General / Off-Topic Is It OK To Correct People's Grammar And Spelling?

Is it OK to correct people's spelling or grammar?

  • Yes

    Votes: 3 8.1%

  • Maybe / It depends

    Votes: 24 64.9%

  • No

    Votes: 10 27.0%

  • Don't know / undecided

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Total voters
    37

Alien

Alien
I see so many posts and comments online these days where the person hasn't spelled words correctly. It really annoys me.

I don't know if it's a lack of education, as I didn't exactly have a good education myself, but I do make an effort to spell words correctly and use proper grammar. Very often I will make a post and read it through once I post it, then I find I have made some errors, and I'll spend just as long again editing the post to correct typos.

So when I see posts and comments where the other person has failed to make an effort to spell words correctly, I have to resist the urge to correct it for them. Is that the right thing to do? Or is it better to point out their mistakes? Even if I did correct them, would they learn from it?
 
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ianw

I
I know what you mean and I am tempted to do it sometimes - especially in a business scenario.

But - it seems like a cheap shot so I don't unless;

It's a comedy opportunity and feel based on the person's previous posts that they could take a joke...

OR

They are trolling/being generally out of order in which case they have rather put themselves on offer...
 

Oss133

Oss133
Think I have to agree with ianw on this. It has been pointed out to me before that not everyone here has English as their first language.

But if it was me, fine, go ahead. I can take it.
 

Alien

Alien
If I know the person does not use English as their first language, then yes, I make exceptions. I know several people who don't have English as their first language, and not one has any problem with being corrected.
 

ianw

I
oss133 said:
Think I have to agree with ianw on this. It has been pointed out to me before that not everyone here has English as their first language.

But if it was me, fine, go ahead. I can take it.
Click to expand...

Good point - that would be a very low shot.
 

Philip Coutts

Volunteer Moderator
Philip Coutts
I try my best to get spelling right and I re-read what I post to pick up any other errors. What bugs me is text or twitter speak, I just don't like it at all. Even when I send texts I type out the words fully.
 

Susimetsa

Susimetsa
It really depends. Not everyone has a lot of time to hone their posts and read them over when they've written them and sometimes they just want to get their point across before they have to run to change their baby's diapers or something.

Tired, stressed and busy people easily make mistakes when they write.

BUT - and this is a very, very big but - if I see some common mistakes (their<>they're, its<>it's, your<>you're, hangar<>hanger), I must assume that the person doesn't know any better and needs to be corrected then and there. ;)

In short, it depends on the situation. If it could be that the person is simply in hurry, I may let it go, but with repeated mistakes - especially when people playing sci-fi games really should know better - I do feel the urge to correct them.

It wasn't too many posts ago that I had to point it out when I noticed the awful hangar<>hanger mistake.
 

Slawkenbergius

Slawkenbergius
I hate it when someone corrects someone who's new to the forums, as it seems unfriendly and unwelcoming. If it's someone you know though, I think you can get away with correcting there spelling/grammar.
 

Cody

Cody
Philip Coutts said:
What bugs me is text or twitter speak, I just don't like it at all.
Click to expand...
<nods> That can make a post harder to read, which seems to defeat the object somewhat (especially on a busy forum). As regards typos and grammar errors - I hate them with a vengeance, but I've learned to skim over them and ignore. However, if I see one in something fixed, such as a sig or a piece of artwork, then I'll point it out (often via PM).

My pet hate though is the mis-use of the apostrophe, of which there are one or two glaring examples.
 

Rollo

R
If it is not a covert operation that plans to evict all us non-english speakers from the forum.
I'm sure i make all sorts of spelling and grammar errors, and I don't really care, but I wouldn't be upset for corrections. Besides, it's nice to get some replies once in a while.

Btw, I'm an uneducated sort of a swine anyway. :)
 

Susimetsa

Susimetsa
Kerrash said:
People are dying all over the world, spelling correctly is really not that big of a deal. ;)
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How do you know that they are not killed by the very typos? What if we would live forever if only everyone spelled correctly?

Do I need to put a smiley here....?
 

Listeri69

Listeri69
Punctuation can me a matter of life and death for example

Pardon impossible, to be sent to Siberia. = Death

Pardon, impossible to be sent to Siberia = Life :D
 

Nagual

Nagual
The short answer is no. Non English speakers, dyslexia, dyspraxia, eye sight issues, reading issues, mobility issues, neurological impairments... the list goes on. Do people really think so much of themselves, think that they are so perfect that they have the right to point out someone else's mistakes? Do you point out peoples mistakes in other areas of life? Perhaps painting, drawing, making cups of tea? Get over yourselves.

.... and breath...


Of course, some folks just don't help themselves either. Text speak is, for the most part irritating. LoL.
 
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