Recently I saw an interaction on another tribe where in quoting a portion of another's post - one member corrected a typo of the person she was in more-or-less a dialog with. The other member thanked her for the correction, but I couldn't tell if her comment was an actual thank-you or gently pointing out that a small manifestation of dominance had gone down.
Now, on occasion, I've found that I (when quoting someone) have corrected minor typos of others. The interaction between the other two people made me think about whether I was doing the right thing. I know this might be considered a trivial issue, yet it was one that made me think about it.
Any thoughts?
Now, on occasion, I've found that I (when quoting someone) have corrected minor typos of others. The interaction between the other two people made me think about whether I was doing the right thing. I know this might be considered a trivial issue, yet it was one that made me think about it.
Any thoughts?
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SF Bay Area
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Re: correcting an error
Wed, May 7, 2008 - 8:50 AMMy spell checker does it and I don't notice sometimes.. but to go through someone else's stuff seems a bit anal and rude.
But see it as trivial either way.. and I am not even gonna a put a trivia tribe link to it :) -
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Re: correcting an error
Wed, May 7, 2008 - 10:02 AMyeah, that sounds beyond trivial to me... why on earth
would anyone be upset to have a typo corrected in a
quote??? -
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Re: correcting an error
Wed, May 7, 2008 - 10:12 AMNicole - Charles is talking about an exchange I had with someone in other tribe, and he's speculating about my intentions and how I felt. I'm not sure why he's posting about it here in the way he has - a tribe he knows I frequent - when he could just as easily leave me out of it and ask people how they feel about having their spelling corrected. Or ask me directly if he's interested in what I said.
What's up with this Charles? -
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Re: correcting an error
Wed, May 7, 2008 - 12:40 PMNothing's really up Fifi. You are correct, an earlier exchange of yours on another tribe prompted me to consider the issue. I intentionally left your name out and had you not mentioned you were a participant, I don't think anyone on this tribe would have made the connection. You're eye caught the change yet your commenting on the change made by someone else caused me to reflect upon the issue - not so much about you, but as to my own past actions - in that I've corrected others' written typos in the past when I quoted them and nobody has ever mentioned it; either that or they weren't even aware that the change had been made.
The question I asked myself was that even if it seems like the correct thing to do - is changing another's work (even if it is wrong) a subtle indication of dominance? -
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Re: correcting an error
Wed, May 7, 2008 - 1:57 PMdominance?
sounds like you read a lot into an act of spellchecking...
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Re: correcting an error
Wed, May 7, 2008 - 6:01 PM"subtle act of dominance?"
No. Sometimes l'll change it because it's clear to me that the person might have unconsciously made a typo where they would otherwise not do so, and figure l'm doing them a favor. Most don't notice. Now, if one was constantly changing things when quoting a person who consistently had faulty spelling to the point that it's clear what's going on, it could definitely look snooty/dominant/assholish to whomever was being corrected. Then again, l might do it on occasion just to make a point. l mean, hello, that little red line under the word means the dictionary don't recognize it, and is even willing to provide you with alternatives for that word. lf you don't use it, then you should just expect *someone* to comment on it-subtly or not. -
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Re: correcting an error
Wed, May 7, 2008 - 6:28 PMI like being a grammar Nazi and pointing out the different ways to use various words... like Your and You're. Your is possessive and You're is a contraction of You Are.
I notice to you messed that up , Charles, in a eariler post. Please make a note of it.
Next lesson will be on the different uses of There, Their, And They're. -
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Re: correcting an error
Wed, May 7, 2008 - 6:36 PMYeah, I blow it on those frequently - catch 'em in an instant in someone else's writing - but miss 'em in my own, until, of course, I've submitted the post, and then their they're staring me in the face ;-) -
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Re: correcting an error
Wed, May 7, 2008 - 7:11 PMYeah, I blow it on those frequently - catch 'em in an instant in someone else's writing - but miss 'em in my own, until, of course, I've submitted the post, and then their they're staring me in the face ;-)
~~~~~~~~~~
You mean like mine below? ;)~
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Re: correcting an error
Wed, May 7, 2008 - 7:06 PM"I like being a grammar Nazi and pointing out the different ways to use various words... like Your and You're. Your is possessive and You're is a contraction of You Are."
l try not to do this, but it's a MAJOR peeve of mine. l point it out only when boiling point's been past, and the main reason l wait so long to do so is because spellchecker never catches it.
lronically, "spellchecker" has a red line underneath it. What, they wanted a fucking space between em or somethin??? Asswipes. -
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Re: correcting an error
Wed, May 7, 2008 - 7:11 PM"l point it out only when boiling point's been past"
FUCK!!!
"Passed". As it were.
