A polite request with the greatest respect

[Dippy]

May I ask with the greatest respect that people (who's first language is apparently English) just double check spelling when describing an interesting and significant project.

I know it sounds petty, but it is impossible to Search (at a later date) for something significant if the originator repeatedly misspells important words.

This is not always the author's fault as damned IE7 keeps ignoring keystrokes and 'msses' out letters. Just have a quick check before that final click.

I'm not on about typoes or little errors like 'lose' (mislay) and 'loose'(my wife) but words that people in months/years to come may wish to use in a search.

Needless to say, every typo or grammatical error I make is going to be jumped on, but I feel it is important (and drives me nuts).

So when you've made your PICAXE controlled Interositer don't spell it Iterossiter or else no-one else will find it and pay you millions for the design.

I usually find teachers are the worst

 

[Rickharris]

May I ask with the greatest respect that people (who's first language is apparently English) just double check spelling when describing an interesting and significant project.

I know it sounds petty, but it is impossible to Search (at a later date) for something significant if the originator repeatedly misspells important words.

This is not always the author's fault as damned IE7 keeps ignoring keystrokes and 'msses' out letters. Just have a quick check before that final click.

I'm not on about typoes or little errors like 'lose' (mislay) and 'loose'(my wife) but words that people in months/years to come may wish to use in a search.

Needless to say, every typo or grammatical error I make is going to be jumped on, but I feel it is important (and drives me nuts).

So when you've made your PICAXE controlled Interositer don't spell it Iterossiter or else no-one else will find it and pay you millions for the design.

I usually find teachers are the worst

I refuse to resemble that remark - but my wife says I must

I can only say that I personally will try (to overcome the bad habits, poor education and lack of ability of 58 years). After all if I could spell I would never have become an engineer.

Eye halve a spelling chequer
It came with my pea sea
It plainly marques four my revue
Miss steaks eye kin knot sea.

Eye strike a key and type a word
And weight four it two say
Weather eye am wrong oar write
It shows me strait a weigh.

As soon as a mist ache is maid
It nose bee fore two long
And eye can put the error rite
Its rarely ever wrong.

Eye have run this poem threw it
I am shore your pleased two no
Its letter perfect in it's weigh
My chequer tolled me sew.

 

[MartinM57]

If you use Firefox, you can download a dictionary that will highlight any mis-spelt words in a text box you are typing into and allow you to correct them or add them into the dictionary for next time.

However, it doesn't seem to work in this forum's Quick Reply box, which must be some sort of fancy control other than a plain text box

 

[benryves]

May I ask with the greatest respect that people (who's first language is apparently English) just double check spelling when describing an interesting and significant project.

...

Needless to say, every typo or grammatical error I make is going to be jumped on, but I feel it is important (and drives me nuts).

I agree with the sentiment, but it's only typical that when correcting someone's mistakes you end up making them yourself. I've therefore found that asking people to put some effort into their English is futile. And, well, if the project is big enough then the botched spelling might even become a standard...

If you use Firefox, you can download a dictionary that will highlight any mis-spelt words in a text box you are typing into and allow you to correct them or add them into the dictionary for next time.

Let's hope we don't have many visitors from 'buckinghamshire', then..!

 

[BeanieBots]

Could we also have sensible titles too.
"Need Help" and "Newbee question" don't exactly describe the problem!
These questions often attract very good answers but then the same questions gets asked two days later because it was not obvious that the post below contained the answer.

 

[Dippy]

Titles: I agree. Clarity always helps.

Well, if you don't have standard spelling then how can you look things up? I appreciate there are variations, that's life.

Hey, k , letts sppel vrytfing wrong ven wee won't hav ne sercth successes evr.
TB xx.

 

[picaxester]

If you use Firefox, you can download a dictionary that will highlight any mis-spelt words in a text box you are typing into and allow you to correct them or add them into the dictionary for next time.

Thats what I use.

However, it doesn't seem to work in this forum's Quick Reply box, which must be some sort of fancy control other than a plain text box

Just right click in the field and click "Spell check this field"

 

[BCJKiwi]

There is the spell checker for IE as well - refer to this post from Technical.

7) There is a spell checker function available (IE or firefox - small download may be required on first use). Go to to User CP > Edit Options, and then select the text editor to anything other than the 'Basic Editor'. You'll then get the normal 'tick ABC' button to make use of!

This works well and will catch even the typos in most instances.
I agree with Dippy's request.

To me, spelling is an important part of one's ability to communicate in a meaningful way and checking your post prior to submitting shows consideration to those from whom you seek assistance.

 

[manuka]

Interositer ! Well there you go for a start - I'd long considered them an interroceter (See => http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0047577/plotsummary). The device has of course been re branded as a PC camera, so perhaps "Whatever..." applies? Stan

 

[bgrabowski]

By the way Dippy it is typos not typoes. (I admit it, I'm a teacher!). My personal hate is texting abbreviations.

 

[puddlehaven]

I've got it easy as a writer. To, two, or too? Who cares? That's what editors are for...

