So how do you help a user with a word?

[TiggrToo]

Realizing we have a rule here about spelling/Grammer correction, how does one help a user who's used a word etc. incorrectly?

I get when being a Grammer nazi is frowned upon, but how does someone help a user with letting them know the correct usage? Surely there's a difference between being snarky and just helping out.

 

[BrianBaughn]

You could send a private message, I guess.

Or…you could just say something like, "That's a very good question. By the way, it's grammar and not grammer."

 

[TiggrToo]

You could send a private message, I guess.

Or…you could just say something like, "That's a very good question. By the way, it's grammar and not grammer."

The same rules apply to both posts and PMs apparently...

 

[Weaselboy]

Realizing we have a rule here about spelling/Grammer correction, how does one help a user who's used a word etc. incorrectly?

I get when being a Grammer nazi is frowned upon, but how does someone help a user with letting them know the correct usage? Surely there's a difference between being snarky and just helping out.

Corrections posts like that are against the rules, unless you think the error is causing confusion, so the correction will help. But just pointing out an error for the sake of correcting the person like in the example below would be against the rules.

"That's a very good question. By the way, it's grammar and not grammer."

 

[TiggrToo]

Corrections posts like that are against the rules, unless you think the error is causing confusion, so the correction will help. But just pointing out an error for the sake of correcting the person like in the example below would be against the rules.

This can be a fine line. What's the difference between helpfully correcting a technical mistake (e.g. "Series 0 watches couldn't run WatchOs 6" where someone makes a mistake saying otherwise) and "by the way, you don't need to use cap locks with this word because it's not an acronym".

Both are trying to helpful and correct a mistake in a polite fashion. How come one is fine, the other is not?

 

[Weaselboy]

How come one is fine, the other is not?

One is to help prevent confusion and is usually welcomed.

The second is for no reason other than to correct the persons spelling or grammar and is often not welcomed, and results in arguments in the thread.

 

[annk]

I'll chime in to confirm what @Weaselboy says here. If a mistake is causing confusion, it's fine to point out the issue and ask politely what the user meant in order to understand. That's helpful to everyone involved in the discussion.

But pointing out a mistake when it doesn't interfere with understanding, even politely, isn't allowed under our rules. I can identify with the wish to do so, because I've worked on the side as a proofreader for articles and books being submitted for publication for many years and I care about grammar and language in general. But here we've decided that as long as a mistake isn't causing confusion, any comments on language will be off topic and are therefore unnecessary.

To take your example - if a user is putting a non-acronym in all caps, it's very likely not making it difficult for you to understand the user's comment. If however it is causing confusion (Mac vs MAC comes to mind), it's fine to ask what the user meant, even if you have to say something about the mistake in order to do so.