There was a recent conversation among the Giants of TG concerning communication and spelling/grammar. I thought I'd start an official thread on how to remedy simple spelling mistakes and provide some proper grammar tips!

The point of this thread is NOT to nit pick. The point of this thread is to educate. There are many many educated, smart, and witty people here at TG, but they may lack some tools. Being able to clearly communicate is important so that TG folk don't misinterpret and judge character on simple mistakes in written communication!

Spelling:
The first tool in the war of e-communication is what is provided for you by these forums, a spell checker. When posting a reply or starting a new thread, you will notice a button in the upper right corner of the Message window:

This is a plug in for internet explorer (I'm not sure if it works with FireFox) called iespell. If you don't already have it installed, it will prompt you to install it.

Another option for spell checking is having a toolbar do the work for you. I use Google Toolbar, it has a built in spell checker that works fine and dandy. It also has a built in pop-up blocker and other features, including Gmail access and search tools. Google Toolbar works with both IE and FireFox, and can be used on any form areas for any website.

Clarity:
Now that you know that the words you've typed are found in the dictionary, its time to make sure your sentences make sense! This requires you to PROOF READ.

PROOF READ: Reading what you've written, slowly (and possibly out loud), before you click on "Submit" to make sure your sentences make sense.

But do not worry! Because even after you click on "Submit", you have the option of using the "Edit" button for 12 whole hours.

That gives you time to react to any misunderstandings and edit your post!

Grammar:
I'm not about to get into a huge lecture on proper grammar, but I will give a few pointers on commonly misused words and simple punctuation.

The AOL generation has littered the internet BBs with terms like "LOL", "ROFL", and "OMG". These are terms of emotion, and emotion only. They shouldn't be used as responses in and of themselves. Not that they should never be used as they have their place, but use them sparingly!

The comma ",". Even I get carried away with the comma. I probably have no right on informing you how to use it. Tip: when in doubt, don't use the comma. I think people would rather see less of it then too much of it.

Commonly misused words:
There: I left the bazooka over there.(Location, Location, Location!)
Their: I want some of their beer.(Something belongs to)
They're: They're drunk and dancing on the table tops!(They are)

Where: Where does Apophis live?(Location, Location, Location!)
Were: Were you going to remember this?(Timing)
We're: We're reading a thread. (We are)

To: I went to the bar.(everything else)
Too: I had too much to drink.(a degree)

Quit: I just quit drinking! (stopping)
Quiet: I was quiet while passed out. (Silent)
Quite: Im quite positive about it. (extent)

Lose: Aesop will lose to a fight with Squeak. (not win )
Loose: Aesop has a loose lip. (not tight)

And that is all I got! Contribute to your fellow TG community members and help them articulate their thoughts and opinions!