raelly mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer is at the rghit pclae.

The rset can be in a toatl mses and you usulaly can sitll raed it wouthit much porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae we do not raed ervey lteter by it slef but

the wrod as a wlohe."

bloody hel_l that actually worked, i just read through that as if it were written correctly. was supprised how easily too.

[LaoPo]

DavidOxon: OP

Everybody can make spelling mistakes, especially also if the poster is non-native English speaking member (myself).

There are however a few native English members who feel themselves superior to others, yet I see them make spelling mistakes over and over again, even an English teacher amongst them; but I refrain from telling them so...

Quite amusing to see those "superior" ones fall over....again and again...

There are only very very few people in the world who are real Masters over their own (or second, third and forth or even more) language(s) without making any mistakes.

In my own country there is a yearly Dictation exercise on national Television and millions of people attend the test at home. In the studio there is a panel of high profile members of society like writers, poets, famous people, politicians etc.

Every year another famous "Language-Artist" (mostly a writer or Poet) writes the speech (Dictée) and this is than declared/spoken loudly 2 times (1 normal speaking; 1 x slow) whereby the attendants write down the speech/Dictée in their own "vision" and words.

Every single year in a row the winner has about 4 to 5 mistakes whilst most people, attending the test in the panel, have around 20-30 mistakes which is considered to be very good for educated people.

A person, correcting or commenting on another posters' spelling should show some more respect to others; nobody is perfect.

Next to that, the "Correcting" individual should realize that there are 10 to 20% of all people in the world (in every language) who are Dyslectic.

I know, since my son and his Mother are Dyslectic

Dyslexia is a nasty disability, the same as colour/color-blindness...(me)

LaoPo

[MB1]

How about spell-check? You do not have to be a native English speaker to use it.

I never use spellcheck, don't have it on my PC, I prefer to try and work out the correct spelling if I'm unsure of it, makes the old grey matter tick, probably why I edit so much when I realise I've made a mistake.

[TheKingfisher]

meh.... editing is soooooooo .doc

[StreetCowboy]

DavidOxon: OP

Everybody can make spelling mistakes, especially also if the poster is non-native English speaking member (myself).

There are however a few native English members who feel themselves superior to others, yet I see them make spelling mistakes over and over again, even an English teacher amongst them; but I refrain from telling them so...

Quite amusing to see those "superior" ones fall over....again and again...

There are only very very few people in the world who are real Masters over their own (or second, third and forth or even more) language(s) without making any mistakes.

In my own country there is a yearly Dictation exercise on national Television and millions of people attend the test at home. In the studio there is a panel of high profile members of society like writers, poets, famous people, politicians etc.

Every year another famous "Language-Artist" (mostly a writer or Poet) writes the speech (Dictée) and this is than declared/spoken loudly 2 times (1 normal speaking; 1 x slow) whereby the attendants write down the speech/Dictée in their own "vision" and words.

Every single year in a row the winner has about 4 to 5 mistakes whilst most people, attending the test in the panel, have around 20-30 mistakes which is considered to be very good for educated people.

A person, correcting or commenting on another posters' spelling should show some more respect to others; nobody is perfect.

Next to that, the "Correcting" individual should realize that there are 10 to 20% of all people in the world (in every language) who are Dyslectic.

I know, since my son and his Mother are Dyslectic

Dyslexia is a nasty disability, the same as colour/color-blindness...(me)

LaoPo

I've worked with a few dyslexics, and probably some more undiagnosed as well. Very interesting, and useful to get their input on your own work, as well.

Similarly colour-blindness; people make little effort to accomodate either handicap, and yet so many people are thus hindered (I thought 'suffer' was too strong a word.

Just for the sake of pedantry, I imagine that the proportion of dyslexics will vary between language groups, due variation in the propensity for such a handicap in various racial groups; similar to the relatively low proportion of red-green colour-blind in orientals, I believe, compared to caucasians...(PROFILING!)

Spelling is not such an issue, unless someone uses an incorrect word (possibly through a typo or through ignorance) which could cause confusion. Similarly punctuation. Either can be a source of humour.

SC

[Kitsch22]

Generally it is just bad form.

When done in a condescending or mocking manner, then yes it is a personal attack and as such a flame.

What makes me laugh is that the half-wits generally don't understand that the posters are not native speakers and it just makes the flamer look even more stupid.

Agreed. But the strange thing is that the dreadful misuse of the apostrophe (worst IMO is the erroneous insertion in plurals) appears to be the habit almost exclusively of (some) real native speakers of English. Merely evidence, I suppose, of the gradual descent into semi-literacy of a substantial section of the British population. No useful purpose is served in publishing a correction, as the miscreants invariably indicate that they do not care. I wonder if this may perhaps be a group which exhibits a higher than average incidence of those who favour tattoos, body piercing and so forth.

[tgw]

LaoPo, I didn't realize we come from the same country.

