# 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:** 2
**Author:** ![elninost0rm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ed655f/32.png) [@elninost0rm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elninost0rm)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2011, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correcting-spelling-and-grammar-on-the-sdmb/586279/21 "2011-06-21T15:45:41Z")
> [@Lord\_Ashtar](#): > > 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. Truth. ---
**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, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correcting-spelling-and-grammar-on-the-sdmb/586279/22 "2011-06-21T15:50:22Z")
> [@melodyharmonius](#): > > hoard? or horde? > > d&r 😉 Guadere would be so proud. > [@Munch](#): > > Which the OP acknowledged two minutes later in the second post in this thread. The OP acknowledged that the material was off-board, but not that the example was from a thread requesting criticism. ---
**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, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correcting-spelling-and-grammar-on-the-sdmb/586279/23 "2011-06-21T16:03:07Z")
> [@Irishman](#): > > Guadere would be so proud. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2011, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correcting-spelling-and-grammar-on-the-sdmb/586279/24 "2011-06-21T16:20:23Z")
The answer to your question is right in the page header: “Fighting ignorance since 1973” ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2011, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correcting-spelling-and-grammar-on-the-sdmb/586279/25 "2011-06-21T16:21:20Z")
There’s a difference between obvious typos and genuine errors. I usually leave the former in other members’ posts without comment while correcting the latter. You do feel a dreadful nerd sometimes for doing it though. In fact I left alone the common error _reigned in_ for _reined in_ in this very forum the other day, it just felt a little too snippy to point it out. (And there’s always the spectre of Gaudere hovering at one’s shoulder!) Wish I’d done it now though, that one particularly bugs me. ---
**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, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correcting-spelling-and-grammar-on-the-sdmb/586279/26 "2011-06-21T16:27:43Z")
> [@Irishman](#): > > The OP acknowledged that the material was off-board, but not that the example was from a thread requesting criticism. > [@](#): > > Poor example, but the general question in my OP remains. Seems to me the OP was simply asking “why do people on this board correct people’s grammar so much?” In fact, it couldn’t be plainer, unless you have an entirely different perception of what the phrase “general question” means. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2011, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correcting-spelling-and-grammar-on-the-sdmb/586279/27 "2011-06-21T16:40:19Z")
I don’t worry about the occasional spelling error, but if someone constantly misspells certain words it grates on me the same as if that person was constantly _mispronouncing_ those same words. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2011, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correcting-spelling-and-grammar-on-the-sdmb/586279/28 "2011-06-21T16:50:32Z")
> [@Sailboat](#): > > Har op Tra nal sani zemma ka nariop. > > Don’t criticize it, you know what I meant to say. (Agreeing with your point) -This is probably my least favourite argument when people are corrected on their poor grammar and spelling. I _think_ I know what you were trying to say, but I’m not sure because there were so many errors in your communication. Also, the lazy attitude of, “I’ll just toss off any old thing writing here, but you guys can work hard to understand me” gets under my skin. > [@Irishman](#): > > 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. These things can get annoying. > [@](#): > > And generally a sentiment that good communication starts with learning the rules of the language, and then actually using them.\ This doesn’t. I’m happy with a bunch of people who are making an effort to write properly. > [@melodyharmonius](#): > > hoard? or horde? > > d&r 😉 Both! 🙂 > [@Lord\_Ashtar](#): > > 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. Once or twice in a thread, most people let it go. I went off in a dog thread the other day when I saw “shepherd” mis-spelled about a thousand times. There comes a point when it’s say something or explode. ---
**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, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correcting-spelling-and-grammar-on-the-sdmb/586279/29 "2011-06-21T17:55:54Z")
> [@](#): > > There’s a difference between obvious typos and genuine errors. I usually leave the former in other members’ posts without comment while correcting the latter. Unless, of course, it’s a really funny typo. ---
**Author:** ![Kimmy\_Gibbler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Kimmy\_Gibbler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimmy_Gibbler)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2011, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correcting-spelling-and-grammar-on-the-sdmb/586279/30 "2011-06-21T18:19:42Z")
> [@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? > > 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. It is only the phenomenon that for many of the regulars here, having nothing to say is no reason to forbear from making a post. ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee7513/32.png) [@Darth\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Panda)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2011, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correcting-spelling-and-grammar-on-the-sdmb/586279/31 "2011-06-21T20:15:25Z")
