On being a grammar nazi...

[dolo amber]

Say there's a poster here you totally respect and admire, obviously very intelligent, well spoken, etc...BUT...They constantly misspell 2 very common words. The same 2 words. Constantly. And it makes you crazy. x(

Now, say you have no *relationship* with this person, but feel compelled to send them a polite PM pointing out the errors...would this be beyond the bounds of proper etiquette? Obviously I can't do it now that I've posted this, but I am still curious what the consensus would be.

(And yes, we have all sinned and blah blah blah, I'm talking about a chronic and very basic mistake.)

[YellowRubberDuckie]

1. Do it as a reply in a message where they do it...

Public embarrassment will help them with the correction. LOL But then again, I'm a bitch. So, this might not help you.
Duckie

[dolo amber]

4. Oh no

I couldn't/wouldn't do that to someone I've never have any communication with...now maybe if it was a *friend* I would point and laugh, but...;)

[Kamika]

2. That would be stupid

And petty.

Don't ever do it

[WillParkinson]

3. I say whips and chains are needed!

I try to overlook spelling errors (if I can). I have a bigger problem with mispronounced words.

[DS1]

5. If it's me, send me messages

wait, you said respect and admire :evilfrown:

[dolo amber]

10. No no, not you

You're spelling is impeccable, and your sense of humor divine...and your eyes, like two pools of moonlight, your long, flowing locks...

*eh-hem*

'Scuse me, kinda got carried away there...

:D

[Progress]

6. If you PM them, what's the problem?

There's a difference between pointing out errors in order to belittle someone and just privately giving someone a friendly tip.

[GOPisEvil]

7. What works subtly sometimes:

reply to the post, using their language and the correct spelling of the word. Maybe that'll get 'em the hint.

Or, build a relationship with them, just so you can correct them.

Or, let it go - it's not really that big of a deal. ;-)

[dolo amber]

8. Hmpf

Or, let it go - it's not really that big of a deal.

Dude, you'd make a crap grammar nazi...don't quit yer day job. :P

[GOPisEvil]

11. Oh believe me...I read posts all day that make me cringe.

It really makes a bigger deal to me than to the author. I'm trying to relax about the whole thing.

Of course...you could buy a soft nerf-type ball and throw it at your monitor when you read something that bugs you. Sort of a virtual smite. I do that from time to time whenever someone here pisses me off. It's kept me from getting a few nasty-grams from the admins.

[TXlib]

28. What GOPisEvil said!

reply to the post, using their language and the correct spelling of the word. Maybe that'll get 'em the hint.

That is the best, non-belittling way to do it.

[RebelOne]

9. I'd say not to do it.

I am a copy editor and my job is checking spelling, grammar and punctuation. There are so many spelling and grammatical errors in a lot of these posts that I want to scream. I have to really restrain myself not to point out these errors.

[fudge stripe cookays]

12. Me too Rebel

Technical writer here.

The thing that drives me absolutely apeshit is the using the parentheses where they don't need any problem, or not being able to figure out 'your' and 'you're' or 'its' and 'it's'. It's like biting on tinfoil!

[eyesroll]

13. Just post it in the lounge to no one in particular

If it's a common mistake, I bet more than one poster does it anyway.

But it may not do any good.
For instance, I know, from rote, how to spell "correspondence." But I have some sort of mental block where I end up spelling it "correspondance" every damn time I type it (I even had to go back and fix the first one here). I even have Word set to automatically correct it as I type.

[supernova]

14. As an English Major who is sometimes careless

about her own posts, I don't usually worry about it. I only point out a mistake if the mistake affects the meaning of what they are trying to say.

Otherwise, I give them a pass.

I'm constantly rereading my posts, because I have a very large ego because no matter how much I use spell check or preview, I usually miss something. If we still had the old revision display, you'd see I revise most of my longer posts 3-4 times. :P

Hey it's the internet, not a thesis.

[GOPisEvil]

15. *snort*

I'm constantly rereading my posts, because I have a very large ego because no matter how much I use spell check or preview, I usually miss something. If we still had the old revision display, you'd see I revise most of my longer posts 3-4 times.

I resemble that remark. Oh, and in the old DU, you could delete the previous "revised by" statement. Don't ask how I know that...

[supernova]

19. Heh.

Et tu, Brutus? :D

Yeah, I eventually learned that trick from Skittles. LOL!

I like your Nerfball idea! :think:

Talk about pet peeves, so many people mix up the uses of "affect" and "effct" "effect" (see, I did it again!) I WANT TO SCREAM!! x(

[GOPisEvil]

24. The best freebie I ever got at a trade show!

Even the company name has worn off. A great stress reliever!

