Correcting emails...

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I know that there's been at least one thread on people correcting and sending back love letters etc, but this is somewhat different. When quoting an email you are responding to, is it acceptable to correct spelling mistakes? I imagine that the sender will not have noticed their offence, and may even be mortified to realise that they have entered the realm of duncedom, so surely this is okay? It may even spare both of you the horror (oh, the terrible horror) of having to gaze upon the destruction of language. Or am I just too anal?

― emil.y (emil.y), Friday, 4 March 2005 20:40 (twenty years ago)

*waits for the inevitable correction of some mistake in the above message*

― emil.y (emil.y), Friday, 4 March 2005 20:41 (twenty years ago)

I've done it before.

― jaymc (jaymc), Friday, 4 March 2005 20:42 (twenty years ago)

I don't remember the circumstances, though, and I don't do it all the time.

― jaymc (jaymc), Friday, 4 March 2005 20:43 (twenty years ago)

Yeah me too. And I regularly copy edit comments on my blog.

― Fish fingers all in a line (kenan), Friday, 4 March 2005 20:43 (twenty years ago)

Actually, no, now that I think about it, it's only been when the misspelling might be ambiguous meaning-wise, and I've corrected it only to signify that I knew what they meant.

― jaymc (jaymc), Friday, 4 March 2005 20:45 (twenty years ago)

I think my main concern is that although people may not realise that they made a mistake, upon reading the corrected version they will know that something has been changed, and thus hate me for all eternity.

― emil.y (emil.y), Friday, 4 March 2005 20:46 (twenty years ago)

I correct the subject line if it has a typo or the body of the message if I'm quoting it back or forwarding it on... Otherwise, it's just a mistake in history...

― dave225 (Dave225), Friday, 4 March 2005 20:47 (twenty years ago)

I think that's a pretty shitty thing to do unless you're my editor or something. I probably wouldn't be your friend anymore.

― Miss Misery (thatgirl), Friday, 4 March 2005 20:48 (twenty years ago)

something has been changed, and thus hate me for all eternity.

That comma is superfluous.

― jaymc (jaymc), Friday, 4 March 2005 20:49 (twenty years ago)

B-b-but I'm RJG.

And anyway the comma is not superfluous as it is the second of parenthetical commas.

― emil.y (emil.y), Friday, 4 March 2005 20:52 (twenty years ago)

Actually, no, having read the sentence back, it is superfluous (otherwise the "and" wouldn't make sense). Sorry.

― emil.y (emil.y), Friday, 4 March 2005 20:53 (twenty years ago)

I was just about to correct you again. You headed me off at the pass.

― Fish fingers all in a line (kenan), Friday, 4 March 2005 20:56 (twenty years ago)

The thing is, however, I don't mind being corrected (especially not when I've been drinking). But I'm sure, as pointed out above, many people would actually think I was an asshole for this inclination.

― emil.y (emil.y), Friday, 4 March 2005 21:01 (twenty years ago)

I don't correct grammar on my blog comments, only spelling, and then only obvious typos. I feel I'm sparing the person embarassment, not being obnoxious. It's not like I'm going to write them and say, "You forgot to set off this independent clause properly! You dick!" But if they say something about doing their lsundry, why not fix it?

― Fish fingers all in a line (kenan), Friday, 4 March 2005 21:05 (twenty years ago)

The sad part about this thread is that I get paid to copy-edit and that comma-fix I made upthread is the only actual copy-editing I've done in the last two hours!

― jaymc (jaymc), Friday, 4 March 2005 21:07 (twenty years ago)

Better that than the people who realize their own mistake and send the same message again a minute later with adjusted commas.

― Paul Eater (eater), Friday, 4 March 2005 21:41 (twenty years ago)

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