Well, dopers are a hoard of sorts. All worthy and tucked away in here… ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2011, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correcting-spelling-and-grammar-on-the-sdmb/586279/32 "2011-06-21T20:15:35Z")
> [@Giles](#): > > 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. His [or her] game. ---
**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, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correcting-spelling-and-grammar-on-the-sdmb/586279/33 "2011-06-21T20:20:42Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > His [or her] game. This is an old argument – I like the singular “they”, “them” and “their” for people of unknown gender, and I don’t know a better alternative. “He or she”, etc., overemphasises the issue, and is longer to say or write. ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2011, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correcting-spelling-and-grammar-on-the-sdmb/586279/34 "2011-06-21T21:29:38Z")
The language is changing, of course, but I find no “singular” use of _they, them_ or _their_ that is considered acceptable in style guides. _He_ or _she_ has been fine for as long as I can remember, but _she_ or _he_ is a nice change. A moderator once told me years ago not to continue to correct the grammar and syntax of a Doper who claimed (with changing credentials) to be the chairman of an unusually large college or university English Department. As a member of the teaching profession, I still groan at his glaring errors. They set my teeth on edge. I’m not concerned with anyone’s typos. And I’m well aware of my own spelling errors. But I welcome corrections from anyone. I don’t usually correct anyone unless she claims to have special knowledge I doubt that it would be forbidden for one scientist or one musician here to correct another. Correcting the poor grammar of someone who should be setting a good example certainly seems like fighting ignorance in more than one way. Teachers should be the very ones to be under the most scrutiny. I include myself and I screw up all the time with typos and careless spellings. ---
**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, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correcting-spelling-and-grammar-on-the-sdmb/586279/35 "2011-06-21T21:49:42Z")
> [@Zoe](#): > > The language is changing, of course, but I find no “singular” use of _they, them_ or _their_ that is considered acceptable in style guides. _He_ or _she_ has been fine for as long as I can remember, but _she_ or _he_ is a nice change. I just checked in a few style guides, and generally they tell you to avoid singular “they”, at least in formal contexts – but with the exception of _Talking about People_, by Rosalie Maggio (1997), a style guide that empasises bias-free language, and which has a discussion on p. 365 about “singular ‘they’”. So, I’m happy to use it as often the least bad alternative – and I get annoyed when people say that it’s obviously wrong. ---
**Author:** ![JBDivmstr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b4bc9f/32.png) [@JBDivmstr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JBDivmstr)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2011, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correcting-spelling-and-grammar-on-the-sdmb/586279/36 "2011-06-21T21:51:28Z")
> [@Irishman](#): > > There’s no officially sanctioned SMDB action plan to smash the [del]unbelievers[/del] ungrammatical. I think I shall join the ranks of the “nitpickers”.😃 Am I the only one to notice, “SMDB”? I could have sworn it was, **SDMB**. ---
**Author:** ![JBDivmstr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b4bc9f/32.png) [@JBDivmstr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JBDivmstr)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2011, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correcting-spelling-and-grammar-on-the-sdmb/586279/37 "2011-06-21T21:55:15Z")
> [@Kimmy\_Gibbler](#): > > It is only the phenomenon that for many of the regulars here, having nothing to say is no reason to forbear from making a post. An EXCELLENT observation, Kimmy G! (And OH! Ever, so true!)😃 ---
**Author:** ![JBDivmstr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b4bc9f/32.png) [@JBDivmstr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JBDivmstr)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2011, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correcting-spelling-and-grammar-on-the-sdmb/586279/38 "2011-06-21T22:01:46Z")
And NOW, I think I shall Google, “Guadere”… 😉 ---
**Author:** ![JBDivmstr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b4bc9f/32.png) [@JBDivmstr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JBDivmstr)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2011, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correcting-spelling-and-grammar-on-the-sdmb/586279/39 "2011-06-21T22:12:06Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > 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. :eek: SERIOUSLY?! Now THAT’S, just being “ANAL”, IMHO!:dubious: ---
**Author:** ![JBDivmstr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b4bc9f/32.png) [@JBDivmstr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JBDivmstr)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2011, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correcting-spelling-and-grammar-on-the-sdmb/586279/40 "2011-06-21T22:16:15Z")
And of course… NOW, I find out that I’ve exemplified, “Gaudere’s Law”!😛 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correcting-spelling-and-grammar-on-the-sdmb/586279.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correcting-spelling-and-grammar-on-the-sdmb/586279.md?page=3)