Do you proofread your responses before submitting?
By mentalward
@mentalward (14690)
United States
September 14, 2008 8:08am CST
This question may have been asked before, but I couldn't find it. How often do you notice typing errors or grammar boo boos AFTER you've hit the 'submit' button?
I just did that in my last response. Not only did I have spelling errors, but I used wrong words, typing "why" instead of "what" and stuff like that.
Do you do that often or do you proofread your response before you submit it? I'd love to know I'm not the only one!!! Okay, I know I'm not the only one, I just wondered how many other people do that? What percentage of myLotters see their mistakes after their responses are posted?
I know that some errors are simply because of a language issue and some people honestly believe they know how to spell certain words when in fact they're MISspelling them. But, what I want to know is, do you know how to spell but see your typos after submitting your responses?
9 people like this
33 responses
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
14 Sep 08
I proofread what I write all the time, but still make those darn mistakes....since I have Firefox, it has a spellcheck feature which will show me if I typed a misspelling of a word, but does nothing to correct wrong words being typed...And even though I proofread, those wrong words still seem to slip past me...for instance one time I did a discussion and mentioned that "Did you know cherries are good for goat?" 
I meant GOUT of course
I meant GOUT of course
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
17 Sep 08
You're spellchecker tooled you sew???..
Ewe are sew write
@mentalward (14690)
• United States
15 Sep 08
I'll let all my goats know about cherries! Yeah, that's certainly one problem with spellcheckers. Also, so many words sound the same yet are spelled completely different. I know this because my spellchecker tolled me sew!
1 person likes this
@Barb42 (4214)
• United States
14 Sep 08
I proofread everything I write. But it is so easy to miss words that are spelled correctly but not used correctly. We may accidentally use 'to' for 'too', or the wrong tense of a verb. Many things are caught after we send in a comment. I've noticed leaving out a word, and then I hope everyone knows what I mean. I see that lots in comments, or the same word twice where it should have been another word. But, hey, we all make mistakes and I usually don't worry about it unless it really is a BIG goof! Then, I'll respond with an OOPS! 
@mentalward (14690)
• United States
14 Sep 08
Yep, that's exactly how I handle it. But, being a proofreader most of my working life, it's hard for my psyche to handle MY mistakes! LOL
@mentalward (14690)
• United States
15 Sep 08
That's exactly how I feel about reading others' responses. When I'm reading over MY responses, I cringe when I see those typos! I was an English major and used to be a typesetter and proofreader. My bread and butter depended on being letter-perfect. It's a hard habit to get out of.
I don't care when others make mistakes. It's human nature to not be perfect. As long as the message is getting across, that's what counts.
@littleowl (7157)
•
15 Sep 08
Hi MM..in the beginning here I just posted my responses without looking to see if there were any typo errors then after when reading them it was too late as there were normally a few..when I get tired here I tend to make quite a few typo errors and don't bother proof reading them but apart from that now I do proof read them before sending them...littleowl
@mentalward (14690)
• United States
15 Sep 08
I make most of mine when I'm tired, too, littleowl. I guess we're all guilty of that. Sometimes, though, I'm just anxious to get my response posted and forget to proofread it until it's too late and something really stupid gets posted. LOL
As long as people can understand it, that should be good enough.
@alecz23 (486)
• Philippines
14 Sep 08
wow your a proofreader for 20 years...no wonder...anyway even me I do have some mistake..rather a lot...even grammar well english is not actually my native tongue anyway...
@mentalward (14690)
• United States
14 Sep 08
It's different when English is not your native tongue. I find some of these posts truly amazing when they are from people whose native language is so different than ours. I've taken 4 years of French and one year of Spanish, but I couldn't write one single sentence in either of them!
You do remarkably well! I'm impressed with your knowledge of English. I doubt if I would ever do as well as you if I had to write in your language.
@Sarah1108 (310)
• United States
15 Sep 08
No i dont. i am in a rush for some reason to get out what i have to say i do read it as i am typing most of the time unless i am looking at the tv or something like that. i have to correct myself a few times because i guess a word i used was "bad" that the only time i really see a preview of what i have typed. I dont think we should spend a lot of time proofing what we wrote. i think as long as we get out what we want to say thats all we need to do.
@mentalward (14690)
• United States
15 Sep 08
That's exactly how I feel, Sarah. As long as what we type is understandable, that should be good enough. Everyone makes mistakes.
@mentalward (14690)
• United States
14 Sep 08
Yeah, I think we all should. I really don't mind reading the responses of others when they have errors; it's only when I read MINE that I get upset!
@cortjo73 (6498)
• United States
15 Sep 08
I don't proofread my responses. LOL! I should. I will notice my typos, sometimes, after the fact. The worst ones are when you do a typo in the subject title of your discussion. LOL! I have done a few of those. I hate them as they stare me down each and every time they make their way up in a sortie and each time I go to respond to a response. LOL!
I should proofread my responses and discussions but, I am human and I can't be confused as an android with all the mistakes that I have made, make and will make in the future. LOL!
@mentalward (14690)
• United States
15 Sep 08
Egads! Those typos in the subject line! Yep, the ones in responses can be kinda hidden from the general public, but the ones in the subject line just glare right out at you, over and over again! I've made my share!
