Are you offended when somebody posts a correction to your grammar, punctuation, or spelling?

I like to get these posts in time to correct them, but that's just me.

I notice a lot of hostile threads regarding this issue, usually including the term "grammar police,"or some such derogatory phrase.

I can't get them corrected without flubbing up the copy so I edit.

You're lucky you can read this at all!

That would be ass in nine.

:blush:

Sometimes they are just typos, but if it is really an error in spelling or grammatical use, I'd like to know. If posters can do so pleasantly, giving benefit of the doubt to the DUer, I don't see what the problem is...

Sometimes we have so many threads that are literally packed with spelling errors, I really do want remind people that we do have spell check. But, I rarely do so because you never know what will really set someone off and the defensive response is predictable from some.

However, I often wonder if the poster wouldn't have been happy with an opportunity to correct the mistake.

if I ever did make a spelling misteak! But I don't, ha ha!

It doesn't offend me at all. I need all the help I can muster sometimes.

scoundrel on the web

:-)

And a few times they are actually trying to hep

The art lies in telling the difference.

Like .... a "hep cat"? :silly:

silly spell checker didn't catch it

:evilgrin:

If we was suposd to be purfect. then we wood have been borned jesus,

Rewax.

:silly:

Who are yuo, telling me waht to due?

Yeay, smartiepants.

:silly:

Put flouride in the water, built interstates over the most fertile cropland, and stole two elections
finally got around to my keyboard and sabotaged it, I have had to defend my typing.

It is simply unfair.

And the comma after "police" goes inside the quote mark, not outside.

I'm just sayin'....

Thanks! :hi:

:rofl:

so I tend to be a little sensitive about it. It really depends on how they make the suggestion. If they are losing an argument then attack my grammar or spelling I feel like telling them to fuck off. However, if someone PM's me and lets me know in a very polite way, then I really appreciate it. I found out I was spelling a number of things wrong and have become a better speller because of those who have pointed mistakes out in a nice way.

Just don't be like the guy below!



Grammarian usually has little to contribute to a discussion and possesses few effective weapons. To compensate, he will point out minor errors in spelling and grammar. Because of Grammarian's obvious weakness most Warriors ignore him.

"Errors" that are instances where people think the language really did stop (or should have stopped) changing in 1496 or really does have to follow Classical Latin grammar rules, yes.

Also "mistakes" where the person doing the correcting rejects the idea of polysemy or can't accept that a word could actually mean something other than what that person's experience dictates ... leading the person to dictate.

Then there are the Whorfian ideologues: A word can be interpreted or appears or has an etymology that can (via nice abductive reasoning) be interpreted in a way to demonstrate some form of oppression/etc., so it must be interpreted that way, dismissed as racist/sexist/ethnist/etc. and rejected.

Then there's punctuation, something that's changed over the last hundred years and currently exists (in details) in two forms, open and close. With a series of fine style gradations in between, exemplified by various style manuals. But since there can ever be only one style for many folk (only absolute conformity is tolerable ... barely), that being the one that Mrs. Johnson taught in second grade or a freshman composition instructor drilled into that language policeman's brain, all that is by the boards. There can be only one.

Ick.

That said, there are actual mistakes that can be made. Point those out, no problim. :-)

find to use as a reply to you. I've actually seen typed here in this forum - "you can't even spell {insert word here}, so your whole point is irrelevant"...

Otherwise, it just goes with the flow of things. I try to catch mine before I post, but sometimes hit 'post' instead of 'check spelling'... other times I just don't think to check the spelling, seeing as how I have to look at the keys to type :blush: .... but with my big fingers, I sometimes hit the wrong key trying to type too fast with two fingers... one on each hand! Hey! I can type with both hands!! :rofl:

This goes for pretty much any interaction that provokes offense.

Rule of thumb: If you really want to educate, help, or persuade someone, you won't be an asshole about it.

One comes to expect these things.

:)

I believe the last comma is a matter of writer discretion.

But I could be wrong (wouldn't be the first time).

It's a style convention used and made popular by Harvard. However, it's optional. I prefer it, but I have been accused of pretentiousness. To which I reply, "pretentious? Moi??"

But, since this is a text medium, and there are "Preview" and "Check Spelling" buttons right next to the one used to post, spelling errors are sort of the equivalent of leaving your fly open, and ridicule should be expected.

It's really a little issue, overall, but there's a misuse of it that occurs.

I've noted that a lot of times the grammar issue is pointed out when there's a fierce disagreement between at least two others occurring. It is quite tempting to pick on someone else's technical communication issue as a gotcha.

There have been times in the heat of an argument here on DU, that I've held back from pointing out the others' poor grammar.

Writing first draft material is bound to be fraught with errors, anyway. If you see a grammatically perfect post, and someone claimed it was their first draft from typing in the DU window, it'd be reasonable to believe they were lying.

It is unreasonable to expect perfection in any first draft.

If some strive for too much perfection, they will never write anything. I'd rather they have their say.

