Mocking bad spelling/grammar on social media

[someseriouscoffee]

I see this more and more on social media, where people with less than perfect spelling and grammar are mocked for it, usually in public view with their name showing. AIBU to find this behaviour bullying and potentially disablist (as the person could have a learning disability for all we know). Maybe I'm being over sensitive but I really hate this, it's so patronising.

I hate it when people ignore my whole arguement if i made a spelling mistake or my grammar is not perfect. My spelling is bad because i am dyslexic but people often assume bad spelling = stupid or a bit dim and i am sick of it.

In a ideal world everyone would have perfect spelling and grammer but as we have conditions like dyslexia we should not be so rude about it.

My DD is dyslexic. No matter how many times she is told, she isn't going to be able to change it. Years of unpleasantness from teachers about her laziness has smashed her confidence. Online warriors pointing out mistakes aren't going to help either, apart from making them feel superior at her expense. Live and let live for goodness sake.

They seem to believe they are "teaching" people, as a few have said here. Actually it just comes across as arrogant and patronizing.

Yes it really does. I always assume that the person jumping in to correct a stranger is a complete wanker.

I think there's a difference between someone who makes a spelling/grammar mistake and people who seem to deliberately type incorrectly.

I wuz out wth tha kidz 2day an we saw sum other kidz. Wat did u do?

I wouldn't mock because I am not perfect either. However, the use of 'of' instead of have is doing my head in. I wonder where and how it started, because it is all over the internet.

@slashlover oh my god. My eyes hurt now 😂
And yes. You are right!

You guys maybe wouldn't believe it, but some people get so used to that speak, you can sometimes see it on CVs!

Obviously proofreading formal/official writing for work purposes is different but people who correct ‘were’ to ‘where’ on places like here or Facebook are just embarrassing themselves imo.

Yes I always assume those who jump straight in to correct a poster are smug arrogant knobbers

I saw this just this week, a young woman terribly mocked on FB. Her post was riddled with grammar and spelling errors but it was still possible to make out what she was trying to say. I was glad to see some people on that thread telling off the idiot pedants who appear not to have heard of dyslexia etc

She came back on post thanked people who'd been understanding. & said she finds spelling hard to retain so goes for phonetic in hope that it's correct - also some letters are 'mirrored' to her ie appear to be facing the wrong way.

There seems to be less and less tolerance now, too many who won't take a minute to think before they write/speak, in their rush to want to appear oh so clever and "funny" via mocking others. I guess they've a crave to feel better about themselves so are gleeful when they come across a means of showing they're "better" than another.

MN pedants with nothing to add to topic yet jump in to correct spelling and grammar are just bores.

Generally - if you genuinely wanted to help someone with this you'd do it discreetly and efficiently, and not let the fact there's an audience go to your head

I hate poor spelling and grammar and find it irritating, but correcting it is rude and pointless. Those with dyslexia etc know they make mistakes but it's not their fault. The vast majority of mistake-makers are not dyslexic but clearly don't care that their spelling and grammar is poor (otherwise they'd use spell-check or look things up), so what's the point of correcting them? People who think they come across as helpful by correcting other adults' spag are massively kidding themselves!

I once did it on a wedding group where someone asked for opinions on a table plan they'd done

But they'd put 'your's' rather than 'yours'

I said it in a nice way, that it was lovely but to redo that word - she went mental ha

Surely pointing that out is infinitely better than someone making a comment on her wedding day!

YANBU, it's rude, patronizing and pointless. You've no idea if the person as a disability or if English is their second language.

Also, pointing out bad grammar is usually a sign that you've lost the argument.

If someone you didn't know took the screwdriver out of your hand and told you you were doing it wrong, you'd be pissed.

Mansplaining is universally hated by most people.

Correcting people's spelling, grammar etc is exactly the same.
Unless people say the words,
"I need help"
Keep your help to your selves because all you're doing is looking like know it all twats...

@OftenHangry I think it's derived from 'could've', and people spelling it how it's heard (at least in Yorkshire ha) rather than realising it's not right.

That one grates on me too!

The worst one I saw recently was someone complaining that parents were illetarate [sic]...

I wouldn't correct them on an open forum, but I would judge them heavily. I have always corrected our DCs' SPAG very thoroughly (far more thoroughly than their teacher ever did). End result is that their SPAG is absolutely spot on. If someone isn't corrected then they will never learn and your are consigning them to a lifetime of ignorance.

They usual shit up fairly quickly.

I'm a SPAG pedant but I've learned to grit my teeth but oh it's hard sometimes! So very hard.

Loose/lose
We was... - no, it's "we were" and "I was"

These are my 2 biggest bugbears right now.

BettyBooHoo The problem is you can't assume how someone writes on social media is how they write in real life, or for more important things like assignments, work projects, etc.

I'm horrible for typos, or typing so fast that I pout lose instead of loose or no instead of know. However, my actual work is impeccable and I had extremely high grades in English, etc. I generally end up editing large documents for my workplace because my SPAG is so good. When I'm on Mumsnet I just cant' be bothered.

There's a big difference between someone making a genuine mistake but doing their best, and some neanderthal knuckle dragger who thinks he knows it all but in reality is thick as ...

In the first case, let them be, none of us are perfect.

The second, I have no problem in pointing out that they're incapable of forming a coherent sentence, and as such their point* has no validity.

• Their point usually being "free tommeh" or "out means out u losr we wun gt ovr it"

Correcting incorrect spelling/grammar is only going to piss people off or embarrass them. English may not be their first language, they could be dyslexic or maybe they DO just simply have poor literacy skills....Correcting it will achieve nothing, after they will post more badly spelt stuff online, you are not giving them the gift of language by pointing out the difference between their/there/they’re.

I think it’s hilarious when someone’s pandatic over spelling and making a big show of it only to have their own spellings mistakes, the irony slips over them

I type Scottish slang and it seems to annoy those that aren’t Scottish, it’s the way we speak so we tend to spell how we speak, if it annoys tough luck! Lol

Pedantic*

I used to be on another parenting forum on the "working at home" boards. There were a few of us who were freelance writers.

Every so often you'd get a post pop up along the lines of "OMG id luv too be a proffesional righter! How do u get into tht sort of wurk? My grammer and speling is grate".

Then the poster would be all offended by suggestions that she might look for something else to fill her time.

"I really don't think they are, but are just pointing out errors, which is useful for the poster to realise and learn from. "

They aren't, they are being a twat.

My DD posts on FB whilst in work, sometimes as a stress relief, she works in MH. She has ADHD and Dyslexia, but she has mafde it to Management ad manages to write reports etc.

When she is writing on SM she doesn't want it to be an effort.

Until I had Brain Fog because of CFS, I didn't fully understand when she described concentrating on literacy as painful.

Her main FB 'friend' who often corrects her and posts lots of jokes about how she hands out a spelling test before going on a date, has never been able to hold down a job, despite having a BA/MA. It took her a lot less to gain a MA than it did my DD her lesser qualifications, whilst working full time from the age of 17.

By contrast my other DD doesn't post on FB often because she spends a while making sure everything is correct, so now doesn't bother. Luckily she has a online friendship circle who don't care about Spelling/Grammar.

Pointing it out can potentially isolate someone further. People with various conditions fight for acceptance and struggle to make friendship groups they way mainstream people do.

It can often be a case of knocking someone when they are already down.

But people who are lacking in someway always need something to feel superior about, so they pick easy targets.