# Correcting spelling and grammar on the SDMB **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [June 21, 2011, 11:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correcting-spelling-and-grammar-on-the-sdmb/586279 "2011-06-21T11:15:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![KellyCriterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b3f665/32.png) [@KellyCriterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KellyCriterion)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2011, 11:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correcting-spelling-and-grammar-on-the-sdmb/586279/1 "2011-06-21T11:15:51Z")
Is there some collective push going on at the moment to keep The Straight Dope Message Board the last great bastion of proper spelling and grammar in cyberspace? Time and time again I see posters getting “called out” if they don’t use correct spelling and grammar. [Here’s the example](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=13939028&postcount=2) that prompted me to start this thread. ---
**Author:** ![KellyCriterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b3f665/32.png) [@KellyCriterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KellyCriterion)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2011, 11:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correcting-spelling-and-grammar-on-the-sdmb/586279/2 "2011-06-21T11:17:50Z")
Having re-read the thread I linked to, I now see that the spelling/grammar written by the OP that was being corrected was actually written away from the SDMB. Poor example, but the general question in my OP remains. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2011, 11:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correcting-spelling-and-grammar-on-the-sdmb/586279/3 "2011-06-21T11:33:46Z")
It’s all about communication, Dude. Sometimes I read posts elsewhere and wonder what was meant since the grammar, punctuation and sentence construction is so poor. And if someone can’t be bothered with good communication skills, why should I bother trying to understand them or trust what they say? ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2011, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correcting-spelling-and-grammar-on-the-sdmb/586279/4 "2011-06-21T11:51:30Z")
As my learned colleague observes, if you (generic “you”) are either too lazy or too stupid to express yourself coherently, there’s no point engaging with you. We all make typos (see “Gaudere’s Law”) but when you get someone who posts a giant block of uncapitalized, unpunctuated text you can pretty much assume that person is an idiot with nothing worthwhile to contribute. And this isn’t Twitter and most people here don’t post via mobile phone, so typing a few extra characters won’t kill you. ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2011, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correcting-spelling-and-grammar-on-the-sdmb/586279/5 "2011-06-21T11:52:45Z")
We tend to get a fairly intelligent crowd here (as a rule), and many such are grammarians who enjoy technical nit-picking. Goes with the territory. Many others enjoy and prefer clear communication. In short, we can be a nerdy bunch. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2011, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correcting-spelling-and-grammar-on-the-sdmb/586279/6 "2011-06-21T12:08:29Z")
> [@](#): > > As my learned colleague observes, if you (generic “you”) are either too lazy or too stupid to express yourself coherently, there’s no point engaging with you. This. If you’re not going to take the time and effort to make the post, why should I take the time and effort to read and respond to your post? Yeah - I could ignore it. And I’d then be bothered by it hundreds/thousands of times throughout your SDMB career. Or I could mention it, hope others do as well, all (hopefully) culminating in actual change in your behavior and attitude towards effective and communicative dialogue. ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2011, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correcting-spelling-and-grammar-on-the-sdmb/586279/7 "2011-06-21T12:27:21Z")
In the thread cited by **KellyCriterion** , the OP had asked for a review of their game. The comments on grammar seem to me a legitimate criticism of that game. ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2011, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correcting-spelling-and-grammar-on-the-sdmb/586279/8 "2011-06-21T12:46:35Z")
Har op Tra nal sani zemma ka nariop. Don’t criticize it, you know what I meant to say. ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2011, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correcting-spelling-and-grammar-on-the-sdmb/586279/9 "2011-06-21T12:52:18Z")
> [@KellyCriterion](#): > > Is there some collective push going on at the moment to keep The Straight Dope Message Board **the last great bastion of proper spelling and grammar in cyberspace**? This is a lot of it, I think. Surfing the internet can make one lose faith in humanity altogether – for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that nobody seems to grasp even the most basic rules of spelling and grammar anymore. And worse, more and more people don’t seem to even _care_. The SDMB is a bit of a refuge from the collective dumbing-down of the web in general. I can’t blame anybody for wanting to protect that. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2011, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correcting-spelling-and-grammar-on-the-sdmb/586279/10 "2011-06-21T13:56:46Z")
