# Dramatic increase in spelling mistakes on the SDMB? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 4, 2013, 9:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dramatic-increase-in-spelling-mistakes-on-the-sdmb/654813 "2013-04-04T09:28:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![kambuckta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2013, 9:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dramatic-increase-in-spelling-mistakes-on-the-sdmb/654813/1 "2013-04-04T09:28:48Z")
I’ve been here for years: for most of those, I’ve been overjoyed to be part of a board that is really anal about grammar and spelling. Decent grammar (and good spelling) makes for a very happy kambuckta. 😃 Yet I’ve noticed a distinct deterioration in the past few months. And not only from new posters: many of the old-timers appear to be slipping as well. It’s not the less common words that are being farnarkled, it’s the ubiquitous ones, like there, their, and they’re (just to give examples). And I reckon it’s down to the predictive texting shit that all the new-fangled tablets and IPhones and suchlike use. May I make a request? Before we end up like every other illiterate messageboard in the universe, can folks please check their post before posting?? Just read it?? See if it’s OK or not?? Thanking you from the bottom of my **Spelling-Nazi** heart! 😛 ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2013, 9:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dramatic-increase-in-spelling-mistakes-on-the-sdmb/654813/2 "2013-04-04T09:33:54Z")
> [@kambuckta](#): > > May I make a request? Before we end up like every other illiterate messageboard in the universe, can folks please check their post before posting?? Just read it?? See if it’s OK or not?? > > Thanking you from the bottom of my **Spelling-Nazi** heart! 😛 Amen and hallelujah! Today, Grammar and Spelling. Tomorrow … heeeeeeeeeeee! 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2013, 9:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dramatic-increase-in-spelling-mistakes-on-the-sdmb/654813/3 "2013-04-04T09:37:21Z")
> [@kambuckta](#): > > And I reckon it’s down to the predictive texting shit that all the new-fangled tablets and IPhones and suchlike use. The population of the Dope was already old when the board was founded, now they’re slipping into dementia and spelling is the first thing to go. If you’d like literature on dealing with aging family I could probably dig some up. ---
**Author:** ![AaronX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7bcc69/32.png) [@AaronX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AaronX)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2013, 9:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dramatic-increase-in-spelling-mistakes-on-the-sdmb/654813/4 "2013-04-04T09:42:40Z")
I was just wondering the same thing. There seems to be an increase in spelling errors everywhere on the Internet, compared to 5 years ago. I was going to use there/their/they’re and your/you’re as well. I thought it might be due to it being easier to go online. ---
**Author:** ![kambuckta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2013, 9:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dramatic-increase-in-spelling-mistakes-on-the-sdmb/654813/5 "2013-04-04T09:43:32Z")
> [@AClockworkMelon](#): > > The population of the Dope was already old when the board was founded, now they’re slipping into dementia and spelling is the first thing to go. If you’d like literature on dealing with aging family I could probably dig some up. Actually, spelling is one of the\* last\* things to go. You might be shitting your pants, and drooling out the side of your mouth, but damned right you can still spell hippopotamus and Kosciusko. Nice try but. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2013, 9:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dramatic-increase-in-spelling-mistakes-on-the-sdmb/654813/6 "2013-04-04T09:45:59Z")
> [@kambuckta](#): > > Actually, spelling is one of the\* last\* things to go. You might be shitting your pants, and drooling out the side of your mouth, but damned right you can still spell hippopotamus and Kosciusko. > > Nice try but. 😛 That only means the population has slipped even further into dementia than I’d thought! ---
**Author:** ![Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiendish_astronaut/32/3295_2.png) [@Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiendish_Astronaut)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2013, 9:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dramatic-increase-in-spelling-mistakes-on-the-sdmb/654813/7 "2013-04-04T09:50:26Z")
I must admit my spelling has suffered from using an iPad to surf the boards. It’s so much easier using Tapatalk to explore the board. However typing messages on an iPad is certainly much less accurate and it’s very easy to make an error. I try to read back what I’ve written but a few errors often go under the radar. The only crumb of comfort I can offer is that I peruse the boards much more often and contribute more. So perhaps ignorance is being fought on new and better fronts. And maybe, just maybe, spell checking on IOS devices and other such things will improve and errors will once again go back to their normal level. ---
**Author:** ![kambuckta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2013, 10:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dramatic-increase-in-spelling-mistakes-on-the-sdmb/654813/8 "2013-04-04T10:09:35Z")
> [@Fiendish\_Astronaut](#): > > I must admit my spelling has suffered from using an iPad to surf the boards. It’s so much easier using Tapatalk to explore the board. However typing messages on an iPad is certainly much less accurate and it’s very easy to make an error. I try to read back what I’ve written but a few errors often go under the radar. > > The only crumb of comfort I can offer is that I peruse the boards much more often and contribute more. So perhaps ignorance is being fought on new and better fronts. And maybe, just maybe, spell checking on IOS devices and other such things will improve and errors will once again go back to their normal level. Just as I thought. Thanks for your confession **Fiendish** one! 🙂 I guess I just despair for the future of our “written” language. Sure, spelling errors or not, I can decipher (most) text I see on the net. But communication is so damned important, and I’m seeing such a decline in such a short time that it is worrisome. Of course, YMMV etc etc, but I’m old and cranky and don’t wanna have to do a double-take every time somebody misspells too many words. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2013, 10:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dramatic-increase-in-spelling-mistakes-on-the-sdmb/654813/9 "2013-04-04T10:12:22Z")