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Re: correcting an error
Wed, May 7, 2008 - 6:51 PMWell, Ali, I definitely need a lot more than little red lines; I could only wish they'd be the cure-all for my writing.
And, clearly, a lot of people just ignore them, and it would appear they were doing this almost intentionally - maybe a way of subtly dominating or reacting to technology.
Maybe Maja was right... I can envision a school of psychology based upon if and why people make spelling errors, and if the person replying to erroneous posts changes them and why. -
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Re: correcting an error
Wed, May 7, 2008 - 7:10 PMOkay, someone here will know who l'm talking about. WHO was it here that, when repeatedly told that their posting and grammar style was confusing and made for complete misunderstandings, said something along the lines of, "Well, this is how l write, l write poetry and prose, and l'm not writing for anyone's comprehension"?
l just remembered, never mind. But l won't say who it is now, cuz l wanna see who gets it. lt's been a regular poster on and off in here for a while. A shot of tequila and my boobs (a **shot** of my boobs, not the boobs themselves) to whoever gets it right. -
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Re: correcting an error
Wed, May 7, 2008 - 7:36 PM"i know who it is."
Ah, a woman after my own boobs. -
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Re: correcting an error
Fri, May 9, 2008 - 6:13 AM<<and l'm not writing for anyone's comprehension"? >>
Ahhh.. I remember those words :)
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Re: correcting an error
Sat, May 10, 2008 - 2:41 PM*dead* at "Ah, a woman after my own boobs."
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Re: correcting an error
Wed, May 7, 2008 - 8:37 PMI think I might remember who that was.
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Re: correcting an error
Thu, May 8, 2008 - 10:44 AMCharles - "I don't think anyone on this tribe would have made the connection."
Um, I'm in this tribe and you were writing about me and making speculations! This is a big tribe, I'm pretty sure some people are in both tribes - you and I are, for example. Look, it's not a big deal but it would have been quite possible to make your query about your own habits without having to drag me into it and to speculate about intent and meaning - it just seems a bit unnecessarily provocative to use someone you know is in this tribe as an example and ask for peoples' opinions. -
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Re: correcting an error
Thu, May 8, 2008 - 11:20 AMFifi, you're dragging yourself into it. Why, I don't know. -
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Re: correcting an error
Thu, May 8, 2008 - 11:43 AMCharles - Whatever, if you fail to see how bringing up a conversation someone in this tribe had in another tribe, speculating about and attributing meaning to that conversation, and then asking people's opinions about it all is dragging the person you're talking about into it and can be provocative then I guess you'd rather not see how it could be potentially. I have no idea why you did it and I'm not saying I know your intent, I'm just asking if you can see how it may appear to be provocative?
From my perspective I'm merely responding to a post that very specifically referred to a conversation that I was involved in and asked people here to make judgments based upon your projected interpretation of that conversation. Since you and I don't get along and generally just avoid each other in EH and elsewhere, it seems kinda weird and unnecessarily provocative that you'd do this. It would have been entirely possible for you to ask your question about your own actions without referring to a conversation involving an EH member in another tribe - clearly you thought about it long enough to decide not to put my name or a link so there was at least some minimal awareness of what you were doing when you did it *shrug*
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Re: correcting an error
Thu, May 8, 2008 - 12:27 PMFifi, I made it crystal clear that this had nothing to do with you, and I think you're unnecessarily reading stuff into this that's not there. It was about my thoughts to public postings, and as I said previously, your name was never mentioned.
That said, maybe you could comment on my original question:
"Now, on occasion, I've found that I (when quoting someone) have corrected minor typos of others. The interaction between the other two people made me think about whether I was doing the right thing. I know this might be considered a trivial issue, yet it was one that made me think about it." -
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This is the maximum depth. Additional responses will not be threaded.
Re: correcting an error
Thu, May 8, 2008 - 12:44 PMCharles - "I made it crystal clear that this had nothing to do with you."
This is ridiculous - I'm pretty sure that my conversations have something to do with me - no matter how much you want to pretend they don't *rotflmao* -
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Re: correcting an error
Thu, May 8, 2008 - 1:27 PMThat said, maybe you could comment on my original question:
"Now, on occasion, I've found that I (when quoting someone) have corrected minor typos of others. The interaction between the other two people made me think about whether I was doing the right thing. I know this might be considered a trivial issue, yet it was one that made me think about it." -
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Re: correcting an error
Fri, May 9, 2008 - 6:32 AM<<Charles - "I made it crystal clear that this had nothing to do with you." >>
In fairness. I think the initial post was an attempt to see the group focus on an issue rather than a person - and Charles preserved the anonymity which was removed by Fifi posts.