I went to school back in the day when proper use of commas and semicolons were de rigueur. I know that sounds snobbish but I worked hard (because I had to!) in school to refine and perfect my English. What passes for English on DU is shocking...

spelling error, instead of posting it in the thread. If it's a grammatical error that calls the actual meaning of their post into question, then I will ask what they really mean in the thread.

I have no problem if someone points out an error to me, as my first priority is to write clearly and intelligently no matter what point I'm attempting to make.

I also think that the best tack to take if someone posts a "correction" is to accept it graciously and thank them. That way, if their real motive is to discredit your argument, it has the effect of disarming them and forcing them to either slink off or come out with their REAL objection.

sw

I have a problem with people correcting my spelling. This originates in the award I was given when I graduated 8th grade in a catholic elementary school, 47 years ago. I was the first student, in that school, who failed 32 consecutive quarters of spelling. English was not my favorite subject in school; I found it boring. My writing abilities were not very good.

After I was promoted to management, years later, I was forced to re-learn how to write and to spell.

Thank God for spell check and with Word, the grammar suggestions.

Duplicate

Duplicate

an insult to me.

In that case, yes.

I'm pretty much self educated and doing the best I can. Not everyone here has the benefit of higher education and I don't need someone putting me down and making me feel like crap. Seems it's just so they can boost their own esteem by pointing out a stupid typo or mistake in punctuation or grammar. :-( I use spell check but sometimes things get passed so people should try to be understanding.

just plain lazy and bad grammar is quite another.

Grammar cops are alright with me.

a long time poster too

I'll blame someone else, bush does.

and I only correct the correctors. I can't help it, I just get a kick out of finding an error in someones grammar who is trying to correct someones else's.

simply because they're being f***ing ***holes.

People complaining about spelling and grammar in a thread usually can't win an argument so they have to point out every little fault. It's an attempt to belittling others to make oneself look good.

there really isn't any good excuse for playing "gotcha," it's trashy and rude, just as it's trashy and rude to correct someone's grammar in real life

So what.
It's silly to worry about them.

I had one person jump down my throat with both feet for something he was "just waiting for an example of type of error" on one of my posts. He was entirely unpleasant and boorish about it, and when called on the carpet for being unkind, he got offended.

http://redwing.hutman.net/~mreed/warriorshtm/grammarian.htm




Grammarian usually has little to contribute to a discussion and possesses few effective weapons. To compensate, he will point out minor errors in spelling and grammar. Because of Grammarian's obvious weakness most Warriors ignore him.

mistakes and just respond to my post. That's nice of them. :)

It can help in the future. I already do a lot of post editing and spell checking.

If a person mis-spells a person's name or the name of a media source, it could make it hard for someone to try to look into the matter further. Therefore, that type of correction is constructive.

However, we don't need grammar Nazis.

and is offered so I can correct or so that others understand what I was attempting to say.

The sole purpose of language is to communicate. If someone has understood what you're trying to say, the language has done its job.

There is beauty in a well-written narrative, but that is no justification for smarmy assholes who judge the intelligence of other people by grammatical or spelling errors. Whenever I see someone taking someone else to task over a misspelled word, I automatically think less of the former.

to become expreSsiVe; then i am offering the greater service whether they understand it or knot :spray:

If someone walked up to me in RL & corrected my grammar rather respond to the content, I'd assume they had issues bigger than my poor grammar (spelling, etc).

It's rude, imo.


(even speel chucker misspells a word now & again!)

Just thought you all should be aware of that... :-)

Usually the meaning is clear.

never post "casting asparagus", unless you want to be taunted. ;-)

:D

I am not offended if it is done constructively; however, when some arrogant asshat points out an error, I am definitely offended.

about linguistics. If they did, they'd know that prescriptive grammar is frowned upon by modern linguists, and that prescription is usually based upon class/dialect bias and is often out-of-date and arbitrary.

Wiki has a decent summary of prescriptive vs. descriptive linguistics:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prescriptive

adults can't spell. I'd like to start with having all DUers learn the difference between "lose" and "loose."

I'm also aware that many misspellings are typos, that people responding to another's post may be typing too fast and not proofreading, and that we can all use an extra proofreader now and then.

I don't think that using a typing error or misspelling as a campaign tactic to go after people who have different perspectives is appropriate. That's not the same thing as proofreading and pointing out the need to edit.

I'm guilty of typos sometimes, and I don't mind one bit when someone points them out.

I know that my spelling is shaky. It's okay if someone corrects me.


I also know that I leave words out of sentences, and I'm aware that I sometimes write the words of sentences in random order. These mistakes are often completely invisible to me until later.


Me, I tend to offer brief corrections for mistakes of terminology or fact for as long as I can be bothered. Also, I'm actually more likely to offer any sort of correction to someone I'm siding with, because I want to help them be good-n-right.

;)

I don't write my DU posts the same way I write college papers, so sometimes I will be a little sloppy and make a mistake. I'm fine if someone corrects me, unless they imply that I'm an idiot or something.

Singular/plural pronoun disagreement.

:evilgrin:

I know perfectly well the correct usage of they're and their, but sometimes the wrong thing just comes out when I'm not proof-reading everything I write. Message boards are supposed to be fun, not an English test.

