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BS: No more spelling mistakes!
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Subject: No more spelling mistakes! From: McGrath of Harlow Date: 03 Feb 01 - 02:56 PM The more discerning among you may have noted my tendency to include the most appalling spelling-mistakes in my posts. Well, most of the time they aren't actually spelling-mistakes, I'm a very good speller. They are proofreading mistakes, and I'm a very bad proofreader - on the net anyway. And I've a very random way with a typewriter.
But I think I've found the answer. It's a simple plug-in program called hotlingo, which works directly with posts on the Mudcat, and it's available from here A free trial download is available, and then its $15 (but I've got the whole thing for free, because it came in a CDRom with .net magazine a few months back, and I only just found it.
So now my limpid and scintillating prose will not be obscured by weird and wonderful distortion of spelling. Shame really, some of them are probably a lot more fun than a lot more entertaining than my limpid and scintillating prose... (And just to show how it works, here is what this looked like before I spell-checked it. As I said, random typing: The morer discerning among you may have noted my tend3ency to include the most appalling speklkling nmistakes in my posts. Well, most ofbvthe time they aren't actuall;y spelling, mistakes, I'm a very good speller. They are proofreading mistakes, and I'm a very bad proofreqder - on the net anyway. And I'ver asvery random way with a typewriter.
But I think I've found teh answer. It's a simple plug-in program called hotlingo, which works directly with posts on the Mudcat, and it's availabnle from here A free trial download is available, and then it;s $15 (but I've gotbthe whole thin for free, vbeacsue it came in a CDRom with .net magaizne a few months back, and I only just found it.
(And just to show hioe i5t works, here is what this looked like before I spell-checked it. As I said, random typing: Sio now my limpid and scintillating prose will not be obscured by weird and wonderful distortyion sof spelling. shame really, some ofvbthem awre propbably a lot more fun than a lot more entertaining than my limpid and scintillating prose... |
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Subject: RE: BS: No more spelling mistakes! From: McGrath of Harlow Date: 03 Feb 01 - 03:02 PM Only thing, it's got some funny ideas about personal names. I just typed in Spartacus in another thread, and it came up with the suggestion that what I had really meant to type in was McIntosh's...
No I don't get it either. |
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Subject: RE: BS: No more spelling mistakes! From: katlaughing Date: 03 Feb 01 - 03:04 PM Yeah, that solves a mystery for me and is quite a relief, McGrath! I'd seemed to notice a few more than usual lately and was wondering if you were okay!**BG** Thanks for the info. I shall check it out! Oh my a JoeClone's work load lessened....!LOL!!! |
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Subject: RE: BS: No more spelling mistakes! From: Clinton Hammond Date: 03 Feb 01 - 03:07 PM Too bad it's only for Internet Explorer... Like they're the only bad typists on the net... Lemme know when there's a Netscape version eh! ;-) |
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Subject: RE: BS: No more spelling mistakes! From: Mark Cohen Date: 03 Feb 01 - 05:43 PM Spellcheckers can be helpful, but only up to a point. Their big flaw, of course, is that if your mistake happens to be a real word, the spellchecker sits there happy as a clap -- er, clam. Back in the early 80s when they were first popular, I remember noticing the first published spellchecker-induced mistake I'd seen, in a medical journal. There was a quotation from an old Jewish sage named Rabbi Tarfon. What was printed neatly at the end of the quotation, however, was "Rabbit Tarfon". Be that as it may, McGrath, it sounds like it works well for you. You type like I do, but I have the blessing (or curse) of an "automatic proofreader" that seems to be hardwired into my brain. So I do a lot of backspacing and correcting on the fly. Maybe I should try your widget, though...just watch out for rabbits. Aloha, Mark |
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Subject: RE: BS: No more spelling mistakes! From: paddymac Date: 03 Feb 01 - 05:54 PM Anything that helps is fine with me, but if there is ever a spelling or typing ability threshold imposed, many of us would likely fall under the bar. That word "threshold" is on that always bugs me. I can never remember if it's "thresh-hold" (which closely aligns with the usual meaning), or "thresh-old" (which seems to be the more common spelling). Important issues, eh? |
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Subject: RE: BS: No more spelling mistakes! From: McGrath of Harlow Date: 03 Feb 01 - 07:15 PM Spell checkers don't of course rule out things like now for no, which can completely reverse the meaning of a sentence. What they are best for is typing errors. And of course you have to check them, and you always mighty miss something. But already I'm finding this one very handy, because my problem isn't spelling as such, it's noticing the mistyping on the Mudcat screen. |
