Wrong spelling and grammar mistakes on the comments .
Hi everyone , lately lovely_lovely and I noticed that there are so many grammar and spelling mistakes on the comments , my questions are :-
- Is it possible to use words like : gr8 , u , y nt on the comments ?
Because lots of comments use those words and I think that it is very confusing to the people who learn English .
- there are so many Spanish and English grammar mistakes on the comments
is there any possibility to put a rule that says : please use right spelling and grammar on the comments?
- And finally : when a word that has a letter missing or a typing mistake on the answer or ask a question section the word has a red line under it so you can notice that there is a mistake on that word .
- so can we have the same thing on the comment section or box?
Any suggestions would be very nice 
20 Answers
Hi Loeeee
this is a very pertinent question and I can understand how frustrating it must be for those members who are learning English and who might pick up bad habits or even incorrect English from the comments given. I myself will make an effort to remember this when I comment from now on. 
Unfortunately I don't have any answers for how to improve things other than by doing what you've just done, brigning the issue it to everyone's attention - so well done that's a good first step.
Now while I'm here, can I be cheeky and correct a couple of grammatical or typing errors in your post. I am probably going to start a bit of an outcry here from those who will disagree with my comments and I do have to say that my English heritage and school teachers might play a big part in my suggestions but here they are nonetheless .....
Hi everyone , lately me and lovely_lovely noticed
Lovely_Lovely and I
that there is so much grammar and spelling mistakes
are so many
Is it possible to use words like : gr8 , u , y nt on the comments ?
Do you mean, 'Are words such as, 'gr8 , u , y nt' allowed to be used in the comments section'
Because lots of comments use those words and
Lots of comments seem to include those words .....
there are so much
there are so many
please use right spelling and grammar on the comments?
(I could be wrong on this one but I would say) please use the correct
And finally : when a word that has a letter missing or a type mistake
typing error
so you can notice that there is a mistake on that word .
that the word is incorrect
As one who originally had some "hurt feelings" from initial corrections made to my posts (corrections for which I am now grateful ) I would make a couple of suggestions:
Realize that the folks with the lower Rep numbers and the lower number of Badges are still feeling their way. If they get creamed right out of the box they will be too intimidated to participate in the Forum. So, please do correct, but make sure your correction is not curt or sarcastic. One of the limitations of any kind of written media is that the person being addressed does not have the advantage of either 1) reading your face or 2) hearing the tone of voice in which your comment is delivered. For this reason, I think that we have to go out of our ways to be polite to each other. It's fine for the "usual suspects" to whack each other about the head and neck...they know each other and are quite used to the linguistic and intellectual sparring, but some of us newbies need just a little tender handling while we learn to grow a thicker skin along with our more proficient language skills.
Know when to leave well-enough alone. If there are no glaring errors but instead a sentence could use perhaps better construction, just leave it be...especially if the sentence is not meant as part of a translation. Could some questions be better framed? You bet. Could some answers be better crafted? Sure. But just as you would never think to stop a friend in mid-sentence to correct a dangling participle, perhaps we could extend that same courtesy to each other. I am not advocating sloppiness, not by any stretch of the imagination, but only enough "relaxation" to make it so that a poster does not feel they are walking on eggshells with every click on the keyboard.
I fully expect a torrent of corrections to be made to this post, and I will take it in the good humor and good nature that I am sure all of you are affording me.
I have found that most people either try or attempt to use correct spelling and grammar a few mistakes may get through , but the thing which should be avoided at all times are the picky comments on the mistakes. One should simply suggest the correct word or phrase and leave it at that.It is enough to know we have done wrong without being made to feel we have committed the crime of the century.
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Margaret Said:
How far is too far. I doubt that corrections are always welcome.
I can't ignore the fact that I seem to have become one of the "reference" members of the Forum. I know that people have come to expect my posts to be correct. For that reason alone, I think it is very important that if anyone spots a mistake in either my posts or my comments, they should point them out, so that I can correct them.
The rules require correct spelling, grammar and capitalization, as Crazy reminds us, everywhere - specially from those whom we know have the knowledge required.
There should be no sacred cows here, and I think there's always something for any one of us to learn. Yes both my English and my Spanish are pretty good, but they are certainly far from perfect. So, by all means, correct away!
Hi loeeee,
Those are great questions.
Is it possible to use words like : gr8 , u , y nt on the comments ? Because lots of comments use those words and I think that it is very confusing to the people who learn English .
The answer is "no". "Chat speak" is not allowed on SpanishDict.com for the very reason you cite.
See the Rules and Guidelines - Section II, number 4: Use Correct language
There are so many Spanish and English grammar mistakes on the comments is there any possibility to put a rule that says : please use right spelling and grammar on the comments?
The rule given above extends to the comments as well.
And finally : when a word that has a letter missing or a typing mistake on the answer or ask a question section the word has a red line under it so you can notice that there is a mistake on that word . so can we have the same thing on the comment section or box? Any suggestions would be very nice
That's possible. SpanishDict is always looking to improve the site, and I know they have added things in the past based on user requests. (The feature that allows you to hover your mouse corsor over a thread and read the first few lines was suggested by a user and implemented by SpanishDict.)