:shrug:

Otherwise, we are left to decide what constitutes a group of people being "a jerk" (a masturbatory motion?) as opposed to "several jerks" (several such motions?).

In short, it makes as much sense to describe a collective people as a single jerk as multiple jerks, and therefore it is my view that "unless they're a jerk about it" is perfectly fine. :)

wrong about the grammar, though as a matter of usage few people really worry about it.

:-)

How about sharing your analysis rather than issuing self-congratulatory declarations? :)

:-)

Ever since (sense, lol) I saw the funny post about FR using hugh instead of huge I find that when I am typing huge I often use hugh and it KILLS me because I don't mean to. It seems to be the only one I consistently get messed up and it is embarrassing.

My grammar sucks though and I would welcome anyone who tells me that I left out an apostrophe. Frequently I leave them off because I simply can't remember how to use them :(. It is difficult to be grammatically correct though when you feel like you are having a casual conversation. I often leave out stuff and I read it after it is posted and it makes me cringe.

So, my answer was no. Sometimes people can be a jerk about it but hey, if it helps then I can deal with that.

People too often get their "paddies in a wade" about silly stuff like corrections.

Everyone makes mistakes. Even the Master, Will Pitt. I would never point out a mistake, unless it was egregious and repetitive.

Who's Who of DU Grammatical Serial Offenders

to focus on something pretty trivial.

If it's a polite "'Benign' does not have a 'y' in it" or "Media is plural", I appreciate the correction.

If it's a "How could you be so stupid as to misspell 'misspell', Dummy!", I'd rather you kept your opinion to yourself.

I'm hardly an expert when it comes to proper grammar or punctuation. I do appreciate it when someone who is more knowledgeable corrects any mistakes re: grammar or punctuation.

And I do use Spellcheck for my spelling.

I could care less when someone correct my speling or gramar.

I figure I type purty good most times.

...in my mind. That said, an argument that relies only on this is no argument. I hope I'm above posting corrections publicly, unless an author's mistakes are emblematic of a greater lack of understanding.

Do you think this has to do with the greater risk of lawsuits that surgeons face?

The pilot goes down with the plane. If he screws up, he dies with the rest. So he really wants to know whether he's making a mistake before it's too late.

If the surgeon screws up, he won't be the one who dies, but maybe there'll be an inquest, and maybe there'll be a lawsuit... A witness who could testify to his timely knowledge of error would not help his case at such proceedings.


If commercial jet pilots were allowed to bring their own parachutes, d'you suppose they'd give a different answer?


:yoiks:

My sister is a nurse in a hospital. They had a doctor who would never let anyone question or double check anything he said or did. Then, the doctor flew off to a conference at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester Minnesota. Only when we got off the plane, he was in Rochester, New York.

Everyone in the hospital got immense pleasure from that incident.

and sometimes posters are just damn picky

...

What?

:evilgrin:

They can't come up with a real argument, so they've got to resort to correcting grammar and spelling. The nature of an online message board results in grammar and spelling errors regularly, it's got nothing to do with literacy or intelligence. Shit, have the time grammar police have errors in their own posts.

MS Word's suggestions aren't always the right word.

Such as, the famous asparagus example.

You can imagine how hard it is to have an actual conversation with someone who stops you in mid-sentence to nitpick grammar and pronunciation. I think it was her way of proving to herself that despite my college degrees she was still smarter, and that she could one-up me any time she chose.

My first husband was dyslexic. I learned from being with him that the ability to spell is not the huge measure of intelligence my mother thought it was, and that for some people it comes much harder than for others. He went through college relying on paid typists, because this was before personal computers, word processing, and automatic spell checkers. There was no diagnosis of his problem then, either.

When I was raising my children I taught them everything I knew about using the English language correctly. Now that they are adults they get no corrections from me. I'd rather hear what they are saying.

I think (I hope) I've corrected someone's spelling at DU only once, and that was because it was a mistake that changed the meaning of the OP subject line.

CONTENT and development of an idea are the important things, imo.

Hekate

nt

I tend to type in the same manner i speak... which is my way of saying "not always grammatically perfect."

If i have grossly misspelled something, am painfully unclear, or have unintentionally caused offense... please, go ahead and correct me -- sooner, rather than later -- so that i have the opportunity to make the necessary corrections.

However, if it's just that my usage of lower-case "i", the 3-dot pause, or some other idiosyncrasy bugs you... save your breath. I've been doing these things for so long that it would slow down my typing speed by half... and that speed is pathetic as it is, and needs no 'help'.

If correcting grammar turns you on, go for it. DU is full of all kinds of people--and I love the variety of voices here!

I don't make many errors.

It takes an inferior human being to gleefully dig at another's misspellings or poor syntax and then call them an "idiot," as if such petty insults were a buttress to their assumed position of superiority.

On the other hand, I have no qualms about criticizing error-ridden CNN reports or mangled, misleading headlines. It irks me when "professional" journalists are sloppy, or seem not to have taken full advantage of their educations.