Also in fairness, I cant see how you can refer to a conversation had with another triber and discuss it in a tribe that you know the counterpart in that conversation is a member without them seeing your posts as discussing their behaviour/words or what ever. Of course they will chime in.. or feel hurt. Fortunately Fifi seems like quite the robust individual ;)
(I can hear the "passive attack,, passive attack" screams.. but surely that is as trivial as changing a few letters around.. but I think doing so could well be seen as rudeness by many.. )
Having said all that I have a mate here on tribe who I think has mild dyslexia and is always typing things like "hte" and I find it hard not to fix them quoting him because I think it lessens some of his great posts and people might not pay attention to them as much.. but I resist the urge.. AND I must also admit that tribe (and the Internet generally) is a pretty slack place when it comes to writing. How ironic. I use a different (and much lazier) writing style here than in other mediums. Indeed a friend quoted me (using my real life name) on her profile and I saw it and PM'ed her saying "Oh God ! What crap grammar ! Please replace it with..... " but I would not do that to anyone else unless they said "I intend to publish this - what do you think ?"
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Re: correcting an error
Wed, May 7, 2008 - 3:25 PMIf the context can be understood correctly... WITHOUT correction... then there is no need to say anything UNLESS you were asked to proofread....
However, the people who NEED to CORRECT even when it is not necessary, seem to have their own agenda for bringing it to light... if you are curious (and it is not readily apparent) or you are into behavioral psychology... ask why.
~Maja -
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Re: correcting an error
Wed, May 7, 2008 - 6:30 PMYeah,Maja, I've noticed that I've actually weighed whether or not I should make a correction. Sort of like a feather blowing around in a gentle breeze. I can't remember what made me make the final decision - whether I didn't think it would matter or they wouldn't mind. Maybe when in a dicey conversation I might be a little more cautious about what would do. Maybe it more dependent upon circumstances - or how badly a word might have been butchered... I'm unclear on the 'behavioral psych' reference.
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Re: correcting an error
Wed, May 7, 2008 - 4:18 PMI've done it without really thinking about it because my spellcheck highlighted it and I corrected everything in the post including the part I was quoting. I didn't mean anything by doing so. It never occurred to me that it would be meaningful to anyone.
I've also posted without bothering to spell check my own stuff many times.
I think it would be more of an issue if someone bothered to point out that someone else misspelled something and let them know they were correcting it for them. But I must admit I've also done that as well when dealing with a troll in another tribe who was insulting anyone and everyone yet couldn't get the difference between to and too, and your and you're. In that case I couldn't help but point out his grammar issues to him. -
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Re: correcting an error
Wed, May 7, 2008 - 5:02 PMi don't think i would take offense
but i am a lousy typist who is often too lazy to proofread.. -
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Re: correcting an error
Wed, May 7, 2008 - 7:24 PMi don't think i would take offense
but i am a lousy typist who is often too lazy to proofread..
~~~~~~~~~
You may be a lousy typist who is too lazy to proofread.
This may be true.
But really, l just think you wouldn't give two shits.
Who's with me.
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Re: correcting an error
Thu, May 8, 2008 - 11:26 AMIf quoting, I copy and paste so there is no change whatsoever.
If the title of the thread itself has a misspelled word, I will correct in the subject of my post.
The subject of my post is the title of my post, not previously entered discussion material.
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Re: correcting an error
Thu, May 8, 2008 - 11:43 AMMy personal belief is that when quoting one should leave the work in tact and as stated. This would include spelling errors. Some spelling errors may be intentional others may be a mistake. But one should not presume to edit another's work unless asked. Even if the error is minor.
As to motive. It does not matter if the motive is dominance, compulsive behavior, or just habit, only the action is known, unless you ask what the motive is.
JSin -
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Re: correcting an error
Thu, May 8, 2008 - 12:33 PM"But one should not presume to edit another's work unless asked. Even if the error is minor."
Regardless of what my past actions have been, this rings through as the right approach. -
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Re: correcting an error
Fri, May 9, 2008 - 3:04 AMInteresting post, Charles.
Fifi, Your post did identify you and make me curious about the original exchange. I’m not siding with anyone - it’s just an audience response.
“Yeah,Maja, I've noticed that I've actually weighed whether or not I should make a correction. Sort of like a feather blowing around in a gentle breeze. I can't remember what made me make the final decision - whether I didn't think it would matter or they wouldn't mind. Maybe when in a dicey conversation I might be a little more cautious about what would do. Maybe it more dependent upon circumstances - or how badly a word might have been butchered... I'm unclear on the 'behavioral psych' reference.”
This reminded me that I must set a rule for myself. (If I haven’t already.)
