# Use Spellcheck and PROOFREAD, D@mn It! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [April 8, 2003, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-spellcheck-and-proofread-d-mn-it/167374 "2003-04-08T19:43:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Zenster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/cdc98d/32.png) [@Zenster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zenster)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2003, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-spellcheck-and-proofread-d-mn-it/167374/1 "2003-04-08T19:43:19Z")
I know this has been said before, but I’m going to say it one more time. Even a somewhat intelligent post (which seems to be increasingly rare these days), can be crippled and maimed by misspellings and syntax errors. All you have to do is type out your document on your note pad or word processor before submitting it. Proofreading your work is a simple and courteous gesture to those who shall read your post. The inability to do either shows a lack of respect and general dunderheadedness (substitute with expletive of choice). People who routinely misspell ‘definitely’ and other words commonly found in the English language are quite simply, **morons**. Technology was specifically invented to avert this problem and the inability or unwillingness to use it is just plain rude, crude and socially unacceptable. Please get a fucking clue and regularly reread your post before submitting it. If you are unable to do this, you are not fighting ignorance, you are spreading it. ---
**Author:** ![Kal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9de053/32.png) [@Kal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kal)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2003, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-spellcheck-and-proofread-d-mn-it/167374/2 "2003-04-08T20:01:18Z")
> [@](#): > > Please get a fucking clue and regularly reread your post before submitting it. Noe I wont. Yuo carnt mayke 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:** [April 8, 2003, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-spellcheck-and-proofread-d-mn-it/167374/3 "2003-04-08T20:02:10Z")
Stick it in you’re ear, Zenster. You should have a comma between “are” and “quite,” and you should have a semi-colon between “problem” and “and.” ---
**Author:** ![LifeOnWry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/96bed5/32.png) [@LifeOnWry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LifeOnWry)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2003, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-spellcheck-and-proofread-d-mn-it/167374/4 "2003-04-08T20:04:50Z")
You know, I do this. I read and reread my posts, and I correct the typos, and it never fails: as soon as I hit submit, and just before my post vanishes into “Thanks for posting” I see one that completely got past me. Or, I read, re-read, submit, read, go away, come back, re-read, respond, submit and reread, only to have the typo show up in my first post on my third trip through the thread. I need to hire a professional preafrooder. ---
**Author:** ![samarm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4da419/32.png) [@samarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samarm)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2003, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-spellcheck-and-proofread-d-mn-it/167374/5 "2003-04-08T20:08:43Z")
So, who died and appointed you the Grandmaster High Priest of The Known Universe? I make an effort to proofread and check spelling, but if I miss something it doesn’t make me a moron. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2003, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-spellcheck-and-proofread-d-mn-it/167374/6 "2003-04-08T20:14:15Z")
Better be careful, your participle’s danglin (“regularly reread your post”). Alliterative, too, although that’s a plus, so I guess they cancel each other out. ---
**Author:** ![samarm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4da419/32.png) [@samarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samarm)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2003, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-spellcheck-and-proofread-d-mn-it/167374/7 "2003-04-08T20:14:17Z")
> [@](#): > > Proofreading your work is a simple and courteous gesture to those who shall read your post. I think that should be “…_will_ read your post”. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![samarm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4da419/32.png) [@samarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samarm)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2003, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-spellcheck-and-proofread-d-mn-it/167374/8 "2003-04-08T20:18:43Z")
> [@](#): > > Technology was specifically invented to avert this problem… Tut tut. This is an error. Technology was _not_ invented specifically to allow us to spellcheck. > [@](#): > > regularly reread your post… I think that should be “re-read”. ---
**Author:** ![RenegadeLibrarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f08c70/32.png) [@RenegadeLibrarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RenegadeLibrarian)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2003, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-spellcheck-and-proofread-d-mn-it/167374/9 "2003-04-08T20:23:58Z")
On much the same subject: Is anal retentive hyphenated? ---
**Author:** ![LifeOnWry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/96bed5/32.png) [@LifeOnWry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LifeOnWry)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2003, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-spellcheck-and-proofread-d-mn-it/167374/10 "2003-04-08T20:23:58Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Munch \* > \*\*Stick it in you’re ear, Zenster. > > You should have a comma between “are” and “quite,” and you should have a semi-colon between “problem” and “and.” \*\* The first example of Gaudere’s Law I’ve ever personally seen in action! Cool! ---
**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:** [April 8, 2003, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-spellcheck-and-proofread-d-mn-it/167374/11 "2003-04-08T20:27:13Z")
Yeah, but that was specifically on purpose to annoy Zenster, so it’s half of an example. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2003, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-spellcheck-and-proofread-d-mn-it/167374/12 "2003-04-08T20:27:21Z")