I once won a regional prize in that "dictée" 20 years ago :-)

To comment the OP's question, I'd say simple spelling mistakes are no big deal, especially in a foreign language.

But there some cases where the spelling of native speakers sometimes shows a total lack of understanding of their own language's syntax/structure and/or semantics, which is in most languages a clear mark of low education. Dyslexia is not the problem here.

So when they try to be the smartass in a forum conversation and post some inane opinion in a discussion which is way over their head (in their native language) and make that kind of mistakes, it will be used against them as a criteria for disqualification. People will ridicule their post by mocking their spelling and/or use of semantics.

While such mocking posts are clearly flames, I consider them to be quite natural reaction.

Rarely you will see a person unable to properly use his native language (again, not talking about typos or dyslexia here) be able to formulate an elaborate thought.

[Kan Win]

So to the OP 'DavidOxon',

Have read many a time on ThaiVisaDotCom about this probelm, but who really in this day and age of non-native English speaking member (me) gives a

As long as we all understand what was written in ones post/s that should say it all.

Perhaps I am Damrong or a Pisit (read the words and think about them)

Sawadee

[Boo]

from the forum netiquette guide;

3. If possible please proofread your post first, poor grammar and spelling can make the post difficult to understand. However be aware that not every member is a native English speaker and excessive posts regarding others spelling and grammar not only hijacks the topic but is poor netiquette.

General consensus is, if you can understand the poster then there is no need to get nit picky about the spelling or grammar.

[Kitsch22]

from the forum netiquette guide;

3. If possible please proofread your post first, poor grammar and spelling can make the post difficult to understand. However be aware that not every member is a native English speaker and excessive posts regarding others spelling and grammar not only hijacks the topic but is poor netiquette.

General consensus is, if you can understand the poster then there is no need to get nit picky about the spelling or grammar.

So why require proofreading "if possible"? In fact, why bother with any standards or self-respect or respect for others whatsoever?

[Tonto21]

Hi DavidOxon

Ticks me off in varying degrees as to the small-mindedness of some replies, the ripping to bits of some posts, not the context, (thats fair game) but the spelling and grammar. A fair amount of post contribution is from non-native English speakers. (Funny thing is you tend to find the spelling better than a lot of native English speakers, even if the grammar’s a bit doggy)

For me, as long as I can read and understand the point being put across, (without employing Tom Cruise or an Enigma machine) it will do for me.

Does anyone posting these comments about others spelling and grammatical errors actually think there comments are well received, add contribution to the topic, or are funny? wierd, very weird, you nerds! I think theses smug individuals instead of having a positive effect in raising the bar in terms of the English language and its communication, they actually help suppress it. TV would be a richer environment in terms of viewpoints if the grammar police would read the comments and use that oh so big melon not just to try and score point.

[StreetCowboy]

from the forum netiquette guide;

3. If possible please proofread your post first, poor grammar and spelling can make the post difficult to understand. However be aware that not every member is a native English speaker and excessive posts regarding others spelling and grammar not only hijacks the topic but is poor netiquette.

General consensus is, if you can understand the poster then there is no need to get nit picky about the spelling or grammar.

So why require proofreading "if possible"? In fact, why bother with any standards or self-respect or respect for others whatsoever?

The nit-picking gets in the way of the bickering. Its better not to give others the opportunity. Think of it like literary grooming. Just because we tolerate flaws in others' writing is no reason to allow such flaws in our own.

(you could hyphenate proof-reading, and nit-picking, but nit-picking ought to be one word one way or another. You could note that commas should not be used to join sentences "proofread your post first, as poort grammar...")

But as mentioned, we should take care that the nit-picking doesn't get in the way of the bickering, which is what we all come for (except for the boring, pedantic bastards among us, who find nit-picking a tasty snack without spoiling the appetite for a bicker, rant or whinge).

SC

[wolf5370]

Hate to see people going on about grammar/spelling/punctuation etc, but also some grammar/spelling mistakes really grind (like 'their/there/they're' and 'know/no' etc) - Oh my lord, I'm soooooo torn!

One thing that I have notice though, almost universally, the initial post complaining of such are usually full of grammar/spelling/punctuation mistakes!

//edit: Typos 555 //

Edited April 26, 2010 by wolf5370

[GungaDin]

There is an area for non-native speakers to put their nationality under their name.

"From" see it? duh!

If they used it, it would stop the remarks about poor grammar,

there is a spell checker for every post, <deleted>, use it.

[Crossy]

I rarely comment on other's use of English, not worth the hassle if the meaning is clear.

Remember, that unlike Thai, you can totally mangle English and the meaning is still there.

Some things really grate though, "could of" (could've), "there, their and they're", "to, too and two" plus several others.

I do however correct technical mistakes (like using +ve when referring to AC power), these could be hazardous

[PeaceBlondie]

I'm no "spelling-grammar commando." But if you make an error correcting somebody else, I'll crucify you.

[GungaDin]

Who are you threatening, Blondie?