Spell checking helps produce malaprops like “Communist gorillas.” You gotta learn the difference between “ascent” and “assent,” “combing” and “coaming,” “ordnance” and “ordinance,” _et cetera._ ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21825_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2013, 10:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dramatic-increase-in-spelling-mistakes-on-the-sdmb/654813/10 "2013-04-04T10:27:45Z")
… not to mention \*etc \*vs. _ect_… I can spell well, but I’ve noticed on preview that sometimes my fingers are on autopilot and I end up with, um, interesting variants. Or maybe I’ve been correct all these years about having a defective keyboard!! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2013, 10:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dramatic-increase-in-spelling-mistakes-on-the-sdmb/654813/11 "2013-04-04T10:36:25Z")
Maybe **CalMeacham** has just been posting more than usual lately. ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2013, 10:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dramatic-increase-in-spelling-mistakes-on-the-sdmb/654813/12 "2013-04-04T10:48:34Z")
It’s nothing to loose sleep over, dang! (On edit)-- But seriously-- that crap bugs me too. It’s easy for people to just call it pedantic or just call you a spelling-nazi, but this shit is important. It means something. It says something about who you are and the value of what you have to say. This ain’t YouTube comments or Yahoo Answers! (At least I hope it’s not). ---
**Author:** ![Cazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cazzle/32/75_2.png) [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2013, 11:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dramatic-increase-in-spelling-mistakes-on-the-sdmb/654813/13 "2013-04-04T11:39:14Z")
They added a “z” to Kosciuszko. Didn’t you get the memo? Despite living no where near Mt Kosciuszko, I went to a primary school with “Kosciusko” in its name. As if that wasn’t already hard enough for a small child to spell, they had to go and add a superfluous “z” to the damn word. Fortunately I was many years out of primary school when it changed. ---
**Author:** ![kambuckta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2013, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dramatic-increase-in-spelling-mistakes-on-the-sdmb/654813/14 "2013-04-04T11:41:05Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > Maybe **CalMeacham** has just been posting more than usual lately. Heh…he’s one of the culprits that’s for sure! 😛 ---
**Author:** ![kambuckta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2013, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dramatic-increase-in-spelling-mistakes-on-the-sdmb/654813/15 "2013-04-04T11:44:53Z")
> [@Eliahna](#): > > They added a “z” to Kosciuszko. Didn’t you get the memo? > > Despite living no where near Mt Kosciuszko, I went to a primary school with “Kosciusko” in its name. As if that wasn’t already hard enough for a small child to spell, they had to go and add a superfluous “z” to the damn word. Fortunately I was many years out of primary school when it changed. A superfluous ZED? Fuck 'em. I defend my right to spell the highest mountain in Orstralya Kosiosko. It’s fonetic, y’know. 😃 ---
**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:** [April 4, 2013, 11:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dramatic-increase-in-spelling-mistakes-on-the-sdmb/654813/16 "2013-04-04T11:46:24Z")
Autocorrect. Sometimes I’m reading and typing so quickly, looking at the keypad, I don’t even realize I’ve been autocorrected with some word that makes absolutely no sense. I blame autocorrect. ---
**Author:** ![kambuckta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2013, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dramatic-increase-in-spelling-mistakes-on-the-sdmb/654813/17 "2013-04-04T11:51:57Z")
> [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#): > > Autocorrect. > > Sometimes I’m reading and typing so quickly, looking at the keypad, I don’t even realize I’ve been autocorrected with some word that makes absolutely no sense. > > I blame autocorrect. Turn it off. In the spirit of all that is good and wholesome about the SDMB, switch off your autocorrect, and revert to our innate and amazing literacy. We’re so damned good at it we don’t need any artificial handicaps! 😉 ---
**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:** [April 4, 2013, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dramatic-increase-in-spelling-mistakes-on-the-sdmb/654813/18 "2013-04-04T11:53:11Z")
> [@kambuckta](#): > > Turn it off. In the spirit of all that is good and wholesome about the SDMB, switch off your autocorrect, and revert to our innate and amazing literacy. > > We’re so damned good at it we don’t need any artificial handicaps! > > 😉 Turn it off? Then who will I blame? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2013, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dramatic-increase-in-spelling-mistakes-on-the-sdmb/654813/19 "2013-04-04T12:13:09Z")
Posters can make all the spelling errors they want as far as I’m concerned, if in trade I could get our highly trained hospital staff to stop calling over the intercom for “Res-pi-tory Services”. And they don’t just make that mistake in Feb-u-ary, either. They should be dunked in for-m_u_lin (another loathsome mispronunciation I am constantly subjected to). ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2013, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dramatic-increase-in-spelling-mistakes-on-the-sdmb/654813/20 "2013-04-04T13:33:38Z")
Spelling is the least of the things that bugs me when it comes to what passes for writing “style” for some people. My biggest pet peeves include run-on sentences with nary a punctuation mark in sight, and absolutely no paragraph breaks to be found anywhere-the SolidWallOfTextSyndrome. And to make it worse these two sins usually occur together… [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dramatic-increase-in-spelling-mistakes-on-the-sdmb/654813.md?page=2)