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Posters Must Use Correct Spelling and Grammar

Posted: June 29th, 2009, 9:46 pm
by Eckhart Aurelius Hughes
I am asking all members to please remember that the Forum Rules require all members to use correct spelling and grammar.

We want to have a quality forum here with quality, intelligent discussions made up of well-thought-out posts. We do not want sloppy posts made without much effort.

We understand some people are not good at spelling or maybe do not even speak English natively. We're not asking for absolute perfection. We are merely asking that members truly try to use correct spelling and grammar. All members must proof-read their posts before posting them. This means you must read the post over at least once, usually more than once, to correct any mistakes. If you are not good at spelling and grammar, you must use a spell checker.

It is usually easy to tell whether or not a post has been proof read and when the poster is not trying to use correct spelling and grammar.

If you have been sent a message here and are wondering how you can improve your posts, you can ask a moderator. Here are some common mistakes:
  • -not capitalizing the first letter in a sentence
    -not capitalizing the word I
    -using shorthand (such as str8 instead of straight or u instead of you)
    -not using proper punctuation (such as failing to end sentences, failing to use apostrophes when needed, or using excessive punctuation such as having 4 exclamation points in a row or having more or less than 3 marks in an ellipses)
    -using incorrect spelling
    -not separating long posts into paragraphs
    -linebreaks mid-sentence
    -not using two linebreaks between paragraphs
From now on, when it is apparent that a user's post has not been proof-read and that a spell checker is not being used, the user will be warned and the post will be deleted. On occasion, posts that have been automatically flagged and held for moderation will be edited by me or a moderator rather than deleted if the user has not already been warned and the errors are few and far between in long posts.

If we all cooperate, we can step-up the quality of the written content on these forums and make the forums even better!

Update on Oct 5, 2011: Please note, the forums do not have a built-in spellchecker for use by posters. Most internet browsers have a built-in spell checker. Firefox and Chrome both have spellcheckers that check as you type. If your browser doesn't have a spellchecker, you can draft your posts into your favorite word processor and spell-check it there, which also provides the benefit of offline saving of drafts, then you can copy and paste it into the posting field when ready. (I personally recommend Firefox not just for its spell checker but rather for many reasons, especially if compared to Internet Explorer which is by far the worst browser in my opinion.) Another alternative if your browser does not have a spellchecker is to download a free spellchecker for your browser, such as ieSpell and IE7Pro. I don't know what other browsers don't have a built-in spellchecker, but if you have one let me know and I'm sure I can find you free, trusted spellchecker add-on for it.

Thank you!
Scott