Yeah, we're only human. It doesn't bother me in the least to see typos from other people, because of that very fact... we're human, we make mistakes. It's those that I make that bother me so much. I used to be a proofreader and it was my job to not let even one tiny mistake get by me. Now... sigh! Getting old sucks! LOL
@onetrackmind (104)
• United States
14 Sep 08
I am in err.
My new thing is teh for the...not sure why I do it, but I do...not only here but in my work e-mails.
Mental, I know it frustrates us both due to the busine we are a part of!
@mentalward (14690)
• United States
15 Sep 08
Hahahaha! Yeah, onetrack, I've noticed you doing that. I do it quite often, myself, but usually catch it and correct it. Maybe it's something about the way our brains work... that's a funny word, anyway... 'the'. Say it over and over about 10 times and you'll feel like an idiot.
I've seen it often enough in proofreading, as well. I guess it's just one of those words that everyone messes up sometimes. Maybe it's easier for our fingers to type 'teh' than 'the'. I don't know. All I DO know is that, when you type it, or anyone else does, I know what it means.
That's the important thing... being able to understand it. (Tell that to the client, eh?)
@mentalward (14690)
• United States
15 Sep 08
You're doing better than I do! My fingers used to know exactly where to go when typing. I was a typesetter for many, many years and my fingers developed little brains of their own! But, sadly, my fingers are old now and forgetful. Poor things.
@moonbeam94 (387)
• Australia
15 Sep 08
I do check what I've written as well as the spelling and its only after I've sent it through do I notice a word is spelt wrong or it's not what I wanted to write ,but by then it's to late and on view for everyone to either make a comment or not depending on their generous nature.lol
@faln_angel1205 (1192)
• United States
14 Sep 08
Unfortunately no i dont. I always say I am going to, especially the lengthy ones, but then I get so involved in what I am typing, and I forget to proofread it. I really wish that sites such as MyLot had spell check..lol.
@mentalward (14690)
• United States
15 Sep 08
There's a 'hidden' edit button, but no spellchecker. I agree that myLot should have one. You can only edit if you choose 'preview comment' instead of 'post comment'. At the preview stage, there's an edit button that not everyone knows about. Stupid, huh?
@joyadalia (1408)
• Philippines
14 Sep 08
Actually, NO . That is why when I read back my posts after having them posted, I realize that sometimes there are a lot of typos and the sentences are readable but mean a little differently than what I had intended them to. 
. That is why when I read back my posts after having them posted, I realize that sometimes there are a lot of typos and the sentences are readable but mean a little differently than what I had intended them to. @mentalward (14690)
• United States
14 Sep 08
Yep, I think that's the biggest problem; when we want to say something but it comes out sounding very differently because we've misspelled something or worded something wrong. That says a lot about face-to-face conversation!
@Chastised_Dreamz (559)
• United States
14 Sep 08
Sometimes I proofread and other times I forget to. One of my previous posts I didn't proofread because it was long and I was frustrated because I took the time to read it over and when I hit submit it didn't go through lol so I didn't proofread the second time I typed up what I had to say. After I submitted though I saw that I had typed a word twice in one sentence.
So my answer to your question is yes I know how to spell but see my typos after I submit lol.
@mentalward (14690)
• United States
15 Sep 08
I think it's human nature to want to get our message out there and not sit and look over every single word, especially when the response is long. I do that most of the time myself. It just takes too long to look the whole thing over. If my fingers don't catch a typo, too bad. LOL
@sacmom (14192)
• United States
16 Sep 08
Yes, I proofread before submitting. But even so I find mistakes after I hit the submit button. I have the tendency to read what I wrote, then change it around a bit, read it again, and so on. With all the proofing I do I end up missing something every now and then. I have no doubt it makes me look like I'm learning the English language instead of it being my first language. 
Oh well, there's nothing more I can do, but try to catch any errors I make before I post it.
I have no doubt it makes me look like I'm learning the English language instead of it being my first language. Oh well, there's nothing more I can do, but try to catch any errors I make before I post it. 
@ahgong (10064)
• Singapore
16 Sep 08
Usually I do, to check for grammar mistakes at least.
I find it a pain to read something that is full of spelling mistakes.
So I wouldn't want anyone to cringe when they read mine. That is why I take that extra effort.
When one's article is pleasant to read, the chances of someone wanting to read more would be there.
Mistakes is posting are inevitable. Especially when we are posting in a casual environment and there are no penalties for making minor mistakes. We try to avoid it. But it does happens from time to time.
@dragon54u (31634)
• United States
17 Sep 08
I usually look it over but sometimes something gets by me! It's embarrassing to me when I have a typo or a grammar mistake so I try to make it perfect when I can.
@myenergy (41)
• United States
15 Sep 08
I proofread everything before I send it. I'm not always the best speller, lol so I have to. In my email accounts I have spell check on so all my emails are checked before I send them. I think sometimes you get in a hurry and your brain is speaking faster than your fingers can keep up. lol
@Chevee (5905)
• United States
14 Sep 08
You are not the only one, I do it a lots I proofread and still make mistakes, or typing errors, I did start a discussion on this also. I even thought if I didn't do the tags, and add to interest thing that I could stop it but It didn't. Once you hit start discussion it is gone. I hate when I do this, but it is common and most users will over look it some will try to correct you. I guess we will have to deal with it.
Happy MyLotting.
@asdrandomasd (24)
• United States
16 Sep 08
This is kinda off topic, but how do you START a discussion? I've had no luck trying to find the link. MyLot should make it easier to find for neophytes.
