When is it appropriate to correct someone?

[ItsFineReally]

Prompted by "Should I of gotten?"...

I am aware that if a post can be easily understood, despite spelling and grammatical errors, it's generally considered poor form to point out those mistakes.

Threads being derailed by multiple posters all making the same (but irrelevant to the issue) point can be frustrating as a reader. This must be moreso the case for the OP whose a genuine problem may be being overlooked while this is going on.

But... at what point is the error so egregious as to make it appropriate to correct someone? For instance, is pointing out that "lose" is the correct word, not "loose," ever helpful? Should errors be left uncorrected on social media altogether, or are there cases where it’s necessary to address them?

What’s your personal threshold for when you feel compelled to make a correction?

I'd usually only correct someone on SM if they were asking for advice about something where spelling and grammar were likely to affect the outcome, for example, CV wording; what to write in a letter, etc. Repeated errors can be annoying, but you have no idea on SM what someone's background might be and, especially if they are seeking support, SM isn't the place to deliver an English lesson.

I think I agree, and certainly considered that to be the unspoken rule. However, when is it appropriate to correct someone? Is it only in a work setting?

What about if it becomes difficult to parse the actual meaning on SM due to the way it is written?

It’s a tricky one OP - I sometimes itch to correct a post but you don’t know the poster’s situation eg they could be dyslexic or have learning difficulties. Having said that, there are so many posts with “ should of”. Drives me mad!

Really I think only When the meaning can be unclear or when it's something that could end up in a formal document

Should of doesn't ever come across as unclear and more how language changes

I had to look up what egregious meant!

I only correct on MN if someone is being an arse. These sorts of things really bug me but you don't know the background of the poster. IRL I think it is not inappropriate to correct, for example in a work context.

On social media? I'd ignore she errors.

On a post on MN? I'd query the OP if I genuinely wasn't sure what they meant.

I have pointed out errors on SM in the past, and it doesn't always go well, so now I don't.

I'm an editor. I tend not to edit unless I'm being paid to edit!

Never!

Honestly, I don't understand the need to correct at all. It's basically saying "just to point out to you, I have the privilege of being a native speaker, or having more educated parents, or having more privileged upbringing, or having managed to get to a better school than you"...... dropped like a public Shame bomb into a conversation about something else.

Learning or relearning a language is extremely difficult, so there is no way one random correction on the internet is going to help the person really improve their language skills. All it does is make people feel small and shamed for something largely not in their control.

The only appropriate situations to correct are if the setting is educational or a work setting where the language accuracy matters, or if the person has told you they are trying to improve and asked you to give feedback.

I'm typically for the evolution of language argument (see literally for figuratively), however I'll be really disappointed if 'should of' does become acceptable. Makes my teeth itch.

On SM I would never correct. If meaning is unclear then you clarify, not correct.
My work depends on high level of written communication. On here I don't pay attention to my own accuracy and can even mix up my theres and theirs...

This is my feeling too.

I'd say only

• work, if it's going out to customers
• book reviews (I've had my book-reading pleasure spoilt a couple of times recently by poor use of commas, misspellings etc
• if someone asks you

And never

• random social media posts
• personal correspondence

Though I couldn't help putting a friend of a friend right on Facebook when she was insisting that "If I were" was wrong, as the past tense should be, "If I was". She'd never heard of the subjunctive it seems. If she'd just written "If I was" then I wouldn't have said anything, but she was claiming to be right when she was wrong.

The errors irritate me too (especially "should I of.." or "we was") but I've learned to hold my tongue more since meeting someone who is dyslexic, who struggles. I've noticed if someone points SPAG errors out on SM, they usually get a pile on, berating them.

I'm certainly not perfect and routinely trample over what others would consider correct usage. I start sentences with 'and' and end them with prepositions.

I can see that correcting someone does invite them to go over everything you've written if you've been an arse and lecturing. But does nobody ever want to know that they're repeatedly using the wrong word or spelling it incorrectly? If it's done in polite way and not as a way to show superiority?

I read somewhere that English was a popular second language to use in the EU headquarters. This was because anyone who spoke English, however badly, would always be told how good their English was, whereas if they spoke French the French would always point out how bad their French was. In light of this I never correct anyone

The equivalent of "should of" and other abominations exist in all languages. When I was an MFL student on a year abroad at a French uni one of the profs complimented my written French and told me my grammar was better than that of half the native speakers in the class. It all depends (at least in part) on the context in which you have learnt the language.

I wouldn’t correct people on here - they are just trying to get their thoughts on the page. However, I would correct my children as I want them to learn the correct way to write. I correct errors at work, particularly on emails or reports leaving our department as I think it reflects badly on the quality of the work done.

I posted something on SM a week ago. I clearly have a foreign name and I misspelt something (only realised it 3 days later). I wouldn’t have minded being corrected, it was such a stupid mistake as well (similar to their/there).

I made a spelling mistake on here a few weeks ago. Someone totally ignored my point and just corrected the mistake. People only correct mistakes on MN to feel superior.

Work or education setting definitely. When I was a school governor, I noticed that a teacher had used the wrong word on a written instruction for their class. It meant that grammatically, what they had written made no sense. I politely told them, outside the classroom and they amended it.
Otherwise I'd only point out if it made what was written unclear and open to misinterpretation.

On social media never, unless it's someone who has been pompously judging others.

At work, yes if it's someone junior who is still finding their "professional voice" because errors like that can affect their credibility, but raise it one to one / in a private message, never in front of other people.

i just read a thread where i itched to correct the use of there when it should have been their. I didn't as it would make me look like an arse!