To not understand why people correct spelling

[Lockeddownagain]

Just reading a thread on here and someone felt the need to correct the spelling of another then put sorry in brackets. They aren't sorry or they just wouldn't have done it. I'm super dyslexic and spell stuff wrong all the time but why do people need to correct it. If you are a spelling corrector would you tell me why you do it?? Thanks

It makes them feel better about themselves to put someone else down.

I know this, because I always correct my sisters spelling. Only my sister, its fun to piss her off

Words look wrong though if not written correctly. I get picked up cos of predictive text. My d's is dyslexic, how is not picking up that's word is wrong helpful? It's not a matter of being superior, just correct. Like if I pronounced something wrong in a foreign language I wouldn't mind being corrected on that.

I don't mind people correcting my spelling, although I rarely make mistakes. I wouldn't do it on here though as it's often the fault of predictive text.

Hate it. I’d only correct my family’s spelling because they all pedants and care about this stuff. And appreciate it! They know they can’t correct mine though..,

Doing it to random strangers is just to show off and some sort of superiority complex.

I just have never understood the need.

If not superior, it is kind of petty when it has nothing to do with the actual thread. I mean, if I was asking for the correct spelling or wrote something like (sp?) afterwards, then maybe.

I'm generally a good speller and good with grammar. I deal with written stuff from the public and as long as I can understand what they're trying to convey, the very poor spelling most people have is not important at all. I don't proof read on here tho. Because I honestly don't think it matters if there are mistakes.

I don’t correct people on here, but I do shout the correct word in my head. Not because I feel superior, but it’s just really annoying, and I hope when someone else does correct them, that the Op realises and might learn from it (although unlikely).
Sometimes it’s obvious it’s autocorrect, but more often than not, it’s someone just mixing up ‘bought’ and ‘brought’.

Because correct spelling makes life easier for people with disabilities (including dyslexia), non English speakers, many people (average reading age is about 11) to understand what's being said.

There's a difference between the occasional typo, some poor spelling and an absolute refusal to do a basic check of what you've written. Since so many people can't be arsed to read through before posting life becomes much harder for those with dyslexia or English as a second language before you take into account posts by someone with dyslexia.

Actually here's a question. Someone I know writes inspirational quotes and puts them in a meme style on fb. Their spelling and grammar is often wrong. There's usually at least one error. Should I tell them (in a dm I mean!)

"... it is kind of petty when it has nothing to do with the actual thread..."

Are you new here?

No, no you shouldn't.
Nobody is posting to have their 'work' marked

There is clearly a need to correct spelling in schools, in editing, in drafting, copy writing etc. I am not sure this extends to mumsnet posts but when your job involves correcting spelling it does become habit.

I wouldn't correct someone on here, or anywhere really unless I knew them very well and thought they would want to know (i.e. it makes a professional document look bad).

But I can tell you that I find it really annoying - mis-spelled words look wrong, they leap off the screen and I can't concentrate on the rest of the words. I guess that's why some people feel the need to correct - it's niggling away at you. But I totally understand that a lot of people don't feel like that at all!

I don't think it's about "showing off" personally. I'm not a corrector on forums but if I see a word repeatedly misspelled it annoys me because it's wrong. So I feel the urge to want to correct it. My job involves proof reading documents so I am normally expected to correct the mistakes, and it's mildly frustrating to not be able to do so in other situations.

And yes my job does involve checking for and correcting errors.

Some people think that it makes them look clever, but really their corrections make them look total idiots.

@Parfait

"... it is kind of petty when it has nothing to do with the actual thread..."

Are you new here?

Ha! No! About 20 years I've been on here!

@RedHelenB

Words look wrong though if not written correctly. I get picked up cos of predictive text. My d's is dyslexic, how is not picking up that's word is wrong helpful? It's not a matter of being superior, just correct. Like if I pronounced something wrong in a foreign language I wouldn't mind being corrected on that.

Shall I get out my red pen for this? 😂

OP, I agree. I think correcting people on a forum like this is incredibly rude. You don't know them, you don't know if they have dyslexia, you don't know whether they had an uninterrupted, good education. Don't be a twat.

I'm dyslexic and just roll my eyes...it says more about the person correcting than the person making the mistake. Small things.

@RedHelenB

Words look wrong though if not written correctly. I get picked up cos of predictive text. My d's is dyslexic, how is not picking up that's word is wrong helpful? It's not a matter of being superior, just correct. Like if I pronounced something wrong in a foreign language I wouldn't mind being corrected on that.

It depends on the situation. Formal letters/emails etc. I get it and grateful for someone checking over my work as a dyslexic.

Calling out spelling on mums net when it's obvious what the message should be is rude. I'm not going to remember suddenly how to spell "business" or "minute" because it's been pointed out for the 15000000000000 time by some stranger on the internet. It's part and parcel of being dyslexic.

It's a total dick move. People usually do it to feel superior.
I've probably done it to wind people up to be honest (usually to people correcting others who themselves make an error). Glass houses and all that.

If you continue to spell a word wrong, and it’s not corrected, how will you ever learn to spell it right ?
But I wouldn’t correct on here as I know some people have reasons why they spell incorrectly.

I agree. I’m not dyslexic and I’m a good speller, when I was younger and dare I say, more immature haha, I used to let it annoy me when people spelt things wrong and would sometimes correct them. I realised with maturity that I need to check my privilege. Spelling is easy for some and will never be easy for others. As long as people can understand what you wrote, that’s all that’s needed. I think these people need reminding of this fact 😉 also it’s just plain rude.

@GeneLovesJezebel

If you continue to spell a word wrong, and it’s not corrected, how will you ever learn to spell it right ? But I wouldn’t correct on here as I know some people have reasons why they spell incorrectly.

Does it really matter on a chat forum. An official document is one thing. Mumsnet not so much.