Why shouldn’t we? Unless someone is being really assholish about an obvious typo, why shouldn’t we ask people to write and spell correctly? ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2011, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correcting-spelling-and-grammar-on-the-sdmb/586279/11 "2011-06-21T14:22:33Z")
There’s no officially sanctioned SMDB action plan to smash the [del]unbelievers[/del] ungrammatical. But there are a bunch of old fogeys who abhor text-speak. And a bunch of grammar NAZIs. And a hoard of pedants. And generally a sentiment that good communication starts with learning the rules of the language, and then actually using them. Of course, in the specific example you cited, **Giles** has it right. That thread was specifically a request for a review of a game. Finding flaws for the OP was just helping. So your example doesn’t fit your question. ---
**Author:** ![melodyharmonius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/melodyharmonius/32/21310_2.png) [@melodyharmonius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/melodyharmonius)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2011, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correcting-spelling-and-grammar-on-the-sdmb/586279/12 "2011-06-21T14:25:19Z")
> [@Irishman](#): > > And a hoard of pedants. hoard? or horde? d&r 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2011, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correcting-spelling-and-grammar-on-the-sdmb/586279/13 "2011-06-21T14:28:06Z")
> [@Irishman](#): > > Of course, in the specific example you cited, Giles has it right. That thread was specifically a request for a review of a game. Finding flaws for the OP was just helping. So your example doesn’t fit your question. Which the OP acknowledged two minutes later in the second post in this thread. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2011, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correcting-spelling-and-grammar-on-the-sdmb/586279/14 "2011-06-21T14:29:05Z")
> [@melodyharmonius](#): > > hoard? or horde? A board of pedants, abhorred of pedants. ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2011, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correcting-spelling-and-grammar-on-the-sdmb/586279/15 "2011-06-21T14:47:03Z")
> [@melodyharmonius](#): > > hoard? or horde? > > d&r 😉 Whored pedants. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2011, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correcting-spelling-and-grammar-on-the-sdmb/586279/16 "2011-06-21T15:31:08Z")
Whored pederasts? ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Ashtar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ea924/32.png) [@Lord\_Ashtar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Ashtar)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2011, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correcting-spelling-and-grammar-on-the-sdmb/586279/17 "2011-06-21T15:32:50Z")
While the example cited in the OP is not really a problem, there are a lot of people who have amazing hissy fits over spelling errors that don’t really get in the way of the conversation. I couldn’t count the number of times someone has been rudely corrected for getting the I and E backwards in “atheist” or some other insignificant spelling or grammatical error. Nobody is writing a doctoral thesis here. Unless you really, truly can’t understand what was said, pull the stick out of your ass and let it go. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2011, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correcting-spelling-and-grammar-on-the-sdmb/586279/18 "2011-06-21T15:42:05Z")
> [@](#): > > I couldn’t count the number of times someone has been rudely corrected for getting the I and E backwards in “atheist” or some other insignificant spelling or grammatical error. While I’ve seen that spelling error pointed out many times (having done it several times myself), it seems to me that it’s usually done in a joking manner. Something’s “rude” only if it violates the community’s standards of propriety, and I would say that joking about typos is fully consistent with this community’s standards. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2011, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correcting-spelling-and-grammar-on-the-sdmb/586279/19 "2011-06-21T15:42:24Z")
If you’re bothered by the peer pressure here, just be glad it’s not official policy. I recently joined another message board where using text-speak gets you a warning, and three offenses get you banned. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2011, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correcting-spelling-and-grammar-on-the-sdmb/586279/20 "2011-06-21T15:44:21Z")
I consider it a kindness when I’m corrected for making a spelling or grammar error that I should know better about. Not a one-time type of error due to a slip of the fingers, but the persistent mistake of misspelling a common word, as I used to do with “calendar”, constantly misspelling it “calender”. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correcting-spelling-and-grammar-on-the-sdmb/586279.md?page=2)