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Subject: RE: BS: No more spelling mistakes! From: Skeptic Date: 03 Feb 01 - 08:26 PM McGrath, I'm shocked at your insensitivity. I can think of several guest posters who'll be in mourning. In the past, when they couldn't assault your ideas (due to lack of knowledge or ability or both), they could at could at least feed their egos by making fun of spelling errors. (Which they seemed to think proved their point). I am dismayed by your lack of compassion for these verbose, erudite-impaired authors. :-) A cool tool. I'll let troll know in case he misses this thread. Regards, John |
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Subject: RE: BS: No more spelling mistakes! From: McGrath of Harlow Date: 03 Feb 01 - 08:30 PM But the odd one or two will slip through - like this in my last post:
"you always mighty miss something"
They'll just have to look a bit harder, is all. |
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Subject: RE: BS: No more spelling mistakes! From: Little Hawk Date: 03 Feb 01 - 11:07 PM Indeed! It is hardly fair to the pedantic and perfectionist grammar Nazi (like me...) who gets his jollies by pointing out your errors in spelling and punctuation...that you should employ such a program! Where will I now derive the pleasure of being snide and superior when I spot an obvious error...if you provide no such errors for me to spot? Ah, well, there's still flattop, I suppose... - LH |
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Subject: RE: BS: No more spelling mistakes! From: Mark Cohen Date: 04 Feb 01 - 12:56 AM Gee, McGrath, I figured that was intentional! |
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Subject: Lyr Add: SPELL CHECKER From: Murray MacLeod Date: 04 Feb 01 - 01:58 AM SPELL CHECKER
Eye halve a spelling checker
Eye strike a key and type a word
As soon as a mist ache is maid
Eye have run this poem threw it Murray |
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Subject: RE: BS: No more spelling mistakes! From: Fiolar Date: 04 Feb 01 - 06:00 AM Wud it no dat wel nown Skotish leeder Rabbi Burns? |
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Subject: RE: BS: No more spelling mistakes! From: GUEST,Seamuss Kennedy Date: 04 Feb 01 - 06:40 AM Oh shit! LH said "grammar Nazi!" Let the hysteria begin. Seamus |
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Subject: RE: BS: No more spelling mistakes! From: McGrath of Harlow Date: 04 Feb 01 - 11:49 AM Murray, that gem in itself justifies this thread.
I've checked, and the version of Hotlingo they want you to pay $15 for is version 2.0, and the one I've got, which seems perfectly adequate, is 1.1, and I suspect that if anyone hunts around, they'll find a free download of that somewhere.
The thing about it is that you don't have to write your post in some other programme with a spell checker, and then copy it across, you can do the whole job in the Mudcat window. Some people would probably think it's not fair, but then I use a capo all the time, so I'm used to that. |
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Subject: RE: BS: No more spelling mistakes! From: Bill D Date: 04 Feb 01 - 06:31 PM Well, I just edited this post with "Spell Checker for Edit Boxes" ....it is a little program that is freeware...it was written for Win3.1, and thus will not work on **EVERY** 32 bit Win95-98 program, but it will on MOST of them...anyway it does work with Netscape, and Mudcat posts are 90% of what I need spellchecking for anyway...it does NOT do the fancy spellcheck trick of underlining words as you type...but at any point, or after you type a longer post, you can activate it with a hot key combination and have it take a look at what you have done it even allows you to add silly words like 'snog' and 'Mudcat' so it doesn't ask you about them any more..*grin* ....(written by Michael Quinion, the guy who does a web page and mailing list of language World Wide Words If you want to try it go here and get the main program plus at LEAST one dictionary..(as you will see, you can choose American OR UK spelling, plus several other languages)... |
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Subject: RE: BS: No more spelling mistakes! From: Bill D Date: 04 Feb 01 - 06:43 PM ...and I am very glad the this thread inspired me to find the program again...I used it on my old machine and was quite pleased, but just never got around to adding to this one in the last year...(oh..side note - it does NOT understand my habit of punctuating with dots.....if I fail to leave a space, it tells me that "...blah..blah..." is a word it is not familar with. It will at least get me to think a bit) |
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Subject: RE: BS: No more spelling mistakes! From: Katcina Date: 05 Feb 01 - 01:26 PM That is wonderful, but now that I have downloaded the file, how the heck do I open it without 'Netzip'? Thanks, Katcina |
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Subject: RE: BS: No more spelling mistakes! From: McGrath of Harlow Date: 05 Feb 01 - 01:50 PM You can get a free evauation version of WinZip here, and I imagine that'd do the job, Katcina. (You can probably find a free non-evaluation version of WinZip somewhere anyway.) |
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Subject: RE: BS: No more spelling mistakes! From: Bill D Date: 05 Feb 01 - 08:47 PM there are any number of unzipping programs out there....ANY will do the job...but if you have room and would like the best deal going, PowerDesk file manager is wonderful. It does an amazing amount of stuff with unzipping just a tiny portion...and this version is free!! |