I'm one of those jerks who corrects people's spelling a bit too much. Not all of the time, but probably annoyingly too much. I just think using proper spelling separates us from the animals, you know.
The most annoying thing to me is when people don't even come close to trying in e-mails. I take the time to make my e-mails deliberately well-formed, with proper punctuation and everything. I'm not going to stoop to text-messaging levels when I have the full keyboard in front of me and the time to spend. Is it too much for me to ask for others to do the same?
Correct spelling and punctuation is another way of showing respect. At least, that is what I was taught growing up. I see folks my age (early 20's) using all sorts of bad spelling, and think "Take the extra minute to at least do a spell check, please." It just says to me: "I want to say this to you but it's really not important enough for me to spell check." Sure, I do like reading stuff from people who bother to send things to me, out of courtesy, but I usually stop reading after a while if I have to figure out what's going on.
Think of it another way. Have you ever heard the saying "You should always dress for the job you want"? It's a great way of thinking, because it applies to more than just career improvements. If you want people to read what you are writing and take it seriously, take the extra time to proof read the e-mail. If some 22 year-old engineer cares, what are the odds your boss will?
Do you remember when you were a kid and they made you write letters to people? I mean, actual letters, with pen and paper? Do you think some day they'll just stop doing that altogether and say "Just write an e-mail." Will they still teach proper spelling and punctuation? Are we losing something with this technology?
The most annoying thing to me is when people don't even come close to trying in e-mails. I take the time to make my e-mails deliberately well-formed, with proper punctuation and everything. I'm not going to stoop to text-messaging levels when I have the full keyboard in front of me and the time to spend. Is it too much for me to ask for others to do the same?
Correct spelling and punctuation is another way of showing respect. At least, that is what I was taught growing up. I see folks my age (early 20's) using all sorts of bad spelling, and think "Take the extra minute to at least do a spell check, please." It just says to me: "I want to say this to you but it's really not important enough for me to spell check." Sure, I do like reading stuff from people who bother to send things to me, out of courtesy, but I usually stop reading after a while if I have to figure out what's going on.
Think of it another way. Have you ever heard the saying "You should always dress for the job you want"? It's a great way of thinking, because it applies to more than just career improvements. If you want people to read what you are writing and take it seriously, take the extra time to proof read the e-mail. If some 22 year-old engineer cares, what are the odds your boss will?
Do you remember when you were a kid and they made you write letters to people? I mean, actual letters, with pen and paper? Do you think some day they'll just stop doing that altogether and say "Just write an e-mail." Will they still teach proper spelling and punctuation? Are we losing something with this technology?
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