question? why does every one get mad over spelling errors. not every one is perfect. so ya.
Good point.
I wonder if it isnāt:
A) the inner perfectionist in each of us; we canāt fix the error, so we get annoyed and come across as mad when we make a comment about it, or
B) weāre just short with each other because we have 12 days to do months of building, coding, welding, animating, whatever.
I donāt make any comments about spelling errors myself; I know Iād be annoyed if someone made fun of my spelling. The only time Iāll mention it is when I get the occasional post:
pls hlp us whit teh pwm. (not an actual post)
If the mechanical errors make the post unreadable, I will say something. But if I get what youāre saying, Iām not going to even bring it up.
BTW, download Mozilla Firefox. The latest version spell checks anything you enter and puts a Microsoft Word-esque red dotted line under anything not in its dictionary. Makes you look more intelligent than you areā¦
I think this should come as a message to everyone. Donāt snap at people for dumb reasons. If thereās something genuinely hurtful about a post, PM that person and let them know. But donāt negative rep/PM/even post back about bad spellingā¦what a waste of time, energy, and bandwidth.
JBot
Not everyone is perfect, you are correct.
One way to think of it, though: The person is taking the time to read what you have to say/ask/etc. If they have to take longer to decipher what you really meant, in the end youāve wasted some of their time.
It only takes an extra minute or two to open up Word to do a quick spell check; some browsers have spell checkers built in, or available as plug-ins.
What Brandon fails to mention: what would I be doing with the time I lost reading a poorly-written post? If Iām on CD, Iām usually already blowing time (yay for wasting time on CD 
), and if Iām actually looking for something, I wonāt just open a random thread; if I find a poor post in my searching, Iāll skip to the next result. Really, I donāt believe in that rationale. I do believe in that when it comes to e-mail, since youāre likely to read that email with the misspelled subject line (if it actually got past your spam filter) and read through it, even if youāre short on time.
EDIT: Hey, Brandon, is spell check ever going to make a comeback? Not that I need it, but a forced spell check before a user can post would help a lot with this issueā¦
Itās not that one has to be perfect, and Iām speaking for myself here. It helps individuals understand what you are trying to say a lot easier. I mean, no one has perfect grammar or spelling (unless I have spell check I fail at both miserably). It can also help prepare you for the rest of the world, if you were to turn in a report to your boss, it would be unexceptionable to turn it is with āi found tht ths prdct is vry goodā. It doesnāt hurt to take the extra time to spell words correctly.
Once thereās a easy one-click-install plugin for vBulletin, Iāll install it. Iāll have to search around later on vBulletin.org for a vB 3.6 plugin ā¦
A person who is reading this forum without ever meeting you has only your post to judge you by. Make spelling errors, use bad grammar, or make offensive statements and those who read here will form an opinion of you that is not flattering. Write as if all of us are meeting you for the first time and you are trying to make a good impression.
Google Toolbar also has a spellchecker if you donāt want to download FireFox, but you have to push the button.
One thing that I think about when I post in Chief Delphi is who the membership is made up of. The members and guests that visit Chief Delphi are here because of robotics. They are interested in science and technology. The members consist of engineers, teachers, professionals,college mentors, sponsors, students - oftentimes student leaders - that are in middle school, high school, and college. When I make a post, I keep this in mind. It doesnāt intimidate me and I hope it doesnāt intimidate anyone, but I am mindful of my spelling (and run-on sentences cough).
Gmail makes another easy alternative.
Wetzel
thanks i was begining to wounder if everone was in honers classes:o
It would probably make everything a lot easier to read if everyone gave proper capitalization and punctuation a chanceā¦ You never know, you might even like it!
P.S. I need to stop using Ellipses so muchā¦
The most important tool you will ever use is language.
Like screws, you need the right type of the tool for the job. Maybe sloppy spelling will do the job in Instant Messaging with friends, but it wonāt here. The people you are talking to are diverse, but many are adults. Professionals whoās job here is to give you an idea of what itās like to live and work a career in science and technology.
Part of that lifestyle is communicating very complex and abstract ideas in a written form. The only way that works is if the message is spelled right, has correct grammer and uses accepted terminology. Obviously a post doesnāt have to be āterm paper perfectā, and accepted terminology is pretty easy around here. Itās OK if doesnāt follow correct grammer but sounds right outloud. But your posts should be spelled correctly and readable.
Donāt worry about getting it right 100% of the time. No one is grading this. But what you get out of FIRST is equal to what you put into it, and spell checking is a pretty minor effort.
As an example of how important proper communication is, I have a relative who frequently contracts manufacturing to a factory in Taiwan. Communication between the US and Taiwan is difficult most of the time, but by adhering to the rules of the languages, their interpreters have a chance. By using the correct terminology and notation the engineers can understand each others drawings. Misspellings and slang from either party would just kill productivity. Asking what the weather is like is still hard, but they can get work done.
When in doubt, donāt be afraid to delete and start over.
-Andy A.
Because correct spelling is professional, and professionalism is what we aim for here. The way I look at it is, imagine this as youāre job you donāt want a document from work to say āyo, this part is gunna b put on da robot l8rā. It sounds lazy, in all reality and it never wins to be lazy.
Iāll admit it, Iāve been lazy sometimes on here when I just want to respond quickly and have no time to write out a long message. Also Iām guilty of Instant Messaging talk, but I keep that in IMās and do not use it here.
Use proper punctuation too, it helps (yes, even though itās only a little line here and there, it does make a difference).
To quote a rather intelligent individual, āIn the professional world, spelling mistakes, grammatical shortcuts, leet-speak, and misused verbiage are not interpreted as signs of cute, efficient communications. They are indicators of illiteracy, inefficiency, unprofessional behavior, and sloppy work habits.ā
Like it or not, you are judged by how you present yourself, and the way you present yourself on CD is by the posts you make. Weāre not giving awards for grammatics here, but when flaws are made, theyāre noticed.
To be honest, if I have two completely different sets of advice given to me, and one is illegible while the other is eloquent, nine times out of ten Iām going to heed the eloquent advice.
GP is a term thrown around the FIRST community and CD. While the first half is celebrated, the second half is sometimes forgotten. Correct punctuation and proper grammar are cornerstones of professionalism. This is a professional society, and we should all attempt to attain or surpass the high standards set by our leaders and predecessors.
That being said, I do realize that nobodyās perfect. On the other hand, perfection is not a bad goal to have.
I once said thatā¦ but I havenāt done it. I love doing it though. Itās so much fun.
Scaryā¦I think every once in a while, every one is a perfectionalist. But, thats just my opinion.
well considering im normally the one to make the spelling errors i dont try and fix errors that others make.