I got a subscription order and e-mail today from someone who also posts on the Escapees forum. He mentioned something that I think we all need to aware of.

This person has a medical condition that apparently sometimes makes it hard for him to either type, or for whatever reason, has caused him to make a couple of posts with spelling errors, and he mentioned that some people have been quick to point out his errors. The result has been some hurt feelings and maybe a sometimes unpleasant experience on the forum.

I think there are very few participants on this forum who would want to hurt somebody, but I think we all need to realize that sometimes we do it without thinking. So what if someone makes a spelling error? Is it the end of the world? Why would someone feel the need to correct or point out an error, unless it would give another reader wrong and dangerous information?

I don’t go to many internet forums for this very reason. I get tired of the online bullies who spend their days looking for a way to criticize someone else or pick a fight. Life’s just too short for all of that nonsense. For the most part, Escapees has been the friendliest forum on the internet, bar none. Please, let’s keep it that way.

I spell pretty well, but I am a terrible typist. You would think that a man that makes his living as a writer could type, wouldn’t’ you? But after nearly 30 years as a newspaper publisher and author, I still can’t type worth a darn. I’m a two finger typist, and my fat little fingers hit the wrong keys as often as not. I try to spell check my posts, but some typos still slip in from time to time.

I guess my point is that maybe we all need to be less quick to respond to a post if all we want to is point out someone else’s innocent error. What we may think is just a post pointing out or correcting some innocent mistake may be hurtful to that person.

I too THINK faster than my fingers work.. so I make a BUNCH of mistakes on a regular basis. Good post, and your right, I doubt if anyone does this on purpose. I get a lot of valuable info from this site and the folks I have interacted with are great!

I've found the ignore option the forum offers a great help, if someone isn't leaving you with a good feeling click their name and from the list click ignore. You can always click to see an ignored post if you want to or remove them from your ignore list.

This is a great middle ground, between being frustrated and using the report to the admin button.

Until I got a web browser with a built-in automatic spell checker I couldn't spell either. I never figured out what was wrong with folks that could read a long complicated post about some interesting subject and all they got out of it was that I spelled a word or two wrong. Being a bad speller isn't a good thing but it beats living your life picking fly poop out of the pepper.

"but it beats living your life picking fly poop out of the pepper"?
Now you've gone and done it. I will think of Stanley each and every time I pick up the "Salt and Stanley".
I mean Pepper.

The OP brings up a good point and I think it has a lot to do with Anonymity.

These "correctors" might speak differently if they were talking face to face.
With Firefox and it's spell checking ability it make life so much easier, even if it never heard of Obama. One by one I ADD these words to the directory.

Internet forums are interesting to read and it brings out both the good, bad and the ugly in people just because they are invisible to the world.

I also noticed that the Escapees forum is just a little more flexible in the acceptance of wording and subject matter then the other "Leading" RV forum.

Personally It doesn't bother me if someone "speels" a word wrong or types in broken "Anglish", I just use my brain to translate it.

It seem, for the most part, that the average Joe is basically a nice guy, from reading postings. It's just the Trash Mouths that make you think that everyone in the world is a stinker.

I hope Escapees continues to be all that it is and that more people join.

Have a good Sunday and don't shovel too much snow, you folks up in snow land.

What I want to know is why the computer doesn't put in what I wanted to say, not what I typed? Just because I spelled the word correctly doesn't mean that is the word I wanted to use, just what my fingers decided to type!

Barb

Good post, Nick. I have seen instances where someone has posted a few times and then they seem to get attacked by one person, more jump on...and even if it was meant in fun (not that I ever enjoyed that type of fun, especially with people I might not know), if you are the person being attacked or made fun of, why would you want to post again? And how would it make you feel about Escapees as a whole?

We sometimes tend to forget how it was to be a newbie who knows nothing and needs to ask dumb questions...no matter the subject matter.

In the forums I moderate we often remind folks to READ the post they've just written before hitting send. Read it aloud and consider how you would feel if you were to receive it.

Just my 2 cents in a 50 dollar world....