If u put quote marks around something then that means it’s a quote. End of story. It is completely unacceptable to alter another person’s work once ‘published’ and quoting. The correct thing to do is to put [sic] after the ‘erroneous’ word.
“Sic is a Latin word meaning "thus", "so", "as such", or "just as that". In writing, it is placed within square brackets and usually italicized—[sic]—to indicate that an incorrect or unusual spelling, phrase, punctuation, and/or other preceding quoted material has been reproduced verbatim from the quoted original and is not a transcription error”
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sic
I don’t recall altering another’s work after quoting it and if I did - bad me. That’s what I mean by a rule.
The one occasion I do recall, and it was a dilemma, was alerting someone via PM that they had thrice misspelled a word in the masthead of their Tribe. The dilemma was that I genuinely wanted to help them vs concerns that this would be misconstrued as an attempt at dominance. I considered and wrote my pm very carefully.
A couple of times in the preceding posts I saw correction associated with dislike and loss of patience and tolerance. In that sense it does seem that it is an act of aggression and dominance. -
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Re: correcting an error
Fri, May 9, 2008 - 6:31 AMThirty Nine - I'm not denying I outed myself in this situation and that anyone not in the other tribe too probably wouldn't know what/who was being referenced. Charles knows I am in this tribe and he's intelligent enough to know that I'd see it and so would anyone else who was also in the other tribe. I'm not sure why he felt the need to insert himself into the interpersonal aspect of the conversation in the other tribe or to bring it up here - it wasn't necessary to do so to ask his question. That he can't even admit or see that it may at least *seem* provocative to post assertions about someone's conversation and ask others to speculate about intent, makes it seems like a sneaky attempt to be provocative to me. Particularly considering that Charles and I don't get along.
I'd actually have preferred a more open and honest identification of myself and the actual conversation if Charles was going to ask for people's opinions on it. At least it would have been honest and upfront. -
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Re: correcting an error
Fri, May 9, 2008 - 6:36 AM<<I'd actually have preferred a more open and honest identification of myself and the actual conversation if Charles was going to ask for people's opinions on it. At least it would have been honest and upfront. >>
So you are saying Charles was dishonest in not mentioning your name ? Perhaps that is a two edged sword . -
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Re: correcting an error
Fri, May 9, 2008 - 7:18 AMBloke - I think it's dishonest to refer to a conversation I was having with someone else, guess at my intent, ask people's opinions and then assert/pretend it has nothing to do with me. I'm willing to own my words and actions. I have no illusions that they're always pretty or that I'm a paragon of virtue and elegant communication. Since Charles only chimed in to involve himself in the drama aspect of the other thread (though obviously this is a tempest in a teapot too), it just seems like a continuation of that drama to me since it would have been perfectly easy for Charles to ask his question without all the speculation about what my intent was in the other thread. That would have quite simply kept the focus on him and his question if that was his intent. Charles is relatively aware of his actions in my experience, maybe this is an exception *shrug*
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Re: correcting an error
Fri, May 9, 2008 - 6:10 PMFifi, it appears you're trying to draw me into confrontation, and trying to convince others that there's something to have a confrontation about when there's not. I made no reference to you or anyone else. You weren't even the person that made the change on the other tribe. All I pointed out was that a person in a discussion thanked another person for making a correction. I clearly said in my original post that I didn't know what the intention was. There was no guessing at your intent, just that it was interesting that a comment had been made, and it was this comment that made me think about whether or not it was correct action to correct another's work in the first place - which is something you never even did.
Nobody knew whose post it was until you made it your mission to point this out. There's no drama other than what you are creating. This was not about you though you seem intent on making it about you.
This subject of the post was about if it was or was not correct action to correct an error in another's post - plain and simple, and after listening to and reflecting on what others had to say - I've gained a little better understanding of this issue. -
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Re: correcting an error
Sat, May 10, 2008 - 4:05 AMCharles - It appears to me that you were trying to draw me into a confrontation with your initial post. Things can appear many ways according to our perspective. You deny speculating about intent but that's exactly what you did. Which has, of course, quite naturally led to further speculation.
Charles - "The other member thanked her for the correction, but I couldn't tell if her comment was an actual thank-you or gently pointing out that a small manifestation of dominance had gone down."
This is clearly speculating about my intent. It's lame that you can't even acknowledge your actions when they're staring you in the face in black and white. Doubly lame in EH. -
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Re: correcting an error
Sat, May 10, 2008 - 8:04 AMok - ill bite - i have no idea what this other conversation/tribe is that yall are talking about and it is a little frustrating to try and piece it together from the snippets ive read. for the sake of argument, lets say that you (fifi) were quoted in some thread. when the person quoting replied, they corrected some typo or grammatical error in your origi
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