Speeling Eerors

[Teal'c]

I saw your other post and found it amusing as well. Plaque, plague. One letter, two entirely different meanings.

I personally am more surprised that someone doesn't know how to spell "apostrophe", a commonly used word in the English language, than the proper names of fictional characters in a TV show, but that's just me.

Obviously, these forums are a casual environment where people from all over the world come together to exchange ideas and information. It's a place to have fun and I don't spend a lot of time focusing on poor spelling and grammar although I'll admit I pay more attention to the posts written by the more articulate members of the forum. I'm not a talented writer but I at least try and take some time to proofread my posts and catch spelling and grammar errors. I'm amazed at the number of people who just don't seem to care.

Oh, that was no mis-spelling, I was actually suggesting giving Daniel a plague for his actions, Bubonic or something similar (Now, what are the odds I've mis-spelled Bubonic? )

And I'd expect someone to know how to spell O'Neill when they come to a Stargate SG-1 message board

Also, mum and mom are both wrong (Well, mom is acceptable in only one case, The Frames' song God Bless Mom, but that's only because we must all obey Glen Hansard ). Anywho, the correct word is mam

[Madeleine]

Teal'c, in this thread you are both justifying your own spelling mistakes and criticising the mistakes of others. Do you see how that comes across?

(Personally I'd go the opposite way from you - plaque and apostrophe are just plain English, the sort of thing a lot of people would be expected to know, but Bra'tac and Goa'uld, well those words aren't exactly common in everyday life. JMO.)

But there's more to it than just which mistakes are acceptable and which aren't. You've started a thread to say which mistakes annoy you. From your first post I got the impression that you wanted people to read it and then amend their spelling habits. Did it strike you at all that people might be annoyed by your spelling mistakes? It doesn't seem to me that it has, or you wouldn't be so casual and defensive about mistakes that you make yourself. (Do you use a spellcheck, or do you rely on your memory when you spell a word?)

This isn't personal or anything. It's just that there are people here who are more thin-skinned than you, and implying that they are annoying if they don't spell Ha'tak right might make them feel uneasy or less at home here. I don't want newbies to come here and think that GW is a place where people get miffed with you if your English is not up to scratch.

[Teal'c]

Teal'c, in this thread you are both justifying your own spelling mistakes and criticising the mistakes of others. Do you see how that comes across?

(Personally I'd go the opposite way from you - plaque and apostrophe are just plain English, the sort of thing a lot of people would be expected to know, but Bra'tac and Goa'uld, well those words aren't exactly common in everyday life. JMO.)

But there's more to it than just which mistakes are acceptable and which aren't. You've started a thread to say which mistakes annoy you. From your first post I got the impression that you wanted people to read it and then amend their spelling habits. Did it strike you at all that people might be annoyed by your spelling mistakes? It doesn't seem to me that it has, or you wouldn't be so casual and defensive about mistakes that you make yourself. (Do you use a spellcheck, or do you rely on your memory when you spell a word?)

This isn't personal or anything. It's just that there are people here who are more thin-skinned than you, and implying that they are annoying if they don't spell Ha'tak right might make them feel uneasy or less at home here. I don't want newbies to come here and think that GW is a place where people get miffed with you if your English is not up to scratch.

This thread was more about simple SG-1 mis-spellings than English mistakes, but I just stuck the of/have thing in there because it really annoys me

And to point out, you're both criticising me saying and saying it isn't personal

[ShadowMaat]

This isn't actually about spelling, but it's close enough.

Are there any grammar mavens out there who can tell me whether or not "chomping at the bit" is proper English? I mean, it LOOKS right and it SOUNDS right and yet for some inexplicable reason, I have the overwhelming urge to say champing at the bit, which doesn't sound nearly as logical. But then, I've also heard that stamping your feet is more correct than stomping.

Bah. Maybe I'll just give up language entirely...

[yasureubetcha]

Hmm...really old thread, but I have these nagging questions that've always bothered me online:

When using a smiley, does it go before or after the relevant punctuation? Before, like this ? Or after, like this?

And how to treat abbreviations? Would you use "a" or "an" before abbreviations (like "RL" or "SG") which when pronounced begin with vowels, but whose meanings begin with consonants?

Little, little things...but they're the kind of things that can rankle until you finally give up and ask, I guess . (Or .?)