 

[hippy]

By the way Dippy it is typos not typoes. (I admit it, I'm a teacher!). My personal hate is texting abbreviations.

I'd say it should be typo's; a contraction of "typographical errors" and thus in need of the apostrophe. Same as photographs should become photo's, Personal Computers should be PC's, not PCs and certainly never pcs. I really should carry a cattle prod to deal with that lower case sort of thing - Who decided NATO is now nato ???

Foreign culture and publishers adopting Americanized house styles is what I blame for the loss of apostrophes in the UK and it seems many people now think an apostrophe can only be used to indicate a possessive.

I'm not against English being a living and evolving language, but I do object to being told that I'm misusing my own language. I've lost count of how many times I've been told I've spelt something wrong because a foreigner wants to dictate I should be using their corrupted version of English.

 

[premelec]

One of the most intersting and useful new words came to me in an e-mail -
"continuopus" - my life in a single word!

 

[BeanieBots]

Shouldn't that be AmericaniSed

 

[Dippy]

Yes, I stand corrected re:typos.

Sorry hippy, can't agree with your "typo's".
Apostrophes are to show an ommission of letters (or possessive), but not that many.
Besides:
http://www.chambersharrap.co.uk/chambers/features/chref/chref.py/main?query=typos&title=21st

Th'g = The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.

Using ap's like you suggest will really start confusing the possessive aspect.


Interositter/Interrossiter:- as I haven't got the script to "This Island Earth" I really don't know how to spell it. It was merely a slightly facetious example.

BB: Nice one!

Thanx <<< I hate this!

K L8R.
TB xx.
(Well that's what a barmaid keeps texting me with).

PS. After looking up Raymond F Jones biogs and details the best/popular spelling seem to be "interocitor" - so my basic theory on searching problems + rubbish spelling is proved. QED. (+ I can't spell either, but try my best. Coll.) Anyone got the book?

 

[hippy]

Shouldn't that be AmericaniSed

I'm sure it should be a Z in British English but don't own a dictionary. British English uses -ise and -ize, American English I believe uses only -ize. Firefox's British English spell checker accepts either. The online Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary has neither

Dippy's Chambers link ( thanks, I've book marked that one ) gives -ise and -ize but only -ized, and only succeeds on search for -ized ...

http://www.chambersharrap.co.uk/chambers/features/chref/chref.py/main?query=americanized&title=21st

There's a tendency to think that American spellings are wrong when they are not. For example "license" is often taken as an error of "licence" when both are legitimate in British English and mean two slightly different things - license : the terms for granting permission, licence : the bit of paper which shows permission granted - we accept a license agreement and receive a licence.

 

[Dippy]

"There's a tendency to think that American spellings are wrong when they are not." - I don't have that tendency.
I think most of us realise the numerous differences - I say that in my defence/defense haha.

But my suggestion about care with spelling wasn't to do with these discrepancies/differences/variances, it was really to do with sloppiness/laziness (excluding dyslexics of course) ruining future searches.

My PICAXE controlled Reely Coll Myneswepper will be unfindable in a few weeks time.

 

[hippy]

Sorry hippy, can't agree with your "typo's".
Apostrophes are to show an ommission of letters (or possessive), but not that many.

I don't recall there ever being a maximum limit on letters omitted

Using ap's like you suggest will really start confusing the possessive aspect.

We seemed to get by without too much confusion when I was taught how to spell and such contractions have been in use since the 18th Century. I avoided mentioning the who's in your first post

Apparently, typo's might not be a contraction but a clipped form ( arguably not as it was two words ) ....

http://www.informatics.sussex.ac.uk/department/docs/punctuation/node20.html

"Such clipped forms are not regarded as contractions, and they should not be written with apostrophes. Writing things like hippo', bra', 'cello and 'phone will, not to mince words, make you look like an affected old fuddy duddy who doesn't quite approve of anything that's happened since 1912".

'Clipped forms' are new to me but that's fine - I'm proud to be a fuddy duddy, and there's an implied acknowledgement in there that they were considered contractions

EFL. Lesson 1. Rewrite Shakespeare in correct modern English style.

 

[Dippy]

Blimey, " who's " , yes, guilty as charged.

Trouble is that if you replace too many letters with an apos' then you may lose the meaning entirely.


And don't get me onto all lower case with no spaces - that's a whole different animal.
Or should I have said:
A'l.

PS. hippy: I find your writing perfectly clear and easy to read, even if it does reach War and Peace proportions sometimes

PPS. There's a time and place for abvs. e.g. SMS/Txting. But where we plenty of space and a keyboard (and a damned Shift key) then there b'ain't no excuse for child-speak.

PPPS. Just as well I'm off on Sunday. I'm getting over excited.

 

[hippy]

The Grumpy Old Men forum is going to need sub-forums

 

[evanh]

This is not always the author's fault as damned IE7 keeps ignoring keystrokes and 'msses' out letters.

While I think IE is right pain, I'd still be surprised if that was true. Hell, if it does drop keystrokes, that's absurdly broken.