I don't think that there is anything that I am worse at than spelling. Even in English let alone in other languages.
I use spell check before every post, but that does not always find the errors because sometimes the word spelled incorrectly is actually another word that is correctly spelled.
I have, in other threads, complained about "texting" and the way words are compressed and spelled. I have also bemoaned the usage of words, the disappearance of words and the intentional replacement of one word for another such as "axed" for "asked".
In this forum, FA has said that we should use English. So we do.
FA has also said that "text" English is not allowed, so we don't use it.
There is a thread in which FA lists how he would like to have names and places spelled uniformly. I am first to admit that, unless one prints this list out, the chances are that I will not use the spelling that FA prefers.
However, I would never abuse or bully another poster for not spelling words correctly in English or using the preferred spelling. In fact, when moderating and "cleaning" a thread, I will often spell correct for others long after they have posted and I have never yet notified anyone that I do that. The only way it might be seen is that there will be an "edited by" in italics that now shows on that particular post. That editing is solely to correct spelling mistakes (and then only if the mistakes make the meaning of the post unclear) and then I don't do it at all if the poster speaks another language as their first language. I don't want anyone who is trying very hard to type in English (to them a foreign language) to feel that I am reprimanding them for "bad spelling". Some of these posters do better than the native English speakers and how they phrase their posts is simply a result of how hard they are trying.
As to the "Alt Codes". Before I read this thread, I had no idea that they even existed. My own language program will correct for foreign spelling in a document, but it doesn't work with posting on this forum or any other forum.
I believe that most of us, not just the moderators, know that various words typically used and taken from languages other than English will not have their proper diacritics or accents. We accept that and can live with it.
It is true that this forum is uploaded daily to the Library of Congress of the United States and will remain there as a resource. I don't know if the corrections that we make here also show as corrections to the Library's copy. The big question about that came when griffh asked that his whole thread "The Empress Alexandra Fights Back" be removed from the forum at the request of his publisher so that his new book on the subject could go into production.
When I removed that lengthy thread for griffh, did it also disappear from the Library of Congress copy? So far I have had no answer.
Anyone who continues to worry about what the Library of Congress is uploading from this thread should not worry about the spelling of the names and towns and countries. They should be worried that the Library of Congress is uploading the petty feuds and fights and flame outs that the whole world will eventually be able to see.
These petty difficulties make us look like a bunch of children playing in the sand box and kicking sand into each other's faces only because "we can".
To anyone who feels that they are being bullied (about anything not just spelling), please report that abuse to either a moderator or FA. No one should feel uncomfortable posting here.
It has been noted in another thread that the Forum "is in the doldrums" right now and it seems as though it is. Perhaps posters are taking the summer off or perhaps they are just tired of all of the fighting over insignificant issues.
Either way FA has made his thoughts on this thread known.