I will alert the powers that be of your idea and see where it goes.
Thank you for bringing these items up!
I also agree but sometimes it feels a bit 'picky' to correct grammar or errors. I am not sure how far to go - I don't want to hurt feelings and it is just difficult. For example - I personally think that even your title sentence is not 'quite' right in English. I think it should be phrased: Incorrect Spelling... How far is too far. I doubt that corrections are always welcome. It is a very good point though and I think you two are good to bring it up - you definitely are trying your very best on this site and I think you should be complimented.
Is it possible to use words like : gr8 , u , y nt on the comments ?
I'd say "no!"
From what I understand....Correct spelling, grammar, capitalization, and punctuation is required in ALL areas of the forum.
Correct spelling, grammar, capitalization, and punctuation is required in ALL areas of the forum.
I don' read this as an iron rule meant to keep out people who have a problem with their spelling, to inhibit people who may be afraid of making a slip, or as a license to blast the heck out of newbies who haven't figured out the rules, yet.
I believe that the idea behind that statement is primarily to prevent deliberate or lazy errors, such as chat shortcuts, no punctuation marks at all, no capitals at all and so forth.
So, if I write "Ther are too many diferent ways to skin a cat", I think somebody should point out that I misspelled "There" and "different". I'll happily fix it.
But if someone posts a thread with the title: "duds r u gonna tell me the meaning of this centense ", then that's one user that needs the full weight of the rule applied to him or her.
We are all learning here whether we are beginners, have achieved some degree of proficiency or are already fluent in a language. ... so hopefully we can all be gentle and tolerant of each other's mistakes.
I have to agree with Gekko that the rule about spelling is there as a kind of guideline to discourage a lazy attitude to writing and deter people from writing in an sloppy, careless and almost unintelligble way that shows no respect or thoughtfulness for others who are trying to learn here at SpanishDict.
Having said that, we should all be gentle in the manner in which we correct others and treat them with respect remembering that we all make mistakes and how we treat others will undoubtedly come back to us. 
Finally, I think that when, in future we are faced with requests to help translate text that is unintelligible or requests written so badly: that is, without any sense of grammer spelling or punctuation we should write a polite message on a post asking them to rewrite their message and not nake any attempt to help them translate it.
Of course I am speaking of situations where the questioner seems to have made some effort to translate it themselves but where the request is so badly written as to be nearly indecipherable lol Gekko, Marianne and I have all seen recent examples of this 
I agree with Gekko's answer here:
Anyone to proud to have his or her mistakes (politely) pointed out, probably should not be participating in a learning forum, I think.
Since this is a "language" proper English and Spanish spelling, grammar and punctuation should always be our goal. As Gekko pointed out, if someone is politely corrected, they should never take offense. It is all in the way you point someone's mistake that makes the difference.
Occasionally, I see a lapse in common sense here in the forum. When someone is new to the forum, we should gently point out the rules of the forum the first few times. If they refuse to abide by these rules, then a bit more aggressive approach does need to be taken.
We also have regular members who have been making excellent contributions, using proper grammar/spelling for a long time. I don't feel that it is necessary to be rude or condescending to these faithful members when they make a typo or have a small lapse in judgement. I feel there is always a way to point out mistakes or problems in a kind, gentle way. Humor can even be used if you know the member's inclination towards a response like this. The idea is to use common sense. No one is here to be embarrassed in front of the whole world. They are just here to learn and help.
Crazy for Sugar said:
..Correct spelling, grammar, capitalization, and punctuation is required in ALL areas of the forum.
Perfect answer, Erica!!!
To tell the truth, I find the use of the comments box a bit frustrating, because it is so limited in functionality. To a point, I understand why that is: the idea is just to write a short comment. If yo have anything more detailed to say, you should write another reply, and quote what you wish to comment on.
My particular problem is that I am not such a hot typist. I rely a lot on the spell checker function that works with the text editor for the replies. But it does not work for the comments. For that reason my replies show far fewer typos than my comments.
Several people point these out to me when they read them, for which I'm grateful, and I correct them.
Anyone totoo proud to have his or her mistakes (politely) pointed out, probably should not be participating in a learning forum, I think.
Yes, I agree with you it would be a very good idea
Even the comment guidance in Spanish is incorrect. It reads: "Los comentarios son para añadir observaciónes cortos a una consulta." Observaciones is feminine and does not require an accent mark in the plural!
I would like to point out something that has not been mentioned in this thread before.
We should also take into account that some Spanish learners in this forum try to learn and also contribute in two languages, neither of which is their mother tongue. For example, a French, an Italian or a Scandinavian can't be expected to speak English as perfectly as a British or an American. So, I suggest that we should also be a bit "milder" with these members and their grammar mistakes in English.
Besides, although this is a language forum and it is perfectly understood that we should all speak correctly in any language we use, we should focus more on speaking correct Spanish, which is our common goal.
