X-Message-Number: 27915 References: <> From: Kennita Watson <> Subject: meta-post on spell-checking (was: Re: CryoNet #27909 - #27913) Date: Fri, 5 May 2006 12:32:25 -0700 Like a certain neurotransmitter density triggers a neuron firing, a certain error density triggers a rant. :-) Incorrect spelling can distract from your point, and is recorded in perpetuity along with that idea as a sign of lack of attention to detail. What mailers are people using? And what settings? I'm using the vanilla Apple Mail program, and all I had to do is to go into the Preferences for Composing and tell it to "Check spelling as I type", and I never make simple errors like the two so close together here. Mind you, it won't catch errors that make other legal English words, but many/most don't. It also won't catch grammar errors like the two in the two complete sentences below, but my version of Word only catches one of them, and arguably grammar is sacrificed even more often than spelling in email. Yes, some neologisms will be flagged, but they are easily learned (right-clicking on the flagged word allows learning it (be sure your spelling is correct, first, and don't necessarily take the suggested spelling if you're not sure _it's_ correct). If you make that mistake, you can Forget it, using right-click and the "Spelling..." dialog. If your mailer has this facility and you haven't been using it, please do. If it doesn't, and you've been thinking of changing mailers, please consider this an impetus to do so. Note that AFAICT many people here either already have excellent spelling and typing or already use spell checkers. Enough -- I've probably also earned a lot of negative scores for this post. I hope it will be helpful to a few people, though. Live long and prosper, Kennita On May 5, 2006, at 2:00 AM, CryoNet wrote: > ... when curriousity is supported, and > ideas are explored. Anything less is just "idea killing", and > bullying. > Citations, would be better. Also, when one constructs a defense of a > position (however inflammed) ... Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=27915