[dolo amber]

18. Well, you're right, but...

the thing that get me is this:

This person is clearly intelligent, light-years ahead of me...and I'll be reading one of their posts like "Oh wow, yeah I totally agree...really! wow, I didn't know that...oh man exactly...oh, oh boy, there it is, the dreaded misspelled word AGAIN..."

It's just jarring.

One further note:

I can't BELIEVE I have the nerve to say anything about anyone's spelling when I can't even complete a thought as evidenced by my gratuitous use of ellipses...:eyes:

:D

[GOPisEvil]

20. If you are the ellipses Queen, then I am the King!

I use them all the freaking time...seriously...I can't stop myself! }(

[supernova]

22. Oh, I think KoKo01 takes the prize

for gratuitous use of ellipses. :D

[MissMillie]

16. I'd be happy to be corrected

If I were always spelling the same word wrong I'd be glad if someone pointed it out to me.

[ConcernedCanuk]

17. . . . . . . tee hee - ok, I'll bite, - what are the words ??

.
.

:evilgrin:

[dolo amber]

21. I could easily

say, being as like I said, they're TOTALLY words that are misspelled all the time by people. But after making such a fuss, I'd kinda feel bad if for any reason it became obvious who it was, y'know?

[ConcernedCanuk]

23. . . test us !! - spell them wrong !!

.
.

:bounce:

[loftycity]

25. Start a Thread with most common misspelled words for all to see.

[ScreamingMeemie]

26. I say send the PM...as long as it's not me.

;) I don't see anything wrong with a polite note with maybe some other stuff written in to make it seem less "grammar nazi-ish".

:hi:

[nini]

27. if it's me... go ahead. I can handle it

:cry:

[Whitacre D_WI]

29. i dont understand

they're is somebuddy smrter than U? Hoo mispells words hear? Anyway I say out for all. I speel good but i wood be amyused if U posted "whittaker d-wi is a bad speeler" in loung. that wood B kewl.

peece owt, J.

[Rabrrrrrr]

30. Go ahead and do it

'specially if it's me!

But nothing wrong with pointing it out.

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[alwynsw]

32. I are married to a grammar Nazi.

We got into it over "done" and "finished". Nowadays when I complete anything, I'm "done finished".

BTW. She's the one with the masters in English.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

33. As a language teacher

I was taught to correct someone's spoken mistakes by being sure to use the word or grammatical construction correctly in my response.

Hypothetical English-language example:

"Just between you and I, I shouldn't have went there."

"Just between you and me, I agree that you shouldn't have gone there."

[SOteric]

34. These fora are for the casual communication of opinion

and discussion of belief.

I believe it inappropriate for anyone, not just you in this situation, to assume the role of a grammar Nazi. I have said it before and I'll say it again.

Even the most brilliant among us have lapses in our typing, thinking and knowledge-base.

This is the internet. It's not always possible to know who has learnt English as a first language and who didn't. Personally, I'd feel a perfect cad for correcting the minor grammatical mistakes or spelling lapses of someone struggling to communicate with a limited grasp of the language.

If we were preparing and submitting articles for publication or essays for academic consideration, I might feel differently.

If the level of grammatical or spelling error were so dramatic as to render the posts difficult to read or impossible to understand, I might feel differently.

But if we are talking about someone who misses a couple of words in otherwise sterling posts, then I don't consider it a problem for the poster. Instead, it tends to make me wonder if the grammar Nazi in question has control issues. (Which I'm sure you don't, you've always struck me as a lovely person.) :hi:

And last, but not least for your consideration I have actually been corrected by people who were mistaken. The word 'definately' is ubiquitous and from so many erudite individuals it has garnered an unfortunate acceptance. The word is 'definitely.' And I've even had some lovely folks correct my bastard commonwealth spellings. They are the fault of my excellent schooling at the hands of an Irish educator and there's no use trying to train me out of them at this point in my life. "Colour, colourful, favour, favourite, maths (not math)..." So if you decide that you're are going to make an attempt at correction, -definitely be correct. :7

[Buns_of_Fire]

35. I think you should hunt them down like a rabid dog

Sit in a nondescript car across the street from their dwelling, smile and stare at them whenever they venture outside, wave a lot, leave a dead canary on their doorstep (if not a flaming bag of feces), sign them up for subscriptions to as many magazines as possible and have them delivered to their work location, prop roofing nails against their tires, write "for a good time call xxx-xxxx" on as many restroom walls at truckstops as you can manage, leave flyers in the mailboxes of all their neighbors, and, when the final confrontation finally arrives, point out to them in no uncertain terms that this crap has got to stop immediately (if not sooner), hand them a small, well-worn dictionary and whup them upside the head and give them the message that misspelling is only slightly less obnoxious than run-on sentences that go on and on and on and on and on and never seem to get to any point.

But that's just me. :shrug: