On Line Kibitzers

[Diat60]

I'm registered with GoComics and have a dozen or so of my favorite strips on my "Home" that I visit every day. A huge part of the attraction of the site is not just the comics, but the comments that other people put up which are usually funny or informed, etc.. One thing that has been bugging me, and I wonder what others think, is there is always someone who feels it necessary to correct other people's spelling. One example today was someone used "to" where they should have used "too" and somebody felt incumbent on himself to jump in and point this out. I said I thought this was rude and was told to mind my own by another member. Other times someone has used the wrong term for something although it's easy to understand what is meant and the wrath of the critic comes down. I really can't understand why some people find it necessary to spoil someone else's contributions which he made in fun. Maybe I'm making a mountain out of a molehill but I don't think so. Opinions?

[mbday630]

that is my pet peeve.... people who feel the need to correct other peoples spelling! My dad had only an 8th grade education - and it was a poor one at that, and he always was afraid to write letters for fear that someone would make fun of him. I sure would love a letter from him and just figure it out. plus, I think it is just plain rude, RUDE I TELL YOU to correct other people in public. A good friend always says prostrate cancer instead of prostate cancer.... but I never correct him in front of anyone. whatever happened to good manners?

[draclvr]

Oh, good grief! I'm the worst when it comes to noticing this stuff, but I would NEVER think it was right to correct someone! I think that's just the height of bad manners at the least and just being horrible at the worst.

[LadyKestrel]

I saw a t-shirt that says, "Silently correcting your grammar." The key word is silently, unless they happen to be your students. It is difficult sometimes, especially with those who use texting shortcuts, but unless it affects your understanding of the communication, it's simple courtesy to leave it alone. Besides, who can say they've never made a typing or speaking error? I always think fondly of the edit button.

[StarLite]

Sometimes I think some people go out of their way to be jerks. They're not happy with their own lives so they have to go out and try to make everyone else's miserable. Do what I do when I run into someone like that, I just tell them that I spelled that wrong because I was fishing for assholes and it looks like I snagged a whopper. I usually get a lot of thumbs up for it. It's best to ignore these people because once they can get a rise out of you, they'll never leave you alone

[Jude]

Especially since so many people on forums are not native English speakers (although I've found that often those people have better grammar and spelling than most Americans), I just assume that people are doing their best, or that they have made typos (which I make sometimes because my hands are messed up). Unless I really can't understand what they meant or parts of it are ambiguous, I just ignore the grammar/spelling mistakes. Otherwise, I just ask what they meant.

[Jude]

What I hate are the guys who troll looking for women who post and then argue and attack them as though they are stupid, make sexist remarks, and even call them names, to try to drive them away.

[Diat60]

There was another one today - picked up on "would of" rather than "would have". So I said my say and was backed by several. One or two others said they hate bad grammar and felt it was their right to comment. Bet they wouldn't say that to their faces!

[draclvr]

Things like "would of" drive me crazy, but I would NEVER say anything! I think you're right - the anonymity of the internet makes people think they can say anything they want. I find them rude beyond belief.

[Kickaha]

There's a downhill slope from occasional mistakes through hard to read ending in incomprehensibility. I move on at the hard to read stage.