It’s great to know that, by simply transposing a couple of letters here and there, I can send total strangers into red-faced fury. This brings a welcome sense of power and influence to my otherwise insignificant life. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![samarm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4da419/32.png) [@samarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samarm)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2003, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-spellcheck-and-proofread-d-mn-it/167374/13 "2003-04-08T20:28:42Z")
I’m only half kidding with you, Zen. Seriously though, if people at least make an effort to preview and spellcheck, I don’t think you can call them a moron if they miss something. > [@](#): > > Please get a fucking clue and regularly reread your post before submitting it. If you are unable to do this, you are not fighting ignorance, you are spreading it. I would disagree with this. How can you say that spelling mistakes in a post _spreads_ ignorance? By that, do you mean that people wll see the spelling mistakes and begin making the same mistakes themselves? ---
**Author:** ![Medea\_s\_Child](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8baadc/32.png) [@Medea\_s\_Child](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Medea_s_Child)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2003, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-spellcheck-and-proofread-d-mn-it/167374/14 "2003-04-08T20:28:50Z")
Sorry. I’m here for my own entertainment and I can’t spell. (Yup, I’m a moron. Thanks for pointing it out.) For the most part I try to limit myself to words that I am pretty sure I know how to spell and keep my typos to a semi-minimum, but (and you knew there was one) running all my posts though an external editor before I submit them? It’d be nice, but its never going to happen. I’m a busy, lazy, disrespectful college student. I like you guys a lot, but not enough to treat posting here like a term paper. I’m not going to have my opinions for IMHO peer reviewed either, before you ask. This is recreation for me. Recreation in my life is supposed to be fun and easy. Fun and hard things are called “schoolwork” and antifun hard things pay me. The classic rebuttal here is “If you don’t like it, you don’t have to read it.” ---
**Author:** ![DrLizardo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5fc32e/32.png) [@DrLizardo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrLizardo)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2003, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-spellcheck-and-proofread-d-mn-it/167374/15 "2003-04-08T20:36:02Z")
Two things: 1. If this issue is rant-worthy for you, then you should be grateful for the low incidence of true angst-worthy events in your life. 2. Did you think this through? Do you really want to be held to your own stated standard? Are you perfect and will you never, ever, ever make a mistake or slip of the finger? We shall see. (Note PROPER use of word “shall.” But then we already know that people who routinely misuse ‘shall’ and other words commonly found in the English language are quite simply, morons.) ---
**Author:** ![Hauky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/0ea827/32.png) [@Hauky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hauky)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2003, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-spellcheck-and-proofread-d-mn-it/167374/16 "2003-04-08T20:59:24Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by samarm \* > **Tut tut. This is an error. Technology was _not_ invented specifically to allow us to spellcheck.** I had to read that over a few times, but I think Zenster meant that spellchecking technology was invented to check spelling, which would be correct. Or something. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac8455/32.png) [@Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bippy_the_Beardless)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2003, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-spellcheck-and-proofread-d-mn-it/167374/17 "2003-04-08T21:13:37Z")
**Zenster** you can just sick my duck. ---
**Author:** ![lightingtool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/57b2e6/32.png) [@lightingtool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lightingtool)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2003, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-spellcheck-and-proofread-d-mn-it/167374/18 "2003-04-08T21:23:08Z")
Brova, **Bippy** ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2003, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-spellcheck-and-proofread-d-mn-it/167374/19 "2003-04-08T21:23:52Z")
Dude, you asked for it. > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Zenster \* > I know this has been said before **[PASSIVE VOICE]**, but I’m going to say it one more time. Even a somewhat intelligent post (which seems to be increasingly rare these days), **[REMOVE UNNECESSARY COMMA]** can be crippled and maimed **[PASSIVE VOICE]** by misspellings and syntax errors. > > All you have to do is type out your document on your note pad or word processor before submitting it. Proofreading your work is a simple and courteous gesture to those who shall **[SHOULD BE “WILL”]** read your post. The inability to do either shows a lack of respect and general dunderheadedness (substitute with expletive of choice). > > People who routinely misspell ‘definitely’ **[AMERICAN ENGLISH REQUIRES DOUBLE QUOTATION MARKS, AND YOU’RE IN SILICON VALLEY]** and other words commonly found in the English language are quite simply, **[REMOVE UNNECESSARY COMMA]** **morons**. Technology was specifically invented to avert this problem **[RUN-ON SENTENCE THAT YOU MAY CORRECT BY ADDING COMMA HERE]** and the inability or unwillingness to use it is just plain rude, crude and socially unacceptable. > > Please get a fucking clue **[RUN-ON SENTENCE THAT YOU MAY CORRECT BY ADDING COMMA HERE]** and regularly reread your post before submitting it. If you are unable to do this, you are not fighting ignorance, you are spreading it. Daniel’s first rule of correcting other folks’ grammar: don’t do it! Daniel’s second rule of correcting other folks’ grammar: it’s okay to do it to someone who’s broken the first rule. Daniel’s third rule of correcting other folks’ grammar: proofread the shit out of your own post if you’re going to do it. Daniel ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2003, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-spellcheck-and-proofread-d-mn-it/167374/20 "2003-04-08T21:26:14Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Zenster \* > Technology was specifically invented to avert this problem **[PASSIVE VOICE]** and the inability or unwillingness to use it is just plain rude, crude and socially unacceptable. > \*\* In my zeal to correct your run-on sentence, I left this one out. Although the passive voice isn’t strictly verboten, you overuse it in this passage. Daniel [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-spellcheck-and-proofread-d-mn-it/167374.md?page=2)