Amen Nick!!!
I spell very well, and I type fairly well, and I like to think that I get my point across fairly well when I post, and I still make numerous typos, and have been read wrong when I meant something else entirely. I have to re-read and correct many times just to correct my ow2n errors. I left that last typo in as an example, it was genuine, not done as an example.

Nick, and everybody else who posted, bravo! We all need an occasional reminder to pay attention to the content, not the presentation, when we read here. As well, acknowledge that none of us will post clearly to 100% of readers, and if we expect a sprout now and again, should give others that sprout first.

Thanks for a reminder that kindness and grace are arts that our generation perhaps understands more than the current one. And should remember.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: RV,

Way to go Nick. there are some people on this forum that are on my ignore list because of their attitude and the way they write.

Keep us on our toes, Nick. I think we all need to be reminded from time to time that nice is much better.

Safe travels,

Judy

Good post Nick. I for one have a tough time geting out what I'm thinking of due to a brain attack several years back. It has been long enough that I have learned to get a kick out of myself at times. I can remember the numbers in a phone number but can never place them in the correct order. I often think I have said something that I have not said or typed. My memory is really bad, to the point it causes me problems. I once had someone get mad at me because the question I ask I had ask a couple days before. I was told that maybe I should not drink and type. LOL. So RV friends If I seem goofy it is because I am goofy.

If I wronged anyone please forgive me. Life is to short.

I don't even think of my limitations due to the stroke I just accept the way I am but I have a hard time remembering others don't know there is a reason I may say something stupid or repete
a problem.

SO thanks for not running me off and I will strive to be nice. Again forgive me if I have hurt anyones feelings.

Nick,

You have a good point.

There's one person (who I won't name, because they know who they are) that hangs out here, and on most of the other RV forums. About 90% of his/her posts are snide corrections to somebody's spelling or grammar.

Maybe he/she is reading this -- I should copy it to MS Word and run a spelling and grammar check before posting

Mac

Wow, what can I say!!! Hoorah!!!!

I still need caffeine but....I applaud all of your posts. Thank you, Nick and the rest of y'all that chimed in!



Kellie

I think those people are very rude and especially when they take it a step further and make fun of what was said based on what everyone knows was just a slip. I don't know about everyone else but on some days my eyes are dry, my fingers stiff, I'm trying to hurry to post, etc. You get very few of these people but I always think how empty their lives must be to have nothing better to do except proofread someone's post and be critical of them. I guess enjoy and appreciate the posts so much that I usually just zip by a typo. If the error would confuse someone or create a "situation" it would be better to post "I think you might have met". Everyone always appreciates too the comment "I have days like that too." - it can be a challenge not being perfect but somehow we get by. Cathy

I know exactly what you're saying, Cathy, and I can appreciate it. Some days I may not be feeling as well as others and sometimes I deal with bouts of depression. And at those kinds of times, it's a lot easier to pop off a post that might not be as kind as a "normal day" might produce. I'm sure it's the same or worse for others out there...

Ok, group hug...

Brian

Great post Nick. I agree with you 100%. I'm a 100% disabled Vietnam Vet...and one of my many disabilities is that I have no feeling in my hands. Typing can be such a chore to even get a minimal thought across.

I've got better things to do with my life than worry about other peoples typos. If what they are typing is interesting, you can always send them a private message and ask them what the heck they were trying to say. I pay good money for books that have a lot more errors than I've ever seen in any post here.

There are sharpshooters all over the internet who sole purpose in life is to make other people feel bad...maybe it's the only way they can feel good about themselves. It's very disheartening to join a group, get to feeling comfortable with them and then watch the sniping start. Makes me go back into lurker mode...read-only no posts, period. Cause, if I feel someone is being picked on...I will say something about it...and I'm not always a nice person. People often use a forum to go key-board crazy...and then ruin it for everyone.

Life's too short to let the little things bother you.

I just replied to a post on the Biodiesel/Veggie Conversions thread about this same issue. Someone is all bent out of shape because another post used the word Cummings instead of Cummins for a brand of diesel engine, and another member had to jump all over it and make nasty coments. Why is that necessary?